October 6, 2025 • 41 mins
Casey Brown broke barriers when she became the first woman to complete a practice run at Red Bull Rampage. Having grown up out of society, she was born loving to play rough and go big when it comes to sports. Brown speaks to Ashlyn about the thrill of riding, the mental fortitude of surviving severe injuries, and the pressure that comes with being a pioneer in an event. Through Dark Horse, her insular biking event, she helps women develop careers.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
So I am going to be one of the commentators
at Red Bull Rampage this October October sixteenth, So I
am so excited to be in studio, really just giving
an authentic opinion about what's going on, the things I know,
(00:20):
the things I don't know, but just genuine response to
the creativity that these free riders are going to get
to experience in the most remote, beautiful mountains of Utah.
I'm actually riding solo to Utah to do this. I
actually have no idea what I'm getting myself into, but
(00:41):
what I do know is action sports. And what I
do know is I grew up playing and not playing.
I grew up skating and surfing, and I'm very keyed
in and tuned in to what it's like to really
live on the edge. And that's why I want to
to do this. I think it's a really cool opportunity
(01:02):
and I love these new young women paving the way
and taking up space that's kind of predominantly been a
male sport. Red Bull Rampage actually just started having women
participate in the event last year, so this is just
such a new venture for them, and to be a
part of that growth is really rad For me, I'm
(01:23):
actually pretty excited to get there. I'm actually getting to
Red Bull Rampage a few days early because I want
to understand the complexities of what the event holds. What
people don't know is these women actually are hiking and
digging and building their trails. That is a part of
the creativity piece. So to be able to see you know,
(01:45):
them in real time building out insane runs and jumps,
and to see it firsthand on how they create and
how they choose to do what they do, and you know,
the whole risk versus rewards thing. I'm excited to get
there a few days early and just kind of surround
myself in the atmosphere of like high pressure, high stakes
(02:09):
and it's it's really really dangerous. So you know, I played,
you know, played soccer growing up, so it wasn't really
life or death for me. I'm not flirting with the
side of a mountain. I'm not, you know, there's a
lot of catastrophic things that could happen, and to see
the mindset and the process that these young women are
(02:31):
going through, it's pretty remarkable. So we were lucky enough
to capture Casey as she is kind of embarking on
her drive to the competition, and she pulled off on
the side of a road and found a coffee shop
which was top tier. I actually kind of love that
it shows her commitment to, you know, what she does
(02:52):
for a living and how she shows up in the world.
I thought it was pretty spectacular. You know, you could
tell that she's a super balanced individual. You know, after
having the conversation we had, it's very clear and evident
that she prioritizes just as much of the mental training
as she does the physical, and I think that's what
(03:12):
makes champions. I think that's what builds greatness, is understanding
the balance of the physical emotional needs that it is
to be a competitor and it's not easy. And I
love the mindset she's in that I have a huge
opportunity and I'm not going to take it for granted.
(03:34):
And you know, I've been trying to pave the way
for people like herself to be able to show up
in these big events, and she's not taking it lightly,
and she's one of the greatest to ever do it.
So I'm really excited to get up close and personal
and see her artistry. I would say the theme of this conversation.
(03:56):
And the thing I want all of our listeners and
view to know what's really really important and stuck out
most for me in this conversation is if you don't
see it, build it yourself. And I think that's exactly
what Casey did. She didn't get to see people who
look like her show up in the way she wanted
to in the world. So she started creating her own
(04:18):
legacy and her own way into breaking into that world.
And she's done that and she's living it. And what
a beautiful place to live to allow other people to
give them permission to really go after their dreams. And
she did that and she's living it. And she's so
young and a trailblazer when it comes to you know,
(04:40):
how she shows up in her sport. And I think
that's the biggest takeaway for me is you know, instead
of complaining about not seeing diversity, inclusion and all the
things that we want the most in the world is
to be seen, build it, build it yourself. Put that
on your back, like you never know the doors it
will open up for us other people. And now to
(05:01):
our conversation with Casey Brown. Welcome back to Wide Open.
I'm Ashlyn Harris, and today I'm sitting down with one
of the boldest and most groundbreaking athletes in action sports,
Casey Brown. If you know anything about mountain biking, you
(05:25):
clearly know Casey. She's been rewriting the rules for years,
from the steep trails of British Columbia to the global
free ride stage. She's not just riding lines, She's carving
out history. Casey is a pioneer in free ride mountain biking,
someone who has consistently pushed past barriers and a sport that,
for so long has been dominated by men. She's known
(05:48):
for her style, her creativity, and her courage, the kind
of athlete who doesn't just ride trails, She builds them,
She reimagines them. She shows the world what is possible
when you ride with vision and conviction. This October, Casey
is stepping into one of the most legendary intimate arenas
and extreme sports, Red Bull Rampage. For years, Rampage has
(06:12):
been the ultimate test of free ride mountain biking, massive cliffs,
handbuilt lines at the Utah Desert, tracks that defy gravity,
and today we're going to talk about what it takes
to prepare for Rampage. Both physically, mentally, and emotionally. We're
going to dive into fear, resilience, creativity, and what it
(06:35):
feels like to carry the responsibility of being a trailblazer.
And we'll talk about her journey, her vision, and the
future and women's action sports and why this moment matters
far beyond the bike. This conversation is about courage, craft
and breaking barriers. Welcome to the show. Wow, I don't
(06:56):
even know where to start with really laying the foundation
in land escape of what is possible in action sports,
and you are so well respected. I am a newbie
now I am going to join you here in October
at Red Bull Rampage and Casey a free biker. Welcome
(07:18):
to the show. Tell us a little bit about yourself.
For those who don't know what Red Bull Rampage is,
we are going to dive into it. You're going to
be a fan and you're going to be tuning in.
But before we get to that, Casey, tell us a
little bit about you as a child. Why free biking?
Where did this come from? I'm curious in your own words,
(07:40):
where did this all start for you?
Speaker 2 (07:43):
Yeah? So for me, it started as a kid just
following my brother around. He was a free, free r
eyed mountain biker as well, so yeah, he was my
absolute hero and I yeah, just followed him around. My
dad would make me go biking, and then I there
(08:03):
was over the path for women back then as a
free ride mountain biker. There was, like some that have tried,
but you always had to be like a racer or
something else in order to get a bit of spotlight.
So my journey has been basically putting a spotlight spotlight
on women's free ride and trying to foster it and
(08:23):
make it grow and kind of into something that is
a career path for women.
Speaker 1 (08:29):
Which is so important and now more than ever, like
the landscape in women's sports in general is just changing
so quickly and people want more and more and more.
And I think you've given permission to so many young
girls to want to do this and really make a
living out of it. And I think that's so empowering
(08:49):
and such a big deal that people, maybe not people
may not quite know what free biking is, free mountain
biking and and Red Bull rampage, and I want people
to know this. It's actually not about racing. What's so
unique and cool about it is the ability to just
(09:11):
be the artistry of it, and I like, I how
cool is that? I have never heard of anything like that.
You guys build out your own lines, You build out
whatever you're willing to do in terms of freestyle tricks.
I mean that that is so unique and so savvy,
and not many sports have that, which I love because
(09:33):
you really peel back the layers and you show who
you are and what you bring to the table.
Speaker 2 (09:39):
Yeah, it is truly an expression of your personality through sports,
and I feel like with a lot of sports you
don't really get that opportunity. You're kind of pigeonholed into,
you know, just going fast or you know, you know,
there's there's not a whole lot of opportunity in sports
to be absolutely one hundred percent your creator of what
(10:00):
you want to do.
Speaker 1 (10:01):
That's incredible. Can you just give us a little bit
of context of how you kind of started this and
how you started pushing the envelope and fighting for women
to be a part of this, because if I'm not wrong,
women only started competing in Red Bull Rampage last year
in twenty twenty four, Is that correct?
Speaker 2 (10:19):
Yeah, twenty twenty four was the first year it was
a long time coming, I like, and I feel like
I was inspired to do Rampage at seventeen when I
went and watched it for the first time in two
thousand and eight. So the return of Rampage was it
had taken a hiatus for four years, so it was
(10:41):
a big deal when it came back and I just
graduated high school and I drove to the desert to
watch it because it was what I grew up on,
is like watching Rampage and Neural Disorder and all those
like free ride movies, and that was it, like as
the pure inspiration for mountain biking for me and ever
since then it was like on my resume, I was like,
(11:04):
I'm going to do Red Bull Rampage. I know there's
not a category, but we're going to figure it out.
So yeah, I spent years and years with that as
my goal, like working on it, working on that side
of my skill set. And yeah, then there was formation
that sort of showed up with k Holden and Red
Bull and we had an opportunity to kind of showcase
(11:27):
our riding in that terrain and kind of prove ourselves
a bit. And then after that it sort of died out.
I kind of gave up. I was like, maybe we'll
never get rampage. Maybe it was just like get it
not happened for us, and I was like having to
be okay with that, and I kind of let it go.
And I feel like that's when things happen, is when
(11:47):
you stop wanting it so hard. It's like you gotta
take the pressure off it. And then and then like
two years later, Rampage was had a women's category and
it was insane. Us.
Speaker 1 (11:59):
No, yeah, stay tuned. I'll be back in just a moment.
After this brief message from our sponsors. I tell you
what though it is, it's truly this. I got the
opportunity to hear Reese Witherspoon speak about why she chose
(12:21):
to build out Hello Sunshine, and it was a female
led company and she wanted parody and equity and all
these things. And there's something that she said that it
will never leave me. If you don't see it, build
it yourself. And I think more women need to hear that, like,
(12:42):
if you don't see yourself in it, then build it
yourself and show what is possible. And I think that's
the groundwork that you've all laid is really showing what's
because I say this all the time, seeing is absolutely believing.
And I think there's this weird kind of thought process
(13:03):
around extreme and action sports that it's like the safety
of women and this is like, you know, two nuts
are crazy and there's so much at stake, and I'm
curious with like the mindset we've all been raised in.
I mean, I can't speak for you, but I you know,
I've done a little research. We grew up playing with boys, like, yeah,
(13:26):
I didn't know anything different, Like I just wanted to
rip and rock just like my father.
Speaker 2 (13:32):
I didn't see a difference as like, ah, if he
can do it, I can do It's just like there
was never I know, I wasn't raised in like society really.
I was like kind of a bush kid, so so
like there was no like raising your girls differently than
the boys. So yeah, it was all rough and tumble
and and horsing around all the time. So yeah, and
(13:54):
I feel like that makes a huge difference. Is like, yeah,
the kids today, like if you're in if you're influenced
by you know, the common media streams and stuff, you're
just like what girls are shown that they should be
is totally different. From like what is actually the reality
of what you candy? And yeah, if you're not hunting
(14:16):
for it, then you just sort of you fall into
the expectations of the world around you. And yeah, I
feel like it takes a bit of grit and kind
of seeing things differently and carving your own path to
to figure it out and put yourself in places that
no one's been before.
Speaker 1 (14:33):
I'm curious about that. What is the mindset for you?
Because there you know, I know you've dealt with like injury,
it's a high impact like high risk sport. Is this
the way you live your life in general or is
it just on a bike?
Speaker 2 (14:49):
No, it's honestly, it's the way I live my life
in general. Like I'm always like eating shit. Yeah, just
on what I'm doing. I'm like, and I got bucked
off my horse so hard the other day, I'm like,
holy moly, Like falling without any equipment on is quite
alarming compared to like when you're mountain bike and you
(15:11):
have a full face helmet on, you're ready, You're ready
to hit the ground. But yeah, when you're not ready
for it's wild. I grew up pretty wild, like in
the bush. I feel like it set the pace for
the rest of my life. And I can't live in
like a regular person's world. There's just no chance in
(15:33):
hell that I could survive. So like, no matter what
I'm doing, I'm always like looking for the edge for
some reason, I don't know.
Speaker 1 (15:41):
It's so true though. It's so true a lot of
people because I was nuts as a kid and I
played on you know, we spoke, you had a history
of playing soccer as well. I played on boys teams
until I was fifteen.
Speaker 2 (15:54):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (15:54):
How the people were like, are you kidding me? And
I was like yeah, I honestly, and I I think
they learned more from playing with me than I learned
with playing with them.
Speaker 2 (16:06):
Oh yeah, totally different. Hey, yeah, I.
Speaker 1 (16:09):
Say this all everyone always thinks, oh my god, that's
why you know, all these young girls are so good
who grow up playing with boys sports and this and that,
And I'm like, no, I think it was a really
insane learning lesson for them because I was made fun
of so much and they were like, oh, you have
a girl on your team and she's the goalkeeper. It's
(16:29):
going to be a joke. But the way they learned
to respect me, how to talk to me, like yeah,
these type of lessons. They protected me like I was
their sister, and I think, you know, they couldn't have
like the boy talk in the locker room wasn't to
disrespect me.
Speaker 2 (16:48):
I think it's important to mix yes, like oh like genders,
like mix them up, Like when you get sent away
to like a girls school or whatever and boys' school,
Like those kids just don't learn how to operate together
as a society and they come out into the real
world and they don't know what's going on. So I
also think like girls in general, like watching my young nieces,
(17:10):
like attack sports, they think things through a lot more.
They like their process is different. It's maybe not as
quick as the boys, but the end result is sometimes
better because they have thought it through and they've you know,
they've taken time to watch what's going on and like
figured out like the best way to accomplish you know,
their goals and stuff in that game.
Speaker 1 (17:30):
Yeah, so true, different minds, Yeah, totally different minds. And
with that, like you know, Red Bull Rampage is coming
up in the next few weeks and we're all going
to be there together, which I'm super stoked about. How
do you prepare for it? Like how do you prepare
because you guys build out your own lines, And I
think that's what people don't realize is like you're literally
(17:53):
coming up with all of this on your own and
you don't get that much time correct, Like.
Speaker 2 (17:58):
Yeah, it's it's pretty quick around on that for sure.
And from your scout day to the day you're riding
your bike, you go through so much like growth, it's insane.
Like scout day, you have like nausea and like jelly
legs hiking up on that terrain. It's like it's unbelievable.
(18:19):
You're walking up there, You're like, how the hell am
I going to bring a bike up here and ride down?
Like it seems impossible. But day after day, the process
of building your trail, building your line, you just get
more and more comfortable with the exposure, and by the
time you actually get on your bike, you're like, Okay,
it all makes sense. And I feel like I feel
like that's the beauty of rampage, is that process of
(18:43):
like becoming acquainted with your line so much because you
actually have hands in the dirt there. You show up
to an event where you have no say in the
way that something is built. It's sort of just like
showing up to a stranger's house and figuring it out
rather than like becoming one with your with your line
and visualizing it from everything and tweaking it the way
(19:06):
you want to ride it. Yeah, but it's also really
scary because it's gnarly out there, you like, so that
cop you have to be okay with getting really hurt.
Things don't go well, well.
Speaker 1 (19:20):
It's really like there's no halfway. There's no one foot in,
one foot out when it comes to this, like your
you're this is like I can go on the field
and not. It's not life or death. Let's just say that.
So honestly, though, the mental load and the mental preparation
you're talking about physical, the mental load it takes to
(19:42):
charge something the way you do is not a small
feat And I'm curious, like how do you hold that
pressure and what? What do people not know that they
don't quite realize about the strategy behind ramp that you
would actually tell someone tuning in who would have no context, like,
(20:06):
what is the strategy behind it that maybe most people
don't talk about.
Speaker 2 (20:13):
Well, I feel like it's different for everyone, but for
me it's I see it as like an energy budget.
I have my mental energy budget and then my physical
energy budget because we're digging all day every day for
like over a week. It is something else to like
hop on your bike after being on the tools for
(20:34):
like huge days. It's like you have to take care
and take cabs on where you are physically, because if
you are totally gassed by the time contest day comes around,
you're not going to be able to hold onto those
huge sens that you've prepared for yourself, like you're gonna like, yeah,
you need to make sure that you save in your
(20:55):
energy and making sure that you have built a line
that accounts for that energy loss as well, because you're
not going to be one hundred percent on game day.
That's just it's just like not going to happen because
you've been working so hard, you're going to be so tired.
Speaker 1 (21:13):
And then like, yeah, stude, how do you calculate risk though?
Like because you're building this out, like when you talk
about risk versus reward, like that's like what we talk
about in soccer, right. Our job in soccer is to
manipulate the opponent, right, So sometimes we'll play with the
three back. Sometimes we're flying numbers forward because we're calculating
(21:35):
risk versus reward. So how do you do that in
your sport where you're like, oh shit, I have to
show my artistry in this, however, like something has to
be calculated because if I do all this and lay
all the groundwork, yeah, and something major happens, like I'm
kind of fucked totally.
Speaker 2 (21:55):
Yeah, And I feel like it takes a long time
to you know, get to know the terrain. The way
that the weather works in that area as well is
really important because I mean I always try and pick
a line that's out of the wind because it is
so windy there, and sometimes you have to compete in
a bit of wind or like ride down this like
(22:17):
like avoid ridge line, I avoid ridgelines. It all costs.
I'm like, Okay, if I have to touch a ridgeline,
it's going to be quick and I'm not gonna like
be on the ridge the whole way, because if you're
riding in the wind, you're dead. Like it's so gnarly.
If you hit a drop and the wind catches your
tires or your wheels, you're like you have no chance
of like recovering from that. It's yeah. So and sometimes
(22:42):
the wind just kicks out like during your race, during
your during your event, and like you have to account
for that, and then also digging. You want to be
able to dig in the shade, so I try to
figure out where on the mountain the sun's gonna be
and the best way to dig, like out of the elements,
(23:03):
it's all about saving energy. Those little percentages make a
huge difference. And the ridge lines, yeah, they're sick and
they're huge showboat like drops and stuff. But I'm like,
for me, it's like longevity. Oh yeah for a long time. Yeah,
you can make an insane run off the ridge lines
as well.
Speaker 1 (23:23):
And Casey, how old are you now? Because like it's
so funny to me. I asked this because I'm laughing
in my head because you've really laid like you've been
such a pivotal figure in what you've been doing. And
you're also like a fucking child. I mean, like you've
been doing this for decades and you're one of the
ogs who's like a child.
Speaker 2 (23:45):
I am. I'm like the oldest gromole now. Yeah, like
I'm thirty four.
Speaker 1 (23:50):
Now, crazy, I know. So yeah, you've been doing this
for so long, so long, I.
Speaker 2 (23:57):
Know, but it's been that's an adventure and I feel
like I've done it for so long because it's been
set a dynamic journey for me and like carving this
pathway where I'm like, I don't know where I'm going next,
but I know my goals over here and there's got
to be a way to get there. That's like, yeah,
(24:19):
we will figure it out somehow. So yeah, I've done
tons of different disciplines and not biking, and yeah.
Speaker 1 (24:25):
Well you've also been laying the foundation for a long time.
And I think that's pretty incredible because a lot of
people they don't understand the package that comes with being
the first. There's a lot of responsibility, there's a lot
of pressure, and you didn't always sign up for being
the advocate. You didn't always sign up for being the fighter.
(24:46):
If you don't see it, build it, believe it, like
make this possible, give it permission for all these other
young girls and women to want to be a part
of something like this. Like you're literally you make history
over an over and over. But I know that comes
with pressure. I believe, Yeah, yeah, you know you're not
only Yeah, you're not only like it's one thing to
(25:10):
like ride for yourself or play for yourself, but it
is another pressure when you're carrying the weight of the
sport on your back and paving the way for so
many young girls, Like how do you hold the weight
of that? Like being the first.
Speaker 2 (25:23):
It's it's so gnarly sometimes, like when I see my
friends get hurt, just like even last year when Cami crashed,
I felt so much guilt. I was like because she
hit her head so hard, her face was like split
in half, Like it was so gnarly, and I just
like like, oh my god, was this a good idea?
(25:44):
Like all these like thoughts came rushing through my head
like should have I not pushed for this? Like it's
just like you feel the weight of everyone's Like you know,
any mistake somebody makes you, Like, is that on me?
Like did I was? I? Like did I do that?
Like so gnarly? And yeah, because you know, yeah, it's
(26:08):
it's not chill out there when somebody goes down. It's
it's pretty serious.
Speaker 1 (26:11):
So yeah, And I'm curious because it is a lot
of pressure, and you know, both of us know, being
in the elite, in the one percent, I mean, we're
one percenters of what we do comes with a lot
of like setbacks comes with a lot of injuries, And
I say just often, you know, I was I had
(26:35):
so many injuries as a player, and people were always wondering, like,
how do you like keep playing after all of this?
And I say this with the most like truth in
my heart. Without all of my injuries and without all
of my setbacks, I wouldn't be the person I am today.
The amount of character it instills when everything is stripped
(27:00):
to weigh and you have to sit with yourself and
you have to sit with yourself and get up and
learn to like walk again. Like I've had both of
my knees reconstructed ACL and cl meniscus, like you need
it to how fucking humbling to wake up from that surgery.
And yet I couldn't even lift my leg I couldn't.
(27:20):
I had to learn to walk without a limp. And
I'm like, how am I ever going to get back
on the biggest stage in the world? And has that been?
Have you felt that in any way? What was the
biggest setback that has taught you so much?
Speaker 2 (27:37):
Yeah? I mean I've had lots of injuries, and you know,
it's like such a learning opportunity. Every single injury has
like so much like wisdom in it if you just
look like, there's so many good lessons with any kind
of setback, like even like sponsorship wise, if you lose
(27:59):
a sponsor, Like you know, any kind of setback has
some beautiful lessons in it, and you just have to
look for the good things within every like setback. And
it feels like a long climb back sometimes, but it's
just like you got to just take it little bite
by little bite and eventually you'll get back there. But yeah,
(28:23):
it is so hard sometimes you just like is it
worth it? Like you go through this whole thing, like, yeah.
Speaker 1 (28:31):
Stay tuned, I'll be back in just a moment after
this brief message from our sponsors. Yeah, that's the those
those moments when you're talking to yourself in the darkest
hours will teach you so much about resilience and showing
up because you have to get you have to push.
(28:53):
There's like a wall, you know, when when things happen,
whether you make mistakes, whether you fuck up in front
of every one or you have gnarly injuries, the difference.
We have to wake up every single day and choose
to do it again. Yeah, that that mental load is
what people don't understand. It's like I'm choosing when I
(29:15):
barely can get out of bed to put a smile
on and do it over and over and over again.
Speaker 2 (29:21):
Figure it out and you figure it out.
Speaker 1 (29:23):
And if it didn't, you know, after one injury, if
I can't move the way I used to, it's my
job to figure out the cheap code on how to
get back there and it might be different.
Speaker 2 (29:34):
Yeah, I know, it's so crazy changes after injury. It's like, wow,
this is new, this is a new body. Let's figure that.
Speaker 1 (29:42):
Let's figure it out exactly. And you know when so
often have been left off and left out of these biggest,
biggest stages and extreme sports, like well, I'm curious what
barriers are still in the way and how you see
this moment shifting the land landscape because of Red Bull Rampage.
Speaker 2 (30:04):
I just feel like once there's you know, the equal
pay and stuff, it just represents that I'm out of
respect and it allows for the younger generation to come
through with full force. And the earlier you can get
into the sport that you want to do and thrive
(30:24):
within it, like the higher the talent pool is going
to be and the deeper the talent pool is going
to be. I still feel like there's like a bit
of you know, community that needs to be built around
the women's freear i'd seen. So I created dark Horse
to kind of do that, like bring all the girls
(30:45):
together that may not know each other from an area
and like build the community with my event. And yeah,
it's made so many little core crews around the world.
Speaker 1 (30:57):
I love it.
Speaker 2 (30:59):
Yeah, So just like helps you know when you have
like a crew to do the thing that you want
to do well, which is like a huge difference.
Speaker 1 (31:06):
Yeah, and I love that, and I love what you've built.
But most people who are listening right now, they don't
know what dark Horse is. Do you mind explaining like
what you built, why you built it, because it is
so important.
Speaker 2 (31:19):
Yeah. So I evolved it into five days of coaching
this year for like really up and coming riders, like
girls that just are interested in free ride or mountain
biking in general, and just like not necessarily focusing just
on the mountain biking side of it, but also focusing
(31:39):
on the the industry side of it, like how to
deal with a concussion, how to how to you know,
make a deck for your sponsors to you know, maybe
make a short film or something about mountain biking or
anything like that, and then basically how to operate within
the industry, because that was such a mystery for us,
(32:03):
Like I was when I was a grandma, was like
I don't know how to get a sponsor, Like what,
I don't know what they want? Like, you got to
figure that out the hard way when you're when you're
you know, carving a path. And so I'm just trying
to deliver that in a way where these girls like,
if you want to be a free rider, here's the
here's the instruction manual, and like do it in an
(32:27):
authentic way, and you know, like be yourself and find
your path within mountain biking wherever it may lead you.
But yeah, meet your heroes and ride Darkness. And then
the winner of the dark Horse Award gets an entry
to Natural Selection Bike in New Zealand. So yeah, it's
kind of like an on ramp from like very very
(32:49):
beginnings to like maybe at the end you get to
go to a main stage event. And yeah, that's the
idea is just you know, trying to give that opportunity
to the grow.
Speaker 1 (33:00):
I love that and it's so powerful and so needed,
and I don't see that very often when it comes
to women's sports in general. Is really laying that foundation
and that access is really what you're granting them, is
this type of access.
Speaker 2 (33:16):
It's like my idea for it is like because we
do when we go to events, like our field is
so much smaller than the men's field, so each individual
holds so much more pressure on themselves to like not
get hurt or like to be successful because you're taking
such a bigger percentage of the main show on yourself.
(33:39):
Like last year, we had eight girls at Rampage and
I was like, if you know, if half of us
get hurt or like can't compete on the main day,
then we only have four riders in the whole category.
Like doesn't happen at natural selection last year the same
amount of guys got hurt as women, but because our
field was so small, we only had four riders at
(34:00):
the end, and it just made us look not that sick, right,
Like it's sweet we had a category, but I feel
like if we deepen and strength in the field would
be so much better.
Speaker 1 (34:12):
Agree, And now that like I want to peel back
the layers a little bit because I imagine someone like yourself.
You're always chasing the like adrenaline of what you do.
And I'm curious on the human side, like, you know,
what what do you do outside of riding and the
(34:33):
high intensity and level of adrenaline that you chase doing
the sport that you love, Like what brings you peace?
Like who are you outside of riding in the bike?
Speaker 2 (34:46):
Yeah, I feel like balance is so key, And recently
I've acquired horses, and I have like other things that
I do, like to do art, and I like to
have like you know, downtime and different skill sets to
work on. And I feel like having diversity in your
(35:06):
life and you know, like having family dinners and like
bringing friends and people together is so important for me.
And yeah, I have this intense athlete life, but I
also have this really wholesome life at home that is
really fulfilling as well. It's sick.
Speaker 1 (35:29):
I think it is so important and you nailed it.
Balance is so key, I think, you know, especially with
the high intensity and impact that it takes to do
what you do, like without that balance, like you're totally
depleted because it takes so much mental strength and fortitude
and physical like it's just encompassing such a big part
(35:51):
of how you move, Like it you've got to be
able to shut off, Like you have to be able
to find peace and be grounded because the smallest mistakes,
I would imagine are so costly and what you do
you know, like I can make a mistake and there's
ten other players and all these people have my back,
and like that that doesn't exist. You make one wrong mistake,
(36:16):
it's a huge fucking deal.
Speaker 2 (36:18):
Yeah, it's a long road back.
Speaker 1 (36:22):
So when you look ahead to rampage now, you know
in October, like what's your vision for the moment when
you're at the bottom, Like when you've charged your run,
no matter how it goes, Like what does that look
like for you? Do you imagine and do you have
a mindset when it comes to you know, I imagine
you're going through what you're going to do and how
(36:44):
you're going to accomplish it, But like, what is the
moment for you at the bottom.
Speaker 2 (36:50):
I think like having my family there is so nice.
Like last year, my sisters greeted me at the bottom
after my run and it was like so emotional. It
was like one of the things I've been working on
my whole career and just having my family there was
so big for me and that support, and I feel
(37:11):
like for me, my run is supposed to be fun,
challenging and showcase my personality. And that's my goal this
year as well, is just to like showcase my playpable
personality through the way I ride my bike. Challenge myself enough,
not riding out of my skin, not doing anything that
(37:32):
I don't know how to do already, because that's like, yeah,
you don't want to get hurt. You want to make
it to the bottom. So yeah, I just try and
you know, do my best to have the best time
at rampage and not like you know, make it the
(37:52):
big stressful thing, because that's not That's not why I
ride a bike. Don't ride a bike for that reason.
I want to have bought.
Speaker 1 (38:00):
I love that, And you need the freedom to have fun,
and I love that you lay the foundation and landscape
for that and not take yourself too seriously because I
mean it's a lot of pressure on your shoulders, and.
Speaker 2 (38:12):
Yeah, I mean as well as grating a bite, like, yeah,
we're so lucky that we get to do that for
like for a living, and yeah, if you showcase the
fun and the good, then more people are going to
want to do it absolutely like showcasing the scary and
the not though, butns so.
Speaker 1 (38:31):
Yeah, And I hope, you know, as we continue to
talk more about, you know, these incredible action sports and
extreme sports that exist and now are opening up and
paving the way for categories of just women and girls.
I think it's so vital and so important. And I
appreciate your activism and continuing to not only do what
(38:54):
you love but lay the landscape so other people can
do it as well. And I think that's what makes
you so special. I hope everyone tunes in to Red
Bull Rampage, which is coming up in October. There's two
days correct of writing. Yeah, what do you want to
what do you want to tell the listeners?
Speaker 2 (39:15):
What?
Speaker 1 (39:15):
What would you like to leave them besides tuning in
to Red Bull Rampage.
Speaker 2 (39:22):
Yeah, I mean cune in. Women are riding on the sixteenth,
men are riding on the eighteenth. It's gonna be an
insane year because we're on a different venue than last year.
This venue has been used before, so we're going to
see the Lady sending it so much bigger and harder
than last year because last year on like a fresh
venue that didn't have anything pre built. So yeah, we've got, like,
(39:46):
I'm really excited to see this year, and we have
a bigger feel this twelve women this year as opposed
to eight. So yep, I'm so hyped. It's gonna be
so fun out there. I can't wait to get my
shovel in the dirt.
Speaker 1 (39:57):
I love that, and I appreciate your fire. I appreciate
you being such a massive trailblazer for your sport and
you know, for the whole community at large. And I
appreciate you taking the time today and really unpacking what
it takes to be the best and really peeling back
the layers and the vulnerability of how hard it is
(40:18):
to do what we do. And we want to create
more opportunity for this younger generation to not be scared
and to charge it and anything is possible. And what
a cool way to have these young kids just absolutely
adore and look up to you. And I love that,
(40:39):
and I appreciate it, and let's continue the good fight
of opening these doors for other women so they can
do the things that we've done.
Speaker 2 (40:48):
Yeah, hell yeah, I feel and I'm so stoked. I'll
see in a few days down in the desk.
Speaker 1 (40:52):
Yes, I'll see soon. So good to meet you. It's
so good to see you, Casey. Thank you for tuning in.
And hey everyone, thanks for another episode of Wide Open.
We'll see you next week.
Speaker 2 (41:04):
Awesome, Thank you.
Speaker 1 (41:06):
Wide Open with Ashlin Harris is an iHeart women's sports production.
You can find us on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,
or wherever you get your podcasts. Our producers are Carmen
Borca Correo, Emily Maronoff, and Lucy Jones. Production assistants from
Malia Aguidello. Our executive producers are Jesse Katz, Jenny Kaplan
(41:31):
and Emily Rudder. Our editors are Jenny Kaplan and Emily
Rudder and I'm your host, Ashlan Harris
So I am going to be one of the commentators
at Red Bull Rampage this October October sixteenth, So I
am so excited to be in studio, really just giving
an authentic opinion about what's going on, the things I know,
(00:20):
the things I don't know, but just genuine response to
the creativity that these free riders are going to get
to experience in the most remote, beautiful mountains of Utah.
I'm actually riding solo to Utah to do this. I
actually have no idea what I'm getting myself into, but
(00:41):
what I do know is action sports. And what I
do know is I grew up playing and not playing.
I grew up skating and surfing, and I'm very keyed
in and tuned in to what it's like to really
live on the edge. And that's why I want to
to do this. I think it's a really cool opportunity
(01:02):
and I love these new young women paving the way
and taking up space that's kind of predominantly been a
male sport. Red Bull Rampage actually just started having women
participate in the event last year, so this is just
such a new venture for them, and to be a
part of that growth is really rad For me, I'm
(01:23):
actually pretty excited to get there. I'm actually getting to
Red Bull Rampage a few days early because I want
to understand the complexities of what the event holds. What
people don't know is these women actually are hiking and
digging and building their trails. That is a part of
the creativity piece. So to be able to see you know,
(01:45):
them in real time building out insane runs and jumps,
and to see it firsthand on how they create and
how they choose to do what they do, and you know,
the whole risk versus rewards thing. I'm excited to get
there a few days early and just kind of surround
myself in the atmosphere of like high pressure, high stakes
(02:09):
and it's it's really really dangerous. So you know, I played,
you know, played soccer growing up, so it wasn't really
life or death for me. I'm not flirting with the
side of a mountain. I'm not, you know, there's a
lot of catastrophic things that could happen, and to see
the mindset and the process that these young women are
(02:31):
going through, it's pretty remarkable. So we were lucky enough
to capture Casey as she is kind of embarking on
her drive to the competition, and she pulled off on
the side of a road and found a coffee shop
which was top tier. I actually kind of love that
it shows her commitment to, you know, what she does
(02:52):
for a living and how she shows up in the world.
I thought it was pretty spectacular. You know, you could
tell that she's a super balanced individual. You know, after
having the conversation we had, it's very clear and evident
that she prioritizes just as much of the mental training
as she does the physical, and I think that's what
(03:12):
makes champions. I think that's what builds greatness, is understanding
the balance of the physical emotional needs that it is
to be a competitor and it's not easy. And I
love the mindset she's in that I have a huge
opportunity and I'm not going to take it for granted.
(03:34):
And you know, I've been trying to pave the way
for people like herself to be able to show up
in these big events, and she's not taking it lightly,
and she's one of the greatest to ever do it.
So I'm really excited to get up close and personal
and see her artistry. I would say the theme of this conversation.
(03:56):
And the thing I want all of our listeners and
view to know what's really really important and stuck out
most for me in this conversation is if you don't
see it, build it yourself. And I think that's exactly
what Casey did. She didn't get to see people who
look like her show up in the way she wanted
to in the world. So she started creating her own
(04:18):
legacy and her own way into breaking into that world.
And she's done that and she's living it. And what
a beautiful place to live to allow other people to
give them permission to really go after their dreams. And
she did that and she's living it. And she's so
young and a trailblazer when it comes to you know,
(04:40):
how she shows up in her sport. And I think
that's the biggest takeaway for me is you know, instead
of complaining about not seeing diversity, inclusion and all the
things that we want the most in the world is
to be seen, build it, build it yourself. Put that
on your back, like you never know the doors it
will open up for us other people. And now to
(05:01):
our conversation with Casey Brown. Welcome back to Wide Open.
I'm Ashlyn Harris, and today I'm sitting down with one
of the boldest and most groundbreaking athletes in action sports,
Casey Brown. If you know anything about mountain biking, you
(05:25):
clearly know Casey. She's been rewriting the rules for years,
from the steep trails of British Columbia to the global
free ride stage. She's not just riding lines, She's carving
out history. Casey is a pioneer in free ride mountain biking,
someone who has consistently pushed past barriers and a sport that,
for so long has been dominated by men. She's known
(05:48):
for her style, her creativity, and her courage, the kind
of athlete who doesn't just ride trails, She builds them,
She reimagines them. She shows the world what is possible
when you ride with vision and conviction. This October, Casey
is stepping into one of the most legendary intimate arenas
and extreme sports, Red Bull Rampage. For years, Rampage has
(06:12):
been the ultimate test of free ride mountain biking, massive cliffs,
handbuilt lines at the Utah Desert, tracks that defy gravity,
and today we're going to talk about what it takes
to prepare for Rampage. Both physically, mentally, and emotionally. We're
going to dive into fear, resilience, creativity, and what it
(06:35):
feels like to carry the responsibility of being a trailblazer.
And we'll talk about her journey, her vision, and the
future and women's action sports and why this moment matters
far beyond the bike. This conversation is about courage, craft
and breaking barriers. Welcome to the show. Wow, I don't
(06:56):
even know where to start with really laying the foundation
in land escape of what is possible in action sports,
and you are so well respected. I am a newbie
now I am going to join you here in October
at Red Bull Rampage and Casey a free biker. Welcome
(07:18):
to the show. Tell us a little bit about yourself.
For those who don't know what Red Bull Rampage is,
we are going to dive into it. You're going to
be a fan and you're going to be tuning in.
But before we get to that, Casey, tell us a
little bit about you as a child. Why free biking?
Where did this come from? I'm curious in your own words,
(07:40):
where did this all start for you?
Speaker 2 (07:43):
Yeah? So for me, it started as a kid just
following my brother around. He was a free, free r
eyed mountain biker as well, so yeah, he was my
absolute hero and I yeah, just followed him around. My
dad would make me go biking, and then I there
(08:03):
was over the path for women back then as a
free ride mountain biker. There was, like some that have tried,
but you always had to be like a racer or
something else in order to get a bit of spotlight.
So my journey has been basically putting a spotlight spotlight
on women's free ride and trying to foster it and
(08:23):
make it grow and kind of into something that is
a career path for women.
Speaker 1 (08:29):
Which is so important and now more than ever, like
the landscape in women's sports in general is just changing
so quickly and people want more and more and more.
And I think you've given permission to so many young
girls to want to do this and really make a
living out of it. And I think that's so empowering
(08:49):
and such a big deal that people, maybe not people
may not quite know what free biking is, free mountain
biking and and Red Bull rampage, and I want people
to know this. It's actually not about racing. What's so
unique and cool about it is the ability to just
(09:11):
be the artistry of it, and I like, I how
cool is that? I have never heard of anything like that.
You guys build out your own lines, You build out
whatever you're willing to do in terms of freestyle tricks.
I mean that that is so unique and so savvy,
and not many sports have that, which I love because
(09:33):
you really peel back the layers and you show who
you are and what you bring to the table.
Speaker 2 (09:39):
Yeah, it is truly an expression of your personality through sports,
and I feel like with a lot of sports you
don't really get that opportunity. You're kind of pigeonholed into,
you know, just going fast or you know, you know,
there's there's not a whole lot of opportunity in sports
to be absolutely one hundred percent your creator of what
(10:00):
you want to do.
Speaker 1 (10:01):
That's incredible. Can you just give us a little bit
of context of how you kind of started this and
how you started pushing the envelope and fighting for women
to be a part of this, because if I'm not wrong,
women only started competing in Red Bull Rampage last year
in twenty twenty four, Is that correct?
Speaker 2 (10:19):
Yeah, twenty twenty four was the first year it was
a long time coming, I like, and I feel like
I was inspired to do Rampage at seventeen when I
went and watched it for the first time in two
thousand and eight. So the return of Rampage was it
had taken a hiatus for four years, so it was
(10:41):
a big deal when it came back and I just
graduated high school and I drove to the desert to
watch it because it was what I grew up on,
is like watching Rampage and Neural Disorder and all those
like free ride movies, and that was it, like as
the pure inspiration for mountain biking for me and ever
since then it was like on my resume, I was like,
(11:04):
I'm going to do Red Bull Rampage. I know there's
not a category, but we're going to figure it out.
So yeah, I spent years and years with that as
my goal, like working on it, working on that side
of my skill set. And yeah, then there was formation
that sort of showed up with k Holden and Red
Bull and we had an opportunity to kind of showcase
(11:27):
our riding in that terrain and kind of prove ourselves
a bit. And then after that it sort of died out.
I kind of gave up. I was like, maybe we'll
never get rampage. Maybe it was just like get it
not happened for us, and I was like having to
be okay with that, and I kind of let it go.
And I feel like that's when things happen, is when
(11:47):
you stop wanting it so hard. It's like you gotta
take the pressure off it. And then and then like
two years later, Rampage was had a women's category and
it was insane. Us.
Speaker 1 (11:59):
No, yeah, stay tuned. I'll be back in just a moment.
After this brief message from our sponsors. I tell you
what though it is, it's truly this. I got the
opportunity to hear Reese Witherspoon speak about why she chose
(12:21):
to build out Hello Sunshine, and it was a female
led company and she wanted parody and equity and all
these things. And there's something that she said that it
will never leave me. If you don't see it, build
it yourself. And I think more women need to hear that, like,
(12:42):
if you don't see yourself in it, then build it
yourself and show what is possible. And I think that's
the groundwork that you've all laid is really showing what's
because I say this all the time, seeing is absolutely believing.
And I think there's this weird kind of thought process
(13:03):
around extreme and action sports that it's like the safety
of women and this is like, you know, two nuts
are crazy and there's so much at stake, and I'm
curious with like the mindset we've all been raised in.
I mean, I can't speak for you, but I you know,
I've done a little research. We grew up playing with boys, like, yeah,
(13:26):
I didn't know anything different, Like I just wanted to
rip and rock just like my father.
Speaker 2 (13:32):
I didn't see a difference as like, ah, if he
can do it, I can do It's just like there
was never I know, I wasn't raised in like society really.
I was like kind of a bush kid, so so
like there was no like raising your girls differently than
the boys. So yeah, it was all rough and tumble
and and horsing around all the time. So yeah, and
(13:54):
I feel like that makes a huge difference. Is like, yeah,
the kids today, like if you're in if you're influenced
by you know, the common media streams and stuff, you're
just like what girls are shown that they should be
is totally different. From like what is actually the reality
of what you candy? And yeah, if you're not hunting
(14:16):
for it, then you just sort of you fall into
the expectations of the world around you. And yeah, I
feel like it takes a bit of grit and kind
of seeing things differently and carving your own path to
to figure it out and put yourself in places that
no one's been before.
Speaker 1 (14:33):
I'm curious about that. What is the mindset for you?
Because there you know, I know you've dealt with like injury,
it's a high impact like high risk sport. Is this
the way you live your life in general or is
it just on a bike?
Speaker 2 (14:49):
No, it's honestly, it's the way I live my life
in general. Like I'm always like eating shit. Yeah, just
on what I'm doing. I'm like, and I got bucked
off my horse so hard the other day, I'm like,
holy moly, Like falling without any equipment on is quite
alarming compared to like when you're mountain bike and you
(15:11):
have a full face helmet on, you're ready, You're ready
to hit the ground. But yeah, when you're not ready
for it's wild. I grew up pretty wild, like in
the bush. I feel like it set the pace for
the rest of my life. And I can't live in
like a regular person's world. There's just no chance in
(15:33):
hell that I could survive. So like, no matter what
I'm doing, I'm always like looking for the edge for
some reason, I don't know.
Speaker 1 (15:41):
It's so true though. It's so true a lot of
people because I was nuts as a kid and I
played on you know, we spoke, you had a history
of playing soccer as well. I played on boys teams
until I was fifteen.
Speaker 2 (15:54):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (15:54):
How the people were like, are you kidding me? And
I was like yeah, I honestly, and I I think
they learned more from playing with me than I learned
with playing with them.
Speaker 2 (16:06):
Oh yeah, totally different. Hey, yeah, I.
Speaker 1 (16:09):
Say this all everyone always thinks, oh my god, that's
why you know, all these young girls are so good
who grow up playing with boys sports and this and that,
And I'm like, no, I think it was a really
insane learning lesson for them because I was made fun
of so much and they were like, oh, you have
a girl on your team and she's the goalkeeper. It's
(16:29):
going to be a joke. But the way they learned
to respect me, how to talk to me, like yeah,
these type of lessons. They protected me like I was
their sister, and I think, you know, they couldn't have
like the boy talk in the locker room wasn't to
disrespect me.
Speaker 2 (16:48):
I think it's important to mix yes, like oh like genders,
like mix them up, Like when you get sent away
to like a girls school or whatever and boys' school,
Like those kids just don't learn how to operate together
as a society and they come out into the real
world and they don't know what's going on. So I
also think like girls in general, like watching my young nieces,
(17:10):
like attack sports, they think things through a lot more.
They like their process is different. It's maybe not as
quick as the boys, but the end result is sometimes
better because they have thought it through and they've you know,
they've taken time to watch what's going on and like
figured out like the best way to accomplish you know,
their goals and stuff in that game.
Speaker 1 (17:30):
Yeah, so true, different minds, Yeah, totally different minds. And
with that, like you know, Red Bull Rampage is coming
up in the next few weeks and we're all going
to be there together, which I'm super stoked about. How
do you prepare for it? Like how do you prepare
because you guys build out your own lines, And I
think that's what people don't realize is like you're literally
(17:53):
coming up with all of this on your own and
you don't get that much time correct, Like.
Speaker 2 (17:58):
Yeah, it's it's pretty quick around on that for sure.
And from your scout day to the day you're riding
your bike, you go through so much like growth, it's insane.
Like scout day, you have like nausea and like jelly
legs hiking up on that terrain. It's like it's unbelievable.
(18:19):
You're walking up there, You're like, how the hell am
I going to bring a bike up here and ride down?
Like it seems impossible. But day after day, the process
of building your trail, building your line, you just get
more and more comfortable with the exposure, and by the
time you actually get on your bike, you're like, Okay,
it all makes sense. And I feel like I feel
like that's the beauty of rampage, is that process of
(18:43):
like becoming acquainted with your line so much because you
actually have hands in the dirt there. You show up
to an event where you have no say in the
way that something is built. It's sort of just like
showing up to a stranger's house and figuring it out
rather than like becoming one with your with your line
and visualizing it from everything and tweaking it the way
(19:06):
you want to ride it. Yeah, but it's also really
scary because it's gnarly out there, you like, so that
cop you have to be okay with getting really hurt.
Things don't go well, well.
Speaker 1 (19:20):
It's really like there's no halfway. There's no one foot in,
one foot out when it comes to this, like your
you're this is like I can go on the field
and not. It's not life or death. Let's just say that.
So honestly, though, the mental load and the mental preparation
you're talking about physical, the mental load it takes to
(19:42):
charge something the way you do is not a small
feat And I'm curious, like how do you hold that
pressure and what? What do people not know that they
don't quite realize about the strategy behind ramp that you
would actually tell someone tuning in who would have no context, like,
(20:06):
what is the strategy behind it that maybe most people
don't talk about.
Speaker 2 (20:13):
Well, I feel like it's different for everyone, but for
me it's I see it as like an energy budget.
I have my mental energy budget and then my physical
energy budget because we're digging all day every day for
like over a week. It is something else to like
hop on your bike after being on the tools for
(20:34):
like huge days. It's like you have to take care
and take cabs on where you are physically, because if
you are totally gassed by the time contest day comes around,
you're not going to be able to hold onto those
huge sens that you've prepared for yourself, like you're gonna like, yeah,
you need to make sure that you save in your
(20:55):
energy and making sure that you have built a line
that accounts for that energy loss as well, because you're
not going to be one hundred percent on game day.
That's just it's just like not going to happen because
you've been working so hard, you're going to be so tired.
Speaker 1 (21:13):
And then like, yeah, stude, how do you calculate risk though?
Like because you're building this out, like when you talk
about risk versus reward, like that's like what we talk
about in soccer, right. Our job in soccer is to
manipulate the opponent, right, So sometimes we'll play with the
three back. Sometimes we're flying numbers forward because we're calculating
(21:35):
risk versus reward. So how do you do that in
your sport where you're like, oh shit, I have to
show my artistry in this, however, like something has to
be calculated because if I do all this and lay
all the groundwork, yeah, and something major happens, like I'm
kind of fucked totally.
Speaker 2 (21:55):
Yeah, And I feel like it takes a long time
to you know, get to know the terrain. The way
that the weather works in that area as well is
really important because I mean I always try and pick
a line that's out of the wind because it is
so windy there, and sometimes you have to compete in
a bit of wind or like ride down this like
(22:17):
like avoid ridge line, I avoid ridgelines. It all costs.
I'm like, Okay, if I have to touch a ridgeline,
it's going to be quick and I'm not gonna like
be on the ridge the whole way, because if you're
riding in the wind, you're dead. Like it's so gnarly.
If you hit a drop and the wind catches your
tires or your wheels, you're like you have no chance
of like recovering from that. It's yeah. So and sometimes
(22:42):
the wind just kicks out like during your race, during
your during your event, and like you have to account
for that, and then also digging. You want to be
able to dig in the shade, so I try to
figure out where on the mountain the sun's gonna be
and the best way to dig, like out of the elements,
(23:03):
it's all about saving energy. Those little percentages make a
huge difference. And the ridge lines, yeah, they're sick and
they're huge showboat like drops and stuff. But I'm like,
for me, it's like longevity. Oh yeah for a long time. Yeah,
you can make an insane run off the ridge lines
as well.
Speaker 1 (23:23):
And Casey, how old are you now? Because like it's
so funny to me. I asked this because I'm laughing
in my head because you've really laid like you've been
such a pivotal figure in what you've been doing. And
you're also like a fucking child. I mean, like you've
been doing this for decades and you're one of the
ogs who's like a child.
Speaker 2 (23:45):
I am. I'm like the oldest gromole now. Yeah, like
I'm thirty four.
Speaker 1 (23:50):
Now, crazy, I know. So yeah, you've been doing this
for so long, so long, I.
Speaker 2 (23:57):
Know, but it's been that's an adventure and I feel
like I've done it for so long because it's been
set a dynamic journey for me and like carving this
pathway where I'm like, I don't know where I'm going next,
but I know my goals over here and there's got
to be a way to get there. That's like, yeah,
(24:19):
we will figure it out somehow. So yeah, I've done
tons of different disciplines and not biking, and yeah.
Speaker 1 (24:25):
Well you've also been laying the foundation for a long time.
And I think that's pretty incredible because a lot of
people they don't understand the package that comes with being
the first. There's a lot of responsibility, there's a lot
of pressure, and you didn't always sign up for being
the advocate. You didn't always sign up for being the fighter.
(24:46):
If you don't see it, build it, believe it, like
make this possible, give it permission for all these other
young girls and women to want to be a part
of something like this. Like you're literally you make history
over an over and over. But I know that comes
with pressure. I believe, Yeah, yeah, you know you're not
only Yeah, you're not only like it's one thing to
(25:10):
like ride for yourself or play for yourself, but it
is another pressure when you're carrying the weight of the
sport on your back and paving the way for so
many young girls, Like how do you hold the weight
of that? Like being the first.
Speaker 2 (25:23):
It's it's so gnarly sometimes, like when I see my
friends get hurt, just like even last year when Cami crashed,
I felt so much guilt. I was like because she
hit her head so hard, her face was like split
in half, Like it was so gnarly, and I just
like like, oh my god, was this a good idea?
(25:44):
Like all these like thoughts came rushing through my head
like should have I not pushed for this? Like it's
just like you feel the weight of everyone's Like you know,
any mistake somebody makes you, Like, is that on me?
Like did I was? I? Like did I do that?
Like so gnarly? And yeah, because you know, yeah, it's
(26:08):
it's not chill out there when somebody goes down. It's
it's pretty serious.
Speaker 1 (26:11):
So yeah, And I'm curious because it is a lot
of pressure, and you know, both of us know, being
in the elite, in the one percent, I mean, we're
one percenters of what we do comes with a lot
of like setbacks comes with a lot of injuries, And
I say just often, you know, I was I had
(26:35):
so many injuries as a player, and people were always wondering, like,
how do you like keep playing after all of this?
And I say this with the most like truth in
my heart. Without all of my injuries and without all
of my setbacks, I wouldn't be the person I am today.
The amount of character it instills when everything is stripped
(27:00):
to weigh and you have to sit with yourself and
you have to sit with yourself and get up and
learn to like walk again. Like I've had both of
my knees reconstructed ACL and cl meniscus, like you need
it to how fucking humbling to wake up from that surgery.
And yet I couldn't even lift my leg I couldn't.
(27:20):
I had to learn to walk without a limp. And
I'm like, how am I ever going to get back
on the biggest stage in the world? And has that been?
Have you felt that in any way? What was the
biggest setback that has taught you so much?
Speaker 2 (27:37):
Yeah? I mean I've had lots of injuries, and you know,
it's like such a learning opportunity. Every single injury has
like so much like wisdom in it if you just
look like, there's so many good lessons with any kind
of setback, like even like sponsorship wise, if you lose
(27:59):
a sponsor, Like you know, any kind of setback has
some beautiful lessons in it, and you just have to
look for the good things within every like setback. And
it feels like a long climb back sometimes, but it's
just like you got to just take it little bite
by little bite and eventually you'll get back there. But yeah,
(28:23):
it is so hard sometimes you just like is it
worth it? Like you go through this whole thing, like, yeah.
Speaker 1 (28:31):
Stay tuned, I'll be back in just a moment after
this brief message from our sponsors. Yeah, that's the those
those moments when you're talking to yourself in the darkest
hours will teach you so much about resilience and showing
up because you have to get you have to push.
(28:53):
There's like a wall, you know, when when things happen,
whether you make mistakes, whether you fuck up in front
of every one or you have gnarly injuries, the difference.
We have to wake up every single day and choose
to do it again. Yeah, that that mental load is
what people don't understand. It's like I'm choosing when I
(29:15):
barely can get out of bed to put a smile
on and do it over and over and over again.
Speaker 2 (29:21):
Figure it out and you figure it out.
Speaker 1 (29:23):
And if it didn't, you know, after one injury, if
I can't move the way I used to, it's my
job to figure out the cheap code on how to
get back there and it might be different.
Speaker 2 (29:34):
Yeah, I know, it's so crazy changes after injury. It's like, wow,
this is new, this is a new body. Let's figure that.
Speaker 1 (29:42):
Let's figure it out exactly. And you know when so
often have been left off and left out of these biggest,
biggest stages and extreme sports, like well, I'm curious what
barriers are still in the way and how you see
this moment shifting the land landscape because of Red Bull Rampage.
Speaker 2 (30:04):
I just feel like once there's you know, the equal
pay and stuff, it just represents that I'm out of
respect and it allows for the younger generation to come
through with full force. And the earlier you can get
into the sport that you want to do and thrive
(30:24):
within it, like the higher the talent pool is going
to be and the deeper the talent pool is going
to be. I still feel like there's like a bit
of you know, community that needs to be built around
the women's freear i'd seen. So I created dark Horse
to kind of do that, like bring all the girls
(30:45):
together that may not know each other from an area
and like build the community with my event. And yeah,
it's made so many little core crews around the world.
Speaker 1 (30:57):
I love it.
Speaker 2 (30:59):
Yeah, So just like helps you know when you have
like a crew to do the thing that you want
to do well, which is like a huge difference.
Speaker 1 (31:06):
Yeah, and I love that, and I love what you've built.
But most people who are listening right now, they don't
know what dark Horse is. Do you mind explaining like
what you built, why you built it, because it is
so important.
Speaker 2 (31:19):
Yeah. So I evolved it into five days of coaching
this year for like really up and coming riders, like
girls that just are interested in free ride or mountain
biking in general, and just like not necessarily focusing just
on the mountain biking side of it, but also focusing
(31:39):
on the the industry side of it, like how to
deal with a concussion, how to how to you know,
make a deck for your sponsors to you know, maybe
make a short film or something about mountain biking or
anything like that, and then basically how to operate within
the industry, because that was such a mystery for us,
(32:03):
Like I was when I was a grandma, was like
I don't know how to get a sponsor, Like what,
I don't know what they want? Like, you got to
figure that out the hard way when you're when you're
you know, carving a path. And so I'm just trying
to deliver that in a way where these girls like,
if you want to be a free rider, here's the
here's the instruction manual, and like do it in an
(32:27):
authentic way, and you know, like be yourself and find
your path within mountain biking wherever it may lead you.
But yeah, meet your heroes and ride Darkness. And then
the winner of the dark Horse Award gets an entry
to Natural Selection Bike in New Zealand. So yeah, it's
kind of like an on ramp from like very very
(32:49):
beginnings to like maybe at the end you get to
go to a main stage event. And yeah, that's the
idea is just you know, trying to give that opportunity
to the grow.
Speaker 1 (33:00):
I love that and it's so powerful and so needed,
and I don't see that very often when it comes
to women's sports in general. Is really laying that foundation
and that access is really what you're granting them, is
this type of access.
Speaker 2 (33:16):
It's like my idea for it is like because we
do when we go to events, like our field is
so much smaller than the men's field, so each individual
holds so much more pressure on themselves to like not
get hurt or like to be successful because you're taking
such a bigger percentage of the main show on yourself.
(33:39):
Like last year, we had eight girls at Rampage and
I was like, if you know, if half of us
get hurt or like can't compete on the main day,
then we only have four riders in the whole category.
Like doesn't happen at natural selection last year the same
amount of guys got hurt as women, but because our
field was so small, we only had four riders at
(34:00):
the end, and it just made us look not that sick, right,
Like it's sweet we had a category, but I feel
like if we deepen and strength in the field would
be so much better.
Speaker 1 (34:12):
Agree, And now that like I want to peel back
the layers a little bit because I imagine someone like yourself.
You're always chasing the like adrenaline of what you do.
And I'm curious on the human side, like, you know,
what what do you do outside of riding and the
(34:33):
high intensity and level of adrenaline that you chase doing
the sport that you love, Like what brings you peace?
Like who are you outside of riding in the bike?
Speaker 2 (34:46):
Yeah, I feel like balance is so key, And recently
I've acquired horses, and I have like other things that
I do, like to do art, and I like to
have like you know, downtime and different skill sets to
work on. And I feel like having diversity in your
(35:06):
life and you know, like having family dinners and like
bringing friends and people together is so important for me.
And yeah, I have this intense athlete life, but I
also have this really wholesome life at home that is
really fulfilling as well. It's sick.
Speaker 1 (35:29):
I think it is so important and you nailed it.
Balance is so key, I think, you know, especially with
the high intensity and impact that it takes to do
what you do, like without that balance, like you're totally
depleted because it takes so much mental strength and fortitude
and physical like it's just encompassing such a big part
(35:51):
of how you move, Like it you've got to be
able to shut off, Like you have to be able
to find peace and be grounded because the smallest mistakes,
I would imagine are so costly and what you do
you know, like I can make a mistake and there's
ten other players and all these people have my back,
and like that that doesn't exist. You make one wrong mistake,
(36:16):
it's a huge fucking deal.
Speaker 2 (36:18):
Yeah, it's a long road back.
Speaker 1 (36:22):
So when you look ahead to rampage now, you know
in October, like what's your vision for the moment when
you're at the bottom, Like when you've charged your run,
no matter how it goes, Like what does that look
like for you? Do you imagine and do you have
a mindset when it comes to you know, I imagine
you're going through what you're going to do and how
(36:44):
you're going to accomplish it, But like, what is the
moment for you at the bottom.
Speaker 2 (36:50):
I think like having my family there is so nice.
Like last year, my sisters greeted me at the bottom
after my run and it was like so emotional. It
was like one of the things I've been working on
my whole career and just having my family there was
so big for me and that support, and I feel
(37:11):
like for me, my run is supposed to be fun,
challenging and showcase my personality. And that's my goal this
year as well, is just to like showcase my playpable
personality through the way I ride my bike. Challenge myself enough,
not riding out of my skin, not doing anything that
(37:32):
I don't know how to do already, because that's like, yeah,
you don't want to get hurt. You want to make
it to the bottom. So yeah, I just try and
you know, do my best to have the best time
at rampage and not like you know, make it the
(37:52):
big stressful thing, because that's not That's not why I
ride a bike. Don't ride a bike for that reason.
I want to have bought.
Speaker 1 (38:00):
I love that, And you need the freedom to have fun,
and I love that you lay the foundation and landscape
for that and not take yourself too seriously because I
mean it's a lot of pressure on your shoulders, and.
Speaker 2 (38:12):
Yeah, I mean as well as grating a bite, like, yeah,
we're so lucky that we get to do that for
like for a living, and yeah, if you showcase the
fun and the good, then more people are going to
want to do it absolutely like showcasing the scary and
the not though, butns so.
Speaker 1 (38:31):
Yeah, And I hope, you know, as we continue to
talk more about, you know, these incredible action sports and
extreme sports that exist and now are opening up and
paving the way for categories of just women and girls.
I think it's so vital and so important. And I
appreciate your activism and continuing to not only do what
(38:54):
you love but lay the landscape so other people can
do it as well. And I think that's what makes
you so special. I hope everyone tunes in to Red
Bull Rampage, which is coming up in October. There's two
days correct of writing. Yeah, what do you want to
what do you want to tell the listeners?
Speaker 2 (39:15):
What?
Speaker 1 (39:15):
What would you like to leave them besides tuning in
to Red Bull Rampage.
Speaker 2 (39:22):
Yeah, I mean cune in. Women are riding on the sixteenth,
men are riding on the eighteenth. It's gonna be an
insane year because we're on a different venue than last year.
This venue has been used before, so we're going to
see the Lady sending it so much bigger and harder
than last year because last year on like a fresh
venue that didn't have anything pre built. So yeah, we've got, like,
(39:46):
I'm really excited to see this year, and we have
a bigger feel this twelve women this year as opposed
to eight. So yep, I'm so hyped. It's gonna be
so fun out there. I can't wait to get my
shovel in the dirt.
Speaker 1 (39:57):
I love that, and I appreciate your fire. I appreciate
you being such a massive trailblazer for your sport and
you know, for the whole community at large. And I
appreciate you taking the time today and really unpacking what
it takes to be the best and really peeling back
the layers and the vulnerability of how hard it is
(40:18):
to do what we do. And we want to create
more opportunity for this younger generation to not be scared
and to charge it and anything is possible. And what
a cool way to have these young kids just absolutely
adore and look up to you. And I love that,
(40:39):
and I appreciate it, and let's continue the good fight
of opening these doors for other women so they can
do the things that we've done.
Speaker 2 (40:48):
Yeah, hell yeah, I feel and I'm so stoked. I'll
see in a few days down in the desk.
Speaker 1 (40:52):
Yes, I'll see soon. So good to meet you. It's
so good to see you, Casey. Thank you for tuning in.
And hey everyone, thanks for another episode of Wide Open.
We'll see you next week.
Speaker 2 (41:04):
Awesome, Thank you.
Speaker 1 (41:06):
Wide Open with Ashlin Harris is an iHeart women's sports production.
You can find us on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,
or wherever you get your podcasts. Our producers are Carmen
Borca Correo, Emily Maronoff, and Lucy Jones. Production assistants from
Malia Aguidello. Our executive producers are Jesse Katz, Jenny Kaplan
(41:31):
and Emily Rudder. Our editors are Jenny Kaplan and Emily
Rudder and I'm your host, Ashlan Harris
Host
Ashlyn Harris
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