Transforming from Olympic Speed Skating Star to Businesswoman: The Ane Farstad Journey

Ane Farstad was once a promising speed skater, chasing Olympic dreams but left to explore something new, today she is the owner of Caspara, a thriving fashion brand together with her brother Odin.

The 24-year-old had hoped to compete at the Winter Olympics in Italy in 2026, but chose to step back from skating to concentrate on her expanding business. Ane, who started skating when she was eight years old, and Odin were both skilled athletes who had a bronze in Team Sprint for both the World and European Championships.

Unfortunately, attempting to combine their careers in skating with developing Caspara became overly difficult. They started the brand in 2023, but travelling back and forth between Canada and the Netherlands for training was difficult to manage. It was at that point, when they decided between their sport and the rapidly growing business, that they reached a tipping point.

Ane told Norwegian outlet 730: “It just didn’t happen.” We were burnt out at the end of the season. —no. There were just the two of us doing all of the jobs in the company, and the weight of feeling that we always had to be meeting customer expectations was unbearable. December 24th, I was responding to emails It was a choice between Caspara or skating, adieu.

In the end, they decided to concentrate on Caspara, and this was a wise choice. Since then, the Norwegian-based brand has increased its turnover to £560,000 in 2023 and supports eight staff. This took a toll, and Ane herself acknowledges the challenging transition: “I was always a skater, and stepping into those larger business worlds is a really big shift. I honestly had no idea what I was doing, but I learnt more than I could imagine.

Owning Instagram, Ane has 213,000 followers, which has undoubtedly helped grow Caspara. Her previous account posted photos of her skating and modeling, but now she primarily posts about Caspara, (In which she models Caspara clothing)

Overseeing this and more throughout Caspara has left Ane and Odin with plenty of exciting plans in mind for 2025, including an expansion of the business on an international scale. Their story is a reminder that creativity, stamina, and grit are powerful ingredients when mixing up new possibilities, and that no matter how difficult the decisions — as those they have faced — they can deliver life-changing results.