Carving Out Space
Katie Lozancich reflects on producing her debut film,
“Elyse Saugstad: On My Own Terms.”
Elyse Saugstad ripping lines. Photo by Nic Alegre.
Big mountain skier Elyse Saugstaud is known for her work ethic and for charging massive lines. With over twenty years in the ski industry, her decades-long journey as a professional athlete consists of proving herself again and again, fighting for opportunities, and ultimately creating her own space in the industry.
Her grit and perseverance is documented in “Elyse Saugstad: On My Own Terms,” a new film from TGR (Teton Gravity Research ) produced and written by Katie Lozancich. Katie’s official job title is Staff Writer and Photographer, but she’s an all-around talented creative. Her titles include photographer (she was the principal photographer for TGR’s latest MTB film, Accomplice), graphic designer, painter, and now, film producer.
Katie chats about producing her first film and the state of outdoor media.
While making “Elyse Saugstad: On My Own Terms,” what did you learn about her that surprised you? Given Elyse’s athleticism and laundry list of accomplishments, it was surprising to learn that she had such an uphill battle breaking into the industry. The fact that Elyse had done remarkable things—like win the Freeride World Tour—and still dealt with roadblocks was really eye-opening. It says a lot about the BS female athletes have to deal with to advance their careers.
Besides being an incredible athlete, Elyse is a well-rounded human. She’s got a great sense of humor, is super witty, and is well-spoken. She’s really passionate about what she does and is eager to use that passion to elevate the people around her.
What do you find most inspiring about Elyse? Her ambition. As you see in the film, she doesn’t take “no” for an answer. Her mindset is ‘I’m going to make this happen no matter what.’ It’s important to put that in the context of that time period (early 2000’s.) There weren’t the big female inclusive marketing campaigns that we have now—like REI’s Force of Nature. Supporting women and elevating their stories wasn’t a priority for most brands and companies. So the fact that Elyse kept persisting given these restraints is remarkable. It wears on you to constantly fight and prove that you deserve to belong in a space, and I think we owe it to female pioneers like Elyse, Michelle Parker, Ingrid Backstrom, Angel Collinson, and many, many more for what they’ve done to make this space more accessible.
Elyse Saugstad. Photo by Nic Alegre.
How did the pandemic affect the film story and process? Producing a film during a global pandemic is a bit of a logistical headache. Establishing a rapport with the interviewee really helps when you try to ask them to unpack the highs and lows of their career. But with COVID travel restrictions, we couldn’t travel from Jackson, Wyoming to Lake Tahoe, California. Instead, our cinematographer Jeff set up a phone on a stand and put us on speaker phone to conduct the interview from afar. Thankfully, a lot of archival footage was able to be used. Elyse was a total champ and worked through the weirdness without any problems.
Do you feel the inclusion of women in outdoor media is still formulaic or do you think there is more and varied opportunity in general?I think outdoor media has made significant strides in being more inclusive towards women. BUT, we’ve still got a lot of work to do. One trend I’ve been noticing from brands and production companies is they treat inclusivity as another box they need to check off. I think championing a group of people goes far beyond just adding another female or two to an athlete roster. If we really want to elevate a group of people, then we need to be asking bold questions. Questions like ‘who are the people that are being innovative?’ “Who has a story that will resonate with other people?’ ‘Or, what stories haven’t we seen yet?”
I had a pretty eye-opening conversation a few months ago with snowboarder Robin Van Gyn and photographer Jérôme Tanon. They were at the helm of this incredible fine art book called Heroes which celebrates female snowboarders. It’s a stunning, one-of-a-kind book that is now a part of women’s snowboarding history. They struggled to get funding and ended up crowdsourcing the funds for the project. It’s just really frustrating to hear about stories like this when you see such robust marketing campaigns about “supporting women.” I know there’s a lot that goes into these decisions and it’s not always cut and dry, but I think there could be more investment into rich, meaningful narratives surrounding female athletes.
This film really made me think about what it takes to open new doors. How did you break into your role as a storyteller for one of the most iconic outdoor media houses? Oh man, my path to Teton Gravity Research and what I’m doing now has been quite the journey with many twists and turns! But I’ll condense things into a few takeaways. First, I got my foot in the door at TGR by interning. Funny enough I was a graphic design intern—which is completely different from my current role of Writer, Photographer, and Content Manager. Following that internship, I finished my senior year of college and graduated with a degree in Visual Communication, and realized that graphic design wasn’t a fit for me. I ended up reaching out to Freehub Magazine for an internship—mostly because I was curious about the inner workings of a magazine. I applied for a graphic design internship, with hopes of pivoting that opportunity into doing more photo work—which is what I actually wanted to do all along. They ended up sending me out on an assignment, and I wrote an article for them and fell in love with all things storytelling: taking photos, interviewing people, and coming up with pitches. Long story short, I ended up using the article I wrote for them to apply for a part-time writing position at TGR. My work was strong, but what really helped get my foot in the door was that I already had a handful of connections at the company. So as cliche as it sounds, networking really goes a long way.
But here are a few things I’ve learned from working in outdoor media. Some of the best advice I’ve ever received is to always advocate for yourself. Ask for the opportunities you want, and don’t feel like you’re pestering people by being persistent. Lastly, when you’re presented with an opportunity, squeeze everything you can from it. I’m always looking at projects with the mindset of ‘how can I grow from this, or what can I learn?” If you’re always asking yourself that question, then it will push you to be innovative and create really fulfilling work. I think that’s why Elyse’s story resonated with me so much because she looked at the Co-Lab contest and saw it as an opportunity to advance her career. I’ve definitely used the same thinking for creating my own opportunities.
Film Producer, Katie Lozancich. Image by Griffin Kerwin.
It’s so awesome to see more women in front and behind the lens. What are the biggest challenges and rewards of working with elite women athletes? I wouldn’t necessarily call this a challenge, but one general consensus I’ve heard from a lot of female athletes is the hope for outdoor media to branch beyond the “go women” storyline, and focus more attention on their athleticism and accomplishments. That’s not to say these women don’t support feminist ideas or gender equality, but a lot of them just want to be the best mountain biker, skier, or snowboarder they can be. They don’t want to be featured just because they’re women, but they want to be highlighted for their skills and talents. So as storytellers, it challenges us to think about how we share these stories. I think there’s a way we can still uplift this underrepresented group of individuals without tokenizing them because of their gender.
I think the biggest reward is just making the content I wish I had when I was younger. Plus, getting to work with these elite-level athletes like Elyse or Casey Brown or Robin Van Gyn pushes me to make my best work because they’re bringing so much to the table. It’s a fun collaboration.
What other women-centric films or segments are you excited about in 2021? Well, I’m still catching up with stuff from 2020! Right now my watch list includes: “Motherload”, Katie Burrell’s “Coach”, and The North Face’s “Facets.” As far as 2021, I know Michelle Parker has something in the works with Hannah Bergman and Brooklyn Bell, so I can’t wait to see that.