'Row like a Girl' Atlantic record breaker joins Zhik

by Liz Rushall on 22 Feb 2017 Olivia Bolesworth, one of the Row like a Girl Atlantic crossing record-breakers, has joined Zhik as Corporate Activation Manager. Olivia, a design graduate from Bristol UWE, was one of the youngest and fastest females to row across the Atlantic, breaking two world records and finishing second overall in the event. In the process, she and her crew raised over £26,000 for Plan UK’s ‘Because I'm a Girl’ campaign.

Although an outdoor sports enthusiast, after two year’s of intensive rowing training at University, Olivia vowed she would quit rowing and miss the grueling 5am training sessions, dieting and relentless fitness tests. That is until her flatmate and rowing partner Lauren Morton called her up about taking part in the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge. It was an opportunity she could not miss.

After the campaign, having spent four years in a marketing and design agency, Olivia was keen to diversify and try something new. She comments, “Throughout our rowing fundraising campaign, I enjoyed the process of obtaining new partnerships and maintaining those relationships. So when the new position opened at Zhik, I jumped at the opportunity. I already knew the product capabilities after using it to both row and then sail across the Atlantic. From a design perspective, I really like Zhik’s positioning as the ‘cult’ brand within the sailing technical clothing sector, pushing style without forfeiting performance. And it’s great to have a job that enables me to keep one foot on land and one in the water.”

Simon Payne, Zhik’s Global Sales Director adds, “We are delighted to have an athlete of Olivia’s calibre on our team as Corporate Activation Manager. She will be the main point of contact between key partners and sponsored teams, including World Sailing and The Extreme Sailing Series. Her background in graphic design software, means she can streamline the process of our design team back in Sydney.