Finding our fabric almost made us quit, but instead opened the biggest doors of opportunity.
As our Superhera, Lauren, said:
And that's where our fabrics story begins. I almost gave up SPRHRA entirely. But in finding our fabric, I found everything we needed to actually get the product in your hands.
Well before I started SPRHRA, I was addicted to fabric. I craved the lightweight, cloud-like fabric with the smoothness of softened butter on my skin. I couldn’t wear things that were itchy, restrictive, and heavy (when they shouldn't be).
It's like when I'm hangry — bad fabric puts me in a cranky mood. I can't focus on anything but getting out of those clothes.
Fabric, along with Function, has become our number one product value. I want Superhera’s to feel unbelievable in their SPRHRA gear. You should recognize how incredible it feels on your body, and as a result, how epic you feel while you’re playing...not how badly you want to crack seams or even rip it off.
I had no clue where to even find fabric or how to build a short
I didn't know what the appropriate steps were to building a short or any article of clothing, but I new I had to get the fabric right.
I had to get the fabric right, honestly, for me, both in the context of lying on my coach and performing at my peak in sports. No one wants a fabric-hangry Marina.
Ok....so, fabric, where the heck do I find it? Well, I grew up watching Project Runway, and dreamed of going to Mood Fabrics one day. I would stroll past the Mood on West and 37th in NYC, but never had a reason to buy anything.
Wait, I thought, ‘now I can go!’
That's the craziest part about entrepreneurship and doing something you truly love. I have flashbacks to these little dreams I had prior to SPRHRA, like one day designing clothes. I would quickly snap myself back into reality, telling myself to focus.
It was like in those moments, I was trying to ask for permission to do things: to go into Mood Fabrics, to start making my sketches (lol!) come to life.
We don't ever need permission, but I'm finding with SPRHRA I'm like 'oh wait this is real...this is happening!'
I had just moved back to Southern California and found the Mood Fabrics in LA. I drove there daydreaming that Tim Gunn would pop out, but mostly feeling a tremendous overwhelm of imposter syndrome, "Am I even allowed in here?!"
I entered the store and the store associate said, "Hi, how can I help you today?' I told them I had just started an athletic clothing company, and I was looking for athletic fabrics.
She directed me to the back store. I walked by thousands of rows of fabrics that touched maybe 25 foot ceiling.
Little Marina was giddy, amazed and geeking out that I was even here! Adult Marina was like, 'how the heck (other words were used) am I going to find what I'm looking for?' I had no idea how to pick a fabric. I had no idea what the price per yard was optimal.
Imagine feeling a long strip of fabric in your left hand and then wearing that fabric on your right thigh or your booty. It's so hard to imagine what something will feel like, let alone how it will fall, move and be sewn together with your garment.
I had brought four samples of leggings and shorts —two I liked and two I didn't like. I was in there for an hour and only became more confused about what I was doing. Truth is, I didn't like how any of the fabrics felt, so I left.
Amelia wearing our combo: Wavy Stretchy Short and Jump Wrap Spandex while doing a Turkish get-up.
I called a friend in the retail industry on my way home, completely overwhelmed. I said ‘what am I even doing?’ All I had was a sketch of the short, and a really big dream to change the performance of women’s sports. My name was SPRHRO, and I wasn’t confident in it. There were a million kajillion athletic brands.
Not to mention, I hadn’t published my book yet. I had no idea if the message of Becoming a Superhero would resonate. My friend reminded me that every industry is extremely saturated.
It has never been easier to start your own company. At the same time, it has never been more competitive to build a meaningful brand and a real, true community.
But we, Superheras, have our superpowers to share with the world. I thought back to myself, deep in my depression my freshman year of college and my first year out of college. I knew that woman needed something to believe in and she needed to find her Freedom to Perform.
Because I believe(d) so deeply in our freedom to perform, and so deeply in the Superheras around me and myself, I kept going. I kept showing up.
The most random conversation ended up as our most pivotal
One random day not too long after, I was networking with a man who had published his book the year before. He asked me what my next thing was, and I told him about SPRHRA. He introduced me to his friend who was folding a yoga company, but who had used sustainable fabrics.
Her and I hopped on the phone, and to this day, it remains one of the most pivotal conversations of building SPRHRA. She was on the way out, so she was being extremely honest about what I was getting into. That conversation taught me three things:
- A possible fabric vendor lead (sustainable + amazing people) = win, win
- Start small and scrappy
- F***ing own it
I’ll always be honest with you all — the third one has been the hardest thing for me to lean into, but I think we’re getting there. Owning it, like my call with my friend when I wanted to quit, and believing in my self-worth has been the biggest part of my journey.
I hopped off the phone with her, called the fabric vendor and went to their fabric pop-up studio in Studio City, Ca. I met with Jeanie who was an absolute gem. She could see I was unbelievably lost when I arrived. I had no idea what I was looking for, but the fabrics were feeling better.
I’ll never forget her asking me: “Do you know what to do when you find your fabric?” I looked at her not even faking it and said, “Well I can’t sew, so I need to probably find someone.”
Jeanie informed me about how brutal the retail industry can be if you don’t have people looking out for you. She connected me with, Jillian, someone who has become one of my greatest business partners and has made building SPRHRA so enjoyable.
Jillian and I eventually found a group of fabrics that are truly the fabrics of my Project Runway dreams. Production... well, that’s a story for another time 😂
I am so proud to say that our fabric is made of 100% Recycled Materials, and is the best athletic fabric I’ve ever felt. We will continue on our mission to reach 100% Recycled Materials with every product that we build.
The biggest takeaway I learned is that opportunities happen, and they aren’t always obvious or what you’re looking for.
Building SPRHRA has required me to adapt in a lot of ways, but also stay extremely firm in what I know is right.
What I know is that we will always strive to give athletes the absolute best product possible without taking shortcuts. That starts with fabric and function.⚡️