Community

Zoe Kalapos

Kaitlyn Farrington

Jessika Jensen

Kat Paul

Alex Chen

Emily Champion

Australian XC skier

Australian Open Age Ranking: 5th; 1st U20 Female in Sprint events Australia; 2nd U20 Female in Distance events Australia

“I love how cross-country skiing combines my passion for skiing with endurance sport. It is a sport that can look so graceful, yet it is so challenging. You have to be mentally tough and extremely fit. I love the feeling of crossing the finish line and collapsing on the ground in exhaustion, knowing I have given it my best shot. I also love that I get to spend hours outdoors, particularly in the alpine environment. I have a slight obsession with sunrises and sunsets – there’s nothing like skiing with a pink sky, fresh snow and some tunes.”

Emily began Alpine skiing when she was just 4, thanks to her beautiful mum’s passion for the mountains. At the age of 12 her best friend asked her to compete in the school’s relay team but when she put on her cross-country skis for the first time she spent most of the day on the ground absolutely defeated. However, she kept at it and learnt to love the sport! Just two years later she qualified as the youngest member on the Australian junior cross-country team and has been training 6 days a week year-round ever since.

Emily’s favourite event at the moment is a skate sprint. A skate sprint is where individuals do a time trial as fast as possible around a 1.2km-1.8km racecourse and then progress into head to head heats. Each race takes around 3-4 minutes and is exhausting and exhilarating.

A powerful, tactic and speedy skier Emily is based at Perisher, NSW and Davos, Switzerland for her winter/winter lifestyle. Lucky for Emily, Davos is her winter paradise; “It is breathtakingly beautiful and has hours of trails through valleys and forests to ski. The town lights up at night with all the cute traditional houses in the mountains and has the most beautiful sunsets.”

Emily is also studying a Bachelor of Health Science at the Australian National University and is a proud advocate for climate change and the role winter sports can play in this conversation; “I support Protect Our Winters (POW), a climate advocacy group for the winter sports and outdoor community. They act against climate change to ensure the protection of our precious alpine playgrounds!” What an absolute gem!

Emily's favorite styles:

“I am obsessed with my black Maggie Boots. They’re so pretty, warm and perfect for winter whether you’re walking through a winter town or trudging through some deep fresh snow.

I’m so grateful to have ROJO’s support. I love that the brand represents a strong group of women who all get out there in our beautiful outdoor environment. I feel so lucky to be a part of this community.”

Amber Arazny

Martina Zollner

Lilly Steele

Caycee Stratten

Halfpipe snowboarder

3rd USASA National Championship halfpipe

“I love snowboarding because it gives me a sense of freedom and adrenaline. Most of all it’s fun and provides a great community to be a part of!”

Growing up Strat’s family was always very snow orientated, she was originally a skier however, her super cool cousins thankfully threw her on a snowboard when she was about 10 and she’s been shredding ever since.

She loves throwing a Tamedog (front flip) in the pipe and it comes as no surprise that her self-described riding style is adventurous, stylish, and fast. Strat’s favourite place to ride is Copper Mountain, Colorado; “The parks, the pipe, the village and the people are awesome there”. She also loves Cardrona, New Zealand for the same reason.

When she isn’t on the mountain you can catch Caycee surfing, on a trampoline, playing Frisbee golf in Jindy, getting a hot choccie, and hanging out with friends. Her riding playlist is dependant on her mood and what she is doing; “If it’s a chill mountain day, just cruising around, I’ll be listening to Lime Cordiale, Jungle Giants or Ocean Alley. On competition or training days I listen to Fischer, ACDC and Valentino Khan.”

To top it off, Caycee is also a proud environmental supporter; “I strongly support looking after our environment and reducing my carbon footprint. I recently swam with turtles in Indonesia and saw first-hand how the pollution was affecting their home. I am big on keeping our oceans clean and I follow the motto ‘Take 3 for the sea’; picking up at least 3 pieces of rubbish whenever I’m at the beach.”

Caycee's favorite styles:

“It’s so hard to pick a favourite as everything I own of ROJO is amazing! One of my favourite ROJO products is the Va Va Boom Pant as it’s so stretchy and allows me to move freely and easily. Another favourite of mine is the Sherpa ¼ zip jacket. It’s so warm and looks so good! I also think their outerwear is extremely functional. I genuinely think that ROJO is one of the best snow apparel brands out there!”