About

Charlie has raced successfully in single seaters, GT cars and prototypes at international level for nearly two decades. She started out in motorsport with just ยฃ1,500 from a summer job, and It’s been ‘a journey’ as they say.

She didn’t come from a racing family, has never competed in a go-kart, and had to find every penny herself to fund her ambition. As if that wasn’t enough, Charlie also realised she was transgender at a young age. Since transitioning in 2012, she has had to navigate one of the most male dominated and testosterone fuelled environments in modern sport, the race paddock.

Never someone to shy away from a challenge, after three years racing in France, Charlie drew on all her resilience and took the bold decision to come out publicly on Trans Day of Visibility (TDOV) in March 2018. She wanted to use her experience to create more acceptance for all LGBTQ+ people, to blaze a trail and inspire hope for those following in her footsteps.

Her work has gained significant traction, she is an ambassador for leading LGBTQ+ charities Stonewall, Mermaids, Racing Pride and Athlete Ally, and also works with governing body Motorsport UK to increase inclusion. She is a trusted voice for trans inclusion in sport, regularly representing the community on televi- sion interviews, and speaking most recently on BBC4’s Across the Red Line programme with Sharron Thomas.

In 2021 she was featured in the Vogue 25. British Vogue’s 25 ‘most influential women shaping 2021 and beyond, and has since appeared in the magazine alongside Vogue CEO Vanessa Kingori and presenter Edith Bowman.

HER WORK AS AN ACTIVIST HAS SEEN HER VISIT 10 DOWNING STREET, WORK WITH BRANDS LIKE PANTENE, STOLI VODKA AND FORD, AND WITH LGBTQ+ ICONS MUNROE BERGDORF AND GARETH Thomas.

Away from the race track, Charlie is passionate about adventure sports and exploring nature. She loves surfing and paddle boarding, trail running, hiking, cycling and snowboarding (to name a few). Charlie famously beat the wall on Ninja Warrior UK, making the semi finals on her debut of ITV’s hit series.

NYE in the mountains for the win ๐Ÿค™๐Ÿผ๐Ÿ”๏ธ ๐Ÿ‚๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡น ๐Ÿปโ„๏ธ๐ŸŒŸ always good times with @intentionalfitnessuk ๐Ÿ‘ฉ๐Ÿผโ€โค๏ธโ€๐Ÿ’‹โ€๐Ÿ‘ฉ๐Ÿป thanks @crystalholidays for a mega time, the outdoor pool at @mannidashotel was the best thing to come home to ๐Ÿ›๐Ÿ’•

We really should have a partnership with @baileysofficial ๐Ÿฅƒโž•๐Ÿฅ›โž•โ˜•๏ธ๐ŸŸฐ๐Ÿ”๐Ÿคฉ

#snowboarding #snow #nye #snowsnowsnow #powder #austria #outdoors #outdoorlife ##powderdays #ski #goodvibes #goodvibesonly #adventure #adventuretime #adventureculture #holidays #gocharlie #doit #newyearvibes #mayrhofen #zillertal #alps #austrianalps #naturelovers #mountains #mountainlovers #mountainlife

122 6

Super Sierras for the win!! ๐Ÿ๐Ÿ•น๏ธโ˜บ๏ธ unleashing my inner child with @officialscalextric was a genius idea ๐Ÿ’ก instantly bringing back all the best memories from childhood at Christmas ๐Ÿ‘ง๐Ÿผ๐Ÿ™Œ๐Ÿผ๐ŸŽ๐ŸŽ„
.
#scalextric #ad #slotcar #slotcarracing #bigkid #simplepleasures #christmas #christmasideas #christmasinspiration #christmasinspo #sierrars500 #sierracosworth #becauseracecar #cars #racing #motorsport #carsofinstagram #carstagram #carculture #carlove #carlover #giftideas #unboxing #merrychristmas #christmasfun

1338 61

I feel so frustrated and upset by the news that Wes Streeting has placed an indefinite ban on puberty blockers for under 18โ€™s, itโ€™s inhumane to force trans kids who are questioning their gender identity to go through puberty rather than supporting them with life saving medication ๐Ÿ˜“
.
As well as the emotional strain, there is also the financial cost of undoing the effects of puberty via transition. Young people in the UK are already under significant pressure with the cost of living crisis, facing increasing levels of student debt and the difficulty of ever getting onto the property market ๐Ÿ“ˆ๐Ÿ’ธ
.
If there are any young trans people in your life, now is an important time to let them know they are loved and supported, especially over Christmas when many people feel isolated ๐Ÿ’œ
.
If you are trans / non binary and questioning your gender, you can reach out to @mermaidsgender who support trans youth and their families ๐Ÿงœ๐Ÿผโ€โ™€๏ธ๐Ÿงœ๐Ÿป๐Ÿงœ๐Ÿปโ€โ™‚๏ธ๐Ÿณ๏ธโ€โšง๏ธ๐Ÿซถ๐Ÿผ

#transrightsarehumanrights #transrights #thisiswhattranslookslike #mermaids #beyou #beyourself #lovewins #lgbtq #lgbtqrights #lgbtqrightsarehumanrights #supporttranskids #beanally #useyourvoice #useyourprivilege #makeadifference

1185 58

The most incredible thing just happened – went paddle boarding and a pod of dolphins came right past me ๐Ÿฌ๐Ÿ›ถ๐ŸŒ…๐Ÿคฉ
.
Such a beautiful thing to experience at 7am this morning, you just never know what youโ€™re going to see I guess !
.
Has anyone else seen dolphins n Brighton ? ๐Ÿ‘€

#naturelovers #nature #dolphins #explore #exploremore #sup #paddleboarding #coastalliving #coastallife #theocean #oceanlife #oceanlover #thegreatoutdoors #lovenature #feelblessed #feelinggrateful #dolphinwatching #dolphinlove #fridayvibes #fridayfeeling

4416 102

40sec guide to hiking the Scottish Highlands ๐Ÿด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ณ๓ ฃ๓ ด๓ ฟ๐Ÿ”๏ธ๐Ÿฅพ
Inverness to Fort William, up Ben Nevis and onto the Isle of Skye for some relaxation and epic seafood ๐Ÿฆž๐ŸŸ
6 days in total with my sidekick @intentionalfitnessuk ๐Ÿ’• wishing we were still there ! ๐Ÿ˜ป
.
Big thanks to @arnoldclarkbmw & @bmwuk ๐Ÿ˜Œ
.
#hikingadventures #hiking #hikingculture #scotland #scottishhighlands #highlands #bennevis #isleofskye #skye #relaxationstation #thegreatoutdoors #bmwx7 #nature #naturelovers #explore #exploremore #wildernessculture #fitnessmotivation #holidayinspo #themountainsarecalling #mountainstories #mountainlovers #hiker #waterfalls

157 14

Behind the scenes with @britishvogue for the December edition (out now)๐ŸŽ„๐ŸŽ feeling proud to join two inspiring women, @vanessakingori & @edibow for this feature on women at the forefront of change with the brand new @bmwuk i5 M60 โšก๏ธโค๏ธ
.
I got to drive this car very quickly (and silently) up the @fosgoodwood this year and it looks gorgeous in Fire Red Metallic โค๏ธโ€๐Ÿ”ฅโœจ
.
Feeling very proud to be part of BMWโ€™s Vogue Forces for Change โ˜บ๏ธ Big thanks to @charlottehadden for photography, @juliabrenard for styling, @pammycochrane for makeup and @jamesrowehair for hair, it was amazing to work with you all ๐Ÿ™๐Ÿผโ˜บ๏ธ
.
#voguemagazine #britishvogue #vogue #vogueliving #condenast #bmw #bmwuk #forcesforchange #femaleempowerment #womenempowerment #womeninbusiness #fashion #fashiongram #carculture #photoshoot #behindthescenes #behindthecamera #fashionstyle #fashionista #fashiongram #electriccar

714 36

Braking technique = hit pedal as hard as you can ๐Ÿฅพ๐Ÿ’ฅ๐Ÿ˜ณ
.
Unlike a road car where you feed the brake in and gradually increase pressure to stop, in a race car itโ€™s the complete opposite, especially if you have a lot of downforce. The initial hit on the pedal wants to be maximum force the tyre will take without locking up, you then start to release the pedal gradually. When you first experience this as a passenger it can feel quick violent, but thatโ€™s how we do it ๐Ÿ˜ฎ
.
I left foot brake as itโ€™s quicker, your foot isnโ€™t moving across the pedals and it gives more options too. The grip plate / foot rest in the Lamborghini Super Trofeo is quite aggressive though, and Iโ€™ve destroyed two sets of shoes in less than two seasonsโ€ฆ ๐Ÿ˜ญ๐Ÿ’ธ๐Ÿ’ธ
.
Of course there are other things like trail breaking and different corners / conditions that require different braking techniques, but this race car braking 101 ๐ŸŽ“๐Ÿ“š
.
#racingcar #carlife #carculture #becauseracecar #lamborghini #supertrofeo #osomproducts #osomprivacy #ngksparkplugs #heycar #wearewalero #facialteam #gocharlie #becauseracecar #carculture #motorsport #enduranceracing #solanasaga #mobilephone #onboardvideo #cargirl #carlover #carporn #cargram #carinstagram #racinglife #cars #racingdriver

12254 64

Proud of you @intentionalfitnessuk for keeping on trying and never giving up, you still donโ€™t swim too well but you can float and surf a wave, which is all you need ๐Ÿ‘ฉ๐Ÿผโ€โค๏ธโ€๐Ÿ’‹โ€๐Ÿ‘ฉ๐Ÿป๐ŸŒŠ๐Ÿ„๐Ÿปโ€โ™€๏ธ๐ŸŒˆ๐Ÿ’•๐Ÿค™๐Ÿผ Big love to the @queersurfclub for creating such an amazing community โค๏ธ๐Ÿงก๐Ÿ’›๐Ÿ’š๐Ÿ’™๐Ÿ’œ
.
#surfing #surfergirl #queersurfclub #qsc #oceanlover #surfinglife #surftrip #surf #goodvibes #theoutdoorpassion #thegreatoutdoors #adventure #gocharlie #coastallife #lgbtq #happinessbegins #healthylifestyle #healthyliving #lifestory #lifelessons #lifegoals #fitnessmotivation #fitnessgirl #fitnessmotivation #queerstories #pride #pridemonth #beyou #beyourself #sealife

410 27

When a dustbin lid sized piece of carbon bodywork hits you at over 160mph – impact speed close to 200mph !! ๐Ÿ˜ณ๐Ÿ’ฅ๐ŸฅŠ Not just the 60 deg C incar heat that @virnow threw at our @osomprivacy Lamborghini ๐Ÿ˜ฌ #boom #impact #gohardorgohome #ouch #safetyfirst #becauseracecar #lamborghini #lamborghinihuracansupertrofeoevo2 #huracansupertrofeoevo2 #racinglife #gocharlie #girlracer #cargirl #cargirlsofinstagram #cargirlsofinstagram #supertrofeoevo2 #ngksparkplugs #teammbp #osomprivacy #dreamracing #letsgo #facialteam #teamwork #ekrobotics #heycar #petrolhead

405459 355