SuperShe Seventy-five minutes away from Helsinki Airport in Finland is SuperShe Island, open only to women, where future SuperShe restorative retreats will be held.
- Two years ago, SuperShe founder Kristina Roth was running a multi-million-dollar consulting business.
- She's since sold it and launched a women's community called SuperShe devoted to empowering its members.
- In September, she purchased a private island in Finland, open only to women, for her and her fellow SuperShes to congregate for restorative retreats.
Off the coast of the Baltic Sea in the Raseborg region of Finland, there's a woman-only island that serves as the headquarters for the female enclave of SuperShes.
The SuperShe community's founder, Kristina Roth, bought the 8.47-acre island entirely out of pocket in September of last year to give her women's network a homebase.
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Roth moved to New York from Germany in 2003 with two pieces of luggage. Within 12 years, she'd grown a consulting business with an annual revenue of $45 million.
Think Themyscira - the island in Wonder Woman - but with yoga mats and smoothie bowls.
In 2015, Roth's consulting business, Matisia Consultants, landed the number seven spot on Forbes' Fastest-Growing Women-Owned Businesses list. The company's revenue at the time was at $45 million. She sold it a year later and launched SuperShe.
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Movement is a focal point of Roth's life and the lives of other SuperShes. You'll find them kiteboarding, hiking, running and doing yoga.
Roth didn't launch it as a business (not one dollar in revenue has been made yet since its inception,) but as a blog platform to build content and spotlight interesting women. It eventually blossomed into a networking community and, now, an island settlement.
The community has held four retreats before the island was purchased, which have operated much like how Roth hopes her island retreats will. There have been two in Hawaii, one in Turks & Caicos, which is the most recent event, and one co-ed gathering last June on Richard Branson's Necker Island, attended and co-hosted by the Virgin founder himself.
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Branson wore a mermaid tail in the waters of the British Virgin Islands during an impromptu photoshoot with SuperShes.
The SuperShe community, Roth said, is comprised of financially and emotionally independent women that strive to be the best version of themselves. The application to become a SuperShe is fairly simple: the form listed online contains five mandatory fields to fill out, but Roth said the most important part is telling her your story.
"When women write their story and it's in sync and resonates with the SuperShe DNA, then it's a-go," Roth said.
Every woman in attendance at SuperShe retreats thus far, and those that will attend the island retreats, went through a vetting process and was handpicked by Roth herself. This exclusivity has spelled heavy criticism for SuperShe, with some accusing the community of being an elitist and privileged colony, designed specifically for affluent women, that excludes men and discriminates against the LGBTQ community.
Roth said, however, that anyone who identifies as a woman is welcome to apply.
"The island is elite, not everyone can buy an island, but the island is really just the tip of the iceberg," Roth said. "There's definitely so much more to SuperShe and what I would like to accomplish with it."
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Roth and a fellow SuperShe bask in the waters off of Roth's Turks & Caicos property, which was originally meant to be the headquarters for the community.
The inner workings of SuperShe Island
The season extends for 12 weeks starting in June, and the island's four cabins can house a maximum of 10 women at any given time. Meaning that only 120 of the 6,000 existing SuperShes can attend the island's one-week-long retreats for the upcoming season.
There are three pricing packages for a spot on the island, ranging from $3,500 to $7,250, or between 2,900 -5,900 euros. A few "nominated" women will also be offered an opportunity to stay on the island for free, Roth said.
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Roth said she integrated pieces of Finnish culture into the island, including Finnish interior design style.
The most basic package is $3,500 and will get you one of two twin beds in a shared room in a four-person cabin.
Up a notch is the $4,790 deal, which will get you one of two twin beds in a two-person cabin. The big kahuna costs $7,246 and will get you a cabin for yourself.
All three packages are all-inclusive, except for flight fare, and cover food, massages, facials, and airport pick up by car, though you can opt for a 20-minute helicopter ride for extra if you wish.
Roth said she has more affordable one-day SuperShe island programs in the works as well.
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Former Russian Olympic professional athlete Lana Mikheeva accompanied the SuperShes last year for a retreat in Hawaii, offering up her expertise as a fitness and nutrition coach to the women during their stay.
The tentative schedule for these retreats would start with guests being shuttled from Helsinki Airport to SuperShe Island.
For the bulk of the day, the women would keep moving with kayaking, bicycling, hiking and yoga. A nice facial and/or a massage, with access to Finnish saunas, would be waiting for them at the end of at least every other afternoon said Roth.
While being on the go during the day will strengthen the body, workshops will be held every day that will strengthen the mind. Speakers will skype in to connect with the SuperShes and discuss topics such as nutrition and sex.
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Breakfast during the island retreats will be something small and nutritious, such as a green smoothie. Lunch will be a salad or soup.
The retreat's menu would be nutrient dense and healthy. The idea is to detox and hopefully lose a little weight by the end of the week. The island is a substance-free zone, which means this is one retreat that won't be supplying alcohol.
In its stead will be sunshine, female empowerment and views of the Baltic Sea. Not a bad trade-off.