Industry News
Mikaela Shiffrin just launched her own brand with a dynamic, new logo just days ahead of launching her own podcast. The logo—a combination of her initials, MS, with the right leg of the ‘M’ shaped into an ‘S’—is formed by two lines, like two parallel skis. The all-time winningest World Cup ski racer will debut her podcast “What’s the Point with Mikaela Shiffrin” on October 29.
The color palette of her brand campaign is a bright cobalt blue, a powerful yet feminine electric pink, a contrasting dark magenta-purple, black, and an icy-blue.
Shiffrin told the Associated Press (AP) that the podcast aims to explore what motivates athletes, artists, and thinkers to pursue excellence. “I want to get insights and perspectives from other people about why they do what they do, why they love what they love, what drives their pursuit of excellence or improvement,” she said. “If it’s records, if it’s results, if it’s passion—just to understand more about what values people have and what drives them.”
The series, presented by Stifel, the title sponsor of the U.S. ski team, will feature eight to 10 episodes in its first season. Guests may include teammates, rivals, executives, and celebrities—or simply those who have played a role in Shiffrin’s life. One dream guest: Stephen Colbert, whom she admires for his ability to speak eloquently about grief. Colbert lost his father and two brothers in a plane crash when he was just 10 years old. “It’s a loss that I could never even imagine, but how he’s worked through that and a lot of what I’ve heard him talk about is something that I can relate to,” Shiffrin told the Associated Press.
For Shiffrin, grief has been a defining force since the death of her father, Jeff, in 2020. His loss prompted her to wrestle with questions of purpose—questions that inspired both the podcast and its title. “Since my dad passed, I’ve talked about struggling,” she said. “I spent a long time in this phase of apathy and not understanding what the point of doing any of this—life, living, skiing, caring about winning, any of those things. What’s the point of doing it when you can’t share it with all the people that you love the most?” That introspection eventually turned into creative energy. “Since then, I’ve certainly moved through that apathetic feeling, but it’s been an underlying question for me of, ‘What is the point?’” she added.
Shiffrin’s openness about her grief following her father’s sudden death, performance pressure, and the mental health struggles of elite athletes has helped shift the conversation in sports. In May this year, the 30-year-old shared her struggles with PTSD in an honest and heartfelt article in The Players Tribune. Her personal essay about her feelings and struggles gave a rare and unfiltered insight into the pressures and expectations weighing on an elite athlete’s shoulders, and the silent battle of overcoming trauma. Now, Shiffrin is using a new platform to explore these topics and ask others some deeper questions and explore the meaning behind passion, excellence, and purpose.
- Related: Mikaela Shiffrin Shares Honest Recount of her Struggles with PTSD Following Kilington, VT, Crash
The launch of her own brand, logo, and podcast show that the athlete is forging ahead in her distinctly own way. Establishing her image under her own brand will give Shiffrin a leverage that will outlast her active sporting career and pave the way for a future past her active racing years. But for now, the ski racer is balancing a busy racing career with her passion projects and many other commitments. “I want to be able to dive in 100%, while balancing it with something else that I’m diving into 100%,” she said. “I’m not totally sure how it’s going to go. But I’m really excited. It’s going to just be a work in progress over the season.”
With her podcast, logo, and ever-expanding voice beyond the slopes, Shiffrin is writing a new chapter in her career and laying a strategic pathway for a future beyond chasing records and winning trophies.
“What’s the Point with Mikaela Shiffrin” launches October 29 on all major podcast platforms.
