Muse

Nicky Hayden crashes in the rain at the British Grand Prix, June 24, 2007. Photo Credit: Patrick Lundin/Gold & Goose.

Inside an Irish pub, tucked away in the Costa Mesa arm of Newport Beach, California, Krista's life changed in an instant.

As a gaggle of MotoGP racers tore through the straights of a European circuit at over 200 mph, then all flipped through the first corner, like the crest of a wave falling on the surf, the angels sang, and the sun poured through the widows of that dark, dingy bar. It was a Sunday morning in April, 2005.

For more than 15 seasons, Krista did everything she could to grow the sport of MotoGP aka the two-wheel equivalent of Formula One aka the fastest boys on two wheels.

Straight Outta Owensboro

The fact that so many Americans have never even heard of MotoGP and its roster of legendary racers, Krista thought it vital for the US market to embrace their premier American racer, Nicky Hayden, and his premier sport.

Born and raised in Owensboro, Kentucky, Hayden’s whole family raced motorbikes, including his mum and two sisters. Learning to throw a leg over by the ripe ol’ age of 3, he still wasn’t tall enough to straddle two-wheels. So for every race, his father, Earl “The Squirrel” Hayden, would hold him up over the bike at the very back of the pack. But once the flag dropped, Hayden would quickly power through to the front of the line.

He rose up through the ranks, collecting wall-cases of trophies along the way, and by 21, he was crowned the youngest Superbike Champion of the American series. This helped him secure the very coveted Repsol Honda factory ride alongside the greatest motorcycle racer of all time, Italy’s pride and joy, Valentino Rossi.

But this coveted ride was not without controversy. In a field full of Europeans, the very-fast Kentucky Kid was always fighting for his place, still from the back of the pack.

Never Give Up. Never Give In.

Krista met Hayden in 2005 and what follows is how she turned Hayden’s mantra into a business.

In 2008, when MotoGP returned to race at the track in Indianapolis, Indiana, after an almost 100-year gap, Nicky did an interview where he said, “We need sponsors!”

Krista took note, and that’s when the real work began.

Since Hugo Boss had been one of the longest running sponsors in F1, she decided that couture should sponsor the bikes as well. She started with a letter to Marc Jacobs, then at the helm of Louis Vuitton, and continued to strategize about who and where and how the sport could secure sponsors.

She traveled to all of the American races, where she’d meet with Dorna, the former sanctioning body of the sport, and update her contacts on what she was doing. Then, in 2010, she went all in and created The House of Racing (THOR).

She pitched every fashion house this side of London, Paris, and Milan, sending massive media packets to the following:

Gucci (Frida Giannini era)
Versace
Burberry (Christopher Bailey era)
Ralph Lauren
Uniqlo
Givenchy (Ricardo Tisci era)
Topman
ASOS.com
Adidas
Zappos.com
Calvin Klein (CK)
Penguin (The Original Golf Tee)
Paul Mitchell
Kiehl’s
Belstaff
Andrew Marc
Gilt Groupe
John Varvatos
Hugo Boss
Brioni (Justin O’Shea era)
G-Star Raw

She also contacted leading fashion websites:

Yoox.com
MrPorter.com
Nasty Gal

Plus other miscellaneous brands, top in their industry:

Victorinox (Swiss Army Knives)
Capital One Credit Card
Ghirardelli Chocolate
Proctor & Gamble (Braun)
Ketel One (Parent company Diageo)
Harry’s (via Warby Parker)
LÄRABAR
Beats by Dre
Commando (Lingerie)
Stüssy
Street King (50 Cents’ Energy Drink)
Equinox
Under Armour
Priceline.com
Motocross Movie: Hellion
Uber

Not just good looking and fast, Hayden, was a double-Leo: he had both charm and charisma in spades. And he was funny. Not shtick-funny but clever-funny. Which is exactly why Krista pitched him and his World Champion story to the following publications and TV shows:

GQ
Playboy
Esquire
Vogue
60 Minutes (with Anderson Cooper)
The Chelsea Lately Show

Photo Credit: Shawn Gritzmacher.

Moon and Mars in Aries

Four years in, however, and it simply wasn’t happening. Uniqlo wanted to invest in tennis. Equinox didn't get it. Vavartos was interested for awhile, as was CK and MrPorter.com, but then...nothing.

ASOS.com and Belstaff went to F1, Vuitton screamed at her, while Yoox.com simply hung up, but not before Krista could audibly hear the disgust in her breath. Versace laughed. The very posh (read: British) assistant at Topman: “Sorry, who are you with?”

Gucci canceled a meeting in Milan at the last minute...ciao-ciao to $1,500 in plane tickets and hotel reservations. Of course it wasn’t about losing the money; it was the realization that a new strategy was needed.

At the same time, Nicky was struggling right alongside THOR, facing the many challenges that come with racing at the premier level. But even after every bad race, after wrestling with Repsol’s 800cc demon and later, Ducati’s unrideable Desmosidici, he never gave up. His “it can’t rain all the time” work ethic and positive ethos pushed Krista to forge on, too.

Charmed

Cut to the spring of 2014, when Krista spotted an Ippolita charm-bracelet splashed across one of the pages of an open Elle magazine lying on her coffee table. She thought: those pavé skulls and pearls should be *69 cutouts and Rossi Suns and Moons...

A fashion epiphany, if you will.

At the time, GP apparel was (and is) resting on its laurels. The sport is sitting on a goldmine of racers’ personas, and yet, it does nothing but stamp out cheap t-shirts and baseball caps. While the sport’s official charity wasn’t touted the way it should have. Or could have been.

Keep in mind, the MotoGP fanbase is made up of more than 300 million evangelicals, worldwide, and its passionate – nay, rabid – crowd goers crave spectacular products that look chic, and showcase their love for Nicky et al.

A charm necklace for Valentino Rossi, Hayden’s former teammate: inlaid Sun and Moon charms surround his nickname, The Doctor, named for his skill and precision of racing like that of a great surgeon.

That Day in May

A week after Krista’s jewelry designs were approved, the unthinkable happened. And it took almost two years exactly for new ideas to begin again. What follows is an excerpt from “Muse,” a story of great passion and loss, and those who have the ability to figure it all out in order to race again.

“Win. Wipe Out. Repeat.” from writer and editor Josh Dean’s piece on 2006 World Champion and MotoGP Legend, Nicky Hayden, for the New York Times’ now-defunct online Play magazine.

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