We’re stoked to bring you this interview with German mountain biker Kathi Kuypers and her new venture Senderella. As the demand for women in action sports rises, so does the need to find women to fill campaigns and promotions; Senderella is now entering the scene to fill that void by creating a one-stop-shop to choose and find the best athlete for your campaign. Photos by @korbiblendlmedia, keep reading to learn more.
Kathi, give us an intro to you! Who is Kathi Kuypers?
Hi, my name is Kathi Kuypers, I am 32 years young and I ride (professionally) mountain bikes with support from Trek for 10 years now. I started mountain biking at the age of 15. First marathon cross country, then I switched to Freeriding and took part in some Downhill and Enduro races. In 2013 I finally found my true love: Dirtjump. I took part at 26Trix, Bikedays, and Swatch Rocket Air, and some Speed and Style races at Crankworx events. In 2020 I won a Silver medal at Crankworx Pumptrack race.
My friends have described me as a badass woman rider; riding trails, hitting dirt jumps like the guys, and even not scared to compete against them. That’s what friends like about me, I ride my bike whenever I can, I am motivated to learn new stuff, to motivate others and I am always having a good time and that’s what counts!
We (girls) needed a platform where marketing managers, agencies, and industry insiders can click on and find the perfect woman for their campaign.
Angie Hohenwarter my best friend says: “Kathi also knows every single mountain biker, all of the MTB movies, the spots, and bike parks… a real MTB Lady, just ask her when you want to know something about the sport. She inspires other women to ride! What scares me sometimes about the blonde Bavarian lady is only when we go out, cause we party quite good and the day after we have to tell each other what happened, haha, there were some good stories. I know Kathi as a big-hearted, lovely person that I love to hang out with.”
What is Feature the Future and how did this idea come about?
Casey Brown and I were sitting in the car, we were driving to Audi Nines in 2021 and we figured that we (girls) needed a platform where marketing managers, agencies, and industry insiders can click on and find the perfect woman for their campaign. That’s why I sat down and created “Feature the Future”, a platform where MTB girls can add their profiles. I used my domain “Senderella” to save some money because of coding.
www.profile.senderella.de
Driven by passion, a love for the sport, and us wanting to help grow the niche of girl riders, Senderella and the platform “Feature the Future” aims to support female riders and contribute to mountain biking and cycling with expert advice, laying within the industry and riding skills.
Personally, I think that girls, especially MTB girls including myself have a “Queen Bee Behavior” complex. haha I know this sounds super strange now, but queen bees don’t really tolerate other women next to them. Instead of acting as mentors, could successful female bosses be pulling up the ladder behind them because they perceive other women as a threat?
This is the theory known as queen bee syndrome. Which is a popular phenomenon within the MTB industry. The sole female bee in the hive lays the eggs that make the hive thrive — the queen bee plays an incredibly crucial role. There is always that ONE queen bee. That one girl in the riding group, that one girl in the factory team, that one girl, and it can always only be one.
It might sound funny but I feel like I behave like an old queen bee who now paves the way for the next generation.
The queen bee releases chemical signals that stop other female worker bees’ ovaries from functioning. But shortly after she dies, these chemical signals wear off, which means worker bees can lay eggs now. One of the more interesting points is that if a queen bee does not die accidentally and yet dies of old age, the process is a bit different to find a new queen. As she ages, the queen produces fewer pheromones. The decline in pheromone concentration signals the workers to start building queen-size cells in the hive. If the queen is still alive, she herself lays the eggs of her potential successors in these cells. And it might sound funny but I feel like I behave like an old queen bee who now paves the way for the next generation.
Society has told us that it can be just that one girl. “Pick Me Syndrome”. This goes back to a time when females had to compete for mates and for resources for their children. Disney movies are a good example. The princess is a trophy for the prince. The prince can only see her when she is the prettiest of all. And as a young girl you look for figures you can identify with and it does not help to play with “wasp waist”, or Barbies with a slender shape. Out of these stereotypes in the child’s formative years, it is only logical that we have that “one girl” behavior. “There’s only one who can be Germany’s next top model”
My favorite childhood hero was Pippi Longstocking. She was the super girl who had superpowers and she was brave, strong, and loud. Pippi had a boring, ordinary, decent friend called Annika. I did not want to be like Annika. I wanted to be like Pippi, and to show how super cool Pippi is, Annika had to be even more boring. There’s only a place for one cool girl next to the guys but we have to learn to drop these stereotypes, because how hard would it be if we all would be the same?!
Helping other girls make a step into a professional MTB career feels a bit like self-therapy with how I was treated and how I treated my mates. I realized that I cannot survive like that one girl and I realized that we have to say goodbye to the patriarch’s behavior in order to create a women’s business in the MTB scene to survive and make money.
Be that woman who repairs the crown of the other woman, without telling the world that it was broken!
We have to create role models. Open doors, show solidarity and put yourself in their place. They don’t have to make the same bad experiences as you gained. Be that woman who repairs the crown of the other woman, without telling the world that it was broken! We need allies, not rivals. I only learn empathy abilities when I listen.
We have to say goodbye to the behavior “What does she have what I don’t have”, say goodbye to comparing each other, and realize that many queen bees can create a big powerful MTB scene where everyone can make a better living out of it.
Do you have any examples of any riders getting hooked up so far?
My first request was from a videographer who was looking for a MTB girl to shoot a campaign for an Italian tourist campaign, and some marketing managers told me that they will have a look at the website more often.
What would be something you’d like to see happen through this venture?
I want to see more girls on mountain bikes. More girls will be hooked with sponsors, and be connected within the MTB scene. I also want to help marketing managers have an easier job choosing the right person for their brand/campaign.
Does Senderella take a cut of a campaign?
It actually just costs me a lot of money, time, and nerves and I just use the Senderella domain to save some money. All the money I make with Senderella merchandising I use for this website and for future video projects including MTB Girls.
What would you say the market is looking for the most right now?
I feel like Freeride MTB girls finally have a platform where they can show what they are able to and I feel like brands now finally want a girl or girls next to their male athlete roster in all MTB disciplines. I don’t want to know how big the gender gap in MTB is, but let’s do something to close it.
