Thank you.

Hello! My name is Monica Cox, and last year I went to social media asking for your help to make a documentary-style video about women racing in the Gateway Cup, a St. Louis road bicycle race.

Since moving to St. Louis in 2018, my husband has been racing in the St. Louis bike community, and although I don't ride/race myself, I've grown very passionate about the sport. Becoming more and more interested in the sport, I went to Youtube to watch content on the sport/the people racing in it. My research showed many bike race videos all over Youtube about the men's pro races and very few about the women's pro races. This is where my interest began for creating an opportunity for myself and for the women of criterium racing.

This passion, for other people’s passion led me to create Shark Brained, a short documentary about bikes for women, by women, about women.

However, a project like this can’t just happen because I wanted it to. You need people, resources, and talent. You need money. With the support of the St. Louis bicycling community I was able to raise the funds necessary to create this film, and create it well.

Because of your love for the sport, this project became a reality. You all saw that there has never been a better time, a more necessary time, to make this film for women's pro racing, the Gateway Cup, and St. Louis. I’m incredibly grateful to be in a community that believed in these women and these stories as much as I do.

So all I can say from here is thank you. This film changed my life and created an opportunity for so many women all around the country. I couldn’t have done it without all of you.