There is a big wide world out there, and League Collective wants to explore it with you. We intend to bring you the knowledge and wisdom from far and way beyond the confines of our London base.

We want to inspire by introducing you to brilliant talent, dare devils and thrill junkies of their field, so you can read about them and keep up to date with what is going on. That way, when we do go out to meet them and come back with amazing footage…You will know exactly what we’re talking about… We’re excited just thinking about it!

It’s been a dark and grey few winter months, and as spring approaches, we decided it was time to bring a little more colour to our League Collective readers.

A few months back, we stumbled across KiteSista, which led us to WakeSista, and after a few emails, phone calls and plans discussed, we were introduced to, or in other words; Sofi and Marcus – probably the coolest kite/wake/wind/surfing couple you could ever imagine. A couple that are truly living the reality of a dream.

Together, from their love of water-sports and a passion for what they do, Marcus and Sofi have created what is now known as Sista Zone. A brand that will, over the coming year, encompass nearly all boards sports – a platform which shows off the talent of girls being awesome at what they do best. Sharing their stories and charisma – what makes them jump out of bed in the morning – a brand that promotes and expresses the raw talent that is out there in this big and beautiful world.

In April, League Collective will be heading out to Portugal to meet the team and capture some footage of SistaZone in action, but whilst we eagerly wait, the thing that really intrigued us when we came across such incredible brand that manages to bring together multiple activities is; How did it happen?! How do these awesome social media platforms that are so great come about?
Well, we’re here to tell you exactly that. Straight from the creators themselves, Marcus and Sofi tell us how this amazing life they now lead has come together:

Where are you from?

S: I was born in Belfort in the east of France, but because of my fathers work we moved around every couple of years. I think I have lived in every corner of France but the place that felt most like home to me was always Brittany.

M: London born and bred. I am often reminded by Sofi that London is not a country, but anyone from London understands where I am coming from.

How did you meet?

M: I was quietly (or not so quietly) enjoying the single life in Zanzibar when this striking french girl came along and put an abrupt end to that for me. It was not easy at first as we didn’t speak each others language at all and we both have ‘passionate’ personalities and lived in different countries, but we got there in the end.

S: I saw him on the beach and knew pretty instantly this was going to be the man for me. As he said, it wasn’t easy and in the end I had to completely leave my old life behind, job, town, relationship (oops) but luckily I was right, he was the perfect man for me and it was the best choice I ever made.

A funny story about you both!

S: Have you ever been in a relationship with someone who doesn’t speak your language. I think Google Translate made us, until Marcus realised that to speak to me in the informal tense he had to write in Shakespearian style …

M: It’s true, “Thou, They, Thine…” etc all became part of my daily vocabulary and would then continue in my emails to clients throughout the day.

Why Portugal?

S: Where to live when you can live anywhere in the world. A very hard question.

M: Actually the parameters decided the location, warm winters, amazing uncrowded kitesurfing spots, constant surf conditions, a wake park, good international school for our daughter, third language for all of us and near enough to our families. Plus being on GMT was a huge help to working with my London based clients.

S: Then there is the wine …if you are going to leave France … (that makes me sound a bit too much like an alcoholic!)

How did you get into kite surfing/surfing/wake-boarding/snowboarding… the lot!

S: My ex was a very accomplished waterman, Windsurfing, Kiting, Surfing and SUP, and through him and living by the sea in Le Havre I got into kiting initially, but conditions were tough and progression was slow at the beginning. The snow I was lucky enough to be on since a small child and I raced on skis before switching to snowboarding. As for wake-boarding, that was a very recent discovery in the last 2 years. We put it off for so long for many reasons, but as soon as a wake park opening near our house we bought a seasons pass and the rest is history.

M: I started kiting around 2002 and did a lot of land-boarding before I finally hit the water in 2005. there were no kite lessons and equipment was a bit different, but we threw ourselves around and figured it out with friends. My snowboarding has always been for pleasure and I would not classify myself as an advanced boarder, ..but I can hold my own and have enjoyed getting back into rails this year after spending so much of the summer at the cable park. Wake-boarding, this is my new drug, …why did it take us so long to get into it, …foolish pride I think.

What is a standard day in the life of Sista Zone?

M: I am a very early riser, it used to be late nights before we had our daughter, now 5am-8am is my most productive time. Scanning social media feeds as quickly and efficiently as possible and then lining up news and articles for the following day. I also run a web development company so I have to split my time and priorities between the two, but so much of modern day business is about communication so I spend a lot of time writing emails. Then it is usually time to get out of the office and either kite, surf or hit the cable park. This rhythm can only endure for a couple of months though before we have to pack our bags and go somewhere for a change of scenery.

S: I am very much into yoga since I was pregnant so ideally a morning will start with this, but reality of having a child, preparing and taking her to school etc. often get in the way of this. A healthy breakfast and then getting through the emails and content creation tasks as efficiently as possible so I can get on with the things that I love which is communicating physically with people, getting out there and exploring avenues and directions of others and how this can relate to what we are doing. Marcus can hide behind his computer all day and not talk for hours, but I do not come from a technical background and I need real human interaction on a daily basis.

What is your life motto?

M: If a traveller does not meet with one who is his better, or his equal, let him firmly keep to his solitary journey; there is no companionship with a fool.

S: Don’t wait for tomorrow to do the things you can do today.

M: Haha …really?

S: Shhhh.

What is the main message behind Sista Zone… What is your vision for the brand, what are your goals for the future, why did you start it?

M: It started out as a platforms for Sofi’s thoughts and ideas but grew almost quicker than we imagined. For me I enjoyed the challenge of building a new business from scratch in a market that was crying out for it. We quickly become the reference point through KiteSista for female kiteboarding and we did our best to make sure we were supporting and representing the riders rather than worrying about revenue and making money.

S: It really is that, a reflection of the sports we cover. When many magazines and brands distort the image of female riders to sell a product, we are in some ways a platform for them to represent and market themselves in the way they choose.

M: So true, although this means we often get accused of being hypocritical as every athlete chooses to market themselves in different ways and often evolve their perspectives over time and as they progress in the industry and life.

S: Now as we branch out into Wake and later in the year Skate and Snow we connect with new athletes and new attitudes and we of course have the need to make the company into a profitable business in order to continue doing what we are doing, but it really is a constantly evolving project.

M: It is important to know that at origin we have always been a lifestyle magazine too which means we bring you a lot of products and style that we like, although we are often taken for a women’s movement which is very flattering and we do have a number of initiatives that support this direction. One thing is for sure, with each door we stick our foot in, we are presented with more opportunities and we now have the privilege of being to able make choices about our direction and often maintaining consistent direction is one of the biggest challenges.

What do you think about the current state of female board sports, what are your aims this year?

S: Female board sports and their athletes are starting to be taken more and more seriously and commanding more respect from both sponsors and the public. The positive thing I have found is the way we approach riding together, through social media we build much stronger communities around riding together and supporting each other. It is this direction I am concentrating on in 2017, not giving away too much but a focus on girls riding and spending time together across multiple activities.

M: As Sofi mentioned, brands are ‘starting’ to take their female riders more seriously and as a result more women have the chance to concentrate more on their riding thanks to financial and equipment support, …this is turn has seen a huge leap forward in the level of riding of the girls and gone are the days when people walked away to get lunch when the girls starting competing (we kid you not). It is still incredibly difficult to get away from the sexualisation and objectifying of women in sports, but this is very much a reflection of the sexualisation and objectifying of women in all aspects of life through mainstream media and advertising – which ironically has created a society where the girls actually end up representing themselves in this way as a misguided adaption to the conceived norms.

What keeps you going/what is the passion that drives you to keep going?

S: We have a 3 year old daughter and there comes a time when you can slog away at any job, but when she turns around one day and asks you what you did with your life (or you wonder to yourself) you need to be able to answer that with something that stands up to her perceptions of the world and what is worthwhile.

M: I have always worked in areas that I enjoy and enjoyed my work, so being able to combine this with my life with Sofi although of course challenging to work with your partner, is hugely rewarding and allows us to spend a lot of time together doing things we really love and leading a great life. My mother always told me that I couldn’t spend all my life doing what I wanted …I think it was the only thing she ever said to me that wasn’t true.

Marcuse and Sofi have created a Collective alone, and we want to shout about it as much as we want to be a part of it. They represent and have managed to capture what it is to be free, to push that desire and passion for what you love and turn it into a sustainable lifestyle that benefits a growing community around them, a business built on driving passion more than revenue… in our opinion, a seed that any successful business is built on. What more could you really ask for?

To find out more about them, visit their Instagram links: KiteSista, WakeSista
Or visit their websites to find out even more: Sista.Zone Vimeo channel, WakeSista, KiteSista.

All photos from KiteSista Social Media sites.

We hope you enjoyed this post! For more information on Sista Zone or League Collective, get in touch via our email: [email protected]. We’d love to hear from you! and we will get back to you as soon as we can.