A film about inclusion, identity and hand-drawn heroes. If you can’t find a hero, create your own; for mountain biker, skier and artist Brooklyn Bell, that hand-drawn hero was a comic character named Ruby J. Using Ruby as a role model, Brooklyn set out to “live like her, breathe like her, be unapologetically black like her,” finding her own identity in a mix of dirt, snow, art and inclusion.
I've been honored to watch Brooklyn grow as a rider and activist in Bellingham. She is incredibly well spoken, honest, humble, and warm. I've found her riding on the hill and always with a smile on her face and always so grateful to be out on her bike. What this video doesn't show is how hard she pushes herself to be the best she can be in sport. Brooklyn goes HARD on her bikes and skis because, to her, every day is an opportunity to learn and improve. Honestly, she is an incredible role model to everyone and I am really proud of what she's accomplished. She created Ruby, but watching her evolve into that persona is really cool to see.
I remember my first summer in the Whistler bike community, how difficult it felt to be a part of the bike community at first. Obviously I was welcome at every event with two wheels, but it took a while before I really felt like part of the community. (Shoutouts to the Chromag crew and Mike Gamble for being homies off the bat!) That inherently takes time, and until it happens, it takes a lot of confidence that it will eventually happen. And that's as a white, straight male who has been mountain biking his whole life.
I can only imagine how much more difficult that would be if you don't have the confidence boost of having everything in common with the community that's already there. Awesome how you developed a tool to bolster that confidence Brooklyn, and grateful you're able to share it with others!
I wish I read this comment 14 years ago as a 15-year old. Patience goes a long way in feeling a part of a community. There are good people in whatever interest you're in to and if you are kind and stay true to yourself you'll connect with them eventually.
Also agreed this video has an important narrative and inclusivity and self-examination of our culture is an important conversation for the cycling/mountain biking community to have.
Also SO proud to see industry leaders create space to tell this story and also include a land acknowledgment in the video. Good job.
Great portrait, great movie. That would be a good thing to see more and more diversity in outdoor activities in the coming years. Probably just a question of time..
What a breath of fresh air! Beautifully filmed and edited too. It's so comforting to think it's 2020 and we are all past this. While there is a clear divide across the Atlantic (seeing this from the Alps), it's a great reminder that the bike (and ski) industry as whole is not very inclusive for our riding diversities. Thanks Brooklyn for sharing this moment and also Patagonia for the production.
Amazing story!! Your strength is incredibly inspiring to me. And your connection to Ruby is beautiful and brilliant. I love that.
I wanted to say that it warmed my heart to hear you mention queer inclusiveness. I've never heard someone in the mountain bike community mention that in the 10 years I've been in the sport. But knowing there's people out there like you gives me hope that I can be queer and be a mountain biker too!
The topics she talks about always play in my head when partaking Mtb community.
Luckily my passion usually overcomes my anxiety and social fears.
Keeps me hitting the trails even though I rarely see people of color on the trail.
See ya on the trail
Thank you for sharing Brooklyn. It is apparent you already have a ton of courage and strength. I am hopeful that it continues to flourish for you going forward. Keep inspiring, keep shredding.
Really loved this video! As an Indian origin mountain biker riding in the UK this really struck a chord with me. It can be very isolating usually being the only brown face riding and racing. Mountain biking is such a great sport so lets hope more more diversity which brings more talent in and more awesome mountain bikers out there.
Thanks for sharing Brooklyn - I can imagine it was difficult opening up about how you were feeling about our great sport. So inspiring for me - thank you. Come ride in the UK sometime - lots of sick trails
They've put a lot of resources into it lately. And into their newest products. I remember when they launched some MTB clothing 4 years back, it was pretty laughable. Now is not then.
Such a shame we are still watching/reading about stories like Brooklyn,s. I see a nice lady who rides just like me. Yep i see a lady of colour, who is pretty, well spoken, real smart who is comfortable in herself. you go girl!
This is a Really great peace of art!! Thoroughly enjoyed hearing your words, seeing your landscape and learning a new perspective in life, culture and mountain biking.
Keep shredding!!
Thank you!
Guess we are just more lucky in Colorado than others. I know some females of color that are rippers and they are included in everything, one is even heavy into organizing event and is a leader in the community . Move to Colorado, they even play rap music at races out here.
@mtbgeartech: did you watch the video? She brought up that she wanted to hear rap instead of metal...... Maybe pay attention a touch to what people are saying.
It was supposed to be funny. Actually, I'm really touched with this story about the hardships of an atractive young women living in a wealthy and safe place where she can Ride a fancy bike and flash a full broduro kit...
This is a comment that is contradictory to the liberal narrative. Downvote it until it is censored just like a fascist government would.
No one is excluding anyone in the MTB community except for manufacturers who keep raising prices to the point where the common folks can't afford the cool stuff.
Human nature is to be attracted to courage in the face of adversity and to be averse to whining and victim-hood. I applaud Brooklyn for her courage to show up and show out. It really isn't easy to join a community of people that look different that you or come from a different socioeconomic status than you. Whining and playing the victim until a group is forced to "include" is not effective. The group will feel resentment.
You want to make change? Show up and show out. The inclusion will happen organically when you represent the minority with confidence, courage, and composure. If it doesn't, that's okay, the group you attracted will form its own sub-group and fully enjoy the activities with like minded individuals. Be a courageous groundbreaker, not a whiny victim.
Gunna stop you right there, cheif. You are not Brooklyn. You are not, from the looks of it, a person of color. You are not a woman of color. You do not know what it is like to walk in their shoes, live their lives, or have the same experiences they have had. Time and time again someone like Brooklyn steps up to express their views and tell a story from their perspective, and time and time again someone jumps into the comments to make this a left vs. right issue. Why is someone sharing their experience suddenly political? Is it because you don't agree with them? Do less typing and more listening to folks like Brooklyn. I hear no whining from her, just strength in her story and her experiences.
When your first two sentences included "liberal narrative" and "fascist government" it's quite hard to take anything you write after this very seriously.
I'm horrified to see how you guys in the US are turning the word "liberal" to an insult to your perceived "other side". While your current political system might be very binary there are countless opinions out there, are you sure you want to divide everything in black or white?
@mtbgeartech: See the thing is, @cbamos didn't say you were whiny. But hoooo boy did you jump to your own defense pretty quickly. I wonder why you did that?
@lpat1717: Hey boss, do you have a watch that tells you when your low on pandering or something?
Listen sparky, western society is so privileged and weak that this becomes the major thing to worry and fight about. I hope everyone can get used to a truly oppressive communist government and really nasty food.
So "important"! Everyone give this nice girl extra credit for looking different from the majority of people around her! I mean, It takes guts to literally face ZERO opposition to what you like to do, then act like you're some kind of hero!
Flame on again because I love laughing at virtue signaling lefties.
Representation matters. Every instance of representation is a step in the direction of making our wonderful sport more inclusive. From my experience (again, my experience, not everyone's) mountain bikers do not actively exclude others. Quite on the contrary, riders in my area are incredibly welcoming and excited to have new friends to ride with. However, it can be difficult to feel comfortable and welcome in an environment where you look different and where almost 100% of the representation does not look like you. It sends the message that you don't belong. To those of us who are represented in almost 100% of mountain biking athletes, brand managers, youtube personalities etc, it is easy to say that videos like these are forcing a narrative or dismiss them as mere identity politics. Having visible figures in a sport who look like you, especially if 99.99% of those figures previously didn't look like you, is enormous. It is a right step in the process of making our sport more inclusive.
I just clicked on your profile. All you do is complain! Wah wah wah. No one here gives a shit about your whiny opinions. My condolences to your loved ones.
@Jabber127: What buzzword did I use that doesn't fit the vast majority of idiotic comments here from leftist trash who think this moronic vid is somehow important? What makes this vid "important"?
@chilllout: You're so triggered by the truth that you investigated me? LOL Why not dox me to really punish me for stating exactly what you and the rest of your cuck pals would do? I know literally everything about your politics and opinions based on your comment, lefty.
@AmityTom: I think it's telling that in your first comment, you came in and instead of saying nothing, talked shit about any supportive comments that people would make about this article and video and derided those people as inferior. If you are living your life with this mentality, I feel sorry for you.
@rbarbier12: You're a perfect example of a virtue signaling clown with zero facts and logic behind what you say. Your attempt to be the White Knight here is why I feel sorry for you.
I remember my first summer in the Whistler bike community, how difficult it felt to be a part of the bike community at first. Obviously I was welcome at every event with two wheels, but it took a while before I really felt like part of the community. (Shoutouts to the Chromag crew and Mike Gamble for being homies off the bat!) That inherently takes time, and until it happens, it takes a lot of confidence that it will eventually happen. And that's as a white, straight male who has been mountain biking his whole life.
I can only imagine how much more difficult that would be if you don't have the confidence boost of having everything in common with the community that's already there. Awesome how you developed a tool to bolster that confidence Brooklyn, and grateful you're able to share it with others!
Also agreed this video has an important narrative and inclusivity and self-examination of our culture is an important conversation for the cycling/mountain biking community to have.
Also SO proud to see industry leaders create space to tell this story and also include a land acknowledgment in the video. Good job.
It's so comforting to think it's 2020 and we are all past this. While there is a clear divide across the Atlantic (seeing this from the Alps), it's a great reminder that the bike (and ski) industry as whole is not very inclusive for our riding diversities.
Thanks Brooklyn for sharing this moment and also Patagonia for the production.
Yep i see a lady of colour, who is pretty, well spoken, real smart who is comfortable in herself. you go girl!
Refreshing video !
No one is excluding anyone in the MTB community except for manufacturers who keep raising prices to the point where the common folks can't afford the cool stuff.
Human nature is to be attracted to courage in the face of adversity and to be averse to whining and victim-hood. I applaud Brooklyn for her courage to show up and show out. It really isn't easy to join a community of people that look different that you or come from a different socioeconomic status than you. Whining and playing the victim until a group is forced to "include" is not effective. The group will feel resentment.
You want to make change? Show up and show out. The inclusion will happen organically when you represent the minority with confidence, courage, and composure. If it doesn't, that's okay, the group you attracted will form its own sub-group and fully enjoy the activities with like minded individuals. Be a courageous groundbreaker, not a whiny victim.
Inclusion happens by demanding that a group who doesn't feel like they're excluding anyone to include someone who isn't being excluded?
I'm horrified to see how you guys in the US are turning the word "liberal" to an insult to your perceived "other side". While your current political system might be very binary there are countless opinions out there, are you sure you want to divide everything in black or white?
Listen sparky, western society is so privileged and weak that this becomes the major thing to worry and fight about. I hope everyone can get used to a truly oppressive communist government and really nasty food.
Everyone give this nice girl extra credit for looking different from the majority of people around her!
I mean, It takes guts to literally face ZERO opposition to what you like to do, then act like you're some kind of hero!
Flame on again because I love laughing at virtue signaling lefties.
What makes this vid "important"?
You're so triggered by the truth that you investigated me?
LOL
Why not dox me to really punish me for stating exactly what you and the rest of your cuck pals would do?
I know literally everything about your politics and opinions based on your comment, lefty.