MEDIA MENTIONS
Meet the Colorado Sisters Making the Backcountry More Welcoming
VNTRbirds, a Colorado-based adventure company, offers backcountry courses for women and femme folks.
The backcountry is for everybody. Well, it should be for everybody, but a slew of obstacles—both personal and societal—make it easier for some groups to hit the skin-track than others.
That’s where VNTRbirds (pronounced “venture birds”), a Colorado-based adventure company, comes in. Co-founded by sisters Leanne and Kelley Wren, the outfit offers outdoor sports courses for women and femme folks. This includes AIARE courses, avalanche safety refreshers, and, after the snow melts, mountain biking classes. For the past few years, VNTRbirds has also hosted Venture Out, a backcountry skiing and snowboarding festival.
FINDING THEIR LINE: VNTRbirds and the Evolution of Femme MTB
For sisters and co-founders Leanne and Kelley Wren, creating space for women, femme, and non-binary riders in the mountain bike world wasn’t just a goal—it was a necessity.
Over the past several years, VNTRbirds has evolved from a grassroots Colorado-based crew into a thriving coaching collective and community hub. They’ve hosted femme-forward MTB clinics, led adventure weekends across the Rockies, and—after acquiring VIDA MTB Series—expanded one of its most transformative programs: Rider to Racer
Building a Brand Through Community: Kelley Wren on the Success of VNTRbirds
Hi Kelley, what do you attribute your success to?
For VNTRbirds, the success of our brand cannot be attributed to just one factor; it’s the result of a combination of contributions and inspirations. However, if I had to pinpoint the most important driving force, it would be our community.
VNTRbirds + Axis – Empowering Women’s Sports
At Axis Sports Medicine, we’re always looking for new and unique ways to empower fellow organizations who embody our mission to promote active, healthy lifestyles. And one of our favorite Colorado organizations to partner with is VNTRbirds.
Finding Community + Adventure with VNTRbirds’ Founders Kelley + Leanne Wren
I am overjoyed to have the chance to sit down with Kelley and Leanne Wren with VNTRbirds. These folks are making shift happen in the mountain biking and snow sports communities by getting more women and femme-identifying folks outside. They not only empower folks with more knowledge, but more confidence as well in the process.