Thunderstruck: this women's freeride event, at Thunder Mountain, MA, showcases talent and proves that the NE is a worthy MTB destination.

The women's freeride movement has gained undeniable momentum in the last handful of years, as evidenced by everything from larger-scale affairs like Redbull Formation to the 2023 #letthemride campaign to grassroots events like She Shreds , Desert Days and Foundation Freeride .

Thunderstruck by KaJay, which wrapped for another successful year this past weekend, is one such grassroots event. Hosted by the Thunder Mountain Bike Park and put on by athlete KaJay Rooke, Thunderstruck showcases some of the most exciting and fun to watch up-and-coming talent in the femme freeride community.  As the dust from its 2024 iteration settled, we stole KaJay away from her event organizer duties for a few moments to hear more about her "Why" for the event and what her hopes are for its future.

Why did you start Thunderstruck?

When I got into coaching gravity mountain biking about four years ago, I felt like there was a bit of a gap here in the East for women in mountain biking - and also for mountain bike events in general. A plethora of options existed for introductory camps, as well as skills clinics that focused on basics (and occasionally touched on the medium sized features at a given bike park) - which are incredible for continuing to gather the masses, for getting ladies into the sport, and for honing their foundational skills. But I started wondering: why were all the big events happening in all other corners of the US except for the North East, when there were ladies that wanted those big bike events and epic riding here, too?

That all floated in my brain for about a week, before it was back to reality with the hustle and bustle of my freelance design work, progressing my own bike skills, and then, unfortunately, with my first major injury setback: during a slope competition, I landed into a full torso and neck brace with a back injury. For three months, (plus a bonus month of very limited activity), I was stuck with me, myself, and I, where all I could really do was think. And, honestly, I fell into a bit of depression.

But people always say there is a silver lining to everything, and this was no exception: I found that, eventually, thinking about what a North East event would look like helped occupy my mind, so I just started taking baby steps towards a goal I had no idea how to reach. After I was free from injury, and had help climbing out of the dark mental spaces, I still had no idea what I was doing or what to do next for my event concept, but I kept emailing brands and made it to a point where I had the choice to either do it or not. I wanted to see this event come to life, so I did it.

What is your goal with the event?

I have a few goals, but I’d say these would be the big ones in no particular order: to showcase upcoming and rising talent in the world of women's freeride / mountain biking, so they can be seen by other events/brands; to provide an epic weekend for lesser-known riders to meet, mingle, and ride with some of the pros; to bring people to this righteous corner of the North East to explore our local areas; and, on a really basic level, I just want everyone involved to have a damn good weekend riding bikes with friends, new and old.

Is there a most challenging part of hosting an event like Thunderstruck?

I’d say the fact that I’m not really ‘well-known’ has been the most challenging on a few levels, especially in the beginning from the sponsorship side. I was cold-emailing dozens of brands that I have looked up to, or aspired to work with as a designer since getting into the sport. I probably sent about a hundred emails.

But even now, the industry is in a tight place due to the ripple effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, and sponsor dollars are hard to find. I’m extremely thankful for the brands that have been with me since year one, and the brands that have jumped in and/or increased their support over the past three years despite maybe not being able to throw thousands of dollars my way. I think I’ve found a way to make it work for all of us, so far.

Aside from the sponsorship woes, the other big challenges have been finding enough athlete housing and getting people to take a chance on the East Coast (athletes and spectators). Most people talk about their upcoming BC/California/Utah trips - literally anywhere else in the West where biking is popular - but it’s not too often that you hear of people coming to this part of the North East. I think the lack of commercial popularity leads people to believe we don’t have much to offer mountain bikers, but that is so far from the truth.

What is the most rewarding part of hosting Thunderstruck and/or what are you most proud of?

Without fail, at least once a year while hosting Thunderstruck, I'll be around a group of kids under thirteen, or adults over forty-five, and I'll overhear them say things like ‘Oh my god, I’ve never seen anyone hit a jump that big!’ or ‘I’ve never seen a girl do a jump!’ or ‘Yeah, and last year they were doing back flips, too!’ with an echo of 'Wow, no way, really?'

So that’s that most rewarding part for me: seeing the various generations watching the riders at Thunderstruck with eyes the size of dinner plates, giddy and tapping their friends' or older brothers' shoulders saying ‘Did you see that?! She just hit that jump!' Because if you don’t know where to find it, how will you show your kids? And if it’s not happening right in your backyard, how would you know that you could try it, too, even if you're over forty? You genuinely never know who you’re inspiring just by doing what you love.

How do you choose the athletes invited? What does that process look like?

It’s all for the most part word of mouth and just about all via Instagram. Through the years, I have started making a list of riders, so when it comes time for invites I just go through the list and check social media to see who is injury-free at the time. I try and leave room for progression to happen during the event, but also like to make sure that riders have a strong comfort on some bigger features and jumps, plus pretty solid bike control as a general baseline.

Why do you think events like Thunderstruck are needed / good for the industry?

I’d have to say the two most important reasons would be to showcase riders to brands that they may not find on their own, and to allow the people who attend to do their own networking - whether that’s just networking new friendships or making new connections to fellow riders and their sponsors.

What makes Thunderstruck stand out from other events in the industry right now?

I think Thunderstruck is developing into a really cool blend of jump jam meets Tour de North East meets Hangtime/Darkhorse meets tourist travel vacay meets meets small bike festival kind of vibe.

Any goals / hopes for Thunderstruck's future?

I’d say I have three goals at this point. First, I really hope I can continue to grow the event to cap at around twenty-five to thirty riders next year. Second, I'd like to have at least two to three international riders every year, to showcase other cool places to travel to for biking, too. Third, I'd love to grow the vendor village at the base area, to make this event something that people come to spend the whole weekend at - like a much smaller version of Crankworx, in way.

Anything else you wish I'd asked / that you want to talk about?

To me, it's important to highlight that you don’t need to know everything to get started with something - and I mean that in a very vague sense so you can apply this insightful tidbit to everything, haha.

For example, you can start biking and not be on the right bike immediately, or not know how to do tricks for a few years, but still have a blast learning as you go. Or you can start riding slopestyle and freeride at thirty seven and still have a good time. Just follow the dopamine (and probably some adrenaline too)!

Any family, friends and/or sponsors you want to thank?

I appreciate every single person/brand that has helped get this event to where it is.

With that said I’d like to thank all of the following and I’m sure I’m missing some but whether you’ve donated money, product or time, thank you so much for helping propel this event forward: my parents, family and extended family, Derek and Kona, all my friends, all the volunteers and shuttle drivers, all of the athletes for coming out and spreading the word about the East, AMI Graphics for printing all the signage, Thunder Mountain and their trail crew, any and all media who come to shoot the event (paid and volunteer), Sram, RedBull, Juliana Bikes, Transition Bikes, KMA USA, Hest Outdoors, Mutt Society, Fat Tire, Wild Rye clothing, Vans, Live Free Goods and all of the other sponsors that have donated over the past three years.