Introducing Rachel Schultz, the visionary founder of Lerin USA, an athletic apparel line revolutionizing the fitness industry. Fueled by her extensive experience as an athlete and fitness expert, Rachel created Lerin to bridge the gap between functionality and fashion, empowering women worldwide to feel confident and comfortable in their workout gear.
What inspired you to start your own athletic apparel line, Lerin?
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After being in the fitness industry for over 11 years now as an athlete, marathon runner, trainer, brand ambassador and pilates studio owner, I always found that I would wear cute sets to teach in but when it came time to workout, I would have to change into a more functional set. I decided to create Lerin to fill this gap and create functional but fashionable athletic apparel.
Can you describe your design process, and how you ensure that each piece of clothing meets your high standards?
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My design process starts with the vision of the piece to the creation of a tech sketch. From there our manufacturer creates a sample in which we try out. Sometimes the samples come out perfect but most times we have to alter it ourselves. My one employee and I turned the dining room of my house into our area and brought in a floor mirror with scissors and a sharpie. We would try on each piece and “alter” it ourselves by cutting it or drawing different lines on it. From there, our manufacturer fixes the piece and it is created! Once we receive all of the final pieces, we test it out in various styles of workouts from lifting to cardio to pilates to yoga to ensure that it stays in place and works. I work out 2-3 times a day every day and make sure that it is up to my standards before releasing it.
What sets Lerin apart from other athletic apparel brands?
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What sets Lerin apart from other athletic apparel brands is that we are women owned and women ran. When researching other athletic apparel brands out there, I found that most were founded by men which came by a surprise to me. How could a man know what clothing feels good to a woman while working out? Besides the physical look of it. My goal was to empower women and make them feel good in their own skin. With this in mind, a key aspect of our marketing strategy while launching was to host fitness events to bring together women and create a sense of community.
Can you tell us more about Lerin’s efforts to promote women in the fitness industry and bring women together through fitness events?
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My goal with Lerin was to empower, uplift, and create opportunities for women. I created each piece to make women feel their best in functional, fashionable, clothing. Women are meant to empower, uplift, and help one another, and Lerin strives just to do that. Since we launched, we have been hosting many fitness events at studios in Miami, LA, Chicago and NYC which bring together women to try out our clothing and work out. We create an “influencer-esque” class in which we have everyone change into their set to work out and give out some free products from brands. Brands that we have collaborated with in the past include Suja Juice, GoMacro, Blk Water, Poppi, etc. This creates a fun way for women to come together and work out.
How does sustainability factor into your business model, and what steps has Lerin taken to reduce its environmental impact?
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We want to promote self-love and a high quality lifestyle through clean, sustainable products. Our products are made with high quality and performance fabrics, manufactured responsibly. Our packaging is also 100% recyclable. We use an eco-friendly kraft made of recycled paper pulp. This kraft is unbleached and made for high quality printing, yet very sustainable.
Can you discuss the challenges you’ve faced as a woman entrepreneur in the fitness industry?
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As a woman entrepreneur in the fitness industry, I haven’t found too many challenges as I am a part of the close-knit fitness community here in Miami, which has been great. Everyone who is a part of the community takes care of one another and gives many opportunities to help each other succeed. It has honestly been one of the reasons Lerin has grown so far.
How has the response been to Lerin’s new doll collection?
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We have had a great response to our doll collection. Two sizes of our leggings have actually sold out which is amazing to see! We love to see that people love our products and continue buying them.
How does Lerin’s clothing balance functionality and fashion, and what trends are you currently seeing in the athletic apparel industry?
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Each of Lerin’s pieces is created to be able to withstand a high intensity workout which goes into the creation and testing. We make sure that the products look fashionable and then we test it out to make sure it can perform. We are currently seeing a lot of bell bottoms and drawstring leggings. We do like these trends, however we like to keep true to our own style and create what we would truly wear.
How does Lerin approach hiring and promoting women in leadership positions?
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My one and only employee is a woman who just graduated from the University of Miami. We are giving her the opportunity to help us grow Lerin and learn how to run a business by also applying what she has learned in school. We have also had two female interns as well.
Can you discuss Lerin’s plans for future expansion or growth?
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We plan to keep Lerin a small local brand but have hopes to expand to other boutique studios around the country who have similar mindsets as us regarding clothing. We want to keep the company small to keep that personal aspect of the brand within our packaging and events.