Nicole is the founder and creator of The Chestee, the only patented sports bra with built-in collarbone protection. A former olympic weightlifter and public relations executive in the retail fashion industry with more than 17 years of experience, Nicole uses her expertise to design, enhance, and elevate her growing product line of sports bras, shorts, tanks, accessories, and more. She is currently based in South Florida.

Nicole has offered the Each is Every community a 20% discount on everything in the Chestee catalog. Shop here and use code ‘EIE’ at checkout through March 10, 2024!

EiE: Tell us who you are in just a few words or sentences.

Nicole: I’m a young woman who identifies as a “big kid” most of the time. I’m driven by adventure, the art of play, doing things that scare me, and learning. I’m also an entrepreneur, athlete, artist, traveler, foodie, and music festival newbie. 

How did The Chestee come to be? What sparked the idea and pushed you to really get it off the ground, and how has the brand evolved since?

I first had the idea of a sports bra with padding for protection over the collarbone area while I was competing at a fitness festival in 2012. The barbell workout called for push jerks (where the barbell has to move from shoulders to overhead) for a very high volume, and the barbells were not only heavy, but brand new—so the grip or knurling felt like a cheese grater against my skin. Plus, they were sitting outside in the Miami sun for hours. After just a couple of reps, I knew I was going to be in pain (not the good kind, the injured kind).

I took my shirt off, laid it over the front of my neck, and stuffed it into the straps of my sports bra. It was good enough to create a minor barrier between the barbell and my skin, but not good enough to prevent significant bruising and tenderness along my collarbone area. Not only did it hurt, but I had to explain myself and answer awkward questions about the nature of my bruising for weeks after. This happened often throughout training, and the more I talked about it, the more I realized other athletes had the same problem. That’s when I started my journey to create The Chestee.

Walk us through your early days of development. What’re some steps you took to transition from idea to physical product?

My development days started while I was working full-time in the Bloomingdale’s PR office. Everyone knew I was an athlete who did Olympic weightlifting, so it didn’t come as a huge surprise when I asked the seamstress in charge to make me a prototype. The problem was, he really didn’t know how to construct what I was asking for, and I didn’t really know how to articulate the issue. I even took knee sleeves, cut them in half, and sewed them into a rash guard to create the first prototype to work off of while meeting with people to explain what I was trying to develop.

This cycle went on and on for more than a year as I just churned through seamstresses, doctors, and athletes, asking for help from anyone I could. One day, I was chatting with my colleague Susan Mosey, who I produced fashion shows with, and she said, “um, you know I’m a technical designer by trade, right? I do fashion shows because they’re fun, but designing is where I shine.” That was all I needed to hear. Susan became my lead designer who helped me develop ~90% of my designs, including what stands today as our best-selling styles. She remains my lead designer today, and is also listed as a co-inventor on some of our Patents.

What are some challenges The Chestee has faced along the way?

Over the past nearly 10 years, we’ve encountered almost every challenge a small business of our size could. From seeing factories close overnight, to having our software system and bank accounts hacked into, to shipping carriers losing countless customer packages, to buying product that was faulty and not produced to spec and then having to start over, to investing a ton of money into items or ideas that ended up flopping, to going through 2+ years of a capital raise and meeting with potential investors, to scaling too slowly and then too quickly, to surviving COVID-19 and the supply chain fallout, to doing business with mostly men while trying to nurture a business geared towards and run by mostly women… I feel like that list is really just a small sampling.

What does The Chestee community look like? What are some of your favorite parts about it?

Our community is so dope. It’s filled with strong women who are true cheerleaders for other strong women. It’s a community of people who want to help raise others up, and see them reach their full potential. Our community is filled with people who challenge themselves to be their best versions. It’s comprised of athletes who span a wide variety of sports, experiences, backgrounds, countries, and training modalities. Oh, and we love fashion. Our community loves to look good, and enjoys being fashionable while they train.

Where’d the inspiration for the This Shit’s Hard Podcast come from? What can listeners expect from a typical episode?

My co-host, Jen and I always wanted to learn (and therefore share) the backstory on people we find interesting. Not the stuff that’s easy to learn about people, but the things they don’t necessarily like to share or maybe haven’t shared yet. That’s how you get to the core of what has made people who they are. A typical episode will span from joking (my co-host is very sarcastic,) to the hardest part about the guest’s life, to what their thoughts are—including the unpopular opinions. We always end on a high note, asking our guests a series of rapid fire questions which usually makes me laugh in surprise or shock. Sometimes when you think you know somebody, an answer they give makes you think you don’t know them at all. That part is fun!

How do you keep yourself motivated? What strategies do you use to keep yourself from getting burnt out?

That part is really hard, and I haven’t been able to prevent myself from getting burnt out. I think most people who are juggling a lot of things—maybe too many—will eventually be forced to slow down and make tough choices about how they’re spending their time. Something will inevitably stop working, whether that’s something in their life, or their body, etc. Currently, I try to ensure that I’m not over-attentive to some areas of my life, and under-attentive to others. It sounds simple when I say it out loud, but balance truly is one of the most important strategies I’ve utilized in keeping myself (mind, body and soul) aligned.

What’s your approach to work/life balance? How do you take time to reset and recharge?

I’ve finally gotten to a point where I am happy to work any time, any day—and that’s because I’ve set up a schedule that’s somewhat structured but not always the same. Some things I require to keep myself happy and balanced are time with my partner, movement of some kind, excellent coffee dates with friends—even if it’s on Zoom or FaceTime—having trips to look forward to (I recently learned how to snowboard and surf, so there’s always somewhere to go do those things depending on the season), reading books, going out dancing, listening to great music, and therapy. I also really love making ridiculous Instagram Reels and “reporting live” with my friends.

Nicole has offered the Each is Every community a 20% discount on everything in the Chestee catalog. Shop here and use code ‘EIE’ at checkout through March 10, 2024!

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