INTERVIEW

ASHLEY RANKIN | FOUNDER OF SHREDLY

You may have spotted the brand SHREDLY popping up recently with a couple of reviews on the site, and it’s safe to say tester Emma has been loving their women’s-specific designs and appreciating the comfort that they provide. Interested to learn more about how the SHREDLY brand came to be and what they set out to achieve, Emma posed some questions to Ashley Rankin, their founder, so read on to learn all about this Women’s riding apparel brand.

Emma Wooldrige (EW): How did the brand originate? Where did you get the idea and courage to start an all-new brand when there are so many big players in the market?

Ashley Rankin (AR) started the brand in 2012 via a Kickstarter campaign. She noticed there was no brand in the market truly offering mountain bike apparel for women in the right fit and in appealing colorways. Armed with a degree in apparel design and an affinity for marketing, she set out to create a mountain bike apparel brand for women. In time, that grew into pieces that were all about getting women outside with an eye toward sustainability. It isn’t easy and doesn’t get easier, but the passion continues to drive Ashley. 

EW: How many people does SHREDLY currently employ?

AR: We are a mix of employees and contractors. Full-time team is comprised of three people and we have 5 contractors ranging from marketing and PR to product development.

EW: What were the biggest hurdles in getting SHREDLY to where it is today? 

AR: At each milestone, there are different hurdles! Realizing that the business is really a combination of 3 kinds of business (manufacturing, wholesale and ecommerce) has presented different hurdles at different stages of growth. There’s never really a path without hurdles – they just come in sets and you get over them then move on to the next.

EW: What makes your products unique and sets SHREDLY apart from competitors?

AR: We are made for women by women

We are always refining and dialing in fit based on feedback from our customers.

We offered artfully designed colorways and even work with artists to create these designs.

We are always innovating when it comes to products, fabrics, thinking about how we can be more sustainably mindful.

EW: What’s your favorite product and design/pattern?

AR: Currently, I am really proud of our Biker Cham and Romper. They are really fun pieces that exude the spirit of SHREDLY which is – how can we bring a fun, fresh approach to technical riding products that make the experience of getting out that much more enjoyable.

EW: Not only is SHREDLY producing top-of-the-line outdoor apparel for all women, but you’re out here innovating and have come to this market with your brand’s own eco-friendly fabric, called ecoFab. What made you decide to get into the fabric game?

AR: We couldn’t find the fabrics we wanted with the sustainability properties that we were looking for. And we made a commitment when sourcing new fabrics that they all meet certain standards so when that doesn’t exist we’ll work to develop our own.

EW: What does SHREDLY’s future look like? Will our daughters one day be racing a UCI Downhill World Cup in a SHREDLY kit? Should we be checking the SHREDLY shelves for fashionable apparel in other outdoor sports?

AR: We 100% would love to see a rider in our gear at a UCI Downhill World Cup! Knowing that the next generation of riders is going to comprise of so many more females is just the most exciting thing ever. And we envision all of them in SHREDLY! You will see SHREDLY featured more in other outdoor sports! We truly view ourselves as a multi-sport brand – our products have been designed with a bike focus but intentionally meant to crossover into other active endeavors. Our marketing focuses a lot more on biking but we are going to focus more on showing all the ways our customers use our products.

Visit Shredly.com to update your gear bag!