Happy International Women’s Day!
I’ve been riding BMX and in the industry mix for a long time now and let me tell you.. these past few years have been something special to be a part of! Every year, I am so blown away with the progression of the women pushing the sport both on and off the bike. It has been truly amazing and inspiring to see. This year for International Women’s Day, we decided to reach out to companies who sponsor and support women to help us make today special by celebrating the women at the forefront of BMX. Read quotes below from Cult Crew, Vans, Sunday, Mongoose, Kink, GT, Hyper and Demolition Parts.
“Supporting Women at CULT is a natural extension of the brand. My first memories of Perris Benegas was on the front cover of a local zine blasting a table top with tons of style. I made sure to try and keep in touch with her and over time she became family along with Angie Marino. I love the passion and dedication these 2 have for the game, always pushing and promoting BMX forward. Sarah Lampert also has done a awesome job of representing BMX and all 3 have paved the way for a new generation of ladies who shred. Proof is 7 year old Aubree Henson who’s love for BMX and CULT is amazing to watch. The future looks really good and there is no question these gals are making BMX better overall and I’m proud to be part of it.” -Robbie Morales | Cult Crew
Photo: Jeff Z
“The first woman on Vans BMX I believe was Kim Johnson, who had a Vans ad published in the early 80’s. I don’t know too much more about Kim, but for modern day Vans BMX I would have to credit Angie Marino for being our main marketed rider.
I’ve know Angie for quite a few years and have watched her grow in BMX. Angie won a Vans BMX Pro Cup in Mexico 2018, and I was intrigued by her hobbies outside of BMX, like jewelry making. You don’t just have to be a good bike rider to get our attention at Vans. I like how Angie stood up to a contest organizer to fight for more than what they offered and evidently had everyone boycott the event. We look for leaders and role models on the pro team, and Angie is exactly that.
In early 2020, we invited Angie to ride a military demo for the families of those enlisted, and Angie I think was the most popular there! The young girls watching on were freaking out every time Angie jumped, and that was so special to see.
We happily flow a few women, and have helped with travel and other opportunities over the years. Along with Angie, Perris Benegas, Nina Buitrago, Nikita Duccaroz, Maca Perez, Natalia Diehm, and Teresa Azcoaga would be the main crew we look after. Different regions have their crews also.
Looking forward, we will be announcing a new Global Pro very soon, and a few more really cool things to happen later in 2021 that we have been working on for the past year. And it doesn’t stop there, we already have plans for 2022 and 2023!” -Colin Mackay | Vans BMX Global Team Manager
“It is important for our brands to support women in BMX/cycling because we believe in fairness and equality. Simple as that. We also believe that for BMX to grow and thrive that all riders should have the same opportunities.
Over the years we have supported women’s riders in various disciplines, and continue to help a growing list of riders. Nina Buitrago has been a long time friend, and we worked with her on including a women’s session at Texas Toast Jam in 2014, and we also welcomed a big group for a session at our private Full Factory ramps in California.
Most recently, Sunday Bikes welcomed Maca Perez to the official PRO team at the beginning of 2021. Prior to that move, we (along with Odyssey BMX as well) supported her for many years alongside our distributor iBikes in Chile. Maca would spend time at the Full Factory office, was fun to be around and we’ve enjoyed watching her shred all over the world. Growing with her and doing something more official was very natural and she’s a welcome addition to what we’re doing. Also, the 2022 Sunday complete bike line will feature a Maca signature model, which we’re stoked about.
The future of women’s BMX looks bright and we are proud to be involved. It’s important for our brands to be inclusive and keep everyone who loves riding bikes in the conversation.” -Nuno Oliveira | Odyssey BMX | Sunday Bikes | Fairdale Bikes
Photo: Robert Snow | Red Bull Content Pool
“At Mongoose we definitely feel it is important to support women in BMX. As a rider that has been around for a while now I have seen how much the sport has grown and especially on the female side of it!
The first female rider on the team since I have been with the brand is Nikita Ducarroz but I know Mongoose has sponsored other female athletes before that including Leigh Donovan! We talked with Nikita in the beginning of 2016 and midway through the year started hooking her up. I remember being at Woodward West and Nikita wanted to drop in off a roof to a dirt lander. She sat up there for a little while and after a few run-ups got it done! It wasn’t only the fact that Nikita was a good rider. I watched as she talked to the kids at camp and could see she was a great role model to other females who wanted to ride bikes. From there we just built up a solid relationship that led to her pro spot on the team! A few years later we got back into BMX racing and picked up Payton Ridenour and more recently Sophia Foresta. Both are incredible riders and role models.” -LEIGH RAMSDELL | Mongoose Sports Marketing Manager
“The very first woman to receive support from Kink BMX was female BMX pioneer Corey Coffee, in the early 2000’s (which was unfortunately before many of us started working for the brand so I don’t have a ton of background info). In more recent years we have been supporting Anahi Valentina from Quito, Ecuador as she currently holds a spot on the Kink BMX AM Team. What is happening with the progression of female freestyle BMX in both the skateparks and the streets is something we support wholeheartedly, and are excited to be a part of and watch grow. Anahi’s passion and abilities for riding anything she can is what drew us to her, and we really respect and admire her for using any resource available to her for getting down and progressing in the streets, the dirt jumps, or the skatepark.
More events are being created that include women, and the connections and visibility happening on Social Media have made it easier than ever before to find new talent, watch progression, and keep in touch with the women that are going to be pushing the community forward on and off the bike. We have plans to continue to support the movement with specific products, team rider additions, and feature projects that will include Anahi and more!” -Jay Roe | Kink BMX Team Manager & Social Media Manager
“GT is all about supporting riders who are actively engaged in their community, can inspire and influence, and most importantly, who can represent GT in an authentic way while having fun on their bikes. With that said, GT has a long history supporting women on BMX bikes. Beginning in the mid-80’s, the GT BMX race program picked up Deanna Edwards in 1984, followed by Michelle Gibson in ’86. And the following year, we picked up Krys Dauchy, who was the first woman freestyle rider to get sponsored.
Support for BMX race continued through the ’90s with the likes of Cindy Davis, who was the 1994 ABA National #1 Cruiser, Ashley Recklau (1996-97 National #1 Girl & Girl Cruiser), Michelle Cairns (1999 National #1 Woman Pro). And on through the turn of the century with Jamie Lilly (2000 National #1 Woman Pro), Shanaze Reade (4x UCI World Champion Elite Women), Arielle Martin-Verhaaren, Felicia Stancil (2013 UCI World Champion Jr Women), and Sophia Foresta (2012 & 2015 National #1 Girl). Today, we have Brooklyn Van Renselaa and Lena Garcia carrying the torch for the Women’s GT BMX race program.
While in the freestyle world, we began supporting Chelsea Wolfe in 2017, with her debut cameo footage in our full-length team video, Seriously Fun. Chelsea is currently a USA Cycling National team rider and Olympics BMX freestyle hopeful. And most recently, we added upcoming 20 year-old Eduarda Penso Bordignon, “Duda Penso” from Brazil.
Looking forward into 2021, we plan to continue our all-inclusive support of BMX riders and keep the good times going!” -Jeff Zielinski | GT Bicycles
“Hyper has supported women in BMX since our earliest days. Part of our passion for the sport is based on its inclusive nature and the opportunity it provides for girls and women to compete individually and as part of a Team. Supporting a diverse group of Athletes participating in a sport that is built on a platform of inclusion is consistent with our culture and our business goals. One of our first riders Hyper Bicycles sponsored in the 90s was Robin ‘Air’ Glyre, among the fastest and most exciting racers at the time in BMX. Since then, there have been many other standouts who have ridden with the Hyper Bicycles Racing Team. From the early 2000s we were fortunate to have greats like Alice Jung, Shaelen Reno, Samantha Miller, Alice Post, and Amanda Carr as members of the Hyper Team. Hyper was also proud to support BMX and MTB racers Jackie DeChamp and Jordy Scott. These riders have been instrumental in creating and promoting the Hyper Brand and have been
Ambassadors for BMX and MTB Racing.
Our current athlete roster includes Jordy Scott (MTB), Hannah Roberts (Freestyle), Charlotte Worthington (Freestyle), Sierra Samhammer (BMX Racing), Payton Spanel (BMX Racing 7G), Maddie Baird (BMX Racing 8G), Tatum Eldridge (BMX Racing 9G), and Morgan Samhammer (BMX Racing 13G). Hyper Bicycles is proud to support and cheer for Hyper BMX Freestyle riders Hannah Roberts and Charlotte Worthington in their efforts at the 2021 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.” -Shane Goldsmid | Hyper Bicycles
“We (DEMO) think it’s important to support women in BMX because they are riders too. We are all trying to do the same and have the same passion for two wheels. Right now Perris Benegas is the only female on the team. Perris is just a flat out ripper, you can’t deny her talent and drive.” – Matt Cordova | Demolition Parts
