Meet the unicyclists: The most badass club on campus

Some clubs at Penn have a huge presence: from IAA to PPU, the DP to Mask & Wig, everyone knows who they are and what they do. But some of the most passionate and interesting clubs happen to fly under the radar.

Thanks to students Frederick Dunau and Joe Oliva, the Tab got see firsthand something totally exciting, badass, and new at Penn: the Unicycle Club.

Although only recently formed, the club already has a core team of eight dedicated unicyclists. As President of the club, Dunau plans to continue expanding the use of unicycles even more.

“My plans are for us to have beginner and advanced sessions, rather than one session for all skill levels,” said Frederick. While Vice President Joe Oliva will instruct beginners on the basics of unicycling, Frederick will organize distance rides with the more advanced members of the club. Everyone is welcome to learn and ride, no matter their level of expertise.

When we asked the members about their unicycling stories, goals, and reasons for joining, one thing was clear. Their unicycles not only make them look super cool as they ride down Locust, but they’re also endlessly gratifying and rewarding.

All of the members have one moment when they became obsessed with learning how to unicycle. For Frederick, that moment was at his grandparents’ house as an eight year old.

“During the first week or so of practicing I had fallen more times than I care to remember, and I can recall thinking to myself that there was just no way I would be able to ride the unicycle.

Then, one day, after a long day of practice it finally clicked. What amazed me then, and still amazes me to this day, is how quickly you transition from not being able to ride one at all to being able to ride one well,” said Dunau.

Although both Frederick and another Unicycle Club member, Jeremy Rudoler, have been riding since elementary school, other members learned just last year.

Joe said: “When I first started out, I fell so many times my shins were bleeding out. I had gashes down my shins from the pedals cutting me up–this was the first week of NSO, and Freddie was teaching me. Slowly and surely I learned how and I was given my first unicycle for my birthday by my sister. I’ve come a long way.”

After the two of them learned, they passed down their new passion to other friends–all of whom became quickly obsessed.

“He stopped by when Joe and I were outside practicing and at that very moment, wearing khaki pants, a button down shirt and a blazer, he decided that he was going to learn how to ride a unicycle.. After helping him for about an hour, Joe and I decided to head inside to take a break.

Needless to say, we returned outside about 5 hours later to find him still going at it, blazer thrown to the side, completely drenched with sweat,” recalled Frederick.

Ultimately though, for the current members of the Unicycle Club, the best part of being a member is being able to spread their love of the unicycle through teaching.

“As much fun as it was for me to have the epiphany of “Wow, I really CAN ride a unicycle!” it’s actually 10 times better to have the opportunity to show someone else how to do it and see them experience that same excitement,” said Frederick.

So why should the rest of  Penn take advantage of free unicycling lessons?

“People should learn to unicycle because not that many people can do it so it makes them unique.” – Mark Mastropietro

“Why ride two wheels when you can ride one? If everyone knew how to unicycle, there’d be less environmental waste.” – AJ Murabito

“The feeling of balance on the unicycle is the best. It’s just a fun activity I’ve done since I was 10.” – Jeremy Rudolter

Clearly, the Unicycle Club has it all: environmental sustainability, physical exercise, and a chance to look unique on campus. As the club continues to grow, the Tab has faith that unicycles may even replace bikes at Penn.

For more information on how to join, contact Frederick Dunau at [email protected]