Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Samantha Manto . We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Samantha , thanks for joining us today. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?
Having founded Grid Clique – our aim wasn’t to market anything; we wanted to create content we would like to see. Female fans in motorsport were present within the sport, we knew this, but they weren’t being engaged.
I used to work in the sport’s sector and the prevailing thought was ‘Societal change happens first in sport.’ The industry is ripe for innovation, due to the commitment to having any competitive edge.
Well if we looked to F1 for any change, societal change was several light years away. It doesn’t need to be said (because it has been said over and over again) motorsport is a male dominated industry. What my co-founder and I set out to do was uncover the layers; we knew women worked in motorsport, but we wondered what roles they occupied, how did they get into motorsport and most importantly, what was the female fan experience like. Our pillars were two fold.
In our pursuit of capturing the essence of women’s experiences in the motorsport industry, we embarked on a comprehensive interviewing process. Drawing upon our expertise in marketing, PR, and communications, we strategically reached out to women across various roles within the field.
Our methodology involved meticulously conducting pre-interviews, followed by insightful one-on-one sessions, which were then skillfully edited into compelling video content for dissemination. This meticulous approach enabled us to curate a rich tapestry of firsthand accounts from a diverse array of women working in motorsport.
What unfolded was a captivating mosaic of narratives, spanning the realms of engineering, marketing, technical expertise, and sponsorship. Our initiative not only resonated within the confines of Formula 1 but reverberated across other series such as INDY, NASCAR, and IMSA.
Through these interviews, we uncovered a dynamic network of women who generously shared their wisdom, mentored aspiring professionals, and safeguarded invaluable insights into their respective series. These women epitomized resilience, balancing the demands of their careers with the responsibilities of motherhood while making significant contributions to their teams.
Moreover, our exploration revealed proactive measures aimed at fostering diversity and cultivating an environment conducive to the advancement of women in motorsport. These initiatives underscored a collective commitment to nurturing talent and ensuring the sustained inclusion of women within the industry.
In essence, our journey of capturing these stories not only shed light on the remarkable achievements of women in motorsport but also highlighted the industry’s steadfast dedication to embracing diversity and fostering a culture of inclusivity.
And about the fan experience – Sarah, my co-founder and I attended races and we did so with the attitude of attending any event we would with our girlfriends. We had fun dressing up, documenting it and laughing, making social content. We believed displaying this was important for other women or young girls can see that they belong at any sporting event, including motorsport. This may seem like a “well duh” moment, “why wouldn’t you show up that way?” Well attending F1 races, for instance, has had a history and many near recent accounts of women being harassed, for what they wear, for just being in attendance basically.
So we started group chats. Leveraging mass messaging apps, we provided invite links to women who wanted to connect and meet at races. Not all women were lucky enough to travel with a group of women to races. We met a lot of solo travellers and attendees and what beautifully occurred in these group chats were women meeting up, hanging out pre-race grabbing food and drinks, sharing where the drivers were spotted and great friendships flourished. Our Monza group chat is still buzzing.
Our content reflects the trajectory of our motorsport odyssey. Each lesson learned becomes a narrative shared with our audience. When exploring new series, we craft informative cheat sheets detailing cross-series parallels and distinctions. We delve into the intricacies of each series, uncovering insights on podium appearances by women and curating our cherished legacy content: the livery report. This report dissects the portrayal of women in the unveiling of team liveries, providing a nuanced analysis of their representation within the programming.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
I grew up in a Tifosi household, in the east end of Montreal, Canada. If I close my eyes, I see my father with his mug of coffee sometimes standing in front of the tv, catching a glimpse of the race while he’s in between his Sunday chores or sitting on the couch and I can hear the cars taking their laps.
I did not go to school to come in marketing or communications. I went to school with the intention of becoming a lawyer. Not pursuing law school, I left for Toronto and unbeknownst to me took a job working PR for the Canadian Armed Forces. There I was trained in traditional media skills, communications and digital marketing, which eventually led to working in sport with olympics coaches ahead of the PyeongChang 2018 Olympics. Working in sport and with the Armed Forces have been pivotal training (for lack of a better word) to where I find myself in my career now.
– Working with the Armed Forces was a lot of community engagement, connecting and telling stories. Working in Sport was again a lot of connecting, but it really an osmosis of working with competitive individuals who were professional and held a lot of integrity.
Above all I think what’s applicable to any chance of finding success, is curiosity. In my opinion, a lot of corporations and brands concern themselves with getting their message out there, without considering who their audience is and what they might want or want to see. With Grid Clique- Sarah and I are really clear on what our audience likes to see, what they are interested in. And if there is some doubts or pockets of gap – we turn to experimenting. I too also think that’s something a lot of companies are afraid to do.
Sarah and I experiment with all kinds of content and are not afraid to lean into.
When it comes to partnerships with NASCAR, INDY and F1 Academy – Sarah and I approach these partnerships professionally. We pride ourselves on not resting on our laurels; we try to understand the needs of our partners and how we can provide content solutions that align with our mandates. Our content is fun and purposeful and we are proud of what we created.
We’d love to hear about how you met your business partner.
Sarah and I met on an app called Clubhouse, in the midst of global lockdown. We would see each other in these F1 motorsport chat rooms and we were one of few who would speak up (sadly).
We found each other on Instagram and during these chats, we would cheer each other on in our DMs – usually something like “GREAT POINT” or “OMG did i sound shaky, I felt shaky”. we got to talking more off the clubhouse app and more on messenger and felt that a room for women should have a space to speak, so we created a dedicated room.
Clubhouse started weening, and desiring a more visual forward app for our visions, we moved our operations to Instagram and Grid Clique was born.
After less than a year of knowing each other, but talking multiple times a day, and with travel resuming, Sarah invited me to Miami for her birthday. Remember when your parents said don’t meet strangers off the internet, well we did and it was awesome!
Sarah and I bonded, and talked business, promising that if Grid Clique ever became work, we would re-evaluate. Another really important piece – we committed to treating each other fairly and kindly, mentoring each other, cheering and nurturing our own professional growth – being each other’s managers/and colleagues we wish we had in corporate. At the time, Sarah made the choice to leave her 9-5 and launch her own agency. I, stayed with my 9-5 and felt absolutely rejuvenated by the work I was doing on the side.
3 years later, we are business planning, strategizing and pitching constantly, looking to experiment, explore and make new partnerships.
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
Not that I was a terrible person before hand, but I think Grid Clique has made me a better person. It is a priviledge when someone wants to share their story with you and then I think of all the interviews we have conducted, all the female fans of motorsport we have met – you hear these anecdotes and stories and it warms your heart. I know that sounds cheesy, but I feel called to be a more empathetic person, a steward of people’s stories and with this knowledge, try to make the world a better place, not just in motorsport but in general.
I work with a team of women – i try to instill an environment of community, not step-on-your-toes competition. Women work in very different dynamics, when they aren’t thrusted into the hunger games type of hierarchy that tends to be more male dominated spaces, they tend to be very equitable. But then when i meet someone who doesn’t operate by the same dynamics, rather than write them off and label them, I now question, maybe they didn’t have a leader to show them that there was no competition amongst the team, that the inertia was to be good work.
I had a manager whilst working for the Armed Forces – who would be very transparent with all of us about what she learned from leadership, guide us in dynamics of working in an office. We were a team of 5 women. We would bond outside of work, going to different PR events, sometimes engage in tennis and truly it helped us perform better as a team. I have yet to meet a manager like that, but instead have become like that myself. I don’t know if she knows how much of a profound effect she had on me and shaping me as a team lead, but really it only takes one.
And so I think to Grid Clique and I know Sarah shares the same sentiment – clique has a negative connotation. We wanted to take back the word Clique and have people feel like they were part of a community that had a shared interest. We try to make everyone feel involved – whether it’s highlighting small business owners, cheering other content creators online, replying to questions, everyone is welcomed to participate.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.gridclique.com/
- Instagram: samantassocial
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@gridclique
Image Credits
Taylor Robbins – @Taylorbrobbins