Shay Hoelscher is a competitive race car driver, entrepreneur, and the founder and CEO of Privé Products — a clean, high-performance haircare line that has found an unlikely but fitting home in the world of professional motorsports. [1][2]

EARLY YEARS

Hoelscher grew up in a family where speed was less a hobby than a inheritance. Her father was a drag racer, and the pull of motorsports was present from childhood — something she has described as having driving “in her genes.” [1] That early exposure didn’t just give her an affinity for competition; it gave her a framework for understanding risk, precision, and the discipline required to perform at the limit. [1][3]

She went on to attend Missouri State University, where her ambitions extended beyond the garage. Her time there shaped both her professional outlook and her sense of community — values that would later inform how she built her business and her platform in racing. [4]

OTHER INTERESTS

Hoelscher’s work outside the cockpit is substantial enough to occupy most people full time. As founder and CEO of Privé Products, she built a clean haircare brand from the ground up — one that has carved out genuine credibility in the professional beauty industry while also becoming a visible presence in motorsports sponsorship. [2][3] The brand’s positioning is deliberate: Hoelscher has spoken about wanting to empower women and give back, and Privé’s partnerships reflect that intent. [3]

Her philanthropic commitments are similarly grounded. She has been involved with Project Beauty Share, a nonprofit that provides personal care products to people in need, serving as a Champion of Impact for the organization. [5] She has also been affiliated with Men Stopping Violence, a group focused on ending violence against women — an association that underscores how seriously she takes the platform her dual career has given her. [6]

Hoelscher has become a frequent guest on business and entrepreneurship podcasts, including the Business Elevation Show with Chris Cooper and the Cars Yeah podcast, where she has discussed the intersection of beauty, business, and motorsports. [7][8] She approaches those conversations with the directness of someone who has actually built something rather than merely talked about building something.

EARLY SUCCESS

Hoelscher came to competitive driving with the kind of focused intentionality that tends to produce results. She trained at the Proformance Racing School, developing the technical foundation that serious competition demands. [1] Rather than treating racing as a vanity project attached to her business profile, she pursued it as a genuine athletic endeavor — entering real series and turning real laps against real competition. [1][2]

Her ability to move between the boardroom and the pit lane without losing credibility in either space became something of a signature. Where many branded partnerships in motorsports are transactional, Hoelscher’s connection to the sport is personal — she is both the sponsor and the driver, which gives Privé’s motorsports presence an authenticity that purely commercial arrangements rarely achieve. [2][9]

NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENTS

• ONGOING: Founded Privé Products, a clean high-performance haircare line, and serves as its CEO — building a brand that has established meaningful partnerships within professional motorsports. [3][9]
• ONGOING: Named a Champion of Impact by Project Beauty Share for her philanthropic contributions through the beauty industry. [5]
• 2026 (announced): Privé Products confirmed as title partner for Sabre Cook’s 2026 Porsche Carrera Cup North America season — a landmark sponsorship deal connecting Hoelscher’s brand to one of the most watched sports car series on the continent. [10]
• ONGOING: Featured across major beauty and motorsports media, including Spa & Beauty Today and Beauty Independent, as a recognized crossover figure between the professional beauty industry and competitive racing. [3][9]
• ONGOING: Graduate of Missouri State University; her academic background has been cited in discussions of her entrepreneurial development. [4]

INSPIRATIONS

The through line in Hoelscher’s story is her father. His background in drag racing gave her both the exposure and the permission to pursue motorsports seriously, and she has been open about how formative that influence was. [1] Growing up watching someone she admired compete at speed appears to have done what early role models are supposed to do — not just inspire admiration, but install a belief that participation was possible. [1][3]

Her broader motivation, as she has articulated it across multiple interviews and podcast appearances, is rooted in representation. She is conscious of what it means to be a woman competing in a sport that has historically excluded women — and equally conscious of the business world, where female founders building brands from scratch face their own set of obstacles. The combination of those two identities appears to fuel rather than fragment her. [3][7]

REPUTATION

In the beauty industry, Hoelscher is regarded as a serious operator — someone who built Privé Products with genuine expertise and a clear point of view about clean formulations and high performance. [3][9] Beauty Independent, a trade publication not known for soft coverage, has highlighted the brand’s motorsports partnership as an example of an unconventional but effective marketing strategy, noting that it illustrates a distinctly different playbook from how beauty brands typically seek visibility. [9]

In motorsports circles, she occupies an interesting position — a driver who is also a brand founder, and a sponsor who is also behind the wheel. That dual standing gives her credibility in conversations that most people can only approach from one side. Her partnership with Sabre Cook, one of the more prominent female racing drivers currently active in North America, has further raised her profile within the sport and positioned Privé as a brand that takes its motorsports identity seriously rather than using racing as a seasonal backdrop. [10]

She has been described consistently — in profiles, podcast appearances, and industry coverage — as someone who leads with purpose. The philanthropic commitments, the focus on women’s empowerment, and the deliberate construction of a brand that reflects her values all point to someone who thinks carefully about what she wants her work to mean. [3][5][6][7]

FUTURE GOALS/PLANS

The 2026 Porsche Carrera Cup North America season represents a significant expansion of Privé’s footprint in professional motorsports. With the brand confirmed as title partner for Sabre Cook’s campaign, Hoelscher is positioned to increase both the visibility of Privé Products and the broader conversation about women in motorsports — as a driver, a sponsor, and an advocate. [10] The partnership signals that her ambitions for the brand’s role in racing are scaling up, not leveling off.

References:

Proformance Racing School — Shay Hoelscher: Driving Machines in Her Genes
Privé Products — Fueling Dreams: Women in Racing
Spa & Beauty Today — Beauty Boss: Beauty Industry Veteran and Race Car Driver Shay Hoelscher Founded Clean High-Performance Haircare Line Privé to Empower Women and Give Back
Beautify Tips — Meet Shay Hoelscher: Race Car Driver & CEO of Privé Hair
Project Beauty Share — Champions of Impact
Men Stopping Violence — Shay Hoelscher
Chris Cooper — Special Encore Show: Business Fuelling Dreams with Shay Hoelscher and Sabre Cook
Cars Yeah — Shay Hoelscher
Beauty Independent — Privé’s Early Motorsports Partnership Illustrates Unconventional Playbook
Privé Products — Race to Inspire with Shay Hoelscher: Business Elevation Show with Chris Cooper
RTD Media — Sabre Cook Announces Privé Products as Title Partner for 2026 Porsche Carrera Cup North America Season
Missouri State University — LOGOS Volume 11
Privé Products — Accelerating Towards a Better World: CEO Shay Hoelscher’s Inspiring Podcast Appearance
Apple Podcasts — Ep. 42: Female Race Car Driver & Beauty Founder Shay Hoelscher