The summer of 1997 that revolutionized women’s athletics
It goes without saying that no matter how big or how small, we all wear sports bras whether we are running, mountain climbing or practicing yoga. Sports bras have revolutionized the women’s athletic industry because it gave us the chance to workout in hot weather and not have to worry about sweating through our shirts. Nowadays, sports bras have revolutionized so much that they are even becoming a street wear trend.
However, when the sports bra was first invented there was not all different kinds of colors, designs and patterns like we have in today’s modern day. With that said, we should understand the story behind them.
During the height of the women’s liberation movement throughout the ‘70s, jogging started to become a successful trend throughout society. Marathons were hosted in many countries and states for men to compete with each other on a large scale basis. That being said, women were not encouraged to participate in any rom of physical activities because, you know, why would we?
Running with the current lingerie model of a support bra is rough. I am sure we have all been in a situation where we were forced to run in our everyday bras due to various situations, and we all know that it is not fun! Graduate student from the University of Vermont Lisa Lindahl, and her best friend Polly Smith figured that they would revolutionize the classic lingerie look so they could exercise with more support.
The Jockbra
The Jockbra was the first ever name for the fabricated sports bra.
Lindahl was frustrated that her running partner could take off his shirt after a long morning run, but she was stuck in an underwire that was falling off her shoulders and dug into her chest. In some ways, we can thank Lindahl’s husband for the inspiration behind the Jockbra as he was the one who held up his jockstrap to his chest and pretended to be supporting his chest. From there Lindahl and Smith got working.
The two motivated individuals sewed together two jockstraps with a cross back design for additional support and finally created the first ever supportive bra that did not make their breasts go on a roller coaster ride when they ran. The mobility and freedom of movement that this invention gave them made them feel like they could conquer the world. Lisa was able to receive a small $5,000 loan from her parents to start up their business and sell their Jockbras for $16 a piece. Today, the sports bra industry is a 7 billion dollar industry that focuses on creating all fitting shapes, designs, and sizes for everyone.
How did two female entrepreneurs inspire the world?
Women continue to revolutionize their societies through various ways outside of sports. Nowadays we have women running for president, female entrepreneurs, women in aviation and women in sports. As a community, we can revolutionize anything to our benefit and our potential.
Lindahl and Smith put us one step forward to reaching our goals, dreams and ambitions by giving us the Jockbra, which allowed us to out run anyone in our way.