RE-FORMATION

KATIE HOLDEN’S CAREER REBIRTH COMES FULL CIRCLE

NICOLE FORMOSA

Sometimes the most difficult part of being a pro athlete is figuring out how to not be a pro athlete anymore. When racing or sponsorship obligations no longer fill your cup, financially or otherwise, what’s the next step and how do you take it?

For Katie Holden, the line from World Cup DH racer to ambassador/creative or a “wearer of many hats,” as she describes her profession, wasn’t always a straight one. But now she’s landed in that enviable sweet spot where she has freedom to pursue projects she finds inspiring and motivating.

That breakthrough didn’t truly come until late 2018, when the end of a six-year ambassador relationship with Liv Cycling allowed her the space and time to take a deep metaphoric breath.

“When that year came to a close, I just took a huge step back and I didn’t ride very much,” she says. “I felt like I just had to come to terms with, ‘What’s important to me? And how do I fund it?’ You kind of just have to make space for that next chapter. It’s really scary from a financial standpoint, and also you’ve had this routine for a long time that you’re used to, but unless you really intentionally make space it’s hard to make any kind of actual transition, so I kind of just took the leap.”