We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Christina Marin a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Christina, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today How do you feel about asking friends and family to support your business? What’s appropriate, what’s not? Where do you draw the line?

I have been very fortunate in the support I have received from friends and family. The Women’s moto world is very small and extremely supportive. whether it’s an event I am vending at or an instagram post, the community comes through. We host group rides to animal rescues and people bring donations to drop off and participate in the raffle and the ride! sometimes, I will ask them to engage on social media if they feel inclined too, and they always do. As someone who’s really independent and runs an entire business mostly on my own, I have learned that it’s ok to ask for help. I have friends that always offer and I just recently started to say yes to help. it’s truly allowed growth in the business, and growth in myself. For that I am grateful.

Christina, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My name is Christina Marin and I have been riding motorcycles for about 7 years. When I first began riding, I craved a sense of community and giving back. I had attended local events in the moto world, but I still couldn’t relate to anything fully. As a vegan and a woman who has a love for all things ‘Halloween’, I had a few ideas that would possibly help create my own sense of belonging-ness within this universe.

So, that is how I felt compelled to create She Wolf Moto Co. We are an empowering moto brand which carries a spooky horror-esque aesthetic that donates to animal related causes. we advocate for human and animal rights while hosting/vending events and creating march that supports that. in the future, we hope to create sustainable, vegan friendly moto gear to help offset the need for all things ‘leather’ in the motorcycle industry. Although, we represent a specific niche, we are an all inclusive brand and carry all sizes in a ‘unisex’ fit. community is the most important word when it comes to existing as a brand. I feel that it’s the only way to be present and always thinking of ways to support one another. When we vend at events, I try my best to make people feel welcomed and know that is is a ‘safe space’ for them.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

I created She Wolf Moto Co. with $500 out of pocket. I reached out to a local print shop and told them my budget.

I had a few ideas to put on t-shirts and stickers. The initial goal was to raise money with the sales of the tee’s to make vegan moto gear and donate to animal charities. Wow, did I learn from that? 6 years later, we are still doing just that, but at a different level of experience and growth. Two tee designs morphed in several more afterwards. The ideas kept flowing and people were digging what I was putting out. part of what we made was donated, the rest was kept into an account to save for gear and merchandise production. To this day, we are still doing the same thing. Everything made just gets put back into the business although now it allows us to expand a bit more and travel for it.

Had you me when it first started it would have helped create a movement and build community, I wouldn’t have known what to do with that then.

How did you build your audience on social media?

I feel like having a brand like She Wolf is so specific & unique, although it attracts so many walks of life. I just combined all the things I loved into one, and it turns out I am not alone! I have met so many spooky lovin’ moto babes who just happen to be Vegan, and that’s amazing. I have also met so many others that aren’t into ALL of that, yet still resonate with the brand. They appreciate the contributions to animals, or they like the fact that we are all inclusive and help support human rights as well. We are really outspoken on social media about the things we truly stand behind and support so I feel like that has built an entirely transparent world. People know that their energy and time is going into something that is more than just a business but a support system as well. I feel like we’ve built our following on trust and genuine values. My advice to help build your social platform would be to be open about what it is that you stand for and allow a space for people to be seen and heard. Especially if you’re looking for a sense of community. Maintaining a loyalty and a bond where it’s not only about them buying what you sell, but engaging to the person behind the business, and vice versa. that’s real.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.shewolfmotoco.com
• Instagram: @shewolfmotoco
• Other: She wolf has a store! We are located in Downtown Santa Ana, Ca inside Collective 2 one 9 Store please be sure to check our social media for updates on where we’ll be vending at next! We even host group rides to spooky places and animal related causes. We also have a section in our website where we interview women owned riders and other amazing humans within our industry! check it out!

Image Credits
Matthew Nigel Abz Cruz