Chelsea Ritter-Soronen and the Ground-Up Vision of Chalk Riot

From disordered eating and chronic illness to building a global coaching brand, Reets has lived through many of the challenges her clients face. In this exclusive Brainz Magazine interview, she shares her story of resilience, how bodybuilding became her anchor, and why her mission is to demonstrate that women can indeed have it all: a thriving career, a fulfilling family life, and a strong, confident body they truly value.

Turning Sidewalks into Strategy: How a Chalk Drawing Sparked a Movement

When Chelsea Ritter-Soronen picked up a piece of sidewalk chalk in 2013, she wasn’t planning to start a business. She was simply doing what she loved: creating in public spaces, using artwork to ask questions and spark joy.

After a couple years of street art around town, Chalk Riot formed a relationship with an arts non-profit in St. Louis, that offered her mentorship and paid opportunities. Eventually, client inquiries started to flow into her inbox. 

“We weren’t thinking about business plans,” Chelsea says. “We were just having fun, and I was still managing a restaurant as my fulltime job. But when people started asking us to come to their events, we realised something was happening.”

Those pivotal moments planted the seed for Chalk Riot, a pavement mural company now known across the U.S. and beyond. But it wasn’t an overnight success story. What came next was a slow, steady build of skill, trust, and trial-and-error decision-making.

Starting Small, Thinking Big

Chalk Riot started on the streets of St. Louis, Missouri, with no team, no funding, and no roadmap. It grew organically through curiosity and community response. Chelsea later moved to Napa, California, then to Washington, D.C., and brought Chalk Riot with her—adapting and evolving the business each time.

“Each move forced us to grow,” she says. “We had to start again in a new city, learn new systems, and meet new communities. But that also taught us how to be flexible and how to work at scale. And our impressive network of clients spans the nation.” Their murals have been installed in over a dozen U.S. states and six countries. They've created around 300 pieces—some as small as four square feet, others covering full intersections.

From Temporary Art to Technical Expertise

Chalk Riot’s work is both functional and visual. Many of their murals are used as traffic-calming measures to increase safety on roadways for pedestrians and cyclists.

Chelsea explains, “Like everything we do, we learned on the job, and had to learn fast. It’s one thing to paint a beautiful street mural, but it’s another to make sure it holds up in the elements and against tire and foot traffic. These are industrial applications as much as they are artistic.” 

Chalk Riot now works with departments of transportation, planning officials, developers, and global NGOs. They advise on paint types, placement, and even help design public arts programmes that are in accordance with federal and local policies. 

“We are not officially transportation planners,” she says. “But we certainly execute some of the same tasks.” 

Why Public Art Needs Public Input

One of Chalk Riot’s core practices is community engagement. Listening sessions with residents and ample historical research informs their final designs. 

“We begin by asking a series of open-ended questions, in intimate settings with strategically selected residents,” Chelsea says. “What does this space mean to you? What do you want people to feel when they walk here? What is something you’re proud of about this area?” 

This co-creation model helps fuel the success of their public art installations. Their outreach models also help fill gaps that government agencies may lack capacity to carry out. 

A Team Led by Women and Built with Purpose

Chalk Riot’s crew is made up mostly of women and non-binary artists. For Chelsea, that choice is both intentional and practical.

“There’s a different energy when women lead a work site,” she says. “There is a culture of collective caretaking, and we even start each day with a group stretch and check-in. As a result, we can manage our days efficiently and with intention.” 

But leadership wasn’t something Chelsea sought at first, it came naturally. 

“Every job is so different than the one before it” Chelsea says, “We’re never doing the same project twice. That forces us to think on our feet and communicate in the moment, which is what I perceive to be one of the greatest leadership skills.” 

Bringing History to the Pavement

Chalk Riot’s name is rooted in the history of chalk art as a tool for activism and education. Chelsea is quick to point out that it’s not just about decoration, but about connection.

“In the 1800s, chalk art was used for political cartoons. Suffragettes used it to direct people to underground meetings. Keith Haring used it in subways during the AIDS crisis,” she says. “We wanted our name to honour that history.”

That legacy shapes how they work today. Chalk Riot offers free and low-cost chalk art training for youth groups, peacebuilders, and community organisers, keeping the art form tied to its radical and inclusive roots.

Advice for People Starting Their Own Path

Asked what advice she’d give someone just beginning, Chelsea doesn’t talk about strategy or branding.

“Don’t rely on social media,” she says. “When we started, social media was just starting to gain momentum, we were not relying on it at all. So we simply had natural conversations with collaborators, mentors, and friends, and those conversations led to a network of people that supported our emerging business. It’s what you do offline that matters most.” 

For Chelsea and Chalk Riot, those conversations continue today around the world about how communities can transform from the ground up.