When you feel good, you look good! The women behind the athleisure brand, LiCi Fit are on a mission to encourage self confidence. Personal trainers Liz and Cinee were inspired to create LiCi Fit due to the lack of flattering gym wear for all sizes in the fitness industry.
LiCi Fit is more than just an activewear brand - it’s a chance to help women around the world feel comfortable in their own skin while they work hard to achieve their goals.
"We think it's time to be unapologetic about our curves and flaunt what your mama gave you!”
Raise a glass to these rulebreakers to celebrate Women's History Month and learn more about how they're challenging the status quo.
Tell us about your business and what inspired you to start.
LiCi Fit is a fitness and lifestyle brand designed to encourage self confidence and spark drive in women who aren’t afraid to stand out. It started as a passion project for us and a desire to create something fun together. In 2017, being personal trainers and heavily involved in the fitness industry here in LA, we felt like the options for women’s fitness wear were missing something. We loved matching sets, and would search far and wide for the cutest fits with bright patterns. The problem we ran into was finding gym attire that had a fun and different look with a flattering fit to hug the curves we work so hard in the gym for. We were spending hundreds of dollars on other athletic brands, only to have them tailored to fit properly! Our frustration turned into inspiration to create our own brand to provide women with the kind of athleisure wear we would want to rock in and out of the gym.
We pride ourselves on creating styles for all body types, but our Scrunch Leggings and shorts are what we're known for. Let's be real, it's 2022 and it's all about the booty. Big or small, round or flat, all booties matter and the scrunch design is going to make you give yourself a double take in the mirror! The design process came from that same desire to feel sexy and stand out when working out. We wanted that extra little motivation and encouragement. When you feel good, you look good! Women all around the world are loving the confidence they get when they put on their LiCi. We think it's time to be unapologetic about our curves and flaunt what your mama gave you!
Who inspired you to break the rules or think beyond them as women in your industry?
We both come from strong willed, independent women. Our moms definitely raised us to break the rules if it meant standing up for what is right and making our dreams come true. We are just two young women really building from the ground up, trusting our instincts and the journey. When we met we instantly got along and have been attached at the hip ever since. Despite so many people saying "Don't start a business with your best friend," we beat the odds and started LiCi. We challenge the status quo daily and it pushes us to learn and sharpen our skills in communication, patience and respect for each other. We hope to keep growing and inspiring women to break the rules don’t take no for an answer! One of Cinee’s favorite quotes is “closed mouths don’t get fed”- a common theme we’ve instilled in our team and all live by.
How does your sisterhood - friends, family, and colleagues - support you personally and professionally?
Our team really is like a family. We have grown a sisterhood and bond where we can be ourselves, support each other, and have fun while working hard. A lot of our girls come from very toxic work environments. We wanted to create a space we would want to come to work in. To have found a group of women who love LiCi as much as us is a dream come true. These women are the heartbeat of LiCi. We ride together through the ups and the downs personally and professionally. We even work with a life coach who meets with our team monthly for extra support in communication and team building.
What does women empowerment mean to you in 2022?
When we started LiCi, we thought we were just making sports bras and leggings. Now we know we’re doing so much more than that. We have brought together a community of women that RIDE for LiCi and we couldn’t be more proud. Outside of our LiCi community, we are always looking for other women-owned brands to partner with and uplift any way we can. We understand how hard it is to start a business as a woman and love to offer advice and share our experiences in hopes that it might give them the confidence to go after their dreams. If we can do it, so can you!
In the past year we’ve put a lot of energy into different events to bring women in our community together. We’ve hosted boot camps, hikes, and empowerment circles where women can be open and heal. We want the community of women we’re bringing together to feel like they are a part of something special. It’s important to us to hold a space where women can be themselves and love themselves fully. These women are more than friends, they’re family. We hope to leave a mark not only as a clothing brand, but a movement of strong, independent, fearless women.
What goals would you like to achieve this year to advance yourself and your business?
One of our main goals moving into this year is humanizing the brand. We are known for our glamorous shoots and bright prints, but at the end of the day we are just normal girls who have many facets and flaws too! We are on a mission to instill confidence in women all over the world by being unapologetically themselves. We’re learning daily how to be vulnerable and share the good and bad days, to show other women that perfection is a beauty standard we can leave behind. We hope to change the way women view themselves, to know their worth and beauty beyond the exterior.
What’s your favorite SHE CAN Wines flavor?
SHE CAN Wines Fresh White for sure!
