In the male-dominated sport of adventure racing, co-ed teams of four race unsupported through rugged, wild terrain. To compete, each team must have at least one woman. Due to this rule, in the adventure racing world, women are often referred to as “mandatory gear” for competition.
In Expedition Oregon, North America’s toughest race, Chelsey Magness, Katie Ferrington, Rea Kolbl, and Joseph Bellier flip that script and compete as a reverse co-ed team. Over the course of five days, Team Journey/Bend Racing challenges stereotypes—and themselves—as they navigate, trek, packraft, mountain bike, rappel, and more through Central Oregon’s wilderness. Throughout, they must work together to overcome physical, mental, and emotional obstacles to complete the race and discover what’s possible with a mostly female team.
Mandatory Gear pushes back on gender stereotypes; explores what makes competing on a reverse co-ed team different; and celebrates and inspires female empowerment and gender equity in sports and the outdoors.
Produced in partnership with Outside TV, Mandatory Gear premiered on May 4, 2022, and is streaming on watch.outsideonline.com. Our team managed all creative and logistical elements for pre-production and production. For post-production, release, and distribution, we collaborated with Outside TV. The film was made possible with support from Bend Racing, Bronwen Jewelry, Nite Ize, Outside In, Hyperlite Mountain Gear, and USARA.
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