Mia Lambson has spent the better part of her life with a camera in hand, carving out space for women in snowboarding. She’s a filmmaker, director, and the force behind Tomboy Media. After more than a decade shooting contests, street sessions, backcountry missions, and whatever wild projects the community throws her way, she is now pouring all of that grit, skill, and vision into Wayward, a full length documentary tracing the history of women’s snowboarding and the culture that shaped it.

In this episode, we start with Wayward: how an idea from 2018 grew into a multi year project that follows the evolution of snowboard culture through the lens of gender. Mia talks about uncovering nearly forgotten stories like Morgan LaFontaine throwing double backflips in the mid 90s, the lost film No Man’s Land, and what happens when women’s accomplishments aren’t preserved.

We also explore the bigger arc of women’s snowboarding: the male dominated early industry, the early 2000s “sex sells” era, and the moment things finally began to shift. Mia breaks down how opportunities like Big Air opening back up to women, massive progression moments, and how social media pressure on brands helped reshape the landscape. She shares what she heard from the 30-plus women she interviewed for the film, from pioneers who had to fight for every scrap of support to a younger generation who, for the first time, doesn’t carry the same weight of “you don’t belong here.”

From there, we go into Mia’s own path: her start in a world where anonymous forums tore apart every women’s edit, learning to create from fear instead of curiosity, and the way that slowly erodes your confidence. She talks about landing her dream job at Snowboarder Magazine, launching into freelance right as the pandemic hit, stepping back from snowboarding entirely to open a vintage furniture shop, and stumbling into production work in Salt Lake — where she learned the planning, organization, and producing skills that would eventually make Wayward possible.

We close with Tomboy Media and what comes next: why Mia built it at first as a simple LLC and now sees it as a future home for female creatives; what shifts when women are behind the lens as well as in front of it; and how she imagines building a directory or collective that brands can turn to when they want female led media. She shares the very real, unglamorous side of making an independent film — insurance, lawyers, endless emails — and her belief that a little bit of delusion is sometimes the only way big creative things get made :)!

Hope you enjoy this conversation!

Episode 44.

SHOW NOTES

Mia Lambson Brady — filmmaker, director, and founder of Tomboy Media

Tomboy Media — female-led production studio & creative collectivehttps://www.instagram.com/tomboy.media

https://www.tomboy-media.com

Wayward — A DOCUMENTARY FILM ABOUT HOW WOMEN CHANGED SNOWBOARDING

https://www.tomboy-media.com/wayward

Woodward Park City — host of Wayward’s world premiere on December 14 !!

Woodward Park City, 3863 Kilby Rd, Park City, UT 84098 COME WATCH!

Follow us on Instagram @wanderstudioss

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