Amid the comings and goings of cyclists and enthusiasts of this sport, Yolanda waits behind the stand that claims the presence of Island Smooth Ride in the Mallorca 312 of 2024. Neighbor for a day of Mega Raw Bar, as soon as we start chatting, her eyes light up while her thoughts go back to a few years ago, when she and her partner, José, decided to make a radical change in their lives.
That change was the result of a desire to give 'meaning and value' to their daily lives, which began to take shape - without knowing it - when Yolanda decided to enroll on a master's degree in Natural Cosmetics and Dermopharmacy. At the time, the couple worked in banking and, in the midst of the impasse that the COVID 19 pandemic meant for everyone, they both felt that it was time, that it was 'now or never'.
After fifteen days of deep meditation - she now recalls with a big smile - Yolanda made the decision to quit her job. 'We usually go on autopilot and taking this step felt like I had taken off a five-hundred-kilogram backpack.' She gave herself a period of eight months, during which she continued working in the mornings and devoted her afternoons to formulating, knowing that natural cosmetics would be (and in fact, already is) an upward trend.
One day, José asked her to try to create a product that would prevent - or at least alleviate - chafing when he went out to practice his favorite sport, cycling, and she got down to work. She formulated and reformulated, her husband tested it and gave it to his friends to try out, and one morning, Yolanda saw it clearly. 'I woke up and said 'this is it.'
This is Island Smooth Ride, a balm that breaks the rules of chamois cream - which has traditionally been applied to cyclists' chamois pads - to be spread directly on the skin. 'Now that chamois pads are made of technical material and not leather, as in the past, there are brands that still apply cream, but my husband has tried them all and couldn't find one that worked for him,' so she decided, why not, to create it herself.
'We usually go on autopilot and taking this step felt like I had taken off a five-hundred-kilo backpack.'
Her professional background in business development and a market study helped her to see the line of business clearly, but the formulation and the purpose were the key: from ingredients of vegetable origin, one hundred percent natural and without chemical fillers, she achieved a cream loaded with active ingredients that moisturizes and prepares the skin. It protects, soothes and repairs before, during and after sports.
It is not magic. It is the power of almond oil and wax, calendula and olive butter which, together with vitamin E -which works as an antioxidant- make up a balm that has conquerecyclists from all over the world who practice this sport in the beautiful Mallorcan scenery. The product has been tested in a laboratory in Pollença, where a chemist analyzes and studies the formulation to find the texture and color, and after obtaining the protection of certificates, protocols and European regulations that guarantee the safety of the product.
April 2022 was the litmus test. Coinciding with Mallorca 312, Yolanda and José launched Smooth Ride and tested it among the runners who came to the unavoidable event. They took the small format to prepare the skin and nourish it the night before the competition and then came back for more', says Yolanda who, at the same time, contacted 'cyclists of different modalities, intense and extreme, so that they could try it in those circumstances' and give feedback, a strategy that served to validate it and convince them, with no room for doubt, that they were exactly where they should be.
'Smooth Ride is sustainable and environmentally friendly, from the ingredients to the packaging, and the entire team of suppliers is Spanish'.
Aware that natural sports cosmetics is a very specific market and that she has to compete against giants in the sector, Yolanda has always been confident not only in the proven results of her idea, but also in its added value: 'Smooth Ride is sustainable and ecological, from the ingredients to the packaging, and the entire team of suppliers is Spanish. After all, the logic went, if we promoted the values of sustainability and the local economy, we wanted to stay here. For me it was very important, even if it made the product a little more expensive'.
Yolanda and José's cream is disruptive thanks to a proprietary formulation that makes very little quantity highly effective. It is not surprising, then, that it is already on sale in more than seventy commercial outlets on the island among parapharmacies, sports stores and herbalists, as well as in its online store.
And the story has only just begun. Strengthened with this first proposal -which now wants to make the leap and fall in love with the public of Northern Europe-, Yolanda is immersed in the research of an oil that favors muscle recovery. An ointment based on arnica oil enhanced with essential oils such as lavender, ginger and peppermint, refreshing and anti-inflammatory, which, with a small massage, will bring relief to athletes after competition.
In addition, determined and enthusiastic in equal parts, she also dreams of collaborating, in the not too distant future, with a brand on the island specializing in handmade soap to create a body soap in solid format and, why not, a one hundred percent natural sunscreen, 'a complicated challenge, but not impossible,' she says.
With local and natural ingredients, Yolanda and José have created a proposal that combines sport, nature and cosmetics, three passions that the couple share and that they have been able to transform into something more than a business, a way to give meaning and value to their daily lives. The dream of someone who wanted to turn her life around and find a purpose has come true with research, determination and effort, and a bit of luck too because, as Yolanda says, 'when things are meant to be, the stars align and they happen'.
