I grew up in the 1990s, the youngest of five trying to keep up with my older brothers. I started playing soccer when I was 4 years old, and adults and peers were quick to label me as a “tomboy.” I went on to play D1 soccer at the University of Wisconsin, Madison (UW), but quickly started to look for a creative outlet to balance out the grind of competition. I quickly discovered a new passion of mine as I chose to study textile and fashion design at UW, eventually continuing onwards at the Fashion Institute of Technology in NYC. I later designed for "ultra-femme" brands like Carolina Herrera and Anthropologie, where at times, my designs were deemed too “masculine." It was almost as if I had an identity crisis, being both athletic and creative! I started to realize that it wasn't just me, women have been siloed into a box for so long, and for the modern day woman, its no longer resonating as we are multi-facted and we should be celebrated to be so!