It’s been seven seasons since Kelly Vance started her online magazine, Shred Betties. Since then it has grown to a nationally recognized name in the female, snowboard industry. See what she has to say about running her own business, snowboarding at Mt. Bachelor and juggling two young daughters!
Let’s start off easy, how long have you been snowboarding?
12 years
What was your home mountain and what drew you into the sport?
I learned to ski when I was 3, but it took me until I was 23 to make the transition to snowboarding – I was reluctant to make the transition because I didn’t want to start all over again on the boring terrain. But after I graduated from CSU, I moved up to Steamboat Springs, and we had a super crappy early season – so I figured there was never a better time to try snowboarding, there were only groomers open anyway! I was able to get up almost every day, so I picked it up quickly, and by the end of the season, I had tossed my skis.
Were you ever a contest girl or just cruised around the slopes?
Nope, never did contests! Never even considered it, in my mind, snowboarding is something I do just for me, to get out, find super fun lines, and enjoy the beauty of nature. I am a big mountain rider, and I like steeps and trees and backcountry powder.
What is Shred Betties and how did it start?
It’s an online magazine for female snowboarders. I started it in 2006 with two friends who are also just regular girls who like to snowboard – Julie Verone and Sara Dinkin. We really just started it for fun, and because at the time, the mainstream magazines really ignored women completely, which we found annoying! A few years later, we met Diana Sciandra, and she brought the whole park & competition aspect to the magazine by adding a team.
What are you looking for Shred Betties to turn into?
I’d mostly just like to see it get bigger and better – with more content and more of an audience. It’d be fun to start some events to encourage women to pursue snowboarding, and to expand opportunities to female snowboarders and women in the snowboard industry. But mostly, I’d just like it to start paying some salaries. Right now it doesn’t really bring in any money, and it’s hard to ask people to do so much for free!
You are a mom who just recently had your second child, tell us what it’s like to be chasing them around and running Shred Betties.
Ummm… difficult! Until the girls get a little older and more independent, it’s hard to find free time. I have to get a lot of help with Shred Betties, because I just don’t have the time to commit to it anymore – and I’m not very reliable. Last week, both girls were super sick and I got absolutely nothing done, because I fell asleep any time they were asleep!
When are you planning on getting those mini shreds on some boards?
Zoe is 2 1/2 and has snowboarded a few times on the sledding hill! It’s super cute. She is small for her age, and none of the gear fits her, but it’s fun to get her up on the mountain. If we can find a warm sunny day when she doesn’t have an ear infection or cold (harder than it sounds) we’ll take her up to Mount Bachelor, where you can ride the bunny hill for free. I’m super excited to see them learn and grow into snowboarding!
How do you see the change of women’s snowboarding within the past few years?
I think that from a business perspective, things seem to be getting better for women in snowboarding – there are a lot more products available to women, contests are doing a better job of supporting female riders with women’s divisions and real prize money, and the media is supporting women more with women’s editions of magazines and more video parts for women.
It is nice to see companies realizing that women are consumers also, and actually paying attention to us. I’m especially stoked to see how many splitboards are available in women’s sizes compared to 5 years ago when I started splitboarding!
Shred Betties is always looking for new content, contributors and interns to help keep the site constant and up-to-date so hop on the site and check them out whether you’re just searching for a video or have a road trip/ story you’d love to share!