Charlotte Jorst
From Founder and CEO of Skagen Watches to becoming an equestrian - one woman's incredible story of going from the boardroom to the arena, and becoming a world class athlete in mid-life
Charlotte Jorst is the epitome of a real life role model. She has reMADE her life more than once and persevered through loss and hardship with grace and dignity. She is self-made, in every way. After selling her company, Skagen Watches, she reclaimed her love of horses and became an equestrian in mid-life, which by no means is an easy feat! A few short years into this journey, she developed skin cancer and then went through a contentious divorce. She never let those set-backs stop her, instead she used it as fuel to create a new clothing company with UV protection called Kastel and went on to become a world class dressage rider. She now spends her days training and competing nationally, winning awards, running her company and spending time with her daughters and grand babies. The photo above was taken at a dressage competition in Wellington, Florida.
Early into reMADE, when it wasn’t much more than just an idea that had been percolating, I was confiding to a friend what I was working on. When I was done explaining the concept, he said that there was someone he wanted to introduce me to, that she’d be a prefect story to share. Her name was Charlotte Jorst. He asked if I knew the brand Skagen Watches? She was the founder. I said of course I did, I loved the brand! Back in the days of working full-time in Chicago, I was wearing fashionable suits and dresses every day to the office, pairing my outfits with the perfect shoes, earrings, necklace, and a Skagen watch. I was excited for the opportunity to meet her, especially when he told me what she was up to now!
From our very first conversation over the phone, we connected immediately and spoke like we were old friends. She was so likeable and easy to talk to. Over the course of a year and a half, before meeting in person, we would have several more conversations diving deeper into her journey, and I am now honored to say we have become good friends.
Charlotte in her Kastel office sharing her journey after selling her company
When our schedules finally line up, Charlotte invites me up to Reno so we can meet in person where she has a house and was staying for a few weeks visiting her business, daughters, and young horses. When she walks into her office, where I have just arrived myself, she is incredibly warm and welcoming, greeting me with a big hug and one of her photogenic smiles. She is tall and slender, with natural blonde hair and beautiful skin that has never been altered by any expensive nonsense that would make her appear deceptively youthful. She is excited to show me around her office, introducing me to the women helping her run her company, and proudly shows off the racks of unique and colorful designs of her activewear line of clothing. She even generously lets me pick out several of my favorite pieces to take home and add to my wardrobe. I gladly accept her offer!
My MOST favorite half zip from Kastel. I use it as a rash guard over my bathing suit, a top layer for hiking and often pair it with my favorite pair of white denim jeans
We spend the day together having long, philosophical conversations about work, life and family, ending with a visit to her ranch, where I get to meet her wonderful daughters and several of her beautiful young horses that are just old enough to begin training, which I learn usually starts around 3 years old. Walking around the farm, Charlotte makes sure to stop and feed and pet each one of her horses, including a few others that are just boarders. It’s clear that each one of her horses has a special place in heart. On our tour she tells me that she has just recently retired one of her beloved horses, Nintendo, from competing and confides how much she misses him and worries if he is happy in his new life or not (he is now domiciled in Kentucky where she is breeding him). It’s funny, I didn’t think equestrian riders would be so attached to their horses. I assumed that it was more of a transactional relationship but after spending time with Charlotte and watching her interact with her horses, my view of the rider/horse relationship dynamic has completely changed.
So, what happened to Charlotte after she sold her company?
This is Charlotte’s incredible reMADE story.
In her 20’s, she and her husband decided to move to NY from Denmark. It was a bold decision considering they had no friends or family living there, but it was where they decided they were going build their life together. Charlotte was a hardworking and very bright go-getter. Never one to miss an opportunity, she jumped from being an intern at a beer company, to being a spokesperson, which led to a job repping watches with personalized logos to big companies around Manhattan. Having a keen eye for design, she started quietly creating her own watches and presenting them to prospective retailers at trade shows. Enough buyers were interested that it gave her the idea to go out and start creating her own line. This was the genesis of how Skagen all began. Skagen became a huge global success and was sold to Fossil Watches in 2012 for a whopping $240 million. Her dedication and hard work of 25 years turned into a huge payoff.
When talking in her office in Reno, she admits that over the years while building her company, she dreamed of the day where she would swap her days of sitting in a boardroom to spending her days outdoors riding horses in the arena (she used to ride when she was younger) and that’s EXACTLY what she did when she sold her company!
Keep in mind.. she could have done anything with her life afterward, drifting comfortably into retirement, living a life of leisure, sitting on a white, sandy beach somewhere forever, but instead, she traded in her role as “CEO” for “World Class Athlete”. After selling her company she went out and hired a trainer and began teaching herself everything she could about dressage riding as well as the complicated process of buying thoroughbred horses, a herculean task, not for the faint of heart! When she talks about her evolution over the years of riding, she throws her head back and laughs about how little she really knew at the beginning from, how to hire and work with the “right” trainer to, how NOT to buy a horse based on the merits of beauty alone.
When she started to actively ride again, spending long days in the sun, she got diagnosed with skin cancer. Never one to be discouraged, the experience led her to create a line of clothing that has UV protection for equestrians and athletes who spend much of their time outdoors, aptly named Kastel, which means “fortress” in Danish. You can buy her beautiful activewear here https://kasteldenmark.com/blogs/press-2018-2019/lauren-lynch-meet-the-founder-charlotte-jorst-of-kastel?srsltid=AfmBOoprbmR_OTCgyCRMmwynwyFfuPBLjUqe-FOXiLUgviI7H3Mdumcb
As things in life usually go in 2’s and 3’s, Charlotte is no different. Simultaneous to her cancer diagnosis, she and her husband went through a contentious divorce. When we talk about this chapter, she doesn’t spend a minute wallowing, it’s really a footnote in this wonderful and full life she has created for herself over the past decade.
Charlotte giving me a tour of her barn in Reno
When Charlotte talks about her horses and her life of riding, she beams. She is aware that she is living her dream life, splitting her time between Wellington, Florida and Reno, Nevada keeping fit and strong with a daily routine of yoga, swimming, training with her horses for a good part of the afternoon and ending her day with Kastel business. When she tells me that she has become one of the top riders in country, winning numerous competitions and medals over the past decade it’s without any braggadocio. She’ll be the first to tell you how incredibly hard she’s worked for every single thing she’s achieved, despite some naysayers along the way who never thought she would stick with it. Because of her intrinsic positive outlook on life, she doesn’t let that kind of talk get to her - she prefers to focus on doing what she loves and surrounding herself with her family and good friends.
Charlotte educating me on how sensitive horses are to energy
At the end of our time together, I feel remarkably buoyant and relaxed, like I spent the day at some sort of spiritual retreat. Charlotte is one of the most unique women I have ever met, radiating positivity and a cool confidence of someone who knows who they are and does not have to explain herself to anyone. When I remark how incredible her life is, all that she’s accomplished, both personally and professionally these past years, without hesitation she gives a big smile and whole heartedly agrees. She is incredibly grateful to have built a life where she can do what she loves, spend time with good friends and have plenty of quality time with her daughters and their growing families.
Fun feeding the horses and getting to know all of them