Flipping through your average glossy snowboard magazine, you wouldn't think women have that much influence on the snowboarding industry at all. Behind the scenes, seems like
another story entirely, from company executives, to marketing and creative professionals, to instructors and park managers, women are making their mark on the sport of snowboarding. This series
profiles women both in the spotlight and behind the scenes, this series profiles influential women in the snowboarding industry. Check back every Monday for a new profile and interview. 
Aimi Xistra-Rich
April 16, 2008 -
To continue our look at women in
Next up in our Women in the Industry series, we thought it'd be fun to find out what it's like to work at a resort. Aimi Xistra-Rich lives and works in
Lake Tahoe, as the Public Relations Coordinator at Heavenly Mountain Resort. This means not only does she get to work at a mountain, live in a beautiful mountain
location, and get in a ton of riding, but through her job, she gets to do all kinds of fun stuff, like work with industry read more...
Public Relations
Wendy Hill
Snowboard Instructor
April 7, 2008 -
To continue our look at women in the industry, we're taking a look back at the early days of snowboarding. When Wendy Hill started snowboarding in Europe in the late 80's, she wasn't just one of the only girls, she was one of the only shredders on the hill. Snowboarding was still seen as just a fad, and Wendy became the first female snowboard instructor when Vail resorts opened their slopes to snowboarding.
She's sent in some great old school read more...
Bina Basler
Pro Rider
March 25, 2008 -
To find out what it was like to be an up-and-coming chick rider, we talked to Bina Basler, best known as the girl in Cue the Birds and Patchwork Patterns.
You won't see this Bataleon team rider in the competition scene, but she impressed by throwing down with the boys, jibbing things that would make most of us cry, and... riding in jeans? Check her out in ... read more
Lisa Branner
Snowboard Company Owner
March 17, 2008 -
Lisa is the co-founder of Colorado-based Venture Snowboards, which she created with her husband, Klemens in 1999.
Lisa heads up the business, marketing and graphics aspects of the company, while her husband is responsible for the technical
side, including board design and production. Venture is best known for quality, handcrafted boards, and their strong environmental ethic: The Venture Zephyr (available in a narrow, girl-friendly size) won the Future Snowboard Magazine
MVP award for the second ... read more
Erin Valverde Pollard
Pro Snowboarder, Filmmaker
March 10, 2008 -
Known for her big mountain riding skills, this Oregon native and pro snowboarder first grabbed our attention in Chunky Knit's all-girl snowboard
film, Transfer. For the 2007-2008 season, she produced a new all-girl film called Float with
filmmaker John Roderick. ... read more
Jan Kodadek and Kim Goldstein
Owners, Shredding Betty
March 3, 2008 - When we were looking for some women involved in the business side of the snowboard industry, we came across Jan Kodadek and Kim Goldstein, founders of a new snowboard shop for women, Shredding Betty.
THe shop opened in 2007 and features snowboard gear and apparel for women only. After working in a shop for years, Kim got together with her friend Jan, noticing that shops lacked the
advice and selection that female riders needed. ... read more
Claudia Fliri
Pro Rider
February 25, 2008 - For an up-and-coming pro rider for our series, we flipped through some of the photos from photographer Vanessa Andrieux until we found one
that really caught our attention. This Austrian rider has a rather loud sense of style, and is known for her highly technical tricks in Slopestyle competition,
including huge frontside and switch frontside 720's. She has been making a name for herself in Europe, and recently caught the attention of US snowboard fans by placing
2nd in the X-Games ... read more
Alex Masterson
Owner, Bitchboards
February 18, 2008 - Next up in our Women in the Industry series, we talked to the owner of Bitchboards to see what it's like to start a snowboard business. Alex Masterson couldn't find what she was looking for in the current selection of women's snowboards, so instead of just complaining, she decided to do something about it.
A avid rider with a strong background in art and design, Alex brings a unique perspective to snowboard graphics and manufacturing.
Her company released its first line of snowboards ... read more
Rachel "Ratty" Shedow
Snowboard Instructor
February 11, 2008 - When we wanted to talk to an instructor to find out what it was like to travel the world and teach snowboarding full time,
we asked girls we knew who had taken clinics and lessons, and were introduced to Ratty, who teaches at the Jackson Hole women's snowboarding camp. An experienced Aussie rider,
who instructs year round, following winter around the globe, Ratty is a great inspiration to those of us who daydream of skipping summer altogether and riding nearly every day of the year. ... read more
Isabelle Falardeau
Terrain Park Manager
February 4, 2008 -
To continue our Women in the Industry series, we've interviewed Isabelle Falardeau, who is the terrain park manager at Snowmass, Colorado. As one of the only women in the country in such a high level of terrain park management, we thought she'd be an inspiring person to interview for girls who are interested in getting into park design and construction. She's also one of just a few chicks around who drive cat. And who doesn't want to drive a snowcat?
... read more
Vanessa Andrieux
Professional Photographer
January 28, 2008 -
For our second profile in the Women in the Industry series, we're taking a look behind the scenes, at Vanessa Andrieux, a noted european snowboard
photographer. She is known for her creative angles and unique composition. Raised in southern France, Vanessa and has been snowboarding since 1995 and
decided to try photography because she wanted to find a career that allowed her to snowboard and travel. By luck it turns out she has a great eye
and a talent for getting just the right shot. We have included a few of her shots with
... read more
Tara Dakides
Pro Snowboarder, Snowboard Company Owner
January 21, 2008 -
We're starting off this series with arguably the most influential woman in snowboarding. Tara Dakides has been competing since the mid-90's, with podiums in a series of events including several gold medals in the X-Games. She
continues to dominate on the competition scene, with recent high rankings including a 1st place finish in the 2007 Roxy Chicken Jam Slopestyle event. In 2005, she joined fellow rider Todd Richards and snowboard engineer Jason Kanes in a new rider-driven snowboard company
... read more
