Shanel Honore (left) and Isabell Zitzelsberger run Wild Chix, a business that teaches women skills and knowledge in male-dominated sports.
Shanel Honore (left) and Isabell Zitzelsberger run Wild Chix, a business that teaches women skills and knowledge in male-dominated sports.
Wild Chix is coming to Whanganui for La Fiesta to teach boating basics to women.
Wild Chix is a year-old business run by Isabell Zitzelsberger, with the help of Shanel Honore, that teaches women skills and knowledge in typically male-dominated sports such as fishing and hunting.
They will conduct a boating basics for women seminar on February 12, as part of the annual La Fiesta women’s festival.
The two-hour seminar will cover boat terminology, safety, navigation, weather, communication, boat handling and more.
Zitzelsberger set up the business in January last year after identifying a “gap in the market” and untapped potential.
“It has been a whirlwind over the last year,” she said.
“I got a bit annoyed at some point with selling boats mainly to men and hardly seeing the wives. At some point, I was like, ‘I need to change this’.”
The Germany-born entrepreneur has worked in marine for most of her life. Most recently she was marketing manager for Surtees Boats, where her drive to start Wild Chix increased.
“I had guys walking into the shop, look past me and ask if I know anyone that can help them with a boat.
“I thought ‘I’m standing right in front of you, why do you think I have no idea about boats?' and that’s when I knew things needed to change.”
She left Surtees Boats in December 2023 to focus full-time on Wild Chix.
In the past year, the business has held events throughout the North Island.
Zitzelsberger wants the attendees of the boating basics course to gain knowledge and trust themselves about the prospect of driving and operating a boat.
“I thought if we built more confidence, get the girls out there, build the knowledge pool in a safe environment where they can ask the ‘dumb questions’ or without a language being spoken that they don’t understand, [it] helps them learn that they are not alone.
“The major thing for me is to give them some sort of self-confidence in the boats. My ultimate goal is to have the ladies stand there looking in their driveway thinking ‘it’s a nice day, I’ll grab the kids or ring my girlfriends and go for a fish even if hubby is working'.”
Wild Chix will host a boating basics for women seminar during La Fiesta.
The La Fiesta event would be the business' first visit to Whanganui and was thanks to PS Waimarie manager Jen Britton, Zitzelsberger said.
“She was one of the first ones when we first started and said ‘you need to come to Whanganui’.
“Jen said, ‘We have this women’s festival here and you should totally come and present Wild Chix there.‘”
She hoped the session would provide a safe, non-judgmental environment to ask questions and learn at the individual’s own pace.
Zitzelsberger wanted to keep building her business and continue to develop a female community in New Zealand’s signature sports.
“I want to enable girls to be more confident with the boat, I want to build a community of ladies who can just go and rent a boat and give it a shot.
“There are so many influencers in the market and women look at them and think ‘I’m not as pretty, or not as good, or I’m not as rich so I can’t go to those places'. I never want to be an influencer, I want to be an enabler,” she said.
“It’s developing a lot faster than I thought - it is a market that hasn’t been tapped into.”
Basic Boating for Women is at the Riverboat Museum, 1a Taupō Quay, 6-8pm on Wednesday, February 12. Tickets are $75. Book at wildchix.co.nz.
