Staying Weird, Raising Legends
Julie Bacon used to bike solo from Mexico to Canada, for fun. Then she got pregnant, kept mountain biking and couldn’t find a single place online that told her that was OK. So she built one.
Today The Mothership Collective is a community of 100,000+ moms and counting, with a 10,000-member Facebook group and thousands of women meeting up in real life. I caught up with Julie seven weeks postpartum with baby number two, running her business at full tilt, for our Motherhood Made Me Do It™ series.
Did motherhood make you do it?
No doubt. It’s in the name! And all in the good ways. My journey started when I was pregnant and still mountain biking, and I couldn’t find any resource online that gave me the permission slip to keep doing what I loved while super pregnant. I felt so much like myself on the trail with the big belly, and so much joy around something that also carried weird shame and guilt about cultural norms. That feeling is where everything came from.
What was launch day like?
Terrifying and sweaty. I was burnt out at my job and had been sitting on this idea for about two years. One night I was complaining about the burnout, and a friend said, “Remember that hot mom club you were going to start?” That same night I stayed up late and made a branding deck: the pillars, who we’d talk to, what it would look like. It launched with a couple of blog posts from me and a few friends. A lot of people asked, “But what is it? Events? Stories?” I said, it’s going to be everything, eventually.
When did you know it was real?
Our first event, the Cosmic Campout, was about 30 people in costumes with a charcuterie board, kid chaos and biking. It was everything I wanted a Mothership event to be. Then last November a reel went viral and we gained about 10,000 followers overnight. Women started asking, “How do I meet other moms like this?” That’s when the Facebook group started, and it’s around 10,000 members now. I officially quit my agency job in May. I realized that if I poured all of my ambition into this, it would become what I wanted it to be.
Is there one story you’ll never forget?
I got a message this week from a woman who found our page when she was six months pregnant. She biked through her pregnancy because she saw it was possible, and now she’s taking her six-week-old camping. That’s the ultimate success of the Mothership- someone sees something and feels seen, or empowered to do something. Or someone meets a friend in the Facebook group and now they’re besties camping together on weekends.
My partner has walked in on me crying at my desk more than once!
Why is it so hard for moms to make friends?
Making friends as an adult is hard in general, and mom life piles on the busy-ness. Society expects us to fill our lives with so much that we have less time to put into relationships. And it’s hard to get plans to leave the group chat. The digital world is amazing, but it’s also a great place to hide. Sending a DM or inviting someone to something feels weird and intimidating. In the group, someone will post, “Hey, I’m in Missoula, anyone out there?” and immediately get eight connections.
“Stay weird, raise legends.” What does it mean?
As a mom, it was important to me to keep a lightness and a childlike wonder, like glitter on our faces or a costume at sunset at camp. The weird is whatever is yours, whether that’s a pottery class or yoga. Keeping that piece of you is the “stay weird” part. And in my opinion, legends follow. Your kids become who you hope they’ll be because they see you chasing your dreams, your ambition, your creativity.
Tell us about the branded mom hat we keep seeing?
It’s our version of the dad hat. All our merch is designed by artists, including my good friend Brynn Merrill in Tahoe. When you see someone repping the Mothership, it’s a secret handshake. To me it’s a symbol of empowerment.
What is Rally the Village?
It started because women kept asking how to find their people. I put out a call and in two weeks we had 130 events. I was hoping for maybe 25. We estimate about 3,000 women gathered in May. When we ran it back in September, we got 160 events- in the UK, France, Japan, all over. A DJ climbing-wall party in Colorado, a pig roast under the full moon in Maryland, and one called Coffee and Crying.
Do you get any push back to the pregnancy and activity combo?
Pregnancy and activity are hot topics and people have a lot of opinions about women’s bodies. There have been moments of slight panic when something goes viral, like a woman climbing a wall eight months pregnant, and suddenly it’s reaching outside our welcoming Mothership bubble. People ask, “What are you promoting? Is it safe?” But those are also moments to double down on our values and stand up for women’s bodies. Our blog is full of stories from women in our community, and we always say: this is not medical advice, this is an experience.
What’s the hardest part of building the community?
Everyone wants a Mothership chapter where they live, and I want to be there for every single woman, but it’s just me running the ship. I’m figuring out how to provide community without being everywhere at once.
I haven’t made any official hires yet, but I don’t think we’re far off. Early on, the hard part was doing it on the side- a one-year-old at home, 35 hours a week at my agency job and building this in whatever hours were left.
How did becoming a mom change the way you do business?
I’ve become much more choosy with my time. Entrepreneurship isn’t for everyone, and it’s a lot of pressure to put on yourself, so I wanted something that really meant something to me. Motherhood honed my ambition. The Mothership is a culmination of all my marketing experience plus passion.
What does your daughter think you do for work?
My almost three year old daughter recently defined The Mothership as “a big party.” Honestly, she nailed it.
Are Midlife Moms part of The Mothership community?
All moms are welcome! We do share a lot about pregnancy and becoming a mom, but the community is very much for moms in every stage. Whether you’re bringing a baby along, raising bigger kids or figuring out what adventure looks like once they’ve flown the nest, there’s a place for you in the Mothership. The desire for friendship, adventure, and a life that feels like your own doesn’t come with an expiration date.
I love that you’re speaking to midlife moms. Having more room to pursue your interests doesn’t necessarily mean you have people to pursue them with, and that’s such a meaningful place for community.
Midlife Mom thoughts on the collective:
The Mothership Collective is a big party, but what stays with us is what Julie built underneath the party- a place that gives women the permission slip to keep being themselves after they become moms, and a village that doesn’t live entirely inside the group chat.
That’s the whole Motherhood Made Me Do It™ idea, and it’s why we created this platform for Midlife Moms.
Follow The Mothership Collective and tell us your story here: What did motherhood make you do?
