E12 - Lisa Lindahl is the inventor of THE SPORTS BRA! Her amazing story will inspire any aspiring entrepreneur!

Hello, everyone, and welcome to Visible Panty Lines, AKA vpl, the pod. And these are transparent conversations of inspiration, encouragement, and overcoming adversity. And as I just mentioned, all of our guests really do exemplify those things. They have either done something inspiring in their own lives, or they are just inspiring people in general. And it's also. The story is meant to be encouraging for anyone out there, especially for all my fellow entrepreneurs out there. That is a journey that I would not wish on my worst enemy. It is really a tough journey to embark, and many, many, many people give up. Everyone sees Shark Tank and thinks that's the way it is and that you get the deal really easily. But it takes perseverance. And I like to joke that it takes 20 years to become an overnight success, sometimes 30. You know, I mean, what do they say? I. I think the tale is that Oprah was, I don't know, 45 or in her late 40s before she finally got her show, even on the off the ground. So, anyway, but I digress. My guest today is, I mean to say, entrepreneur. That is just not even giving her enough credit. Lisa Lindahl is the inventor of. Get ready for this. Drum roll. The inventor of the sport sports bra. So you may not know her name, but surely you know a sports bra. Surely you are wearing one possibly right now, or you're wearing them daily or at least for your workouts or at any other point in time. I mean, I don't even know any statistics, but I can pretty safely say that most, if not all of us are wearing sports bras. So welcome, Lisa. Hi.

Oh, thank you so much. It's a pleasure to be here. Thank you.

So I met. I met you when we were both scheduled to do a radio interview together. And it was really cool for me because I had wanted to connect with you for the longest time, and I had connected. I tried finding you way back when, and I was able to find your. I guess she was your business partner, right? Really through the whole thing. And so I was able to track her down. And just being the author of the bra book and a bra expert, and obviously you are such a trailblazer. You were inducted into the Entrepreneurs Inventors hall of Fame. And obviously, I just had to know you, so the universe sometimes just does that for us. Right. And so I think I put it out there that I wanted to meet you, and so I was able to meet you. So I'm so excited to have you as a guest on bpl.

Well, it's a pleasure to meet you as well.

Yes.

You're so full of great information about bras. I wish I'd known all that when I started. Years ago.

When you started. This was late. Was this the late 70s? Remind me of the date.

Exactly. Yes, yes. I actually. It was the summer of 1977 that I actually came up with the idea and created a prototype, and we started the business, the actual business end of it, in 78.

So there's a little bit of fate going on here, because I was born in October of 77. So I was born when the sports bra was born.

No wonder you're into bras, right?

I'm like, wow, that's so weird. That was exactly right around my birthday, my date of birth. But so tell me a little bit about, like, you come up with. With this idea. You're like, okay, you know, women need this. Can't believe it hasn't hadn't been done already, probably, right? Like, no, I didn't know.

I didn't even think about that. I mean, I went to look to see if there was anything at the lingerie store, and there was nothing except a tennis bra. That was a traditional bra, but it was very white, but there's no difference. And really, I was just trying to solve my own problem. I was a runner, and I was uncomfortable. That was the only thing about my runs that wasn't magical, was my either bouncing breasts or chafing or, you know, the sweat that would collect underneath my traditional bra. It was just not comfortable. And it started off as a joke. Why? My sister said to me, well, why isn't there a jockstrap for women?

Right, Exactly.

We laughed uproariously. And in fact, the first working prototype was two jock straps cut in half and sewn back together. So the cups were side by side for each breast.

That's amazing.

Crossed in the back, and the waistband became a ribband. And it worked. And to this day, as I think you pointed out, the most supportive part of a bra is the ribband. Yep.

90% of the bra's support comes from it, is what the stat is.

Wow. Wow. I didn't know that.

Which is crazy. So, I mean, like, you would think, hello, bra manufacturers. You know, maybe you and I can get together and do this, but can somebody invent a strapless bra? You know, if the support is indeed all coming from the band, why does every strapless bra out there suck? Because that 10% that comes from the straps really, really matters. I mean, I don't know.

Well, I think it's physics. I think gravity is working against Us especially, you know, it's really a different discussion when you're talking about larger breast sizes.

Yeah, great point. So you did this original. So you make this prototype, then what happens?

Well, I was, I had just started graduate school at the University of Vermont and I thought that this would be a nice little mail order business on the side.

Wow.

To help me get through school. And I also didn't have a driver's license at the time, so that made an at home business. Now everybody must remember that this was way before the Internet or even computers. They didn't exist.

Right, good point. You couldn't Google to see if a sports bra existed.

Well, nor could I advertise online or get the information out there. It was all magazine. We put a teeny tiny little ad in running Times magazine saying, you know, runner's bra available and we thought we'd get some mail order business. Well, it just was astounding. We started getting inquiries from retailers and it took off right away. I had to quit school. I had to quit. My, my advisor said, well, you know, you can always come back to school. But this business seems to be taking off. You should pay attention to it. So. Wow, that's 30 year, 30 years to get back to school.

Well, you made it so. But that's amazing. Like it reminds me of that, that series they did on that woman recently who, who had the fake product. Oh my God, why am I blanking on? She, she became a billionaire and she had this product that tested blood and it didn't even work. Right. And they did. Right. And they did an. A series of eight, you know, on her, starring Amanda Seyfried and everything. And they, you know, she quit school because she had this invention that, the invention like was just an idea in her head that could never work. So here you are, you know, back in the 70s, essentially, and you have this idea and your professor, your advisors are telling you quit school and pursue this full time. It's that good. So that's like amazing. So obviously you were onto something, to say the least. And especially no really means of marketing like we have today.

Well, no, marketing is pretty universal. The reason to market. And it's just the vehicles you use to get your message out. That's what's changed.

Well, you had a very limited, I mean print ads or whatever. Right. That was essentially radio maybe and trade.

Shows, print ads, trade. It depends upon who you're trying to communicate with. The dealer, the retailers or the customer. The end user. The customer.

Right, right, right.

So we in the beginning were focusing of course, on just getting it into stores. But one of the most important marketing decisions I made at the time was that this was not lingerie. This was a piece of athletic equipment. And therefore we should sell in sporting goods stores. Not.

Yeah, not a bra shop. Right. Or both. Right.

Well, eventually it became both. But we really created our niche by being in sporting goods stores. And of course, most of them, most of the buyers were. We were actually the first business in sporting, in the sporting goods industry that was owned by women.

Oh, that's amazing.

Yeah, we didn't know that at the time. Women owned.

Right, Exactly. Like at that time, probably. I mean, we were way more progressive than previous years. But I think women were still like. It was kind of on the newer end to have. I mean, I remember growing up, I had a lot of, you know, their friends whose parents were stay at home or whatever. Like the mom didn't necessarily even work.

So now everybody works. Right. Pretty much the rarity is to be able to stay home. But here you guys were, three of you, and you're launching this crazy business that's just, you know, skyrocketing.

Actually this was, you know, the late 70s was the burgeon. Things were changing for women. It's now called second wave feminism. That was going on then, but I mean, we were marching to take back the night and yeah, all of that. And it was. We were the first. I was the first generation that had access to birth control.

Wow.

Right. And so all the rules were changing and we didn't know what we didn't know or we just were doing whatever we needed to do. And it. Yes, it shocked a few people, but it was a different time then and it's important to remember. And now the spirit, you know, the. In 1972 is when Title 9 was enacted, which basically said that if you want to have a program, it has to be offered to both men and women, boys and girls, if you Any federal funds. And that was really. That was huge. And that was 19. Not until 1972. But the problem was that took away the legal block or the economic block to. But what it didn't deal with was girls and women who were uncomfortable while doing athletics or self conscious because of the bounce. But the sports bra, which came along just five years later, took care of that. So between the sports bra and Title ix, the whole, I hate to say this, the whole playing field.

It really changed.

But also timing, I mean, great timing. Right. That helped that it was the timing too, where women were looking for this and more receptive to that and you know, who knows, maybe even previously, these male oriented, sporting good owners wouldn't necessarily have looked at your product just because you were women, but instead, you know, you were in this great time, I feel like. So that was happening and you were able to at least get seen and not get, you know, discounted or whatever, which I think is huge.

Well, yes, as I said, it was a very. It was a time pregnant with change. Pardon?

Yeah, yeah.

And one of the things was the physical fitness craze was taking off. That's when Jane Fonda was doing her videos and Jim Fix wrote the complete running book of running. So it was truly the right product at the right time. Yes.

Which is amazing. Definitely that helps. I would say. I think I mentioned this briefly to you the last time in our interview together, but when I launched the gem bra coming right out of the pandemic, I don't know that I would have necessarily launched that product at a different time, but I felt like, okay, a crystal is such an uplifting idea. A bra is uplifting, so women really needing that right now, you know, so it was like the time for it. I remember. That's what I was thinking. I'm like, how can I make my bra different from everybody else's, especially all these companies that I consult for and, you know, do marketing for. And it was like, okay, so I want to make mine different where I'm not even really competing with them necessarily. It's. I'm kind of in my own category. So the crystal idea, you know, the gem brow was born because I thought, well, here's like this one little extra thing that can really uplift you in your, in your day just by knowing that that crystal was with you. And I just felt like we were all so kind of depressed coming out of that. That period of time in 2020 was just awful for everybody in so many ways. So women really just needed that. So now what happens after you have, okay, so you have the product, you have the sports bras, you're selling it into stores. Did it just kind of blow up basically, or did you really have to steadily keep pushing it? Or how was that process?

It was amazing. It sold itself.

The product was needed and women recognized that it was needed. So we just, we grew like tops. We, we were just running to keep up with how fast we were growing.

Wow.

An average of 25% per year.

Wow.

You know, when you're in years one through three or one through five, that's. That's one thing when, when all of a sudden you're in, you know, years five through 10, and the number that you're growing, you know, it's just exponential. And we had to learn as we went, and we were able to. Which is part of what I write about all this in my book Unleash the. The Untold Story of the Invention of the Sports Bra and How It Changed the World and me. And it really did change the world. I mean, now we're considered feminist icons because of the sports bra.

Wow. That's amazing, though.

And the sports bra is credited with seating what has become athleisure. It totally changed fashion for women. Up until then, bras were just about the appearance of fashion and making fashion drape correctly on the woman's body. And now women take it for. Young women especially, take it for granted that they're going to be comfortable and that a bra is about function, not just fashion.

Yes. That's so true, too. Like, it's not just about having some kind, you know, the support that you need for exercise, but really just changing the whole meaning of the bra. And I feel like. Yes. Before that, like, think about where the bra came from. It came from the corset, which was never intended for a woman to feel comfortable. In fact, they harmed the health for a lot of women. So that. Right. So that's like the. The forefather of the bra. So there you go right there. And. And then you have, you know, pointy bras in the 50s, like, bullet bras or whatever, and it's like. Yeah. And it just, you know, I'm so glad. I'm grateful that I wasn't, you know, living during that time and really forced to subject myself to that as a woman. So thank you from all of us out there, from the bottom of our hearts, for really pursuing this idea, being not only, you know, savvy enough to do a small, smart enough and persistent enough to do it. And I'm glad, you know, that it worked out the way it did for everybody. And so you essentially, obviously, this became your career, but I know you ended up selling the. Your company that you guys founded.

You sold after we sold our whole design for all of our products. They eventually became what is now Champion. Champion.

Okay. Which is owned by Hanes now. Right. So they actually.

Sara Lee. It's. The corporate entity is Sara Lee, and they own Hanes and Coach Leather and Champion and. As well as all the food stuff.

Oh, wow.

Corporate America.

Corporate America. Yep. So what year was that that you.

I sold it in 19. Late 1990, and then had an employment contract to Help through the transition and all that. So I actually didn't leave running jog Bra sports bras until 1992. Now my business partner stayed through 97, but I, I knew that I had to get back to me. You know, I'm a writer, I'm a visual artist and I also had begun doing a lot of volunteer work with the Epilepsy foundation of America because I have epilepsy. And that's the other. Wow.

I didn't realize that.

Oh yeah. I mean that's the other thing about why being entrepreneurial worked for me. Because unemployment and underemployment are the number one non medical problem for people with epilepsy.

Wow. Yeah. Because I would imagine that would be a tough thing to have in certain job situations. Right, right.

Like it depends on so many things. It depends on medication, the degree to which the person is controlled or has foreknowledge of any impending seizure. I mean all these things. But basically a lot of people don't understand it and so the stigma just gets in the way.

Wow. So where can people get your book.

If they want to purchase any online bookseller, bookseller, Barnes and Noble, Amazon, blah blah blah, as well as your local bookstore. And if they don't have actual inventory, you can just ask them. They can get it in a couple of days, but Unleash the girls. It got a great review from Kirkus, which I'm very happy for.

Oh, awesome.

A starred review which evidently is a big deal.

I'm actually, I'm so glad I am talking to you right now because I'm working on a books recently roundup piece for HelloGiggles.com, which is this awesome website for millennials that's been around for a while. It was started by Zooey Deschanel, I don't know if you know of it. It was owned by Time Inc. And then it got sold to Meredith and now Galvanized is running it and I am an editor of it. So I'm actually going to put your book on my roundup because I think it's perfect. Thank you.

Thank you for that.

So I'm glad you just reminded me. I just wrote myself a note so I'm like actually I'm glad you mentioned that. And it's all of our listene can pick up your book and it's actually great. I'm thinking for my 13 year old daughter and my 12 year old to read as well. So keep that in mind out there everyone, that Christmas is coming up and if we're looking for gifts that aren't something that is going to sit and collect dust or whatever, you want something meaningful to give to your teenage daughter, that would be it. So thank you so much for your time today, Lisa. I feel like we could definitely revisit and do a whole nother interview with you. It always seems like it goes so quickly, and I've been looking forward to talking to you for so long. So thank you for, you know, sharing your journey. I think that will really be inspirational for all of our entrepreneur listeners or even just someone who has an idea and maybe is wondering if they should go with it or not.

Well, thank you. Thank you, Janae. I really, really appreciate it. And it's so fun to talk to you all the time. So let's do it again.

Yes, let's please keep in touch. And for all our listeners out there, you have been listening to visible panty lines, aka VPL. The Pod new episode drops every Sunday at 8am so be sure to set your reminder so you can download.

All right, well, take care. Thank you.

You too. All right, we'll keep in touch.

Bye. Bye.

All right, goodbye.