Women of Oilersnation: Kennedy Burgardt
By Kyla Lane
2 years agoYou’ve seen the sick new Nation Gear designs, but do you know who’s behind them? Today you’ll meet her!
Last week we featured Lynn Mercereau and the incredible impact she has on the Oilersnation community and beyond. If you missed it, you can read her feature here!
Kennedy Burgardt is an incredible digital artist who’s bringing her passions together to use her talents in the hockey community and beyond. She recently teamed up with Oilersnation to create some new designs (including a little something we have coming your way soon!).
MEET KENNEDY BURGARDT
KYLA: Who are you?! What’s your day job, what are your passions, what’s something interesting about you?!
KENNEDY: Hi I’m Kennedy! I go by kennedystrash on social media and I’m a freelance digital artist, photographer and full time giffer.
To sum it up my passions are my hobbies. I’ve always had a knack for all things digital media, ranging from photography to video editing to graphic work. I started having an interest when I was in junior high and my love for all of that just grew as technology did. Something interesting about me is that I love to gif moments. Something happens during a game and I’m there screen recording and coloring it in photoshop to post it two minutes after it happens. It’s an odd trick but I looove doing it.
KYLA: How did you get into hockey and sports in general?
KENNEDY: Growing up in Edmonton it’s hard not care, even a little bit, about hockey. But I didn’t really getting into following the Oilers until 2016 (it was the video of Mcdavid splitting the D and scoring against Columbus that sold me). Since then I’ve joined a few online communities, Twitter being one of them.
From there I’ve met some incredible people, people worldwide I consider friends all because of hockey and this community surrounding it.
KYLA: How did you get into graphic design and doing kick ass designs for Oilersnation?
KENNEDY: Design and art have been apart of me since I can remember. I went to school for it and it’s something I’ve always been passionate about. I owe it to my family, friends and high school teachers for believing in me and also Twitter folks who like my art and funny memes.
KYLA: What advice do you have for others, especially women, who want to work in the sports space?
KENNEDY: To put it simply, you belong. No matter who wants to tell you different, you just have to continue being you and believe in you. I firmly believe if you have a passion for something and you work towards that goal, you can accomplish that and more.
KYLA: How can people find your art to purchase or work with you on custom designs?
KENNEDY: I own a design shop on Redbubble under the pseudo TheConcertKid and I am more than happy to offer my skills to any one who wants to work together! All my links and contacts info are here: https://kennedystrash.carrd.co/
KYLA: What’s your favourite Oilers memory?
KENNEDY: I feel I have waaay too many to pick from, it’s hard to pick only one.
Being in person to see the Draisaitl-Nuge double hatty night was incredible.
Meeting players at signings and photo days have been a yearly tradition that I always look forward to.
Me and my dad have traveled down to Calgary for the Battle of Alberta a few times. The one in 2017 where we beat Calgary 7-3 was a super fun one.
One memory that really stands out that I’ll never forget was winning a private tour of Rogers Place and getting to see the Oilers locker room. Super special experience that I’ll forever be grateful for.
KYLA: What does hockey and being a part of the Oilersnation community mean to you?
KENNEDY: Everything.
Hockey has changed my life. The friendships, the conversations, the experiences and memories are something I could’ve never imagined having such an impact. I am forever indebted to this community of hockey fans who are in this just as much as I am.
I miss being at games and I look forward to the day we can all be together again. Because for those few hours, all 18,000 of us are there for one reason and that’s something I find so incredible.
CONNECT WITH KENNEDY ON TWITTER & INSTAGRAM!
her Soul Shot shows women how powerful they are through sport by providing resources, community, and inspiration for all women to live their soul’s truth and take their shot in sports.
Learn more on her Soul Shot’s website, listen to the her Soul Shot Podcast and follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
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