ENTREPRENEURS
Meet Rachel Schultz, Founder of Luxury Workout Brand Lerin USA
Rachel Schultz, a fitness enthusiast and entrepreneur, is the founder of Lerin, an empowering athletic apparel line designed to meet the demands of high-intensity workouts. With a background as an athlete, marathon runner, trainer, and pilates studio owner, Rachel’s frustration with clothing that couldn’t withstand intense exercise led her to create her own line. Lerin’s stylish collection combines fashion with functionality, offering supportive sports bras, leggings, and sets designed for interchangeability.
Sustainability is a core value for Lerin, and the brand promotes eco-friendly practices through 100% recyclable packaging made of unbleached, high-quality printed kraft from recycled paper pulp. Rachel’s commitment to creating a community of women is reflected in Lerin’s focus on bringing women together through fitness events and fostering a fun environment. The company is women-led, with all employees being women, and it actively collaborates with university graduates, interns, and ambassadors nationwide.
Lerin has gained recognition and support from notable figures like Melissa Wood Health, Teddi Mellencamp, Nicole Martin, and Rachel Robinson, who have showcased the brand’s clothing on their platforms. Based in Coral Gables, Lerin takes pride in its personalized touch, as all items are hand-shipped from their office. With its recent launch of a new doll collection featuring digital lavender and fuchsia pantones, Lerin continues to make waves in the athletic apparel industry.
Can you tell us about your background in the fitness industry and how it influenced the creation of Lerin?
After being in the fitness industry for over 11 years now as an athlete, marathon runner, trainer, brand ambassador and pilates studio owner, I always found that I would wear cute sets to teach in but when it came time to workout, I would have to change into a more functional set. I decided to create Lerin to fill this gap and create functional but fashionable athletic apparel.
How does Lerin differentiate itself from other athletic apparel brands in terms of both function and style?
What sets Lerin apart from other athletic apparel brands is that we are women owned and women ran. When researching other athletic apparel brands out there, I found that most were founded by men which came by a surprise to me. How could a man know what clothing feels good to a woman while working out? Besides the physical look of it. My goal was to empower women and make them feel good in their own skin. With this in mind, a key aspect of our marketing strategy while launching was to host fitness events to bring together women and create a sense of community.
Sustainability is an important aspect of Lerin’s packaging. Can you talk more about the company’s commitment to sustainability and how it factors into other aspects of the business?
We want to promote self-love and a high quality lifestyle through clean, sustainable products. Our products are made with high quality and performance fabrics, manufactured responsibly. Our packaging is also 100% recyclable. We use an eco-friendly kraft made of recycled paper pulp. This kraft is unbleached and made for high quality printing, yet very sustainable.
Lerin is a women-run company that focuses on empowering and uplifting women. Can you speak to how this mission is reflected in the brand’s clothing and overall ethos?
Since we are a women owned company, We believe in empowering women. We have had a few interns and brand ambassadors across the country who have been trying to work towards bigger goals. By joining Lerin, we like to empower them along the way. We want to also create a community where women can make new friends and feel comfortable in trying new fitness experiences so we do a lot of events to bring people together.
What types of events does Lerin host to bring women together and create a fun fitness environment?
We host ticketed events with studios where we dress one of their instructors to teach a class. Women sign up and we reach out to get their sizing so we can also give them a set to take the class in as well. We also get some brand sponsors to provide some food or drinks for a swag bag to make it into a fun event. The whole purpose of this for us is to get people to actually move and sweat in our clothing so they can see for themselves what makes it so special to us as well as create a community of women.
How does Lerin approach the design process for new clothing pieces, and what factors are taken into consideration?
My design process starts with the vision of the piece to the creation of a tech sketch. From there our manufacturer creates a sample in which we try out. Sometimes the samples come out perfect but most times we have to alter it ourselves. My one employee and I turned the dining room of my house into our area and brought in a floor mirror with scissors and a sharpie. We would try on each piece and “alter” it ourselves by cutting it or drawing different lines on it. From there, our manufacturer fixes the piece and it is created! Once we receive all of the final pieces, we test it out in various styles of workouts from lifting to cardio to pilates to yoga to ensure that it stays in place and works. I work out 2-3 times a day every day and make sure that it is up to my standards before releasing it.
What inspired the creation of Lerin’s new doll collection, and how does it fit into the brand’s overall vision?
In a sea of black leggings, I have always been wearing pink, purple, and bright colors so I thought these two would be fitting with the launch of a new movie and also being pantones of the summer. We want to empower women to break out of only wearing black to class. There is a lot of stigma about sweating in workout classes. Our fabric is sweatproof, even when you are fully drenched in sweat.
Can you discuss the decision to use digital lavender and fuchsia pantones in Lerin’s designs, and how these colors align with the brand’s identity?
In a sea of black leggings, I have always been wearing pink, purple, and bright colors so I thought these two would be fitting with the launch of a new movie and also being pantones of the summer. We want to empower women to break out of only wearing black to class. There is a lot of stigma about sweating in workout classes. Our fabric is sweatproof, even when you are fully drenched in sweat.
How does Lerin select and work with ambassadors for school sorority events, and what impact have these events had on the brand’s growth?
To select ambassadors for school sorority events, we reach out to the different sororities of the schools to try to find someone who is passionate in marketing and events. We have a small application asking about their likes and interests as well as goals for the future. Then, we choose those who think would be a good fit and interview them to tell them about the program. For the program, we have the ambassador set up an event, similar to what we do, but at a smaller scale. These events have definitely helped Lerin grow! We have done ones at University of Arizona, Charleston, UCLA, TCU, Tulane, etc. We have also had a lot of resales from these events which is amazing!
Can you share any exciting plans or developments that Lerin has in store for the future?
When I launched Lerin, I had given birth 6 days before the day we launched with a son. Now, I am 6 months pregnant and will be giving birth to a daughter. With this, it inspired me to launch a Mommy and Me line, which I am currently working on.
