Founder and managing director, Emma, set up Bespoke M to provide a bespoke talent management service for elite sports people, sporting media personalities, hosts and speakers. Specialising in women’s professional cycling, Bespoke M has been a part of the enormous changes in the sport over recent years and now pride themselves on working with many of the leading female cyclists in the world.
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Emma Abel (née Wade)
Managing Director
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With over 20 years working in the sports marketing and talent management arena Emma combines a broad knowledge of marketing, communications and sponsorship with a wealth of experience in managing and developing talent. Working mainly in the Olympic arena and then cycling in recent years, she's managed the careers of gold medallists, world champions, world record holders and a Tour de France winner. ​
Since setting up Bespoke M, Emma has concentrated predominantly on women’s cycling, combining her love of the sport with the increased commercialisation and professionalisation of the sport. She works with a broad range of professional riders, teams and sponsors as well as with British Cycling and the Cyclists Alliance amongst other professional bodies. She is a UCI accredited rider agent and a TCA approved agent.
Emma began her working life at sports information service Sportcal before joining MTC, a leading Olympic management agency, originally as a marketing assistant. Only the pull of Lord’s and the world of cricket was enough to make Emma move on from management and she joined Middlesex County Cricket Club for a number of years as Communications & Membership Manager.
Emma re-joined MTC from Threshold Sports, the sports events and consultancy agency of which James Cracknell was a founder. The second time around Emma managed MTC’s commercial and management divisions until she left to set up Bespoke M in 2016.
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Away from the office Emma loves nothing more than watching sport (she's an MCC member) or being outdoors in the countryside and spends weekends walking the dogs, cycling, swimming and giving herself sporting challenges like the New York marathon and Blenheim Triathlon!
Maz Hedley Lewis
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Maz started out her professional life in 2008 at sport events agency Threshold Sports (where she first met Emma!), working in the logistics team delivering award winning cycling and trail running events such as Deloitte Ride Across Britain and Race to the Stones. She was also part of the team who supported David Walliams to swim the length of the Thames in 2011 and the Project Lead for Davina McCall’s epic UK challenge in 2014, each raising in excess of £1million for Sport Relief.
Since leaving Threshold Sports full-time in 2016, Maz has been a Freelance Event Director, working on a broad range of projects including Prudential RideLondon and the BBC Children in Need Rickshaw Challenge. However her favourite event (back working for Threshold) was leading the logistics for the Virgin Strive Challenge 2018 which saw over 200 people cycle, hike and sail from Sardinia to the summit of Mont Blanc in 5 weeks raising over £1.5 million for forward-thinking education charity Big Change.
Maz is always keen to be outside and exploring, particularly playing in the snow in the mountains. She loves to get out on her road bike too and running beautiful trail routes, however although she likes to swim she’s less excited by wetsuit faff!
Maz supports Emma on delivering a truly bespoke talent management service.