Meet our 2013 Sponsored Athletes

Last year, Coolibar athletes inspired us get outside! Staying active and following their passions, they ran marathons, competed in international windsurfing meets, mastered adventure race courses and more. They also showed us how easy it is to keep your skin healthy while staying active outdoors. Now, we’re excited to introduce our 2013 Coolibar Sponsored Athletes, a group of incredible motivators!

Ashleigh Baird

Born and raised in central Florida, Ashleigh grew up spending weekends playing on beaches, exploring fresh water springs and sailing around the Florida Keys – all the while spending countless hours studying the natural world.  The underwater realm was her first love and these early experiences helped form a passion for exploration, and a desire to make a positive impact on the environment, ultimately leading to the choice to become both a freediver and an architect.  Ashleigh continues to develop her skills as a freediver with hopes of breaking a national record in the fall of 2013. Read Ashleigh’s story >

John Chase

As a kayaker and part time instructor, John spends a lot of time on and in the water teaching entry level kayak skills courses, leading tours, as well as paddling for fun. John is also a full-time fitness manager, personal trainer, father of two daughters, and husband. Being active, he’s had many amazing life experiences: standing six feet from a herd of deer while riding a mountain bike, watching the sunrise alongside his daughters from 11,000 feet above sea level, and witnessed the absolute silence of the winter woods after a big snowfall. John also maintains a blog as a Personal Trainer along with other sites where he posts content on topics that encourage others to lead a healthy life. Read John’s story >

Holly Finley

Holly started playing disc golf June 2011 and played for four short months before moving to Africa for a modeling contract. Unable to play in Africa because of no readily available courses, Holly planned out her year for the 2012 season. Upon returning from Africa, she promptly entered into her first tournament in February and won first place. She then went on a winning spree, playing in 30 events during the 2012 season, taking home 16 first places and touring around the United States as an amateur player. Read Holly’s story >

Sarah Gay

Sarah is a working wife and mother of two young children ages 16 months and 3 years.  The outdoors has always been a major part of her life, as have many different sports.  After her first sprint distance tri in 1998, she was hooked on triathlons. Even from the start, she dreamed of completing an Ironman at some point. Today, she is training for her first half Ironman distance tri in June 2013. Read Sarah’s story >

Chad Hannon

Nine years ago, while sitting on the couch having a cigarette, Chad made the decision to change his life. He threw out the cigarettes, and got on his bike. Today, at 41, he’s 55 pounds lighter and nine years without a cigarette. He runs endurance events of all kinds, his favorite being adventure races. Chad’s daughter Madeline, age 10, even runs with him on a regular basis. Read Chad’s story >

Krista Kennedy

Krista is a rare fifth generation native of Las Vegas, Nevada. A single mom, Krista loves the outdoors and playing in the sun. From an early age she has enjoyed many sports and activities including gymnastics, dance, swimming and hiking the trails at beautiful Red Rock National Park and the Spring Mountains National Recreation Area. Most recently she has found a passion that combines her love of the sun, water and exercise–stand up paddle boarding or SUP. Read Krista’s story >

Gene Meade

Gene is an ultra runner, fitness instructor and Vice President of the North Carolina Road Runners Club. As a testament to his passion for running, in 2012, he competed in a Marathon, five 50K races, one 100K race, a 212 mile relay race and two 24 hour running events. Now, his goal is to run two one hundred mile races, his first in April. Read Gene’s story >

Ally Murray

On April 22, 2013 Ally will run from Galveston, Texas until she reaches her hometown in Minnesota. Besides being a marathoner, she’s a wife and mother to two amazing sled dogs. Just before her qualifying race for the Boston’s Marathon in 2008, she suffered two strokes and three traumatic brain injuries after a car accident. Just recently, Ally learned there is now a relationship between brain injury and brain cancer. Her mission is prevention, and taking all the necessary steps to live a healthy life and help others do so as well.  Read Ally’s story >

Carol Philips

Carol is a pioneer of big wave bodyboarding for women. She was the first woman to compete against the men at the Banzai Pipeline on the North Shore (Oʻahu). She founded the World Championship of Women’s Bodyboarding in Memory of Don and Josie Over in 1990. She was the first woman in the world to hold a permit to run a contest at the Banzai Pipeline. Carol was also featured in the book “North Shore Chronicles” and was in the movie Blue Crush.  She is the owner of the North Shore Surf Girls – Surf School on the North Shore of Oahu and spends four to six hours a day in the sun teaching surfing. Read Carol’s story >

Sevve Stember

Sevve started climbing shortly after he could walk, although he doesn’t remember much of it. One of the first climbs he did outdoors he recalls as life changing. As he climbed Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies at Shovel Point above the Great Lake Superior, he didn’t know it, but a whole new world had opened up to him: the vertical one. From that day onward, he would surround himself with climbing. Read Sevve’s story >