Father's Day with Chris Cook

What Does SheShreds.co Mean to You? A Father’s Perspective

By: Maria Brunori

With Father’s Day upon us, I wanted to take some time to talk to one of the well-known dads in the SheShreds.co community- Chris Cook. His two daughters, Ava, 10, and Kaeleigh, 7 have been involved with SheShreds.co since January 2016 and many of the girls in the crew can easily see how involved Chris is in his daughters’ careers. As a female involved in this community, I can talk on and on about what SheShreds.co means to me and how it has impacted my life, however, I was interested in finding out Chris’s thoughts on the company and shining some light on the great dad he is to his girls.

Q: What sports do you and your daughters do together?
A: Snowboarding, Skateboarding and Stand-Up Paddleboarding (SUP)

Q: How did Ava and Kaeleigh first get involved with SheShreds.co?
A: Quite a long time back, SheShreds commented on Ava’s Instagram. We checked out the website and Ava wanted to sign up. About 8 months later, Kaeleigh joined. She really committed to her sports the previous season so we thought it was a good time for her.

Q: What were your initial thoughts on the company?
A: At first it was like, “Okay, a little discount will help on some gear we would buy anyway, and some swag will be a little motivation for Ava.” Didn’t really think much past that at first.

Q: Are your thoughts the same or different about the company since your family first became involved with SheShreds.co?
A: They have evolved. We were quick to find out there is a whole community behind the brand. It has really been supporting and motivating for the girls. There’s a bit of incentive for them to work hard and keep learning. They have also met quite a few friends and have had the opportunity to ride with them. They really love it. Many of the ladies (and Tony) have also been really helpful with a variety of different advice on really any subject.

Q: As a dad who is extremely involved in his girls’ careers, how does it make you feel to watch them grow?
A: They just keep progressing and working hard all the time and are becoming more self-driven to learn new things. When they can set their own goals and crush them, it’s a great feeling. They have started to realize that they can help others and I’ve seen it happen quite a few times in the past year where they’ve helped someone learn to snowboard or work on a trick. That stuff makes me pretty proud.

Q: How has SheShreds.co changed your family's dynamic?
A: SheShreds has made things sometimes easier when it comes to me supporting the girls as well as how they support each other. They are still sisters so that regular sister stuff hasn’t changed. Ava quite often finds ways to use the brand or different goals for ambassadors to motivate Kaeleigh all on her own. So out on the hill I can sometimes see how those interactions have changed.

Q: How has SheShreds.co impacted your daughters’ careers in their sports?
A: It has made them realize that there can be a future for them in these sports where you typically don’t see too many girls. For them, it’s snowboarding. They look up to a lot of the other SheShreds girls like Grace, Erin, Riley, and Aly. Plus, having pros like Veroniqi and Erika on the team has really driven them to think, "I want to do that. I can do that." Seeing all these other SheShreds girls has really helped Kaeleigh with her ability to set her own goals. Ava dreams of things like X-games and Olympics now.

Q: As a dad, how do you feel about your daughters being part of a crew of women of all ages from all around the globe?
A: It’s awesome. They kind of have a friend everywhere they go. They’ve had the opportunity to ride with quite a few girls in Canada. We definitely plan on making a few trips so they can meet others. Girls have messaged numerous times asking if Kae or Ava can meet them at the hill or wake park, not realizing it’s about 3000 mile away, but its good. They REALLY want to meet Gina as well. They bring it up all the time asking when we can go there.

Q: In your opinion, what is your favorite part of SheShreds.co?
A: Having my girls be part of something. There are a million things out there for boys; there’s not near as many places for girls to go who love all these action sports. My girls went from being intimidated at competitions and not really wanting to go to certain ones because there wasn’t a division for them, to not caring about the divisions and just wanting to go out and kick a$$. And they have. I’m not sure that change of attitude would have happened without this community.

Even without knowing Chris personally, it is clear to see how much his girls mean to him and how SheShreds.co has made a positive impact on their family. As a male involved with his two daughters, he is just as much a part of our SheShreds.co community as Ava and Kae are, giving a father of the crew a good name! Way to be a role model for your daughters and other SheShreds family members out there!

Happy Father’s Day, Chris, and to all of the SheShreds.co fathers out there!