Calgocubs21 is a well-known figure in the army community, recognized for his past leadership and contributions to Club Penguin Armies. In this week’s column of Memorable Moments, we reached out to Calgocubs21 to find out about his memorable moments.
Designed by Edu14463
beginning of journey
In 2006, Calgocubs21 stumbled upon the Army of Club Penguin troops and decided to join in. However, later on Calgo decided to adventure off and try out different armies throughout the years. Some of these armies he ended up joining were including the Black Panthers, Nachos, Fire Warriors, Warriors of Club Penguin, and Golden Troops. Eventually, Calgo chose a different path in 2010 and created his own army, CP Guards.
Calgocubs21 in CP Guards uniform 2010
Calgo ended up leaving the community in 2011 and returned 10 years later. Upon his return in 2021, he rejoined the Clovers. This time, Calgo joined the army as a Captain. As he returned, he had the aspiration of becoming the ACP’s future leader one day.
After reuniting with the Clovers, Calgo devised a strategy to spearhead the army’s greatest ascent. A few days after Former ACP leader and S/M Legend, Zeus, stepped down, Calgo was promoted, and named the newest Commander-in-Chief of ACP on September 20, 2022.
Calgocubs21 announcing his promotion
Leadership
Within two months, he effectively resurrected the army during the ACP’s difficult times, pulling them out of S/M and restoring its standing as a serious contender. Three months into his reign, he would see his first of many #1s on the final Top 10 of 2022. When the 2023 top ten rankings were released, ACP emerged as the top army of the year. The Clovers won numerous league titles, including Biggest Army of the Summer/Winter and Most Tactical Army of the Summer and Winter. Meanwhile, Calgo himself had won titles like Best Major Army Leader of the Summer, Most Achieved, and the Bluesockwa Award (Biggest Influence).
Top Ten Armies of 2023
Known for his fervent passion for combat, Calgocubs amassed the greatest amount of territory among all armies on the CPA map in the 2023 version. Engaging in numerous successful battles against Special Weapons and Tactics, Dark Vikings, and Elite Guardians of CP. Although three major armies—the Rebel Penguin Federation, the Water Vikings, and EGCP—declared war in June, Calgo showed his ability as a war strategist by bringing the community together under the Sapphire Concordat, enlisting the aid of allies like the Help Force, SWAT, People’s Imperial Confederation, Templars, and Napalm Corps, and emerging victorious from what at first appeared to be a one-sided conflict—dubbed World War IX.
Army of Club Penguin Vs. Water Vikings WWIX: June 1,2023
greatest achievements
Already a multiple-time winner, Calgo led ACP to victory in Legends Cup VIII. Under his leadership, ACP became one of only five armies to win a Legends Cup tournament and set a record with 61 troops online for Club Penguin Battleground. Moreover, it was ACP’s first-ever Legends Cup victory.
ACP vs RPF Legends Cup XIII Grand Finals
Throughout the year of 2023, Calgo was one of the most well-known and iconic leaders of the year. He had a massive impact not only within his own army but also on the entire community, as he was a significant influence. Despite deciding to retire from ACP in October 2023, Calgocubs remained active within the community, serving as a Community Committee head. Due to his hard work and diligence, Calgo was chosen on January 4, 2023, by Club Penguin Armies as the official Person of the Year. This recognition capped off an amazing year and demonstrated what a legendary person Calgo is.
Calgo POTY 2023
Calgo’s lucky streak continued beyond winning the Legends Cup and being named POTY. On January 19, Calgocubs was inducted as an Army Legend, one of the most prestigious titles in CP armies. He was the only person to receive this honor in 2023. Moreover, he was the first unanimous inductee since 2020. Calgo ended up getting 17 yes and 0 no’s.
Calgocubs21 induction as Army Legend
Calgo not only received Person of the Year but also earned ACP’s highest honor, the Medal of Honor. Nontheless, Calgocubs decided to retire, but has demonstrated that he was not going to vanish from the community. Calgo continues to be a vital component of Club Penguin Armies and has powerful voice for the community’s voiceless.
Club Penguin Armies was able to interview Calgocubs21 to learn more about his top moments and accomplishments.
What is the most memorable moment you have experienced in Club Penguin Armies?
While some would probably expect me to say winning Legends Cup or one of my many war victories, its actually quite the opposite. The most memorable moment that I experienced in Club Penguin Armies was a stunning loss at the beginning of my leadership that very well could’ve been the end of my leadership as I contemplated quitting after hitting my absolute breaking point. This loss was against Help Force in Christmas 2022 and I consider it to be one of my most embarrassing performances ever under my leadership due to bombing out of the first round of the tournament and struggling to even max 20 in the quarter finals despite my best efforts. Leading up to Christmas Chaos we had been in a bit of a slow downward slump despite our great performance in Legends Cup 2022. In an effort to try and combat this slump I rolled the dice and decided it was time to rebuild the staff team from the ground up and in order to do so we would have to gut the team and start from nothing to build the team up to be stronger. As such I had to let go a lot of staff that just weren’t as involved or had other outlying issues. My ambitions were high in the lead up to CC, but ultimately I was too ambitious and the team crumbled nearly a week before CC leaving me with 3 mods and 0 HCOM with little support overall. Despite that I still wanted to do everything in my power to ensure that ACP surpassed expectations in CC and spent the whole week pulling all-nighters to DM troops to attend and recruit despite being in the middle of midterms for college. After suffering that loss in the way we did to HF, I felt like I had reached my breaking point and questioned whether I was fit for leader. It was like all the negativity and bad comments toward us had finally caught up to me. Even the support itself was underwhelming and I felt like I had very few people in my corner. I was at a crossroads of whether I throw in the towel and call it quits or press on knowing the uncertainty of how ACP might perform under me. Despite my wavering confidence this moment that tested me reinvigorated my hunger and desire for more for ACP and to win at all costs in every way possible. I told myself if theres no one supporting me then I just have to prove everyone wrong and win others over to my side by creating the conditions and environment for ACP to win no matter what. I said to myself if I gave up right then and there that all I would be doing is letting the haters win. I wanted to prove them wrong and stick it to them, making them eat their words. And prove them wrong I did because that moment of wavering confidence pushed me to be better, to be a leader who never waivers no matter the challenge. Throw three major armies declaring on me at once and I still will never give in, I will fight and fight and fight looking for a win condition even if its small and I will find a way to stand on top because thats what ACP deserves after all the hate its endured for this many years.
What inspired your decision to join the Army of Club Penguin?
It feels like forever ago, but I think the day I stumbled upon ACP in the Dojo fighting the Romans in World War II was the day that the clovers became my home and set me on a collision course to stumble back into ACP more than a decade later. Despite attending for ACP during that battle, I was unfamiliar with how to officially enlist in an army until 2008 when my brother (the real Calgocubs21, we shared accounts) helped me sign up to join ACP’s long-time rival, the Nachos. A year later in 2009, I made my way back to my home army and officially enlisted in ACP where I climbed the ranks up to Adjunct General over the course of a year. Despite spending time hopping from army to army after my time in ACP in 2010, my fondest memories in ACP were from hanging in ACP’s XAT in 2009 and all of the people I met along the way. 11 years later when searching for Club Penguin discords, ACP’s Discord popped up in the Discord Discovery page which took me by surprise as I was under the impression that armies had died off. From there I clicked the join button and the rest is history.
Are you planning to re-engage with the army community in the future?
I keep saying no over and over again, but as many have also probably struggled with, my actions keep contradicting my words. No matter how many times I try to pull myself away from this community theres a part of me that still looks to hold onto the memories I made especially during my time leading ACP which I cherish the most. ACP to me is like a child that I will never stop caring for no matter how hard it gets. I keep coming back because I want ACP to see the very same highs that it did previously and I believe that one day it will again. Regardless I am confident in saying that this community will never see me return as a leader for ACP or any other army for that matter. I have been offered several leadership positions since my departure from leading ACP, but while the thought of leading once more entertains me, I will not walk back on my decision that I made in 2023 and risk staining the legendary run we had in dominating 2023. My time has passed and now it is up to the future leaders to carry that torch. That being said is my time involving myself in ACP or supporting them passed? Whose to say, only time will tell.
Tell us about your journey to becoming a successful leader.
My journey to become a successful leader was a long and tiring journey where I had to ultimately make a lot of sacrifices and re-examine myself as a leader to see if what I was doing was the right thing. I inherited an army that despite all its historic years of history had fallen from its former glory and had struggled to get back up since falling. Each day I woke up and the first thought in my head would be to get straight to work on ACP and I would ask myself what can I do for ACP today that will help us succeed in the future. Most days I would find myself pulling all-nighters going 24-48 hours without sleep because I couldn’t sleep knowing I could’ve done more to help my army succeed. My philosophy was that if we were to succeed and overcome each army that we faced, we needed to execute every single detail perfectly down to the smallest detail in our army. That ambition to strive for perfection was my goal to create a perfect ACP and army that would win others over to our army and create an atmosphere for an army that would win and succeed long after I retired. What truly made me successful though as a leader wasn’t just my ambitions, it was the troops and staff around me who bought into and believed in my vision and supported me throughout my leadership. Most of all I couldn’t of ever seen the success that we had in the summer of 2023 if it wasn’t for Austin and Coolguy. They undoubtably, the two best co-leaders I could’ve ever asked for who pushed me every day to be a better leader and who shared the same vision and hunger that I had for ACP to win. They are the two hardest workers I have met and without them we wouldn’t of won our countless wars or even Legends Cup.
For all prospective leaders in the Club Penguin Armies, what guidance would you offer?
Tread your own path as a leader and don’t try to copy someone else’s style as your own. Copies are just cheap knockoffs and you can’t be successful unless you find your own rhythm and style. Remember as a leader you aren’t always right and you will make mistake after mistake which is crucial for growth and be in the wrong more times than you can count. Have the ability to recognize when you are wrong, your failures, and your weaknesses and use that self-reflection to strive to be better not just for yourself, but for your staff, troops, and the community that you serve. Learn to listen to those around you as their advice and knowledge can shed valuable insight into how to succeed based on their experience which you may lack. Lastly remember you serve your troops as a leader, not the other way around, as a leader you are a servant to your army and remember you set the example for your community and troops so be a leader that leads by example who they can look up to for confidence. Be the force for change that you want to see.
Throughout Calgocubs21’s army career, he has achieved numerous outstanding accomplishments. Even though he’s retired from the community, he remains one of the most influential and respected figures to this day. We hope he has luck on all of his future endeavors. Which of your experiences with Calgocubs12 stand out the most? Will there be more leaders like him in the future, in your opinion?
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