outdoor DIVAS caught up with Janet Freeman on August 17 on the snowy slopes of Mt. Hood’s Palmer glacier outside of Portland, Oregon. During her park-side phone interview, the 46-year-old owner of the women’s snowboarding apparel company Betty Rides proved that she’s a snowboard bum at heart, dedicated to making women feel confident and look good and not afraid to tackle a male-dominated industry. Breathless from working her box-rail combo in the park with a summer camp program her company sponsors, Janet proclaimed: “I’m 46 – I can’t believe I’m doing this. I thought my life ended at 40 and it’s so not true!” outdoor DIVAS: Do your designs for women who snowboard target a younger market?
Janet: I’m looking at my friend Donna and she’s 53 and she’s coaching all these kids. We make things that look good and that we want to wear and that are functional. I’m 46, Kate Darnall who works for me is 23 and a guy who freelances for us is 28. We started our design process showing our designs to high school girls in Portland. We did our initial focus groups with them. We let the high schoolers dictate colors and patterns and we created designs and worked with retail buyers who we sell to and got their feedback.
outdoor DIVAS: Is there something age universal about women’s fashion? Janet: Yeah, these kids know what’s going on and it’s appealing to older people as well. Maybe moms or older women that snowboard are trendier than others and are more adventuresome and don’t have to wear tights on the slope. Look – snowboarding has grown up! outdoor DIVAS: You’ve been designing women’s clothing for 12 years. What do women want?
Janet: Women want their butt to look good. They want to stay dry. And they also want to be able to move. Most women don’t want to stand out too much but they don’t want to look boring either. The younger girls, like 20 to 30, like to mix and match. I really think people are expressing themselves more and more with their clothing in snowboarding. outdoor DIVAS: How do you get an edge on the Burtons and Rossignols of the world?
Janet: I was one of the first women-specific snowboard companies ever. We grew a huge amount this year and we’re selling a huge amount this year internationally. I’ve met a lot of women who say, “My favorite pants are Betty Rides pants – I will never get rid of them.” We work our butts off. We fit pants and refit and refit them. People can tell we care, and our product is good and we deliver on time. I bought my ex-husband out two years ago. Sometimes it’s scary but I’m still doing it and I’m fine. I think I’ve been lucky too. We have problems just like everyone else, but I think in a big corporation they’re slower to react and we can react the same day to issues, customer needs and manufacturing issues. outdoor DIVAS: What is your favorite product for this winter? Janet: The rocker pant – brown tiffany plaid. You get so many compliments. We don’t sell clothes, we sell compliments. We also have this beautiful paisley and guys are just like “nice pants” all day. They’re a slimmer cut copying the boys who want to look like rockers, and we also used gold metal trim – bling-bling trim. Nice pants, nice fabric and the cut is beautiful and everyone who has a pair gets tons of compliments. Check out Betty Rides gear at outdoor DIVAS - click here Check out the Betty Rides site.
| 
