Axe Throwing with the Queen... Queen Latifah that is!!

Written by
Alissa
World Champion LumberJill
​Founder & Owner of the Axe Women Loggers of Maine

A few years back I received an email from a producer working on the Queen Latifah Show! She had come across our website and wanted to invite us out to Los Angeles, California to be on the show!! Of course, I called the producer right up and said, "Yes!!"
We went back and forth throughout the following days with emails and phone calls trying to plan everything out and figure out all the logistics. They didn't want to wait for me to pack the truck up and drive out... they wanted to film this the following week! And they wanted us to demonstrate several logging sports events... which meant lots of equipment! They wanted chopping, crosscut sawing and axe throwing...

​All our chopping and sawing stands have been custom made for us by LogRite Tools... not something that they could easily throw together once we arrived in LA to film! The producer said, "No problem! I've already contacted a shipping store in your town. Just bring all your stands and saws there. They will package and overnight everything out to us!"
Super easy!! I tossed the chopping and sawing stands in the back of the truck, as well as the axe throwing target and crosscut saws, and headed to the shipping store. All these pieces of equipment are large, heavy, steel stands! As I unloaded each piece on the sidewalk and carried it towards the front of the building, I was definitely feeling bad for the owner... I'm not sure she knew exactly what she was agreeing to when the producer had called her earlier! But she cheerfully helped me squeeze each item through her front door and told me how much she loves a challenge! She promised that everything would make it there on-time and in perfect condition... I was super nervous shipping our Tuatahi crosscut saws that we had just purchased from New Zealand! They are 6 1/2 feet long, lined with razor-blade-sharp teeth!! And very expensive!! Not something that could be easily replaced if they were ever to get lost or damaged while shipping! 
After dropping everything off, it was time to get my nails done, pack my axes (which are surprisingly easy to fly with!) and catch a flight from Maine to LA!
Two of the other AxeWomen would be meeting me out there! Tracie was flying from New York and Kat was flying down from Canada. Our flights all arrived within a few hours of one another and we each had our own car and driver waiting at the airport to pick us up! Very fancy!! We were each met by a driver wearing a nice suit and holding a sign with our names! Big, shiny black SUVs took us each to our hotel... where we all had our own corner suites with Jacuzzis... overlooking Rodeo Drive!!!
The next morning, we were all picked up early from our hotel and brought to the studio. Our saws and equipment were all there waiting for us... the crew was unpacking everything and setting it all up for us! 
They had even ordered chopping logs to be delivered that morning! They arrived, wrapped in plastic wrap with a shipping label stuck to them! The delivery driver was laughing... he said he definitely had delivered some weird stuff over the years... but this was his first load of fresh cut, plastic wrapped logs!!
The crew there was so fun to work with! They set up our chopping and sawing stands, figured out the safest spot on the stage for the axe throwing target, made sure our hair and make-up was done for us, fed us lunch and made sure we were having fun! 
Once everything was set up, we did a few dry runs... then got to meet Queen Latifah!! She was just as friendly, outgoing, and fun as she seems on tv!!! (She was an absolute blast to work with!!) Then... it was show time!!
The live studio audience filed in; we were brought backstage to wait for a little bit... then we were brought out in front of the audience! Tracie and Kat showed Queen Latifah how quickly they could cut together with a crosscut saw, Tracie demonstrated the underhand chop and then it was my turn... I was going to teach Queen Latifah how to throw an axe!! I demonstrated... while talking her through each step of how to do it... I threw the first axe... and was super relieved when it successfully stuck in the target!!! (It was slightly more nerve-wracking than when I usually throw!)
I retrieved my axe from the target and handed her one to throw... and... she nailed it on her first try!!! So awesome!! Things could not have gone more perfectly!
We all took some fun photos together... she joked with us about joining the AxeWomen team (we're still holding a spot for her!) and we couldn't thank her enough for inviting us onto her show!! Such a great experience!!
A few days later, back home in Maine, I was unpacking all of the stands and saws that had safely made their way back from California and packing them all back into the AxeWomen trailer to head off to the next show. When I opened the crosscut saw box there was a nice note, warning us that the saws were "really, really sharp!!"  (That's always a good thing in logging sports!!) No... no one had gotten cut... it had just turned into a joke with the crew how often we had told them that the saws were sharp while we were out there filming - every time they unpacked one, or moved it, or stepped over it - Tracie, Kat or I would always be spinning around warning, "Watch out!! Those are really, really sharp!!"
 
Thanks for taking the time to read some of these stories! It's really been fun getting into the world of blogging! Ok... back to chopping, axe throwing and log rolling again!!