Kristin Sinnott and Kara Williard talk with Blizzard-Tecnica’s Women2Women program founder and ski legend, Leslie Baker-Brown, about her background in ski racing, and her remarkable 32 years of work for Blizzard-Tecnica. They dive into the origins story of the W2W program, including how it spans beyond women-specific gear via community-building, scholarship programs, and more. Leslie explains Blizzard-Tecnica’s design process for women’s gear, including designing the #1 selling ski in the world; she talks about what it looks like to work with women through the iterative prototyping process; what gives her hope and inspiration for the future; and where we can still work to improve the industry.

TOPICS & TIMES 

• Leslie’s Background in Ski Racing (4:17)
• Competing for Middlebury (4:41)
• 32 years with Tecnica! (7:45)
• Where women-specific gear started (9:35)
• How the idea of W2W was born (14:36)
• The Four Pillars (20:00)
• How W2W has Evolved (22:52)
• The #1 Ski in the World (27:22)
• Women-Specific Ski Boots (34:38)
• What’s hopeful and inspirational right now? (39:14)
• Where can the industry do better? (41:59)
• What We’re Celebrating (48:12)

RELATED LINKS:

• Women2Women 2022 Scholarship Opportunities: 
• US: W2W Hilaree Nelson Scholarship
• Canada: English: W2W Hilaree Nelson Scholarship
• Canada: French: W2W Hilaree Nelson Scholarship
• Become a Blister Member
• Blister Summit 2023 Registration

OUR OTHER PODCASTS

• Off The Couch
• Blister Podcast
• Bikes & Big Ideas 
• CRAFTED

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