May 18, 2023 • 61 mins
Learning how to ride is learning how to live, says Stefy Bau, one of the all-time greats in motocross--winner of 3 World Championships, the Loretta Lynn, and many more. We discuss her career-ending injury and the life-lessons taught to us all by motorsports. We also discuss her time as CEO of an electric bike company, her new company, INIT (now the official AMA E-sports powerhouse for sim racing) and all the many 'firsts' Stefy has made for women in motorsports.
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Episode Transcript
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Andrea Hiott (00:15):
Hey, everybody.
Welcome to Forever Motoring.
Today, we have a special guestnamed Steffi Bau--maybe you've
heard of her.
She's the fastest or one of thefastest women in the world.
Highly regarded as one of thebest motocross racers ever to
race.
She's won three WorldChampionships, the Loretta Lynn,
(00:35):
seven Italian championships, atleast two WMX USA championships
and on and on.
S he knew she wanted to domotocross from a very young age.
She was already riding when shewas four.
On a very cute little bike.
And by the time she was 6 shewas telling her parents that she
(00:56):
knew what she wanted to do.
And that was to be a motocrossracer.
By the age of 17, she'd gonepro.
And, around that same timebecame the first woman eligible
to compete with male racers inthe field.
However, her home country ofItaly though, she had qualified
in the top three of all racersin that country would not allow
(01:17):
her to compete for them in theWorld Championship because she
was a woman.
So she decided to move to theUnited States and make it happen
another way.
And she soon became eligiblethere and did become the first
woman to compete against maleracers in the field.
And that persistence and beliefof Steffi's really continued,
even when she was challenged inthe most extreme way in a
(01:40):
terrible crash in 2005 that lefther unable to walk and just
suddenly changed her entiretrajectory.
But as she tells it, it alsowoke her up to a larger mission.
And showed her that these kindsof events h elp you understand
that when a mountain appears youdon't always have to go over it.
Sometimes you can go through itor around it, or even under it.
(02:03):
The real trick or the realskill, life skill, as she tells
it, is in finding the strengthnot to give up.
So we talk about that a bittoday and how she found her
strength.
And she really is strong in somany ways.
Not only is she, as I said, oneof the fastest women in
motocross racing.
And not only has she won allthese championships in
(02:25):
Supercross and Motocross She'salso a business woman and she
was the CEO for an electric bikecompany.
Fantic bikes, the USA.
Branch of it.
Then she also founded her owncompany called INIT sports.
I N I T.
You've probably heard ofE-sports.
Maybe you dismiss them.
Maybe you love them.
But I suggest you check out thisE-racing and SIM racing, which
(02:49):
is part of what INIT does,Steffi's company.
They have over 80,000 peopleturn up every week to watch
these racing events, which areall online.
INIT is like a powerhouse, forSIM racing and motorcycle events
right now.
And with E-sports being abillion dollar industry.
Steffi Bau is one of the mostpowerful women in the field, but
(03:10):
she's also focusing with hercompany on real life events.
Starting numerous programs tohelp young women find their
passions in the STEM fields--inscience technology, engineering,
and mathematics.
Also helping E racers becomeracers in real life.
Steffi herself has also beenfeatured as a character in
(03:30):
numerous video games.
I think she was also the firstwoman to be featured in any
motocross video game ever.
Steffi has really led andmentored so many women in motor
sports.
And she does so from so manyangles.
The riding, but also thebusiness angle.
Also just in terms ofinspiration and sharing what
(03:50):
she's been through and whatshe's learned.
She really puts her heart andsoul into everything as you'll
hear in this interview.
And she really believes thattogether we can change the
world.
I hope more of us will join herin that spirit and belief, as we
find better ways of forevermotoring.
Enjoy getting to know StephieBau as much as I did.
And I hope you also join her andmaybe volunteer or have a look
(04:14):
at some of her work or become aracer.
All right, let's go.
Hi Stefy thanks for being withus today on Forever Motoring.
Stefy Bau (04:35):
Hey, nice to meet you, and I'm happy to be here.
Andrea Hiott (04:37):
So this is a podcast about what moves us and
the ways that we move.
So the first question I'd liketo ask you is just what's a
moment in your life when youremember being moved?
Stefy Bau (04:48):
Well, I am a, a person that was born already
with an idea in mind of what Iwanted to do.
at six years old I looked at mymom and dad in the eyes and I
said, one day I will become amotocross racer.
So I move myself very well, andI just like to go for things and
trying to do things that kind ofbreak that glass ceiling for
(05:10):
women in male dominatedindustry.
Andrea Hiott (05:12):
You were six years old when you told your parents
Stefy Bau (05:14):
my mom and dad were fan of the sport, so they had
the, the magazine to comearound, in, in the house.
And then every time there wasthe World Championship coming to
Italy, they were bringing mewith them.
So I got so fascinated by thesport that that's what I wanted
to do.
And, I was able to win threeworld titles,
Andrea Hiott (05:34):
it's incredible.
Three Women's World Titles andseven in Italy.
Is that right?
And Three AMA do I have it
Stefy Bau (05:41):
That is all correct., I was the first woman to race
competitively with the men onthe top of the sport.
So I do have a few firsts in mycareer.
Andrea Hiott (05:49):
You started really young.
Your dad taught, took you tosomeplace near your house and
you were racing was that kids,Was that boys and girls?
Did you think about being awoman at
Stefy Bau (05:58):
No, I think until like the, 13, 14 years old of of
age, there is nothingdifference.
You are just a kiddos.
So you go out there and you playand then you ride, you race, but
it's all the same.
But, then when you start to be ateenager, hormones comes into
play so becomes a differentstory.
(06:19):
And then you start thinking, ohyes.
I'm, I'm growing up to be ayoung woman and those are young
boys.
So it becomes a little bit morecompetitive in a way, and
because the classical, the boysdoesn't, doesn't wanna be beaten
by the girl.
And for me I was like, well, ifI'm as fast as than you, I
deserve to be there.
So at the teenage year, it kindof like started to change and
(06:42):
being a little bit moredifficult.
But I had two wonderful parentsthat taught me that anything you
want to do in life, you justhave to work hard and go for it.
I grew up with that mentality.
So I was behind the gate witheverybody else.
I have the helmet on everybodyelse, and I was just going and
do the best I could.
Andrea Hiott (07:01):
So those are really like your earliest
memories, would be, a lot ofthem would be connected to, to
the Motocross or, or would
Stefy Bau (07:09):
Yes, absolutely.
At some point I remembered, Ihad all entourage like uncle and
aunts, they were coming, to hearmy grandma and whatnot.
So yes, it was a totally familyaffair and I've been super lucky
to have, my parents, there's somany sacrifice for me, to be
able to achieve what I did in,in this sport.
(07:30):
And I guess, it becomes a littleeasier when you win because not
only me, I wanted to go to an Xrace and win again, but also
becomes like something for thefamily too.
Andrea Hiott (07:39):
And did you feel that early on, did you get sort
of addicted to the trophies andthe, excitement and the, winning
for your family, that feeling?
That must have been somethingvery special.
Stefy Bau (07:48):
Oh yes, absolutely.
I mean, it changes with time.
Like at the very beginning whenyou're very young, you just like
to bring home the trophy.
So you know, you are wa waitingfor, the weekend to go race.
When I started to, to to growinto the professional ranking,
then it becomes more like a joband therefore, you started to
appreciate even more the factthat your parents, your family
(08:10):
did so many sacrifice for you tobe able to achieve, what, what
your goals are.
So the mentality change therenow, really, you are not doing
it just for yourself.
Now you're doing it for thefamily.
So we were all together to goand pursue this.
Andrea Hiott (08:24):
Yeah, it's interesting when that moment,
when you start to realize it'snot just about you, it's about
your family.
And then it sounds like you alsohad some further realizations
that it was also about women andcharting a kind of new path for
women.
Stefy Bau (08:38):
I guess I started out, not so much for others,
like at the beginning was morelike hey, I'm good at this.
I'm, now having the opportunityto, to be professional and
therefore, I wanted todemonstrate, with everybody, but
to myself too, that, I'm awoman, so what, like I can do a
male dominated industry.
And with that automaticallycomes the effect of inspiring
(09:01):
others.
I will say that I did have a,important moment in my career,
which is, when I got hurt, I hada career ending injury and
Andrea Hiott (09:12):
in
Stefy Bau (09:12):
like
Andrea Hiott (09:12):
That was in 2005
Stefy Bau (09:14):
2005?
Correct.
So I was already, toward the endof my career, I was 28 years
old.
And Motocross is a, is a youngsport and, you are never
prepared, especially in the waythat happened to me.
Meaning that all of a sudden,sudden anything that I knew up
to the point in life stoppedcompletely.
But, I was able, again, throughfamily and support, to turn the
(09:36):
negative into positive.
And at the moment is when Irealized, hey, now I can do
stuff for others, right?
And continue to help thecommunity and help other women.
So they want to pursue a careersuch as the one that I had, and
help them avoid some mistake andbe there for them.
So that was a critical momentwhen I finally realized that,
(10:00):
there is a lot that can be donefor other women in the sport.
Andrea Hiott (10:03):
And it wasn't even just in motocross, you've
actually opened many differentpaths in many different fields.
But first, that kind of timebetween, I guess it was mostly
like the late nineties, that youwere really winning all these
races, right?
Early 2000s?
Stefy Bau (10:16):
That correct.
Yes.
Andrea Hiott (10:17):
how did you end up going pro and then how did you
end up in this internationalscene?
You started racing.
You were really good at it.
You were natural at it.
You How, did it become your job?
Stefy Bau (10:26):
I am turned officially professional at 17
years old when basically whenyou become professional, when
you start getting paid for whatyou do, right?
That's the, the how you classifysomebody is professional, what
they do.
It's a combination of bothsponsor, they pay your way, they
want to be associated with you.
And then also, there are priceson winning races.
(10:49):
it's a combination of boththings.
So that, started to feel verygood, because now sort of like a
hobby turning to something that,hey, I can do this for a living.
Andrea Hiott (11:01):
And I guess you were getting a lot of attention
then too.
Probably
Stefy Bau (11:04):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
But I also come up with a stupidage, meaning it happened during
the time that you are in yourstupid ages because 17, it's a
difficult time in everyone'slife.
Andrea Hiott (11:18):
that's for sure.
So much changing, but I, itsounds like you were confident,
which you must have had to be,to be winning these races.
That can be a time when peopleare very, yeah.
Not confident.
So you obviously were, you hadsome confidence.
Stefy Bau (11:31):
yes.
A lot of confidence there.
A lot of time it got interpretedas cockiness, but it comes with
the territory,
Andrea Hiott (11:39):
Many good athletes have this, I guess.
Stefy Bau (11:42):
Yeah, you have to believe that you are the best in
in the world to be able to dowhat you do.
So it just comes with it.
But then eventually, and luckilyyou grow out of that phase, and
then you become a normal humanbeing again.
Andrea Hiott (11:57):
Yeah.
But you actually did become thebest in the world.
Not everyone does that, but inany case, okay, so you're 17,
you're a little bit cocky orconfident, and you're winning
races and you're starting to gopro
Stefy Bau (12:08):
yeah.
I started to race in Europe, soI put myself, in front of like
a, a bigger competition and Istarted to add success, success
in, Europe as well.
And then my goal was, to becomethe first woman to race a round
of the men's world championship.
So back then, we are talking1998.
(12:28):
How the sport, used to work wasthat, you needed to do
qualification in your owncountries and, through a time
trial.
So if during that time trial youwere, in the top five, then
technically you could have beenselected to go to represent your
own country into the worldchampionship round or the entire
(12:52):
series.
So I did this time trial inItaly.
And I added the third fastestlap time.
So I was on cloud nine, I'mlike, I made it.
And like with the cockiness andthe confidence.
I appreciate that you call itconfidence, I was I was like, oh
my God, I just made history, Iwas gonna be the only female in
(13:14):
the history of the sport to dothis.
I'm gonna make history, this iswhat I dreamt since I was little
and, and so on and so forth.
And then a few days later, Ireceive a phone call from the
federation saying, ah, we decidenot to send you because you are
a female.
And that was hard.
Andrea Hiott (13:33):
That was the message we decided not to.
send you because you are afemale.
Oh,
Stefy Bau (13:38):
Yeah, that was insane.
And it was still, early ages, Iguess, in Italy, discrimination
was overlooked at that time.
So that was actually the turningpoint for me to want to come to
the United States.
So that's what made the change.
And I'm like, gentlemen, you'renot gonna let me do it here.
I'll show you.
(13:59):
I'll make it happen.
So then, I packed up my luggage.
I went to the United States.
I did not speak a word ofEnglish then.
And I started racing, like I hadthe support from Kawasaki when I
first arrived in the US.
So I had sponsor because I wasprofessional over in Europe, I
was able to, receive support inthe United States right away.
(14:22):
And then I came in and I startwinning races.
And then I asked to have theprofessional license with the
men here in the United States.
And because I had the points tobe able to do it, I was not,
declined it.
So I had it.
At that point, I finallyachieved what I wanted to
achieve in the United Statesinstead, for my own country.
(14:45):
But, but it comes full circlebecause in 2005, which was a
bittersweet year for me I didreceive that phone call where
they asked me to become thefirst woman to race in the World
Championship
Andrea Hiott (15:01):
Ah, so they want
Stefy Bau (15:03):
The,
Andrea Hiott (15:03):
you
Stefy Bau (15:03):
Exactly, they wanted me back.
And then it was a, like I said,a good reward because at that
point I was like, yep, I will besuper happy to do this, but this
is how much it's gonna cost younow.
So I came full circle at theend.
1998.
Andrea Hiott (15:21):
You made that happen though.
Stefy Bau (15:22):
Yeah,
Andrea Hiott (15:23):
Is that, is that normal for you that you decide
to make something happen and youdo make it
Stefy Bau (15:27):
yeah.
I'm kind of kind of person.
If I like something because I,I'm fueled by passion, right?
So if I like something and Ilove it, then I'm like, okay,
I'm gonna make it happen.
I'll figure it out a way.
And when I do a lot of keynotespeech or like inspirational
speech to people, I always saypicture a mountain in front of
you, there is so many way to goaround it.
(15:51):
You can go on top, underneath,through it, around it.
You just have to find a way.
it's not because there is amountain that that is gonna stop
you.
So just keep going for what youlove.
Andrea Hiott (16:03):
I love that because I was expecting you to
say, you can always get over it.
But yeah, you just opened up awhole other space to think you
can go around it.
You can go on the side of it,you can go.
That's like a whole other way ofthinking that there's many, many
ways to deal with that thingthat's ahead of you and you've
had a few of those mountains.
The actual races themselves, butalso what we've been talking
about, the limits that you brokethrough in terms of women, but
(16:27):
then also this accident thatcame in 2005, which I wanna talk
about next.
But first I wanna go to thatmoment when you got that letter
in Italy, did that shock you?
Were you expecting that at all?
Okay, now I see how it is thatbecause I'm a woman, I can't
compete
Stefy Bau (16:40):
Well, it was, I would say a combination of emotion.
I was not expecting it.
I was in rage.
I was like, why this?
Why why there is has to be adifference, I'm just behind the
gate with the helmet likeeverybody else.
It doesn't matter if I'm a womanand I'm not a man, why this?
(17:01):
So I guess it fueled even moremy desire to be the best.
So that's why I say what I said,okay, this is just a bump in the
road.
I'm gonna come full circlearound and I'm gonna do it
somewhere else.
Andrea Hiott (17:15):
In a way it gave you more energy to achieve
something and do something thatfrom a different way that ended
up actually bringing even morethings into your life.
Positive things
Stefy Bau (17:25):
Absolutely, absolutely everything that
happens in life happens for areason.
And if you can really try toalways find a positive out of
it, then you are gonna alwayswin.
So for me, that was like, Hey, Ican go to the United States,
which is a country that a lot ofpeople aspire to, to go and live
(17:46):
there and do my sport.
M ama was not super happy.
I have to tell you that But myparents always knew that if I
wanted something, I was gonna goand get it no matter what.
So that was my turning point tocome to a different country and
with the good and the bads,because, It's not easy,
especially if you are byyourself,
Andrea Hiott (18:06):
oh no.
And the language that can be sohard.
Stefy Bau (18:09):
Yeah.
The language, a totallydifferent culture, it was not
easy, but again, I have thatgoal in my mind, so nothing was
gonna stop me and I went for it.
Andrea Hiott (18:19):
It's amazing that determination.
When you were actually racingthese times.
When you're winning so much andthere's so many races, what was
your schedule like during theday?
Were you training all the time?
Were you going to school still?
Stefy Bau (18:31):
Yes, it's training all the time.
When, I was in my professionalyears, my typical day was,
something like this, getting upat seven in the morning, go for
a four or five miles run, thencome back home breakfast, and
then go to the track and at thetrack spending like, the
majority of the day doing whatwe call in the industry mottos,
(18:54):
which is 40 minutes on thetrack, like to mimic a race.
So you are gonna do that two orthree times and then come home
and go for a 20 mile bicycleride or a swim, right?
That was every day.
It's a lot of physicalactivities, but you have to be
in the top shape possible to beable to be, at the top of the
(19:17):
sport.
It's very demanding.
It's also very demandingmentally.
So be able to have a body thatcan sustain you, you know what
you wanna do.
It helps the mental side aswell.
Andrea Hiott (19:30):
I've never been on a dirt track, and I just wonder,
could you describe the feelingof it, how does it, how does it
feel and, yeah.
Especially in terms of needingto be in shape,
Stefy Bau (19:40):
I mean, to me, what the sport motocross and
supercross taught me iseverything that I needed to have
a good life life, period.
So let me explain it more likethis, the track changes every
lap.
So you need to be sharp as a, asharp shooter, meaning like you
have to be completely focusedall the time because if you mess
(20:03):
up, y ou can get on the ground.
If you don't pick your linecorrectly, another opponent can
come up and pass you, right?
So you have to look all thetime, scanning that ground and
in super fast, and make adecision, like it right there on
the spot.
Then the physical side, you haveaerobic and strength all at
(20:26):
once.
So to be able to, do the sportis like a soccer player that
runs for, the entire time of amatch in addition to a body
builder.
Together.
So it's, it's a lot, and thencomes the strategy even more in
regards to how to manage yourstrength and your abilities and
(20:49):
that for a length of time, likeeach, race is about 40 minutes.
So for 40 minutes, like you needto be able to pace.
Your capabilities and winagainst your opponent.
So there is a ton of componentsthat go into this sport, and I
feel very lucky that I choosethis sport because those are
(21:10):
similar things that you do inlife.
Another thing, once you win, youare in front of 80,000 people,
you have to make a speech.
So that is, to me is verysimilar to, like when somebody
goes up for a job interview, youmight not be in front of 80,000
people, but the feeling is thesame because you have to perform
(21:31):
and say the right things to beable to have your audience,
cheering you on or liking you orhiring you, right?
That's also another thing that Ilearned through the sport.
So yeah, and the never give upattitude, again, in life, like
in, in, in motorcycle racing, weused to say you crash 10 time
(21:52):
and you get up 11.
you never stay on the ground.
And then, the same thing with,with life, if there are stuff
that happens to you, it doesn'tmatter.
You keep going, you get up, youkeep going.
I just had, a talk, at the fullsale university last week, and
it was fun because I titled thetalk Do Not let go of the
(22:15):
handlebars.
And that is because.
The last thing that you do, likethe last thing that you do when
you are about to crash and likeit's, it's almost unsavable the
crash.
You still hold on to thehandlebar, and then sometimes
you have to let go because youknow it happens, and that is a
lesson in life.
(22:36):
you have so many thing coming toyou and happen to you during
your life, but if you staystrong and motivated on what you
have the passion for and whatyou like, you definitely not
gonna let go of that handlebar
Andrea Hiott (22:49):
It's a good image too to carry around.
You had this long life history,even though you were only 28 by
the time you had this crash in2005, but you'd really developed
a whole kind of way of being inthe world that was about those
things you just described.
Being in the present moment in asense, because you don't know
exactly what's coming next.
Being able to balance, beingable to be seen and talk in
(23:12):
front of people, all thesequalities.
I also imagine you had to learnsome business instinct about how
to take care of yourself interms of money and all that.
That's a whole other lesson.
So it really was like a schoolof, I don't know,
Stefy Bau (23:25):
I I can call it like a school of life, because again,
for me, the sport that reallygave me all the tools
necessarily to then, continue todo what I, I had the passion for
in life after racing.
again, the never give upaptitude, the resilence,
respecting others, because youhave to respect your competitors
too, like they're there to, totry to win as well.
(23:47):
So you need to be able to stayin front of them without
creating a crash or, endangerothers, right?
So that's a formal respect, you,you argue and you be the best
you can by.
competing against other peopleand work harder so you can be
the best.
And if you are not the best,it's okay.
It's okay to fail.
(24:07):
Like the crash motorcyclingracing represent also that in my
opinion, like you can fail, youcan crash, but you have to get
up and do it again.
Andrea Hiott (24:16):
You can learn a lot from that.
I guess sometimes even more thanjust winning all
Stefy Bau (24:20):
Exactly.
Because you learn not to do thatagain and next time,
Andrea Hiott (24:23):
mm-hmm.
life can really give us some bigchallenges and some really
difficult things.
And even with this wholeskillset you had, I have to
imagine that the last thing youreally expected was what
happened when you were 28 in, in2005 and you had this crash and
it was during a practice or
Stefy Bau (24:39):
yes.
Andrea Hiott (24:39):
Set it up for us a
Stefy Bau (24:40):
Yeah, we were getting ready to, to prepare for the
2006 season.
So we were testing inThomasville, Georgia.
I was with the Honda team attime.
And, I messed up this jump andin the two, three seconds, that
I was in the air that I knewthat the accident was gonna
happen, the first thing Ithought about it was, dang, I'm
(25:05):
going to miss next week's race.
And the second thought was like,ah, this is might hurt quite a
bit.
But again, the first thing in mymind was like, not be scared,
not be upset or whatever.
It's I, I can't race next week,so again, it shows the character
or like a hyper condition withthis sport, but then again, you
(25:26):
grow up by, with this sport tomake all of this kind of
decision, in a split of asecond.
And sometimes are good,sometimes are not, and you live
with the consequences of it.
In this case, I don't know whathappened.
I can't tell if it was my errorand motorcycle error, but it did
happen and on the line of whatwe are saying after two hours
(25:46):
since the accident, I wasalready on the operating room.
And the surgeon was saying youmight lose your legs, we have 1%
chance that you have your legscoming out of the surgery.
And still on that bed.
I was talking to the surgeon,say, yes, okay, but when can I
go back racing?
Andrea Hiott (26:06):
You were just pushing forward.
Even that moment you werepersisting.
Stefy Bau (26:10):
looking forward, forget what happened.
Okay, that happened all.
So how can I go past that, andcontinue to, to go forward?
Andrea Hiott (26:18):
That's a lot of change in three hours.
you're practicing everything's,you have this regimen of waking
up at seven and all this.
this whole life is built onthis.
You probably have a team, yourfamily's probably still working
with you.
It's a whole moving machine, andthen this thing happens and in
two hours you're on a operatingtable and everything has
changed, right?
Stefy Bau (26:38):
Yes, that is correct.
And the way that you put it isexactly how I felt.
Meaning that now what?
Now what's gonna happen?
And I have to say, I went in adark place, at first because you
know how your life all of asudden, the life that you knew
and the life that you lived,like for basically 28 years it
(27:00):
just stopped, like you are neverprepared for that.
And it's just you are gettinginto this spiral.
This what am I doing?
What, what is
Andrea Hiott (27:10):
Yeah.
It's almost must be like a stateof shock too.
it's almost too much to handlebecause everything is so linked.
even just the routine of yourlife, changing the routine of
your life in a little way ishard.
But with that kind of change,where it's, of course, it's also
your passion and what you wannado.
So it's mental, it's emotional,it's physical, and it's also
just the routine of your day.
Stefy Bau (27:28):
Yeah.
It wasn't easy, as I said, I wasin a dark place for a little
while.
I probably also fueled by, themedicine I needed to take, not
to feel pain, and all of that.
but little by little thanks tothe team, meaning like the
people around me, especially myfamily, I needed to, to get that
change and start looking at thepositive, right.
(27:50):
and turn this negative into apositive and was stuck with me
was this concept.
It was that, I start tellingmyself that, hey, at 28 years
old, I concluded an incrediblecareer and now I have the
opportunity to start the brandnew one and be as successful.
(28:12):
So that's how I turn it around.
And that's was worked for mebecause justifying the fact that
then maybe a lot of people inthe world, at 28, they still
don't know what they wanna dowhen they grow up
Andrea Hiott (28:23):
Absolutely.
You've already changed history.
Stefy Bau (28:25):
Right, exactly.
So I'm like I'm just gonna takethis as a chapter and now I'm
gonna open a new one and I'mgonna be as successful at that.
Andrea Hiott (28:33):
That really says something about you being able
to dance or be a bit flexibletoo, you were on this path and
you were really loyal to it andpersistent.
But then when, the mountainsuddenly appeared in that path,
you were able to move and, andget around it.
Do you think that also comessomehow from your training?
Stefy Bau (28:52):
Absolutely, absolutely 100% because in
motocross racing, you have tomake decisions in a split of a
second, right?
So it didn't take a split of asecond to get outta my dark
spot.
Andrea Hiott (29:06):
of course not.
Yeah.
Stefy Bau (29:07):
But you know, like I was conditioned from thinking
that way, meaning okay, so thishappened, now we know we need to
do something to keep going,again, it was not easy at the
beginning.
My mental health was not prettyat that time,
Andrea Hiott (29:23):
Yeah, and it's good you say that cuz I think we
have to let ourselvesacknowledge that things are hard
and the dark times do come andyou can let them pass.
Stefy Bau (29:32):
The thing that I wanted to share with everybody
listening is that the dark time,they do not last forever.
So stick with it, Go through it.
It's something that it'simportant for individual to
learn from it, and it's part ofgrowing, and they don't stick
around forever.
You might think that, and I wasguilty of it, in the moment.
(29:54):
But, you just try to find someways to, to grab something and
fail forward, like lookingforward, like on what, what's
happening in that moment.
Andrea Hiott (30:05):
How did you do that?
Was it mostly just thinking,what could I do next?
Or was it talking to people orwas it, reading something or,
Stefy Bau (30:13):
I guess it was a combination because at first it
took me some time to realizethat I was never gonna be a
motorcycle racer again.
I thought that I could continueracing even though, it was this,
scariness of having my legsamputated.
My mind was still going thereand say, Hey, I can become an X
Games adaptive.
(30:35):
so continue to go to that, tothat direction, and say, nothing
can stop me.
this is just a bump in the road,and so on and so forth.
However, like my injury took 10years to fix, so it was a long
and strenuous, journey.
Andrea Hiott (30:54):
It was, your ankles mostly in the end.
Stefy Bau (30:56):
the problem was that on my left ankle, I develop a
hole.
And this hole was, this might bea little bit gruesome for some
listeners, so if you don't wannalisten, just cover your ears for
a second.
This, this hole open, and theycouldn't figure it out how to
close it and they couldn'tfigure it out why that was
(31:16):
happening.
And I still decide to live mylife.
So I was going around, I went toAfrica, I went to other
countries and I was going intodoctor offices walking in, and
they said, it's impossible thatyou are walking.
And I'm like, okay, so you'renot a doctor for me, because
clearly I just walked in here.
(31:37):
So even that mentality, if youare telling me that it's
impossible, I'm walking and I'mwalking, so either I'm, I'm
crazy or you are crazy, it's allof this thing that, it's all
related to my life as anathlete, to wanna, to keep going
and, and keep, doing things inthe way that, I need to think,
yes, this is the right way ornot.
So it did take a long time,
Andrea Hiott (31:59):
when you were traveling around, was this the
time when you were starting todo some mentorship I'm trying to
figure out how you eventuallyfound your way into, being a
mentor to many, other women inthe sport I guess it was in
those 10 years that it started.
Stefy Bau (32:12):
Yes, indeed.
So like my accident was in 2005,the end of 2005.
So for the entire 2006 I was inbed then in a wheelchair and
then try to learn to walk again.
Let's put it like that.
And then in 2007 is when Ifinally got the switch saying,
(32:35):
Hey, I need to start a newcareer here.
Luckily I had the support so Iwas able to become the general
manager of the newly born FAMWomen Motocross World
Championship.
So before, I used to race withthe girls and now, they asked me
to be the general manager of thechampionship.
(32:58):
So for me that was an incredibleproud moment because I had the
opportunity to now be the mamato all the other girls.
I was the mentor to everyone.
I loved it.
Because I put it down on thetable right away, it's Hey,
there is no competition with meanymore here, so let me help
(33:19):
you.
I'm not your competitionanymore, so let me help you
become the best you can be.
So that was a magic in thathappening.
I, I loved that time of my life,like we were able to create a
super strong community.
So now, yes, when the gatedropped, everybody was an enemy.
But, when the, when we weredone, we racing, we actually,
(33:42):
really work all together, almostlike a team where we were
figuring out whether we couldn'tdo better to grow the sport as a
whole.
So I kind of like felt into aposition of leadership, and be
the person that everybody wascoming to for advice and figure
it out how they can be betterand get more response.
(34:05):
That was very rewarding becausenow it is when my life changing
on the giving back, uh and notonly be about and my racing, but
start giving back.
Andrea Hiott (34:16):
That must have felt good to be able to give so
much, it can be very healing tobe able to give, I guess.
Stefy Bau (34:22):
Absolutely.
Yeah.
And, it comes a certain point inlife I guess, but the power of
giving back to others, itfulfills you in so many
different ways that it's likeone of the best things that an
individual can experience in myopinion.
Andrea Hiott (34:42):
even better than winning a world championship.
Stefy Bau (34:45):
yes, yes.
In a way it is because now youjust see other people doing what
you did, right?
So it reinforced to you as anindividual the way you did was
meaningful because now there isothers that wanted to do it too,
and be part of their life.
(35:05):
It's so powerful that it justcreates this whole Feel good
situation, which I think if moreand more people will do it in
the world, we will have probablya world with less craziness
that, that we do, you know?
Andrea Hiott (35:20):
Definitely if people understood that that can
be so fulfilling.
Stefy Bau (35:24):
Yes, absolutely.
But I, I do think that comeswith Age we are being so that we
continue to grow, and it wouldbe weird to see a kid all day is
just like that.
Right?
That doesn't think about herselfand, and think about others,
right?
So you have it, it is a rite ofpassage in life.
You need to do what moves you,what makes you passionate.
(35:47):
And that there is a time in yourlife that you'll say, well, this
is bigger than just me.
So you wanted to helping othersto, to experience the same.
So at least this is whathappened to me in my life.
Andrea Hiott (36:00):
Yeah, that's a good point.
It's not either or.
You can do both.
You can excel and go with whatmoves you
Stefy Bau (36:07):
for sure.
So we were talking a, a littlebit about, The trajectory after
the racing.
So first I did that.
Then from there I was able to bepart of the women commission
inside the F I M.
So the FIM is the internationalFederation of Motorcycling,
which is a base in Geneva,Switzerland.
(36:28):
And that was another steptoward, like helping more women
getting involved as a whole, andcome up with the strategies and
plans as to how to continue toincrease that.
A little bit political, for whatI used to be doing up to that
point.
But you know, it was anothergreat experience in my life and
(36:51):
I learned a lot, like on how I.
Sometimes you have to, to be, tomake things happen.
I'm always like, yeah, drop thegate sometimes.
Instead, you just have to hurryup and wait.
Andrea Hiott (37:04):
Well, another first of yours was being the
first woman in a video game,motocross video game.
Is that right?
Stefy Bau (37:09):
Yes.
And that's cool.
That's super cool because italso ties back in with what I'm
doing now, and who knew therewas gonna come full circle like
that.
This was the year 2000, thefirst video game I was part of.
EA sport, decided to create agame and have a motorcycle racer
be part of it.
And I go ask to be one of them.
(37:31):
We are talking it 23 years ago.
It's like mind blowing to thinkabout it.
Andrea Hiott (37:36):
You must have just gone pro more or less or
Stefy Bau (37:38):
Yeah.
Yeah.
That was when I went to pro thatis correct.
Andrea Hiott (37:41):
So you were the first Woman in the video game
too.
the other people were men, Iguess, in that game.
Stefy Bau (37:46):
Yes, yes,
Andrea Hiott (37:47):
You did it in the virtual world
Stefy Bau (37:48):
yes, indeed.
And I think that's why I kind oflike came together, because of
that, and it was super cool,again, it was my second year in
the United States.
Here I come, with this bleach,blonde hair, from Italy, barely
speaking any English, and havingthe chance to be in a video
game, I was like, oh my God,this is crazy.
(38:10):
This just happens in the movies,
Andrea Hiott (38:12):
You were living it.
Okay.
So you were in video games, butyou didn't play'em that much
because you were, living it inreal life, but, Somehow the
eSports has just exploded in thepast five or 10 years, or even
the past four years.
I wanna talk a little bit aboutthat for people who don't know
much about it yet, but how didyou get into it, this idea of
sim racing and eSports?
When did that come into yourlife?
Stefy Bau (38:33):
yes, so it happened because I went to Italy just
before the pandemic hit, right?
I went to Italy visiting myfamily, and I saw my little
niece that she was spending twoto three hours a day watching
people play.
Andrea Hiott (38:52):
two to three hours a day., watching, just
Stefy Bau (38:54):
I'm like watching.
yes, watching.
So like consuming entertainmentin a way of watching video
games, so I'm like, hmm, this isvery interesting.
Like the kids nowadays, they'respending their time watching
gamers, a light bulb came up andI'm like, maybe I can use this
(39:15):
to be able to bring more womenand minority into motorsport by
lower the barrier of entries.
With gaming, it's much easierbecause even a console, console
sets you off maybe$300, right?
But a go-kart or a motorcycle is$5,000.
(39:37):
Only a certain category ofpeople is able to do that.
So therefore,.
Using and utilizing gamings willbe an opportunity to open up way
more doors and therefore expand,the base, of Motorsport as a
whole.
So I went to learn and then thePandemic hit and formula One, I
(39:58):
was teaching everyone how itneeds to be done, meaning like
in SIM, the head Charles LeClairMax Verstappen playing in the
games with the, the public.
So I'm like, oh my God, this isso cool.
It's amazing.
That got me into, into openingmy company.
It's called INIT..
(40:19):
First I fall back into the thepart of motorcycling because
that's where I have the passion.
So I connected with the AMA andexplained how good it would be
to get involved with the gamingcommunity, to be able to bring
new people into Motorcross andSupercross and motorcycling in
(40:39):
general.
And so we make that theagreement.
They say, this is brilliant, welike this.
You are now the promoter foranything eSport for the AMA.
So now we started to create thechampionships and it's insane.
A couple data here to just putthe things in perspective.
So one third of the worldpopulation identifies as a
(41:02):
gamer, and F of them are women.
So for me,
Andrea Hiott (41:07):
you say?
Half of
Stefy Bau (41:08):
f of people that play games in the world are women.
Andrea Hiott (41:13):
I did not know that.
Stefy Bau (41:14):
So for me, I'm like, oh my God, the it is, that's the
talent pool.
Like we need to go into thisindustry to be able to expose
more women into something that Ilove, which is motor sport.
Andrea Hiott (41:26):
No one was doing that in motocross.
It was Formula One.
They were starting to do it, butnobody was doing it in off-road
and motocross before you hadthis
Stefy Bau (41:34):
Mm-hmm.
Yes, that is correct.
Andrea Hiott (41:38):
You saw and you went for it.
Stefy Bau (41:40):
Yep.
Exactly.
And now the, the kids that theyplay in our championship, by the
way, we have 80,000 people thattune in watching the races every
Wednesday night.
Just to give you some context.
Right.
It's insane.
Andrea Hiott (41:57):
80,000, I mean, that's just, it's so wonderful.
I like video games and thingslike this, and I like eSports.
I'm still new to it, but Do youhave any idea why so many people
like to watch it?
Stefy Bau (42:10):
I don't know.
I think it's a generationalthing.
I think people like to consumeentertainment now by want to be
part of something and we gamingnow, like Twitch for instance,
which is the platform where youtend to go and watch games, you
can chat with other people rightthere.
So it becomes a community,right?
You can chat with who you arewatching, but also with the
(42:32):
other people.
So now it's not more like a 2Dtelevision, it's becoming like
3D meaning like you can reallycreate this community.
With the younger demographic,what I have experienced is that
everybody wants to do something.
They're not just there andreceiving information.
They wanna do things if you makethem do something, then that's
(42:57):
when you get their attention.
And that's why I think a gamingis exploding in so many
different ways
Andrea Hiott (43:02):
This feeling of a community being there and maybe
not feeling so judged as youmight in other parts of life or
something.
I don't know.
There's a more immediate feelingof connection something to watch
together.
It's like sports.
sports does that, but
Stefy Bau (43:18):
right.
Andrea Hiott (43:19):
So now you're doing it yourself.
Stefy Bau (43:21):
I'm the, so I'm the so owner of, of the company and
InIt sport.
Is that the only sim racingcompany led by a woman in the
world.
Andrea Hiott (43:34):
It's incredible how many firsts you have for
women.
Stefy Bau (43:36):
And it helps a ton because with that we are able to
create a lot of differentopportunities like two main
things that we have going onright now is from the sim racing
stuff.
So from the car part, we justcreated and conclude the Screen
to Speed.
So screen to speed as the goalto being bring female and
(43:58):
non-binary people minoritiesfrom the Digital world from the
gaming world into the in reallife world.
So they qualifying online andeverybody around the world were
able to qualify for it.
And then the top 15, we got themto come to Las Vegas and
participate into thecompetition, the same racing
(44:21):
competition we were in in LasVegas at the racetrack and
around us NASCAR was happening.
So we were racing digitally thesame track that we were at while
NASCAR was happening around us.
So it was so empowering.
And the winner got to even walkon the NASCAR stage with 80,000
(44:42):
people, cheering her on, whichis like, Insane coming from the
gaming world We were able tochange lives to these gamers
that they, some of them, theydidn't even been on an airplane
before, let alone come to LasVegas.
They winner now, she's gonnacome back in June in Las Vegas
at the same racetrack, and nowshe's gonna test on a real
(45:05):
Porsche race car.
So from screen to speed.
So from the digital world to thein real life world.
And we got more than 1 millionimpression on this show as the
first going out.
So we are gonna continue to dothem.
There is a lot of talks in theindustry because we came at it,
(45:26):
for women by women, so in a veryauthentic way and the
responsible support for it.
One other thing I wanted to toshare is that we also have SIM
for STEM now, and that's why I'min Indianapolis right now,
because we are deciding tocreate a bigger base.
(45:46):
So with SIM for STEM, we aregoing after schools.
This event in Indianapolis is inconjunction with the Indy 500.
So we have 200 girls from highschool where 50 at the time.
They're gonna come in fourevents and we'll teach them STEM
curriculums.
(46:07):
So they will be doing STEMactivities, more sport related.
And then what they learn, theyapply in the simulators.
And then the five, six of themthat they're gonna be the most
engaged throughout all of thiswe'll bring them to the
racetrack to meet female driver,female mechanics, female
(46:29):
engineer, female broadcaster,because we believe that if you
can see her, you can be her.
Andrea Hiott (46:37):
Oh, I love that so much.
And also that it's not just thedrivers who are super wonderful
and important, but so are theengineers and the mechanics, and
these are such fascinatingcareers and just fascinating
things to do in life.
I really love this connectionthat you're making between
traditional racing and virtualracing.
How do you see that kind ofevolving?
(46:58):
You've been in the real crowdsand you've been in the virtual
crowds, is there a difference inthe feeling of it?
Stefy Bau (47:04):
I mean, it's all connected at the end.
It's all connected, it's alltogether.
Like people they play,especially in SIM racing, has
been demonstrated that you canrace in the SIM and those skills
transfer in real life.
Like there has been more andmore teams now that they're
looking at gamers to be able tobring them into a seat of the
(47:27):
real car.
So it's incredibly connected.
It's super cool.
Like I love the transferabilityand I believe it's the only
digital sport that has thatcapability.
To go from digital to, to, inreal life.
Andrea Hiott (47:41):
What we didn't talk about was the kind of
electric little aspect of yourjourney, cuz you did work for
electric bikes for a littlewhile, right?
Stefy Bau (47:49):
Yes.
The journey into the electrictransportation for me was during
my time the, I was the CEO ofFantic Bicycle usa.
So Fantic is a company that isfrom Italy and they decided to
open a branch into the UnitedStates.
And because of course, I'mItalian, but also I have all of
the links.
(48:10):
And the bridges between Europeand the US in the motorcycle
industry, it was like a natural,involvement there.
So by, in the US, Fantic is amotorcycle company, but also
that's e-bikes.
And with them, we decided toopen the branch in the United
States focusing on that becauseas you might might know,
(48:32):
electric transportation isstarting to take on more and
more here in the us.
It's been like a very big field,a very big industry, and it was
a fantastic journey.
And we were able to be from anunknown name into the United
States to one of the, thecompanies that sits at the table
while deciding for rules in inthe United States in regards to
(48:58):
electric transportation.
So very proud of the work thatwas done there again, I was one
of the, maybe couple femalearound the table, because I find
myself often into that position.
Andrea Hiott (49:13):
I guess you're getting used to that, but you
bring more women to the
Stefy Bau (49:16):
I like to say it's not about replacing the guys.
It's about building a biggertable.
Let's bring a bigger table andbring women in it, so diversity.
Inclusion is so important.
Like in any, in any, havingdifferent mindset and different
people that come up withdifferent cultures, for me, it's
(49:37):
not about substituting, but it'sjust about building a bigger
table.
So more women can be involvedand, and minorities.
Yeah, so the journey was verycool.
It, it was just exploding in theUnited States in 2016 when I
took on this this position.
And it was just a time that,that they were doing the three
class systems in the US.
(49:59):
There's been adopted by many ofthe states, and I worked a
little bit on that as well witha core group of people, for me,
I am an E-bike rider.
I, I ride E-mountain bikesbecause of course I need to stay
in the dirt, not the, on theroad, but yes, my wife and I, we
(50:21):
ride as much as we can and andwe love it, And yes.
It was, it was very good to seethe transformation, in regards
to the.
Approach of a e-bike and, andthe community, like the regular
bicycle community as a whole,like in Europe, it's been way
ahead of time compared to theUnited States.
(50:44):
So there were lots of painpoints that we needed to go
through because a lot of peopledidn't understand, oh, they are
motorcycles and now they're notmotorcycle.
You pedal, you don't twist thethrottle.
So it's, it's different.
Right.
But e education, it's it'salways at the base on everything
in reality, and it takes time tomake everybody understand.
(51:05):
So the people for bike group,they developed the three class
system, did an amazing job thereto kind of like make a little
bit more standardized.
Understanding of how e-bikeacts, and therefore what each
state can do about it.
And that was a very big thingthat was was done.
And then after that, we continueto see more and more companies
(51:28):
coming into.
The United States, with the,with their products and from,
road and transportation,especially in the big cities,
it's a big deal because With ayounger demographic tune in a
lot into the environment, andtry therefore to do better for
the World ElectricTransportation is able to
(51:50):
provide that.
So with having cities like bigCity, like San Francisco is one
of them, they try to create moreand more bike paths.
So instead of going to work witha car, you go to work with a
bicycle, an electric bicycle,
Andrea Hiott (52:04):
And now you can in San Francisco with an electric
bike, you can actually do it onthe hills.
Stefy Bau (52:09):
Yes indeed.
We were based the branch who wasbased there in San Francisco, so
we completely saw the entireevolution of it.
And now, in the morning, like onthe Golden Gate Bridge, you see
so many electric bikes.
So people that choose that to goto work instead of cars, which,
little by little is making achange, less car on the road.
the world can breathe a littleeasier,
Andrea Hiott (52:31):
What do you think about electric motorcycles
Stefy Bau (52:33):
I personally love them because I'm always looking
ahead, looking forward of whatwe can do to continue to grow.
Right.
So whereas I grew up as a partof the gas motorcycle, my entire
career was on that, and there issome magic around it.
Like the smell, like even rightnow when I smell gasoline, for
(52:56):
me, it reminds me of mychildhood, right?
But we need to become more andmore responsible for for this,
this planet that we live on,right?
Therefore, Electric gives anopportunity to continue to have
the sport in areas that nowthey've been outgrown by
buildings.
Right.
Before we had Especially inmotorcross, we had those hills
(53:20):
and, and tracks on hills, aroundfairly closer to, towns and
cities right now.
Guess what?
The towns are expanding, thecity are expanding.
So they're eating up the tracksand one of the reason is we
don't need that because they'reloud, they are noisy, they smell
bad.
They're not good for theenvironment.
Well, now if you move, we allmove to electric.
(53:44):
That old argument collapses.
Like we can potentially have amotorcycle track in the middle
of a city, in a park, andtherefore grow the sport in that
way.
because again, it connects allinto the education, putting,
thinking in this way.
If you put a kid right off thebat at four years old on a
(54:06):
regular bicycle, and then youmove them on an electric
motorcycle right away, they willnot know the difference growing
up.
Because that's the only thingthey experience.
But you know, if you put themthen, into a gas motorcycle,
then we are gonna continue tofeed the same system that we are
trying to change.
Be able to get in at an earlyage, then that kid is gonna grow
(54:28):
up and say, oh, I don't want anoisy motorcycle.
I want one day.
I can actually hear what's goingon when I, when I race, or I
have fun.
Andrea Hiott (54:37):
Then they'll have memories of that, of the
hearing, the atmosphere or, ordifferent memories than the
sensory ones we have of likegasoline and all of those
things.
Stefy Bau (54:46):
correct.
Which again, it's, that was theway that I grew up and I love
it, but between me and you, ifyou go to watch a motorcycle
race, you cannot even speak withsomebody next to you because
it's so loud.
So yeah, you are there with someother people enjoying something,
but in reality it's almost likeyou're there by yourself.
(55:09):
If we wanted to create acontinuous sense of community,
maybe we should look intolowering the sound decibel,
right?
And electric gets you there.
So now you can be there, enjoythe show, but at the same time
having a word with the personsitting next to you without
going home.
At night, I not have any voicein you anymore.
Andrea Hiott (55:29):
Exactly same with race car racing.
Do you think they're as fun forracing?
Stefy Bau (55:35):
Mm-hmm.
I do because I do, because Ialso try a few of them, and I
mean they are just so good, likewith time and more investment,
they're gonna continue to becomebetter and better, but they are
so good.
It's all about the torque there.
So it's a little bit less skillson how to manage the clutch, I
(55:55):
will say, because it's more liketorque.
But at the same time, it's, it'sa lot of power, like it let's
you do whatever you need to do.
Just like in a regularmotorcycle.
The only issue still is thebattery length, right?
So people wanted to go for longor wanted to be able to stop if
they are trail riding and thegas station and refuel and keep
(56:19):
going.
So we are still chasing thatdream, but it will happen.
It will happen.
There is no stopping evolution.
Andrea Hiott (56:27):
No, we're going that way.
So you think you can still learnthose same lessons that you told
us about earlier in terms ofkind of life lessons from
electric too?
Stefy Bau (56:37):
Absolutely, because the sport is the sport.
So when you experience, withgasoline and sound it's still
the same track, right?
So the, what I experience in mylife, it can be transferred
again and again, even withelectric motorcycles.
So I look forward to that.
It's gonna take time because ofcourse, like the world runs on
(56:58):
gasoline, and there is politicsinvolved and all of that.
But even like on the consumerside, on the car world, it's
nice to finally see more andmore company, like starting to
develop an electric vehicle.
So it's it's gonna happen.
Yeah, it's gonna happen.
And we have to, it's, it's notoh, it would be nice.
(57:19):
It's more, it's more like wehave to, because.
We know what's happening.
Climate change is real, and
Andrea Hiott (57:26):
Yeah.
It's urgent.
Yeah.
If we wanna keep enjoying allthese things we've been talking
about, we have to find betterways to do them.
Last question relates to allthis we've been talking about,
and you were talking about it alittle while ago, but I just
wonder to tie it in aboutmotoring and how this has been
an important part of your life.
I do also wanna say that you didget back on a motorcycle.
(57:46):
We talked a lot about youraccident in 2008.
You did it right, you got backon, which I have to say like I
am respect, like deep respectfor that.
I need to at least acknowledgethat.
Cuz you were just talking aboutriding the electric one,
Stefy Bau (57:58):
yeah.
It's, it's about, I guess for meit was about closing the circle.
Cause I feel like the, I didn'tget the chance to close my
racing career, because it justhappened for me.
So be able to, to go back on anddo a few, few more laps.
(58:20):
It was incredibly emotional, Itwas more like, okay, so now, now
I'm ready to really close thatchapter.
Right?
And, but I was born amotorcycle, so I don't own one.
And that is a reason for itbecause I know that I will be
going back and wanted to be likea.
Once I used to be right.
(58:41):
So I don't, I don't have amotorcycle, but every once in a
while, like when friends comesand say, Hey, you wanna go ride?
We have an extra bike.
More often than not to say,yeah, I come and do a couple
laps, but I need to be, I needto be very careful for, of
course, because I was lucky tokeep my legs, but you know, like
a big impact can, destroy what'sbeen done and maybe I will not
(59:05):
be as lucky again.
Andrea Hiott (59:06):
Yeah, definitely be careful cuz we want you to
stay around you.
Stefy Bau (59:10):
Thank you, but like my next best things is ready
mountain bike.
So I don't jump'em.
I don't
Andrea Hiott (59:16):
Okay.
Okay.
But riding, that's a, that's athrilling thing.
And especially if you can do itwith your wife where it's a
joint experience.
it makes it really special.
Stefy Bau (59:25):
For sure, for sure.
We, we love it.
And we go with electric ones,like I said, and we do the
mountain bikes and it's so good.
And even that, we were talkingabout electric, it's important.
Like people like myself, theyhave in a permanent, disability
basically, you know, in myankles.
I mean, if it wouldn't be forElectric Mountain bike, I
couldn't, I couldn't enjoy beingout the dirt.
(59:50):
I hope you know, more and morepeople started to give it a try
because for the purist that theysaid, oh, it's like cheating.
I'm like, try to turn it off andpedal and they tell me if it's
cheating or not,
Andrea Hiott (01:00:03):
yeah.
It's just different.
It's like what you were sayingabout the table being larger,
it's like we don't have tochoose, but it's better that
there's more options andtechnology can help us in ways
that, like you just described,it's opening more possibility We
can be more responsible.
Stefy Bau (01:00:17):
for
Andrea Hiott (01:00:18):
Okay, so you've persisted and you've found a way
to keep motoring.
I, you've gone all directionsaround every mountain that
you've seen in front of you andyour life is still about
motoring, even virtual motoring,electric motoring.
So I guess just to end it, I'dlike to hear, what you think
about this idea of forevermotoring and all these forms
that it takes and what it means
Stefy Bau (01:00:39):
Well, for me, I started with when I was very
young.
So therefore, that's my passion.
I, I can never see my lifewithout motoring.
It's, it is just not possible.
It's part of me, so whateverthat is, two wheel, four wheel
on skis or whatever, has to havea motor in it.
And I think, in general, if I, Ishould say some takeaways after
(01:01:03):
this this call, anybody andeverybody in life, they should
just follow their passion andwhatever moves you, just go for
it.
Andrea Hiott (01:01:13):
Thank you so much for being with us today, and
thanks for all that you do andall these paths you've opened
for so many people, for women,it's definitely something
special and I wanna express mygratitude for it.
Stefy Bau (01:01:24):
Thank you so much.
It means a lot to me.
Little by little we're gonnachange the world.
Hey, everybody.
Welcome to Forever Motoring.
Today, we have a special guestnamed Steffi Bau--maybe you've
heard of her.
She's the fastest or one of thefastest women in the world.
Highly regarded as one of thebest motocross racers ever to
race.
She's won three WorldChampionships, the Loretta Lynn,
(00:35):
seven Italian championships, atleast two WMX USA championships
and on and on.
S he knew she wanted to domotocross from a very young age.
She was already riding when shewas four.
On a very cute little bike.
And by the time she was 6 shewas telling her parents that she
(00:56):
knew what she wanted to do.
And that was to be a motocrossracer.
By the age of 17, she'd gonepro.
And, around that same timebecame the first woman eligible
to compete with male racers inthe field.
However, her home country ofItaly though, she had qualified
in the top three of all racersin that country would not allow
(01:17):
her to compete for them in theWorld Championship because she
was a woman.
So she decided to move to theUnited States and make it happen
another way.
And she soon became eligiblethere and did become the first
woman to compete against maleracers in the field.
And that persistence and beliefof Steffi's really continued,
even when she was challenged inthe most extreme way in a
(01:40):
terrible crash in 2005 that lefther unable to walk and just
suddenly changed her entiretrajectory.
But as she tells it, it alsowoke her up to a larger mission.
And showed her that these kindsof events h elp you understand
that when a mountain appears youdon't always have to go over it.
Sometimes you can go through itor around it, or even under it.
(02:03):
The real trick or the realskill, life skill, as she tells
it, is in finding the strengthnot to give up.
So we talk about that a bittoday and how she found her
strength.
And she really is strong in somany ways.
Not only is she, as I said, oneof the fastest women in
motocross racing.
And not only has she won allthese championships in
(02:25):
Supercross and Motocross She'salso a business woman and she
was the CEO for an electric bikecompany.
Fantic bikes, the USA.
Branch of it.
Then she also founded her owncompany called INIT sports.
I N I T.
You've probably heard ofE-sports.
Maybe you dismiss them.
Maybe you love them.
But I suggest you check out thisE-racing and SIM racing, which
(02:49):
is part of what INIT does,Steffi's company.
They have over 80,000 peopleturn up every week to watch
these racing events, which areall online.
INIT is like a powerhouse, forSIM racing and motorcycle events
right now.
And with E-sports being abillion dollar industry.
Steffi Bau is one of the mostpowerful women in the field, but
(03:10):
she's also focusing with hercompany on real life events.
Starting numerous programs tohelp young women find their
passions in the STEM fields--inscience technology, engineering,
and mathematics.
Also helping E racers becomeracers in real life.
Steffi herself has also beenfeatured as a character in
(03:30):
numerous video games.
I think she was also the firstwoman to be featured in any
motocross video game ever.
Steffi has really led andmentored so many women in motor
sports.
And she does so from so manyangles.
The riding, but also thebusiness angle.
Also just in terms ofinspiration and sharing what
(03:50):
she's been through and whatshe's learned.
She really puts her heart andsoul into everything as you'll
hear in this interview.
And she really believes thattogether we can change the
world.
I hope more of us will join herin that spirit and belief, as we
find better ways of forevermotoring.
Enjoy getting to know StephieBau as much as I did.
And I hope you also join her andmaybe volunteer or have a look
(04:14):
at some of her work or become aracer.
All right, let's go.
Hi Stefy thanks for being withus today on Forever Motoring.
Stefy Bau (04:35):
Hey, nice to meet you, and I'm happy to be here.
Andrea Hiott (04:37):
So this is a podcast about what moves us and
the ways that we move.
So the first question I'd liketo ask you is just what's a
moment in your life when youremember being moved?
Stefy Bau (04:48):
Well, I am a, a person that was born already
with an idea in mind of what Iwanted to do.
at six years old I looked at mymom and dad in the eyes and I
said, one day I will become amotocross racer.
So I move myself very well, andI just like to go for things and
trying to do things that kind ofbreak that glass ceiling for
(05:10):
women in male dominatedindustry.
Andrea Hiott (05:12):
You were six years old when you told your parents
Stefy Bau (05:14):
my mom and dad were fan of the sport, so they had
the, the magazine to comearound, in, in the house.
And then every time there wasthe World Championship coming to
Italy, they were bringing mewith them.
So I got so fascinated by thesport that that's what I wanted
to do.
And, I was able to win threeworld titles,
Andrea Hiott (05:34):
it's incredible.
Three Women's World Titles andseven in Italy.
Is that right?
And Three AMA do I have it
Stefy Bau (05:41):
That is all correct., I was the first woman to race
competitively with the men onthe top of the sport.
So I do have a few firsts in mycareer.
Andrea Hiott (05:49):
You started really young.
Your dad taught, took you tosomeplace near your house and
you were racing was that kids,Was that boys and girls?
Did you think about being awoman at
Stefy Bau (05:58):
No, I think until like the, 13, 14 years old of of
age, there is nothingdifference.
You are just a kiddos.
So you go out there and you playand then you ride, you race, but
it's all the same.
But, then when you start to be ateenager, hormones comes into
play so becomes a differentstory.
(06:19):
And then you start thinking, ohyes.
I'm, I'm growing up to be ayoung woman and those are young
boys.
So it becomes a little bit morecompetitive in a way, and
because the classical, the boysdoesn't, doesn't wanna be beaten
by the girl.
And for me I was like, well, ifI'm as fast as than you, I
deserve to be there.
So at the teenage year, it kindof like started to change and
(06:42):
being a little bit moredifficult.
But I had two wonderful parentsthat taught me that anything you
want to do in life, you justhave to work hard and go for it.
I grew up with that mentality.
So I was behind the gate witheverybody else.
I have the helmet on everybodyelse, and I was just going and
do the best I could.
Andrea Hiott (07:01):
So those are really like your earliest
memories, would be, a lot ofthem would be connected to, to
the Motocross or, or would
Stefy Bau (07:09):
Yes, absolutely.
At some point I remembered, Ihad all entourage like uncle and
aunts, they were coming, to hearmy grandma and whatnot.
So yes, it was a totally familyaffair and I've been super lucky
to have, my parents, there's somany sacrifice for me, to be
able to achieve what I did in,in this sport.
(07:30):
And I guess, it becomes a littleeasier when you win because not
only me, I wanted to go to an Xrace and win again, but also
becomes like something for thefamily too.
Andrea Hiott (07:39):
And did you feel that early on, did you get sort
of addicted to the trophies andthe, excitement and the, winning
for your family, that feeling?
That must have been somethingvery special.
Stefy Bau (07:48):
Oh yes, absolutely.
I mean, it changes with time.
Like at the very beginning whenyou're very young, you just like
to bring home the trophy.
So you know, you are wa waitingfor, the weekend to go race.
When I started to, to to growinto the professional ranking,
then it becomes more like a joband therefore, you started to
appreciate even more the factthat your parents, your family
(08:10):
did so many sacrifice for you tobe able to achieve, what, what
your goals are.
So the mentality change therenow, really, you are not doing
it just for yourself.
Now you're doing it for thefamily.
So we were all together to goand pursue this.
Andrea Hiott (08:24):
Yeah, it's interesting when that moment,
when you start to realize it'snot just about you, it's about
your family.
And then it sounds like you alsohad some further realizations
that it was also about women andcharting a kind of new path for
women.
Stefy Bau (08:38):
I guess I started out, not so much for others,
like at the beginning was morelike hey, I'm good at this.
I'm, now having the opportunityto, to be professional and
therefore, I wanted todemonstrate, with everybody, but
to myself too, that, I'm awoman, so what, like I can do a
male dominated industry.
And with that automaticallycomes the effect of inspiring
(09:01):
others.
I will say that I did have a,important moment in my career,
which is, when I got hurt, I hada career ending injury and
Andrea Hiott (09:12):
in
Stefy Bau (09:12):
like
Andrea Hiott (09:12):
That was in 2005
Stefy Bau (09:14):
2005?
Correct.
So I was already, toward the endof my career, I was 28 years
old.
And Motocross is a, is a youngsport and, you are never
prepared, especially in the waythat happened to me.
Meaning that all of a sudden,sudden anything that I knew up
to the point in life stoppedcompletely.
But, I was able, again, throughfamily and support, to turn the
(09:36):
negative into positive.
And at the moment is when Irealized, hey, now I can do
stuff for others, right?
And continue to help thecommunity and help other women.
So they want to pursue a careersuch as the one that I had, and
help them avoid some mistake andbe there for them.
So that was a critical momentwhen I finally realized that,
(10:00):
there is a lot that can be donefor other women in the sport.
Andrea Hiott (10:03):
And it wasn't even just in motocross, you've
actually opened many differentpaths in many different fields.
But first, that kind of timebetween, I guess it was mostly
like the late nineties, that youwere really winning all these
races, right?
Early 2000s?
Stefy Bau (10:16):
That correct.
Yes.
Andrea Hiott (10:17):
how did you end up going pro and then how did you
end up in this internationalscene?
You started racing.
You were really good at it.
You were natural at it.
You How, did it become your job?
Stefy Bau (10:26):
I am turned officially professional at 17
years old when basically whenyou become professional, when
you start getting paid for whatyou do, right?
That's the, the how you classifysomebody is professional, what
they do.
It's a combination of bothsponsor, they pay your way, they
want to be associated with you.
And then also, there are priceson winning races.
(10:49):
it's a combination of boththings.
So that, started to feel verygood, because now sort of like a
hobby turning to something that,hey, I can do this for a living.
Andrea Hiott (11:01):
And I guess you were getting a lot of attention
then too.
Probably
Stefy Bau (11:04):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
But I also come up with a stupidage, meaning it happened during
the time that you are in yourstupid ages because 17, it's a
difficult time in everyone'slife.
Andrea Hiott (11:18):
that's for sure.
So much changing, but I, itsounds like you were confident,
which you must have had to be,to be winning these races.
That can be a time when peopleare very, yeah.
Not confident.
So you obviously were, you hadsome confidence.
Stefy Bau (11:31):
yes.
A lot of confidence there.
A lot of time it got interpretedas cockiness, but it comes with
the territory,
Andrea Hiott (11:39):
Many good athletes have this, I guess.
Stefy Bau (11:42):
Yeah, you have to believe that you are the best in
in the world to be able to dowhat you do.
So it just comes with it.
But then eventually, and luckilyyou grow out of that phase, and
then you become a normal humanbeing again.
Andrea Hiott (11:57):
Yeah.
But you actually did become thebest in the world.
Not everyone does that, but inany case, okay, so you're 17,
you're a little bit cocky orconfident, and you're winning
races and you're starting to gopro
Stefy Bau (12:08):
yeah.
I started to race in Europe, soI put myself, in front of like
a, a bigger competition and Istarted to add success, success
in, Europe as well.
And then my goal was, to becomethe first woman to race a round
of the men's world championship.
So back then, we are talking1998.
(12:28):
How the sport, used to work wasthat, you needed to do
qualification in your owncountries and, through a time
trial.
So if during that time trial youwere, in the top five, then
technically you could have beenselected to go to represent your
own country into the worldchampionship round or the entire
(12:52):
series.
So I did this time trial inItaly.
And I added the third fastestlap time.
So I was on cloud nine, I'mlike, I made it.
And like with the cockiness andthe confidence.
I appreciate that you call itconfidence, I was I was like, oh
my God, I just made history, Iwas gonna be the only female in
(13:14):
the history of the sport to dothis.
I'm gonna make history, this iswhat I dreamt since I was little
and, and so on and so forth.
And then a few days later, Ireceive a phone call from the
federation saying, ah, we decidenot to send you because you are
a female.
And that was hard.
Andrea Hiott (13:33):
That was the message we decided not to.
send you because you are afemale.
Oh,
Stefy Bau (13:38):
Yeah, that was insane.
And it was still, early ages, Iguess, in Italy, discrimination
was overlooked at that time.
So that was actually the turningpoint for me to want to come to
the United States.
So that's what made the change.
And I'm like, gentlemen, you'renot gonna let me do it here.
I'll show you.
(13:59):
I'll make it happen.
So then, I packed up my luggage.
I went to the United States.
I did not speak a word ofEnglish then.
And I started racing, like I hadthe support from Kawasaki when I
first arrived in the US.
So I had sponsor because I wasprofessional over in Europe, I
was able to, receive support inthe United States right away.
(14:22):
And then I came in and I startwinning races.
And then I asked to have theprofessional license with the
men here in the United States.
And because I had the points tobe able to do it, I was not,
declined it.
So I had it.
At that point, I finallyachieved what I wanted to
achieve in the United Statesinstead, for my own country.
(14:45):
But, but it comes full circlebecause in 2005, which was a
bittersweet year for me I didreceive that phone call where
they asked me to become thefirst woman to race in the World
Championship
Andrea Hiott (15:01):
Ah, so they want
Stefy Bau (15:03):
The,
Andrea Hiott (15:03):
you
Stefy Bau (15:03):
Exactly, they wanted me back.
And then it was a, like I said,a good reward because at that
point I was like, yep, I will besuper happy to do this, but this
is how much it's gonna cost younow.
So I came full circle at theend.
1998.
Andrea Hiott (15:21):
You made that happen though.
Stefy Bau (15:22):
Yeah,
Andrea Hiott (15:23):
Is that, is that normal for you that you decide
to make something happen and youdo make it
Stefy Bau (15:27):
yeah.
I'm kind of kind of person.
If I like something because I,I'm fueled by passion, right?
So if I like something and Ilove it, then I'm like, okay,
I'm gonna make it happen.
I'll figure it out a way.
And when I do a lot of keynotespeech or like inspirational
speech to people, I always saypicture a mountain in front of
you, there is so many way to goaround it.
(15:51):
You can go on top, underneath,through it, around it.
You just have to find a way.
it's not because there is amountain that that is gonna stop
you.
So just keep going for what youlove.
Andrea Hiott (16:03):
I love that because I was expecting you to
say, you can always get over it.
But yeah, you just opened up awhole other space to think you
can go around it.
You can go on the side of it,you can go.
That's like a whole other way ofthinking that there's many, many
ways to deal with that thingthat's ahead of you and you've
had a few of those mountains.
The actual races themselves, butalso what we've been talking
about, the limits that you brokethrough in terms of women, but
(16:27):
then also this accident thatcame in 2005, which I wanna talk
about next.
But first I wanna go to thatmoment when you got that letter
in Italy, did that shock you?
Were you expecting that at all?
Okay, now I see how it is thatbecause I'm a woman, I can't
compete
Stefy Bau (16:40):
Well, it was, I would say a combination of emotion.
I was not expecting it.
I was in rage.
I was like, why this?
Why why there is has to be adifference, I'm just behind the
gate with the helmet likeeverybody else.
It doesn't matter if I'm a womanand I'm not a man, why this?
(17:01):
So I guess it fueled even moremy desire to be the best.
So that's why I say what I said,okay, this is just a bump in the
road.
I'm gonna come full circlearound and I'm gonna do it
somewhere else.
Andrea Hiott (17:15):
In a way it gave you more energy to achieve
something and do something thatfrom a different way that ended
up actually bringing even morethings into your life.
Positive things
Stefy Bau (17:25):
Absolutely, absolutely everything that
happens in life happens for areason.
And if you can really try toalways find a positive out of
it, then you are gonna alwayswin.
So for me, that was like, Hey, Ican go to the United States,
which is a country that a lot ofpeople aspire to, to go and live
(17:46):
there and do my sport.
M ama was not super happy.
I have to tell you that But myparents always knew that if I
wanted something, I was gonna goand get it no matter what.
So that was my turning point tocome to a different country and
with the good and the bads,because, It's not easy,
especially if you are byyourself,
Andrea Hiott (18:06):
oh no.
And the language that can be sohard.
Stefy Bau (18:09):
Yeah.
The language, a totallydifferent culture, it was not
easy, but again, I have thatgoal in my mind, so nothing was
gonna stop me and I went for it.
Andrea Hiott (18:19):
It's amazing that determination.
When you were actually racingthese times.
When you're winning so much andthere's so many races, what was
your schedule like during theday?
Were you training all the time?
Were you going to school still?
Stefy Bau (18:31):
Yes, it's training all the time.
When, I was in my professionalyears, my typical day was,
something like this, getting upat seven in the morning, go for
a four or five miles run, thencome back home breakfast, and
then go to the track and at thetrack spending like, the
majority of the day doing whatwe call in the industry mottos,
(18:54):
which is 40 minutes on thetrack, like to mimic a race.
So you are gonna do that two orthree times and then come home
and go for a 20 mile bicycleride or a swim, right?
That was every day.
It's a lot of physicalactivities, but you have to be
in the top shape possible to beable to be, at the top of the
(19:17):
sport.
It's very demanding.
It's also very demandingmentally.
So be able to have a body thatcan sustain you, you know what
you wanna do.
It helps the mental side aswell.
Andrea Hiott (19:30):
I've never been on a dirt track, and I just wonder,
could you describe the feelingof it, how does it, how does it
feel and, yeah.
Especially in terms of needingto be in shape,
Stefy Bau (19:40):
I mean, to me, what the sport motocross and
supercross taught me iseverything that I needed to have
a good life life, period.
So let me explain it more likethis, the track changes every
lap.
So you need to be sharp as a, asharp shooter, meaning like you
have to be completely focusedall the time because if you mess
(20:03):
up, y ou can get on the ground.
If you don't pick your linecorrectly, another opponent can
come up and pass you, right?
So you have to look all thetime, scanning that ground and
in super fast, and make adecision, like it right there on
the spot.
Then the physical side, you haveaerobic and strength all at
(20:26):
once.
So to be able to, do the sportis like a soccer player that
runs for, the entire time of amatch in addition to a body
builder.
Together.
So it's, it's a lot, and thencomes the strategy even more in
regards to how to manage yourstrength and your abilities and
(20:49):
that for a length of time, likeeach, race is about 40 minutes.
So for 40 minutes, like you needto be able to pace.
Your capabilities and winagainst your opponent.
So there is a ton of componentsthat go into this sport, and I
feel very lucky that I choosethis sport because those are
(21:10):
similar things that you do inlife.
Another thing, once you win, youare in front of 80,000 people,
you have to make a speech.
So that is, to me is verysimilar to, like when somebody
goes up for a job interview, youmight not be in front of 80,000
people, but the feeling is thesame because you have to perform
(21:31):
and say the right things to beable to have your audience,
cheering you on or liking you orhiring you, right?
That's also another thing that Ilearned through the sport.
So yeah, and the never give upattitude, again, in life, like
in, in, in motorcycle racing, weused to say you crash 10 time
(21:52):
and you get up 11.
you never stay on the ground.
And then, the same thing with,with life, if there are stuff
that happens to you, it doesn'tmatter.
You keep going, you get up, youkeep going.
I just had, a talk, at the fullsale university last week, and
it was fun because I titled thetalk Do Not let go of the
(22:15):
handlebars.
And that is because.
The last thing that you do, likethe last thing that you do when
you are about to crash and likeit's, it's almost unsavable the
crash.
You still hold on to thehandlebar, and then sometimes
you have to let go because youknow it happens, and that is a
lesson in life.
(22:36):
you have so many thing coming toyou and happen to you during
your life, but if you staystrong and motivated on what you
have the passion for and whatyou like, you definitely not
gonna let go of that handlebar
Andrea Hiott (22:49):
It's a good image too to carry around.
You had this long life history,even though you were only 28 by
the time you had this crash in2005, but you'd really developed
a whole kind of way of being inthe world that was about those
things you just described.
Being in the present moment in asense, because you don't know
exactly what's coming next.
Being able to balance, beingable to be seen and talk in
(23:12):
front of people, all thesequalities.
I also imagine you had to learnsome business instinct about how
to take care of yourself interms of money and all that.
That's a whole other lesson.
So it really was like a schoolof, I don't know,
Stefy Bau (23:25):
I I can call it like a school of life, because again,
for me, the sport that reallygave me all the tools
necessarily to then, continue todo what I, I had the passion for
in life after racing.
again, the never give upaptitude, the resilence,
respecting others, because youhave to respect your competitors
too, like they're there to, totry to win as well.
(23:47):
So you need to be able to stayin front of them without
creating a crash or, endangerothers, right?
So that's a formal respect, you,you argue and you be the best
you can by.
competing against other peopleand work harder so you can be
the best.
And if you are not the best,it's okay.
It's okay to fail.
(24:07):
Like the crash motorcyclingracing represent also that in my
opinion, like you can fail, youcan crash, but you have to get
up and do it again.
Andrea Hiott (24:16):
You can learn a lot from that.
I guess sometimes even more thanjust winning all
Stefy Bau (24:20):
Exactly.
Because you learn not to do thatagain and next time,
Andrea Hiott (24:23):
mm-hmm.
life can really give us some bigchallenges and some really
difficult things.
And even with this wholeskillset you had, I have to
imagine that the last thing youreally expected was what
happened when you were 28 in, in2005 and you had this crash and
it was during a practice or
Stefy Bau (24:39):
yes.
Andrea Hiott (24:39):
Set it up for us a
Stefy Bau (24:40):
Yeah, we were getting ready to, to prepare for the
2006 season.
So we were testing inThomasville, Georgia.
I was with the Honda team attime.
And, I messed up this jump andin the two, three seconds, that
I was in the air that I knewthat the accident was gonna
happen, the first thing Ithought about it was, dang, I'm
(25:05):
going to miss next week's race.
And the second thought was like,ah, this is might hurt quite a
bit.
But again, the first thing in mymind was like, not be scared,
not be upset or whatever.
It's I, I can't race next week,so again, it shows the character
or like a hyper condition withthis sport, but then again, you
(25:26):
grow up by, with this sport tomake all of this kind of
decision, in a split of asecond.
And sometimes are good,sometimes are not, and you live
with the consequences of it.
In this case, I don't know whathappened.
I can't tell if it was my errorand motorcycle error, but it did
happen and on the line of whatwe are saying after two hours
(25:46):
since the accident, I wasalready on the operating room.
And the surgeon was saying youmight lose your legs, we have 1%
chance that you have your legscoming out of the surgery.
And still on that bed.
I was talking to the surgeon,say, yes, okay, but when can I
go back racing?
Andrea Hiott (26:06):
You were just pushing forward.
Even that moment you werepersisting.
Stefy Bau (26:10):
looking forward, forget what happened.
Okay, that happened all.
So how can I go past that, andcontinue to, to go forward?
Andrea Hiott (26:18):
That's a lot of change in three hours.
you're practicing everything's,you have this regimen of waking
up at seven and all this.
this whole life is built onthis.
You probably have a team, yourfamily's probably still working
with you.
It's a whole moving machine, andthen this thing happens and in
two hours you're on a operatingtable and everything has
changed, right?
Stefy Bau (26:38):
Yes, that is correct.
And the way that you put it isexactly how I felt.
Meaning that now what?
Now what's gonna happen?
And I have to say, I went in adark place, at first because you
know how your life all of asudden, the life that you knew
and the life that you lived,like for basically 28 years it
(27:00):
just stopped, like you are neverprepared for that.
And it's just you are gettinginto this spiral.
This what am I doing?
What, what is
Andrea Hiott (27:10):
Yeah.
It's almost must be like a stateof shock too.
it's almost too much to handlebecause everything is so linked.
even just the routine of yourlife, changing the routine of
your life in a little way ishard.
But with that kind of change,where it's, of course, it's also
your passion and what you wannado.
So it's mental, it's emotional,it's physical, and it's also
just the routine of your day.
Stefy Bau (27:28):
Yeah.
It wasn't easy, as I said, I wasin a dark place for a little
while.
I probably also fueled by, themedicine I needed to take, not
to feel pain, and all of that.
but little by little thanks tothe team, meaning like the
people around me, especially myfamily, I needed to, to get that
change and start looking at thepositive, right.
(27:50):
and turn this negative into apositive and was stuck with me
was this concept.
It was that, I start tellingmyself that, hey, at 28 years
old, I concluded an incrediblecareer and now I have the
opportunity to start the brandnew one and be as successful.
(28:12):
So that's how I turn it around.
And that's was worked for mebecause justifying the fact that
then maybe a lot of people inthe world, at 28, they still
don't know what they wanna dowhen they grow up
Andrea Hiott (28:23):
Absolutely.
You've already changed history.
Stefy Bau (28:25):
Right, exactly.
So I'm like I'm just gonna takethis as a chapter and now I'm
gonna open a new one and I'mgonna be as successful at that.
Andrea Hiott (28:33):
That really says something about you being able
to dance or be a bit flexibletoo, you were on this path and
you were really loyal to it andpersistent.
But then when, the mountainsuddenly appeared in that path,
you were able to move and, andget around it.
Do you think that also comessomehow from your training?
Stefy Bau (28:52):
Absolutely, absolutely 100% because in
motocross racing, you have tomake decisions in a split of a
second, right?
So it didn't take a split of asecond to get outta my dark
spot.
Andrea Hiott (29:06):
of course not.
Yeah.
Stefy Bau (29:07):
But you know, like I was conditioned from thinking
that way, meaning okay, so thishappened, now we know we need to
do something to keep going,again, it was not easy at the
beginning.
My mental health was not prettyat that time,
Andrea Hiott (29:23):
Yeah, and it's good you say that cuz I think we
have to let ourselvesacknowledge that things are hard
and the dark times do come andyou can let them pass.
Stefy Bau (29:32):
The thing that I wanted to share with everybody
listening is that the dark time,they do not last forever.
So stick with it, Go through it.
It's something that it'simportant for individual to
learn from it, and it's part ofgrowing, and they don't stick
around forever.
You might think that, and I wasguilty of it, in the moment.
(29:54):
But, you just try to find someways to, to grab something and
fail forward, like lookingforward, like on what, what's
happening in that moment.
Andrea Hiott (30:05):
How did you do that?
Was it mostly just thinking,what could I do next?
Or was it talking to people orwas it, reading something or,
Stefy Bau (30:13):
I guess it was a combination because at first it
took me some time to realizethat I was never gonna be a
motorcycle racer again.
I thought that I could continueracing even though, it was this,
scariness of having my legsamputated.
My mind was still going thereand say, Hey, I can become an X
Games adaptive.
(30:35):
so continue to go to that, tothat direction, and say, nothing
can stop me.
this is just a bump in the road,and so on and so forth.
However, like my injury took 10years to fix, so it was a long
and strenuous, journey.
Andrea Hiott (30:54):
It was, your ankles mostly in the end.
Stefy Bau (30:56):
the problem was that on my left ankle, I develop a
hole.
And this hole was, this might bea little bit gruesome for some
listeners, so if you don't wannalisten, just cover your ears for
a second.
This, this hole open, and theycouldn't figure it out how to
close it and they couldn'tfigure it out why that was
(31:16):
happening.
And I still decide to live mylife.
So I was going around, I went toAfrica, I went to other
countries and I was going intodoctor offices walking in, and
they said, it's impossible thatyou are walking.
And I'm like, okay, so you'renot a doctor for me, because
clearly I just walked in here.
(31:37):
So even that mentality, if youare telling me that it's
impossible, I'm walking and I'mwalking, so either I'm, I'm
crazy or you are crazy, it's allof this thing that, it's all
related to my life as anathlete, to wanna, to keep going
and, and keep, doing things inthe way that, I need to think,
yes, this is the right way ornot.
So it did take a long time,
Andrea Hiott (31:59):
when you were traveling around, was this the
time when you were starting todo some mentorship I'm trying to
figure out how you eventuallyfound your way into, being a
mentor to many, other women inthe sport I guess it was in
those 10 years that it started.
Stefy Bau (32:12):
Yes, indeed.
So like my accident was in 2005,the end of 2005.
So for the entire 2006 I was inbed then in a wheelchair and
then try to learn to walk again.
Let's put it like that.
And then in 2007 is when Ifinally got the switch saying,
(32:35):
Hey, I need to start a newcareer here.
Luckily I had the support so Iwas able to become the general
manager of the newly born FAMWomen Motocross World
Championship.
So before, I used to race withthe girls and now, they asked me
to be the general manager of thechampionship.
(32:58):
So for me that was an incredibleproud moment because I had the
opportunity to now be the mamato all the other girls.
I was the mentor to everyone.
I loved it.
Because I put it down on thetable right away, it's Hey,
there is no competition with meanymore here, so let me help
(33:19):
you.
I'm not your competitionanymore, so let me help you
become the best you can be.
So that was a magic in thathappening.
I, I loved that time of my life,like we were able to create a
super strong community.
So now, yes, when the gatedropped, everybody was an enemy.
But, when the, when we weredone, we racing, we actually,
(33:42):
really work all together, almostlike a team where we were
figuring out whether we couldn'tdo better to grow the sport as a
whole.
So I kind of like felt into aposition of leadership, and be
the person that everybody wascoming to for advice and figure
it out how they can be betterand get more response.
(34:05):
That was very rewarding becausenow it is when my life changing
on the giving back, uh and notonly be about and my racing, but
start giving back.
Andrea Hiott (34:16):
That must have felt good to be able to give so
much, it can be very healing tobe able to give, I guess.
Stefy Bau (34:22):
Absolutely.
Yeah.
And, it comes a certain point inlife I guess, but the power of
giving back to others, itfulfills you in so many
different ways that it's likeone of the best things that an
individual can experience in myopinion.
Andrea Hiott (34:42):
even better than winning a world championship.
Stefy Bau (34:45):
yes, yes.
In a way it is because now youjust see other people doing what
you did, right?
So it reinforced to you as anindividual the way you did was
meaningful because now there isothers that wanted to do it too,
and be part of their life.
(35:05):
It's so powerful that it justcreates this whole Feel good
situation, which I think if moreand more people will do it in
the world, we will have probablya world with less craziness
that, that we do, you know?
Andrea Hiott (35:20):
Definitely if people understood that that can
be so fulfilling.
Stefy Bau (35:24):
Yes, absolutely.
But I, I do think that comeswith Age we are being so that we
continue to grow, and it wouldbe weird to see a kid all day is
just like that.
Right?
That doesn't think about herselfand, and think about others,
right?
So you have it, it is a rite ofpassage in life.
You need to do what moves you,what makes you passionate.
(35:47):
And that there is a time in yourlife that you'll say, well, this
is bigger than just me.
So you wanted to helping othersto, to experience the same.
So at least this is whathappened to me in my life.
Andrea Hiott (36:00):
Yeah, that's a good point.
It's not either or.
You can do both.
You can excel and go with whatmoves you
Stefy Bau (36:07):
for sure.
So we were talking a, a littlebit about, The trajectory after
the racing.
So first I did that.
Then from there I was able to bepart of the women commission
inside the F I M.
So the FIM is the internationalFederation of Motorcycling,
which is a base in Geneva,Switzerland.
(36:28):
And that was another steptoward, like helping more women
getting involved as a whole, andcome up with the strategies and
plans as to how to continue toincrease that.
A little bit political, for whatI used to be doing up to that
point.
But you know, it was anothergreat experience in my life and
(36:51):
I learned a lot, like on how I.
Sometimes you have to, to be, tomake things happen.
I'm always like, yeah, drop thegate sometimes.
Instead, you just have to hurryup and wait.
Andrea Hiott (37:04):
Well, another first of yours was being the
first woman in a video game,motocross video game.
Is that right?
Stefy Bau (37:09):
Yes.
And that's cool.
That's super cool because italso ties back in with what I'm
doing now, and who knew therewas gonna come full circle like
that.
This was the year 2000, thefirst video game I was part of.
EA sport, decided to create agame and have a motorcycle racer
be part of it.
And I go ask to be one of them.
(37:31):
We are talking it 23 years ago.
It's like mind blowing to thinkabout it.
Andrea Hiott (37:36):
You must have just gone pro more or less or
Stefy Bau (37:38):
Yeah.
Yeah.
That was when I went to pro thatis correct.
Andrea Hiott (37:41):
So you were the first Woman in the video game
too.
the other people were men, Iguess, in that game.
Stefy Bau (37:46):
Yes, yes,
Andrea Hiott (37:47):
You did it in the virtual world
Stefy Bau (37:48):
yes, indeed.
And I think that's why I kind oflike came together, because of
that, and it was super cool,again, it was my second year in
the United States.
Here I come, with this bleach,blonde hair, from Italy, barely
speaking any English, and havingthe chance to be in a video
game, I was like, oh my God,this is crazy.
(38:10):
This just happens in the movies,
Andrea Hiott (38:12):
You were living it.
Okay.
So you were in video games, butyou didn't play'em that much
because you were, living it inreal life, but, Somehow the
eSports has just exploded in thepast five or 10 years, or even
the past four years.
I wanna talk a little bit aboutthat for people who don't know
much about it yet, but how didyou get into it, this idea of
sim racing and eSports?
When did that come into yourlife?
Stefy Bau (38:33):
yes, so it happened because I went to Italy just
before the pandemic hit, right?
I went to Italy visiting myfamily, and I saw my little
niece that she was spending twoto three hours a day watching
people play.
Andrea Hiott (38:52):
two to three hours a day., watching, just
Stefy Bau (38:54):
I'm like watching.
yes, watching.
So like consuming entertainmentin a way of watching video
games, so I'm like, hmm, this isvery interesting.
Like the kids nowadays, they'respending their time watching
gamers, a light bulb came up andI'm like, maybe I can use this
(39:15):
to be able to bring more womenand minority into motorsport by
lower the barrier of entries.
With gaming, it's much easierbecause even a console, console
sets you off maybe$300, right?
But a go-kart or a motorcycle is$5,000.
(39:37):
Only a certain category ofpeople is able to do that.
So therefore,.
Using and utilizing gamings willbe an opportunity to open up way
more doors and therefore expand,the base, of Motorsport as a
whole.
So I went to learn and then thePandemic hit and formula One, I
(39:58):
was teaching everyone how itneeds to be done, meaning like
in SIM, the head Charles LeClairMax Verstappen playing in the
games with the, the public.
So I'm like, oh my God, this isso cool.
It's amazing.
That got me into, into openingmy company.
It's called INIT..
(40:19):
First I fall back into the thepart of motorcycling because
that's where I have the passion.
So I connected with the AMA andexplained how good it would be
to get involved with the gamingcommunity, to be able to bring
new people into Motorcross andSupercross and motorcycling in
(40:39):
general.
And so we make that theagreement.
They say, this is brilliant, welike this.
You are now the promoter foranything eSport for the AMA.
So now we started to create thechampionships and it's insane.
A couple data here to just putthe things in perspective.
So one third of the worldpopulation identifies as a
(41:02):
gamer, and F of them are women.
So for me,
Andrea Hiott (41:07):
you say?
Half of
Stefy Bau (41:08):
f of people that play games in the world are women.
Andrea Hiott (41:13):
I did not know that.
Stefy Bau (41:14):
So for me, I'm like, oh my God, the it is, that's the
talent pool.
Like we need to go into thisindustry to be able to expose
more women into something that Ilove, which is motor sport.
Andrea Hiott (41:26):
No one was doing that in motocross.
It was Formula One.
They were starting to do it, butnobody was doing it in off-road
and motocross before you hadthis
Stefy Bau (41:34):
Mm-hmm.
Yes, that is correct.
Andrea Hiott (41:38):
You saw and you went for it.
Stefy Bau (41:40):
Yep.
Exactly.
And now the, the kids that theyplay in our championship, by the
way, we have 80,000 people thattune in watching the races every
Wednesday night.
Just to give you some context.
Right.
It's insane.
Andrea Hiott (41:57):
80,000, I mean, that's just, it's so wonderful.
I like video games and thingslike this, and I like eSports.
I'm still new to it, but Do youhave any idea why so many people
like to watch it?
Stefy Bau (42:10):
I don't know.
I think it's a generationalthing.
I think people like to consumeentertainment now by want to be
part of something and we gamingnow, like Twitch for instance,
which is the platform where youtend to go and watch games, you
can chat with other people rightthere.
So it becomes a community,right?
You can chat with who you arewatching, but also with the
(42:32):
other people.
So now it's not more like a 2Dtelevision, it's becoming like
3D meaning like you can reallycreate this community.
With the younger demographic,what I have experienced is that
everybody wants to do something.
They're not just there andreceiving information.
They wanna do things if you makethem do something, then that's
(42:57):
when you get their attention.
And that's why I think a gamingis exploding in so many
different ways
Andrea Hiott (43:02):
This feeling of a community being there and maybe
not feeling so judged as youmight in other parts of life or
something.
I don't know.
There's a more immediate feelingof connection something to watch
together.
It's like sports.
sports does that, but
Stefy Bau (43:18):
right.
Andrea Hiott (43:19):
So now you're doing it yourself.
Stefy Bau (43:21):
I'm the, so I'm the so owner of, of the company and
InIt sport.
Is that the only sim racingcompany led by a woman in the
world.
Andrea Hiott (43:34):
It's incredible how many firsts you have for
women.
Stefy Bau (43:36):
And it helps a ton because with that we are able to
create a lot of differentopportunities like two main
things that we have going onright now is from the sim racing
stuff.
So from the car part, we justcreated and conclude the Screen
to Speed.
So screen to speed as the goalto being bring female and
(43:58):
non-binary people minoritiesfrom the Digital world from the
gaming world into the in reallife world.
So they qualifying online andeverybody around the world were
able to qualify for it.
And then the top 15, we got themto come to Las Vegas and
participate into thecompetition, the same racing
(44:21):
competition we were in in LasVegas at the racetrack and
around us NASCAR was happening.
So we were racing digitally thesame track that we were at while
NASCAR was happening around us.
So it was so empowering.
And the winner got to even walkon the NASCAR stage with 80,000
(44:42):
people, cheering her on, whichis like, Insane coming from the
gaming world We were able tochange lives to these gamers
that they, some of them, theydidn't even been on an airplane
before, let alone come to LasVegas.
They winner now, she's gonnacome back in June in Las Vegas
at the same racetrack, and nowshe's gonna test on a real
(45:05):
Porsche race car.
So from screen to speed.
So from the digital world to thein real life world.
And we got more than 1 millionimpression on this show as the
first going out.
So we are gonna continue to dothem.
There is a lot of talks in theindustry because we came at it,
(45:26):
for women by women, so in a veryauthentic way and the
responsible support for it.
One other thing I wanted to toshare is that we also have SIM
for STEM now, and that's why I'min Indianapolis right now,
because we are deciding tocreate a bigger base.
(45:46):
So with SIM for STEM, we aregoing after schools.
This event in Indianapolis is inconjunction with the Indy 500.
So we have 200 girls from highschool where 50 at the time.
They're gonna come in fourevents and we'll teach them STEM
curriculums.
(46:07):
So they will be doing STEMactivities, more sport related.
And then what they learn, theyapply in the simulators.
And then the five, six of themthat they're gonna be the most
engaged throughout all of thiswe'll bring them to the
racetrack to meet female driver,female mechanics, female
(46:29):
engineer, female broadcaster,because we believe that if you
can see her, you can be her.
Andrea Hiott (46:37):
Oh, I love that so much.
And also that it's not just thedrivers who are super wonderful
and important, but so are theengineers and the mechanics, and
these are such fascinatingcareers and just fascinating
things to do in life.
I really love this connectionthat you're making between
traditional racing and virtualracing.
How do you see that kind ofevolving?
(46:58):
You've been in the real crowdsand you've been in the virtual
crowds, is there a difference inthe feeling of it?
Stefy Bau (47:04):
I mean, it's all connected at the end.
It's all connected, it's alltogether.
Like people they play,especially in SIM racing, has
been demonstrated that you canrace in the SIM and those skills
transfer in real life.
Like there has been more andmore teams now that they're
looking at gamers to be able tobring them into a seat of the
(47:27):
real car.
So it's incredibly connected.
It's super cool.
Like I love the transferabilityand I believe it's the only
digital sport that has thatcapability.
To go from digital to, to, inreal life.
Andrea Hiott (47:41):
What we didn't talk about was the kind of
electric little aspect of yourjourney, cuz you did work for
electric bikes for a littlewhile, right?
Stefy Bau (47:49):
Yes.
The journey into the electrictransportation for me was during
my time the, I was the CEO ofFantic Bicycle usa.
So Fantic is a company that isfrom Italy and they decided to
open a branch into the UnitedStates.
And because of course, I'mItalian, but also I have all of
the links.
(48:10):
And the bridges between Europeand the US in the motorcycle
industry, it was like a natural,involvement there.
So by, in the US, Fantic is amotorcycle company, but also
that's e-bikes.
And with them, we decided toopen the branch in the United
States focusing on that becauseas you might might know,
(48:32):
electric transportation isstarting to take on more and
more here in the us.
It's been like a very big field,a very big industry, and it was
a fantastic journey.
And we were able to be from anunknown name into the United
States to one of the, thecompanies that sits at the table
while deciding for rules in inthe United States in regards to
(48:58):
electric transportation.
So very proud of the work thatwas done there again, I was one
of the, maybe couple femalearound the table, because I find
myself often into that position.
Andrea Hiott (49:13):
I guess you're getting used to that, but you
bring more women to the
Stefy Bau (49:16):
I like to say it's not about replacing the guys.
It's about building a biggertable.
Let's bring a bigger table andbring women in it, so diversity.
Inclusion is so important.
Like in any, in any, havingdifferent mindset and different
people that come up withdifferent cultures, for me, it's
(49:37):
not about substituting, but it'sjust about building a bigger
table.
So more women can be involvedand, and minorities.
Yeah, so the journey was verycool.
It, it was just exploding in theUnited States in 2016 when I
took on this this position.
And it was just a time that,that they were doing the three
class systems in the US.
(49:59):
There's been adopted by many ofthe states, and I worked a
little bit on that as well witha core group of people, for me,
I am an E-bike rider.
I, I ride E-mountain bikesbecause of course I need to stay
in the dirt, not the, on theroad, but yes, my wife and I, we
(50:21):
ride as much as we can and andwe love it, And yes.
It was, it was very good to seethe transformation, in regards
to the.
Approach of a e-bike and, andthe community, like the regular
bicycle community as a whole,like in Europe, it's been way
ahead of time compared to theUnited States.
(50:44):
So there were lots of painpoints that we needed to go
through because a lot of peopledidn't understand, oh, they are
motorcycles and now they're notmotorcycle.
You pedal, you don't twist thethrottle.
So it's, it's different.
Right.
But e education, it's it'salways at the base on everything
in reality, and it takes time tomake everybody understand.
(51:05):
So the people for bike group,they developed the three class
system, did an amazing job thereto kind of like make a little
bit more standardized.
Understanding of how e-bikeacts, and therefore what each
state can do about it.
And that was a very big thingthat was was done.
And then after that, we continueto see more and more companies
(51:28):
coming into.
The United States, with the,with their products and from,
road and transportation,especially in the big cities,
it's a big deal because With ayounger demographic tune in a
lot into the environment, andtry therefore to do better for
the World ElectricTransportation is able to
(51:50):
provide that.
So with having cities like bigCity, like San Francisco is one
of them, they try to create moreand more bike paths.
So instead of going to work witha car, you go to work with a
bicycle, an electric bicycle,
Andrea Hiott (52:04):
And now you can in San Francisco with an electric
bike, you can actually do it onthe hills.
Stefy Bau (52:09):
Yes indeed.
We were based the branch who wasbased there in San Francisco, so
we completely saw the entireevolution of it.
And now, in the morning, like onthe Golden Gate Bridge, you see
so many electric bikes.
So people that choose that to goto work instead of cars, which,
little by little is making achange, less car on the road.
the world can breathe a littleeasier,
Andrea Hiott (52:31):
What do you think about electric motorcycles
Stefy Bau (52:33):
I personally love them because I'm always looking
ahead, looking forward of whatwe can do to continue to grow.
Right.
So whereas I grew up as a partof the gas motorcycle, my entire
career was on that, and there issome magic around it.
Like the smell, like even rightnow when I smell gasoline, for
(52:56):
me, it reminds me of mychildhood, right?
But we need to become more andmore responsible for for this,
this planet that we live on,right?
Therefore, Electric gives anopportunity to continue to have
the sport in areas that nowthey've been outgrown by
buildings.
Right.
Before we had Especially inmotorcross, we had those hills
(53:20):
and, and tracks on hills, aroundfairly closer to, towns and
cities right now.
Guess what?
The towns are expanding, thecity are expanding.
So they're eating up the tracksand one of the reason is we
don't need that because they'reloud, they are noisy, they smell
bad.
They're not good for theenvironment.
Well, now if you move, we allmove to electric.
(53:44):
That old argument collapses.
Like we can potentially have amotorcycle track in the middle
of a city, in a park, andtherefore grow the sport in that
way.
because again, it connects allinto the education, putting,
thinking in this way.
If you put a kid right off thebat at four years old on a
(54:06):
regular bicycle, and then youmove them on an electric
motorcycle right away, they willnot know the difference growing
up.
Because that's the only thingthey experience.
But you know, if you put themthen, into a gas motorcycle,
then we are gonna continue tofeed the same system that we are
trying to change.
Be able to get in at an earlyage, then that kid is gonna grow
(54:28):
up and say, oh, I don't want anoisy motorcycle.
I want one day.
I can actually hear what's goingon when I, when I race, or I
have fun.
Andrea Hiott (54:37):
Then they'll have memories of that, of the
hearing, the atmosphere or, ordifferent memories than the
sensory ones we have of likegasoline and all of those
things.
Stefy Bau (54:46):
correct.
Which again, it's, that was theway that I grew up and I love
it, but between me and you, ifyou go to watch a motorcycle
race, you cannot even speak withsomebody next to you because
it's so loud.
So yeah, you are there with someother people enjoying something,
but in reality it's almost likeyou're there by yourself.
(55:09):
If we wanted to create acontinuous sense of community,
maybe we should look intolowering the sound decibel,
right?
And electric gets you there.
So now you can be there, enjoythe show, but at the same time
having a word with the personsitting next to you without
going home.
At night, I not have any voicein you anymore.
Andrea Hiott (55:29):
Exactly same with race car racing.
Do you think they're as fun forracing?
Stefy Bau (55:35):
Mm-hmm.
I do because I do, because Ialso try a few of them, and I
mean they are just so good, likewith time and more investment,
they're gonna continue to becomebetter and better, but they are
so good.
It's all about the torque there.
So it's a little bit less skillson how to manage the clutch, I
(55:55):
will say, because it's more liketorque.
But at the same time, it's, it'sa lot of power, like it let's
you do whatever you need to do.
Just like in a regularmotorcycle.
The only issue still is thebattery length, right?
So people wanted to go for longor wanted to be able to stop if
they are trail riding and thegas station and refuel and keep
(56:19):
going.
So we are still chasing thatdream, but it will happen.
It will happen.
There is no stopping evolution.
Andrea Hiott (56:27):
No, we're going that way.
So you think you can still learnthose same lessons that you told
us about earlier in terms ofkind of life lessons from
electric too?
Stefy Bau (56:37):
Absolutely, because the sport is the sport.
So when you experience, withgasoline and sound it's still
the same track, right?
So the, what I experience in mylife, it can be transferred
again and again, even withelectric motorcycles.
So I look forward to that.
It's gonna take time because ofcourse, like the world runs on
(56:58):
gasoline, and there is politicsinvolved and all of that.
But even like on the consumerside, on the car world, it's
nice to finally see more andmore company, like starting to
develop an electric vehicle.
So it's it's gonna happen.
Yeah, it's gonna happen.
And we have to, it's, it's notoh, it would be nice.
(57:19):
It's more, it's more like wehave to, because.
We know what's happening.
Climate change is real, and
Andrea Hiott (57:26):
Yeah.
It's urgent.
Yeah.
If we wanna keep enjoying allthese things we've been talking
about, we have to find betterways to do them.
Last question relates to allthis we've been talking about,
and you were talking about it alittle while ago, but I just
wonder to tie it in aboutmotoring and how this has been
an important part of your life.
I do also wanna say that you didget back on a motorcycle.
(57:46):
We talked a lot about youraccident in 2008.
You did it right, you got backon, which I have to say like I
am respect, like deep respectfor that.
I need to at least acknowledgethat.
Cuz you were just talking aboutriding the electric one,
Stefy Bau (57:58):
yeah.
It's, it's about, I guess for meit was about closing the circle.
Cause I feel like the, I didn'tget the chance to close my
racing career, because it justhappened for me.
So be able to, to go back on anddo a few, few more laps.
(58:20):
It was incredibly emotional, Itwas more like, okay, so now, now
I'm ready to really close thatchapter.
Right?
And, but I was born amotorcycle, so I don't own one.
And that is a reason for itbecause I know that I will be
going back and wanted to be likea.
Once I used to be right.
(58:41):
So I don't, I don't have amotorcycle, but every once in a
while, like when friends comesand say, Hey, you wanna go ride?
We have an extra bike.
More often than not to say,yeah, I come and do a couple
laps, but I need to be, I needto be very careful for, of
course, because I was lucky tokeep my legs, but you know, like
a big impact can, destroy what'sbeen done and maybe I will not
(59:05):
be as lucky again.
Andrea Hiott (59:06):
Yeah, definitely be careful cuz we want you to
stay around you.
Stefy Bau (59:10):
Thank you, but like my next best things is ready
mountain bike.
So I don't jump'em.
I don't
Andrea Hiott (59:16):
Okay.
Okay.
But riding, that's a, that's athrilling thing.
And especially if you can do itwith your wife where it's a
joint experience.
it makes it really special.
Stefy Bau (59:25):
For sure, for sure.
We, we love it.
And we go with electric ones,like I said, and we do the
mountain bikes and it's so good.
And even that, we were talkingabout electric, it's important.
Like people like myself, theyhave in a permanent, disability
basically, you know, in myankles.
I mean, if it wouldn't be forElectric Mountain bike, I
couldn't, I couldn't enjoy beingout the dirt.
(59:50):
I hope you know, more and morepeople started to give it a try
because for the purist that theysaid, oh, it's like cheating.
I'm like, try to turn it off andpedal and they tell me if it's
cheating or not,
Andrea Hiott (01:00:03):
yeah.
It's just different.
It's like what you were sayingabout the table being larger,
it's like we don't have tochoose, but it's better that
there's more options andtechnology can help us in ways
that, like you just described,it's opening more possibility We
can be more responsible.
Stefy Bau (01:00:17):
for
Andrea Hiott (01:00:18):
Okay, so you've persisted and you've found a way
to keep motoring.
I, you've gone all directionsaround every mountain that
you've seen in front of you andyour life is still about
motoring, even virtual motoring,electric motoring.
So I guess just to end it, I'dlike to hear, what you think
about this idea of forevermotoring and all these forms
that it takes and what it means
Stefy Bau (01:00:39):
Well, for me, I started with when I was very
young.
So therefore, that's my passion.
I, I can never see my lifewithout motoring.
It's, it is just not possible.
It's part of me, so whateverthat is, two wheel, four wheel
on skis or whatever, has to havea motor in it.
And I think, in general, if I, Ishould say some takeaways after
(01:01:03):
this this call, anybody andeverybody in life, they should
just follow their passion andwhatever moves you, just go for
it.
Andrea Hiott (01:01:13):
Thank you so much for being with us today, and
thanks for all that you do andall these paths you've opened
for so many people, for women,it's definitely something
special and I wanna express mygratitude for it.
Stefy Bau (01:01:24):
Thank you so much.
It means a lot to me.
Little by little we're gonnachange the world.
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