We are thrilled to share this story of Margaux Jo Elliot and her story in starting a sports bra company, Lume Six. Margaux is local to Aptos, California (Santa Cruz County resident). It takes so much time, effort, and passion to start something on your own and we will never stop loving and sharing the stories of bold humans like Margaux. Read below and check out their work here.
Tell us about you in a few sentences…
Hello! I am the founder of Lume Six, a sports bra brand I launched in 2021. I am a mountain biker and in 2020 I became the first woman to climb one million feet on a mountain bike in a single year. I live in Aptos, California and have spent my career developing technical & performance apparel in the cycling and outdoor industries. I am married to the love of my life and we message each other funny cat videos multiple times a day :)
What inspired you to start Lume Six?
Ultimately, it’s because I believe women deserve better sports bras…
As a woman with a larger bust size, I always struggled to find the support I needed from sports bras. It seemed like I always had to choose between support or comfort and couldn’t find one that had both, and ones that were designed for high impact support felt like crazy contraptions. I think I tried every sports bra on the planet (hah!) and couldn’t find one that fit my needs. I felt like what I wanted was simple and what every woman wants – support, comfort, lightweight, fast-drying, comfortable straps & band, sewn-in padding…
With my background in apparel development, I knew sports bras could be better than what brands were making, so I set out to make the best sports bra I could. I had a list of problems I wanted to solve and spent three years developing the sports bras. The first time I went for a run in our high impact model (the Cirra High Impact Sports Bra), it felt like freedom! Finally, a sports bra that I could run in without feeling the pain and discomfort I had from every other sports bra…
It has been incredibly rewarding and it fills me with so much joy when women try the sports bra and feel the same sense of relief and excitement to finally find a sports bra that works for them :)
What does being active mean to you?
Anything that moves my body! I love that being active gets me to challenge myself and try new things, go on new adventures and get outside, but it isn’t always about that. Being active helps me feel healthy, happy and balanced.
What have been some of the biggest challenges and biggest surprises or successes of owning your own business?
The biggest success is when someone tries on the sports bras and loves them :) Nothing compares to that! But other big successes have been getting selected as Outside Magazine’s Editor’s Choice in their Buyer’s Guide, participating in Moosejaw’s Outdoor Accelerator and winning Title Nine’s Pitchfest…owning a business has expanded my world in so many ways I never could have imagined.
The main challenge has been getting people to know about the brand and spreading the word! I am super excited to connect with everyone at the She.Is.Beautiful expo and community! I am so passionate about what I do and believe that women deserve better sports bras, getting the chance to talk about them with people is exciting.
Website: https://lumesix.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lumesix/