Features

Three days with Gretchen Bleiler:

X Games and Oakley style

by Roberta Rodger

Roberta Rodger went down to the X Games and got the coveted invite to hang with Gretchen Bleiler and get a preview of her new signature line from Oakley.

Usually when I head to the X Games it’s pretty ghetto style—couch surfing or sleeping on the floor and hitching rides. But not this year; I was treated to an amazing time thanks to Oakley and Gretchen Bleiler. I arrived in Aspen on the evening of Jan. 24 and after a quick stop at our villa, we headed over to the Oakley house. There we were treated to a DJ, a deluxe-catered dinner, a chance to check out all of Oakley’s new gear including Gretchen Bleiler’s premier signature outerwear line, and a good time mingling with all of the Oakley riders: Gretchen Bleiler, Anne-Flore Marxer, Chanelle Sladics and Canada’s Marie-France Roy. After stuffing our faces, we sat down to watch the Superpipe finals on the big screen and the room was on fire as Oakley’s own Tanner Hall took the skiing gold. Next on the itinerary for the evening was a trip to the Target house for their party. They didn’t have dinner but they sure had desert and bowls of candy everywhere! On top of that, they had a Fender room downstairs and later on in the evening a band was formed with Tricia Burns and Oakley skate team manager Dylan Radloff playing guitar. Oakley international marketing woman extraordinaire, Justine Rapala, belted out tune after tune—someone get that girl a record contract.

The next evening was the Women’s Superpipe finals, and what a final it was! All the girls really stepped it up in the six-women three-run finals but no one could touch Gretchen, Torah, and Kelly who all put on a good show going for the gold. Kelly was going huge with smooth back-to-back 540s and massive 900s, coming very close to landing a 1080. If she would’ve landed a 1080, I think she could’ve taken the top spot but instead had to settle for bronze. Torah, who has always has the most technical pipe runs, didn’t disappoint as she mixed it up when she dropped in with a huge Mctwist to her styley Air-to-Fakie Tailgrab, then to a Cab Seven Nosegrab, Frontside 540 Lien into a huge Backside 360 Indy, and stepping it up once again to land the first-ever Switch Backside 720 for a girl in a pipe contest. That earned her a silver on the podium. Although the girls gave it their all, nothing could knock Gretchen out of her top spot. She mixed her run up for the finals by dropping in with a huge Frontside 900 into a solid straight air following with her signature Crippler into a new trick for Gretchen, a styley Frontside Alley Oop, Frontside 7 and ending it off with a Cab 7. What a night—new tricks for all the girls, done huge and in front of an enthusiastic crowd. Gretchen was definitely the local favourite with signs, cowbells, and the most cheers. She certainly didn’t let her fans down.

The next morning we were treated to a brunch at The Little Nell to hang out with Gretchen and get the lowdown on her signature line. After the previous night’s event and all the people, excitement and emotions, it was nice to sit with a select group of people, eat brunch, and of course, hang out with Gretchen. Even after winning the gold, and I’m sure having a pretty heavy party night, Gretchen was poised, beautiful, and excited to talk about her first ever signature line with Oakley. With all her success and fame, Gretchen is still humbled by the fact that she’s actually been given the opportunity to design her own line with Oakley. She says it’s ”a dream come true.”

I feel that her line of outerwear and softwear pieces truly represent Gretchen Bleiler. Sophisticated and fun just like her personality; shown in the asymmetrical details, leather tabs with magnetic closures and bright poppy colours. What more would you expect from an athlete that has always stood out, not just for her talent, but good looks and personality. You could tell by listening to Gretchen as she went over all the details of her line how passionate she felt about each piece and how much involvement she had in every detail. One detail that is featured throughout the line is the lion logo. Gretchen bought a lion pendant one time while she was in New York because it represented courage, strength, power, and poise—all traits that she wanted to have on the snow. She would wear the necklace when she rode and wanted this detail represented in her line. Besides being unique and fashionable, Gretchen’s line shows her commitment to protect the environment by including eco-friendly pieces including an outerwear jacket and pant that are made from recycled and recyclable material and organic cotton T-shirts. I’ve know Gretchen for a few years and I’ve always admired her riding, integrity, strength and compassion and I’m so excited for her and for the success of her line. Thanks to Gretchen and Oakley for inviting me to be a part of the launch of her line.