Meet Kelsey Myers

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kelsey Myers and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kelsey, can you talk to us a bit about the social impact of your business?
Tortis was created to promote equality in sport. I had the idea to start a women’s sportswear brand after racing an Ironman back in 2014 and noticing how underrepresented and underserved women are, particularly within the sport of triathlon. Training for and completing an Ironman was one of the most transformational moments of my life, yet the experience neglected women entirely. When I checked in for race weekend, I was handed a plastic bag filled with men’s deodorant and coupons to men’s athletic brands. As I stood on the beach waiting for the race to begin, I looked around to a mob of mostly men standing beside me. Finally, when I finished the race, I was named an “Ironman”–a made-up word that was created to honor the men who finished the race.

My experience of completing an Ironman was life-changing because it flipped my belief in what was possible and what wasn’t and allowed me to experience transformative growth in all aspects of life–work, relationships, personal goals. etc. I started Tortis because I want women to have the same experience in sports that men often take for granted–having something that’s built with you in mind.

Our goal is to invite women to seek out experiences that will get her outside of her comfort zone–whether that’s signing up for a 5k, cold plunging, going to yoga class solo, or training for a triathlon.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
It’s a challenge for female athletes to find well-fitted and well-designed apparel, particularly in cycling. Tortis is a curated collection of the best swim, cycling, and running brands for women.

Women’s needs and shopping habits differ from men’s, but unfortunately many brands are still built on a “pink-it-and-shrink-it” model, where clothing designs are made for men first and adapted for women later. Many consumers struggle to find brands that are meant for the everyday athlete, in a sport where it can feel like you need to earn your ride. It can feel intimidating and unwelcoming.

I also think it’s important that women have a voice in defining the cultural shift to serving the female athlete first. I started my career working in marketing at Nike, where the company was intensely focused on “leading with her”. I sat in on many meetings where the female consumer was referred to distantly, as if she were an alien! The majority of the brands we carry are female-founded and designed specifically for the female body.

I launched Tortis a year and a half ago on a dropshipping model, which lowers the risk involved in opening a retail space because fulfillment and warehouse expenses fall on the supplier. My profit margins are lower this way, but it gives me the opportunity to test and learn more about what my audience likes without taking on debt. We will eventually switch to a wholesale model, which will increase our margins and expand our aperture to enable us to carry brands that aren’t set up to support dropshipping.

I’ve worked in marketing for the past 15 years, beginning with 5 years at Nike’s World Headquarters and later moving to the start-up scene and starting my own marketing consultancy. In that time, I’ve learned that the brands that are successful are the ones that thoroughly understand their customer and the ways to connect with them. This summer, I’m working with an NYC-based insights agency to do an in-depth study on the market through focus group research. After that, we will formalize our strategy to begin pitching to investors so that the company can scale.

Building a business isn’t easy, as many people had warned me before I launched. You have to love what you’re doing, believe in the opportunity, and be willing to take a risk.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Something that LA is often overlooked on is that it’s one of the best cities in the world for cycling! The Santa Monica mountains are easily accessible from the westside and the views of the Pacific ocean are unmatched.

What comes to mind when people think of LA is that it’s a health and wellness-crazed town with year-round sunshine. That’s true! And, there’s no better way to get to know a city than to swim, bike, and run your way through. Here’s a sample itinerary for a week in LA:

Sunday: 8:45AM run club led by my friend Raymond Braun at Holloway House in WeHo. You don’t need to be a member of Soho House to join and the run often ends with avocado toast and cold plunges on the rooftop.

Monday: 11 AM master’s swim with Southern California Aquatics at Santa Monica College followed by coffee at Love Coffee Bar.

Tuesday: HER Sports morning run in Santa Monica, usually along the beach path. This is a Nike-organized women’s running group that offers training plans for local races plus community to train with.

Wednesday: 6:30 PM Venice Run Club. Run clubs soared in numbers during the pandemic and Venice Run Club is one of those. They’re notorious for having new people introduce themselves by sharing their age and relationship status, so this can be a good one for singles!

Thursday: Lazy Ponies afternoon ride. A more chill ride that starts at Maru Coffee off Hillhurst and takes you through the hills with sunset views of the Hollywood sign. Try a pastry at Maru for pre-ride carb-loading.

Friday: 7AM LA Tri Club morning ocean swim at Tower 26. The LA Tri Club will feed you coffee and doughnuts from a paddleboard mid-swim and if you’re lucky, you’ll catch a view of a pod of dolphins swimming by.

Saturday: Sara Wan Trailhead at Corral Canyon hike followed by lunch at Malibu Seafood Fresh Fish Market. This is the only hike in Malibu that ends at the water and you can walk across the parking lot to fresh seafood.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I’d like to give a shoutout Priscilla Vega, who I first met last summer when she applied to be an ambassador for Tortis. The Tortis ambassador program was created to invite women from all backgrounds in sport to try a triathlon for the first time–ranging from a D1 swimmer, soccer player, marathon runner, etc.

Priscilla was selected as the swimmer on one of the relays, despite having no prior experience racing in the ocean. She dedicated all of her free time to overcoming her fear of the open water and wrote beautiful mini-essays about the metaphor in stepping through fear in sports and how that translates to challenges in life. Not only did she finish the race, she signed up for a full triathlon immediately after, which she just completed last weekend. More important than the action itself is the intention behind it and the grace with which you navigate the hurdles along the way. Her journey was beautifully documented and inspiring to follow.

Tortis is about supporting the upleveling of women, something Priscilla absolutely embodies. She inspires me to keep pushing forward with Tortis to create more opportunities for women to grow.

Website: https://www.tortis.us/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kelseymyers4/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kelsey-myers-tortis/ 

Image Credits
Scott Flathouse Photography Laura Austin Johnny Talay