Gretchen Bleiler and Kristi Leskinen featured in “Oakley Chicks Day Out”
The Oakley Chicks Day Out is a unique opportunity for kiwi ski and snowboarding girls to get personal coaching by some of Oakley’s hottest international female athletes.
Flying down to immerse themselves in our terrain and spill their bag of tricks this year are Gretchen Bleiler (USA), Silvia Mittermuller (GER) and Kristi Leskinen (USA) who are stoked to combine this special coaching experience with a chance to rip it up themselves on our world class slopes, fields and facilities.
This year the Oakley Chicks Day Out has been tailored to create an even more intimate day of personal fulfilment on the snow. 15 lucky kiwi girls will get to experience a challenging Snowcat Adventure at the Old Man Range near Alexandra in Central Otago where they will ride, hang out, and learn in a supportive and fun environment with the Oakley athletes.
The day will wrap up with an après-ski media evening at the Oakley House in Queenstown. Gretchen Bleiler will also be exclusively showcasing her range of eco-friendly Oakley apparel. See attached media invite for more details.
The 15 places for the Oakley Chicks Day Out will go to hardworking girls from some of Oakley’s key retail partners, supporting snow industry women, and snow smart influencers, all who are driven to raising the profile of Kiwi female snow athletes.
Generating a buzz in the forward thinking snow community, this event is all about young women having fun learning together and to celebrate Oakley’s continued support for women in the snow.
Kristi Townley from Oakley South Pacific is excited about the third year of this event. “The Oakley Chicks Day Out is a chance to show our dedication to the New Zealand market and our passion for supporting strong, active woman who love to ski and ride! This year, we’re going for a more intimate format that will allow the attendees a chance to spend more one-on-one time with the athletes and have a true money can’t buy experience. Another goal for this years event is to generate awareness for our fragile environment while showcasing Gretchen’s eco-line of snow apparel.”
See below for individual athlete bios and media opportunities.
Gretchen Bleiler: USA
http://www.gretchenbleiler.com
Gretchen Bleiler is one of the most accomplished Female snowboarders in the world. As a top to her incredible list of medals and contest wins, Gretchen most recently won Silver at the 2006 Winter Olympic Games in Torino, Italy, Gold at the 2008 Winter X-Games, she’s a Gravity Games champion, a US Open champion, and won an ESPY for Best Action Sports Female.
Gretchen found her passion at age 11 and has been at the forefront of the snowboarding world ever since. Despite this, the Aspen local is still remains the friendly girl next door who is never too busy to smile and say hello.
While in New Zealand for the Oakley Chicks Day Out 2009, Gretchen will also be presenting her impressive line of Oakley technical outerwear and lifestyle apparel. Motivated by her environmental activism, a capsule of the collection is also eco-friendly. These performance pieces take advantage of ECO STORMTM textiles whose recycled fibers are a benefit of ECO CIRCLETM technology, which reduces energy and carbon dioxide emissions. The protective layer is also produced without solvents, cutting down on eco assaults.
“In life when you go with your passion and take that huge risk, that’s when you become the most successful.” – Gretchen Bleiler.
Kristi Leskinen: USA
Recognised as one of the worlds top freeski ‘jibbers’, Kristi Leskinen flaunts her skills by landing dangerous tricks on ski’s, she was the first woman to pull a rodeo 720 – two rotations, head pointed towards the earth. Always a true campaigner for womens
freeskiing and consistently placed in competitions, Kristi Leskinen, was a huge force in getting womens freeski events included and recognised in the X-Games.
Originally hailing from Pennsylvania, USA, Kristi often draws attention for her model-looks, but prefers to focus on gaining more exposure and genuine respect for female athletes in the snow.
Kristi has repeatedly been an integral part of the Oakley Chicks Day Out making time from the event’s beginnings to come to New Zealand to support and coach our young female talent.
“It’s a privilege for me to meet so many girls with the same love for the mountains that I have. The Oakley Chicks Day Out is always full of fun and excitement and the girls are so keen on learning new tricks. Oakley has done an amazing job at making women a priority and it really shows through at this event. I can’t wait to come back to hang out with Kiwi girls again and show them a thing or two on the snow.” – Kristi Leskinen.