STORIES – WHAT DOES STATE OF ELEVENATE MEAN?

ALWAYS CHASING A STATE OF ELEVENATE

Sara Rönngren is the co-founder and head designer of State of Elevenate. She, along with her husband, Jimmy Odén, founded State of Elevenate in 2010 after moving back to Åre from the Alps. They wanted to combine Sara’s background as a freeskier with Jimmy's knowledge as an IFMGA mountain guide. Since the beginning, their motivation has been to create skiwear that they and their friends want to wear.

But how did they come up with the name State of Elevenate? We sat down with Sara to get the true story behind the brand name. Initially, they wished to include the number eleven in the name. In the ski community, there is a saying that one can do an "eleven" -straight lining on untouched snow, creating two lines behind you. After turning"eleven" into a verb, they came up with "Elevenate." The addition of "state of" captured the euphoric feeling of being completely present and happy while doing something you love. "You forget everything else. All other problems disappear."

Sara's love for skiing and being outdoors has been with her since her childhood. When asked about a specific memory of when she has felt a state of Elevenate, she recalls a memory from when she was younger and competed in a mogul World Cup. She managed to improve her time by 13 seconds between the first and second run. Everything just fell into place.

Today, Sara primarily finds her state of Elevenate during a perfect powder run or on the surfboard. In recent years, Sara has turned to surfing as her main source of achieving a state of Elevenate. While she may not be as skilled at surfing as she is at skiing, she finds that once she enters the right flow, a feeling of pure bliss takes over.

For Sara, the feeling of the state of Elevenate is strongly connected to entering a flow and total presence. "You are just right here and now and feel so happy with where you are. I believe that that is what you search for in life. It is like a drug. I need to enter a state of Elevenate once in a while; otherwise, I will not feel as happy and satisfied. The feeling has to be recharged." Sara's passion for skiing and being in the great outdoors is evident in the State of Elevenate brand. She and Jimmy strive to create skiwear that allows people to enjoy their time outdoors and enter a state of Elevenate.

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