GirlRider® Story

Nick Myerhoff, GirlRider® owner and designer, grew up in the San Fernando Valley, a suburb of LA where skateboarding was born during the 70’s.  His lifelong friend Michelle lived across the street, and the two would ditch school together and bus it to Santa Monica beach to surf. Nick’s love for the outdoors eventually took him to Lake Tahoe where he fostered an obsession for extreme skiing and eventually snowboarding.  While living the mountain lifestyle he finished his BFA in ceramics.

Nick entered the corporate world after school by working as a video game designer and art director. In late 2005 after a successful 10 year career ranging from 3D animation to designing Barbie bicycles, Nick’s patience ran out. He subsequently resigned from his position, sold his home in Tahoe and began to search for a deeper purpose. The Girl Rider culture was forming very early on, even before the first shirts were made.

Conchita drops out. Realizing early on that she did not wish to reside in corporate America, Michelle decamped to Baja to purchase a 100 acre ranch with a few friends, where they surfed daily and Michelle quickly became known as “Conchita Mich”. Her degree in environmental science had instilled a resourcefulness that enabled her to make soap from scratch using the indigenous plants on her ranch, and print shirts for the local market. During a visit to the ranch, Nick and Conchita talked late into the night and as the tequila ran dry, the seeds of GirlRider® took root.

GirlRider® was born the next day, using Conchita’s vintage equipment in the back of her thatched roof ranch, with a single solar unit. The first Girl Rider® screen was a tribal totem hand drawn in black and white.

The passion for GirlRider® that was sparked that night in Baja has only continued to grow with intensity, as more original designs continue to be created and additional items are added to the Girl Rider® apparel lines – all of which are crafted with love for the outdoors and commitment to quality.

Conchita Mich, obsessed with the ocean, still spends 100% of her time in Baja where she has resided full-time for nearly 12 years. She sleeps under the stars every night and is unreachable whenever there is a swell. Nick splits his time between Ocean Beach in San Francisco where he has his finger on the pulse of urban trends, and the serenity of Tahoe where he bikes, skiis and boards.

For more interesting stories check out Nick Myerhoff's blog or take a look at our photo gallery.