We’re looking forward to introducing you to Hillary Lewis & Yaya Margarita Porizek. Check out our conversation below.
Good morning Hillary Lewis &, we’re so happy to have you here with us and we’d love to explore your story and how you think about life and legacy and so much more. So let’s start with a question we often ask: What are you most proud of building — that nobody sees?
We’re Moms. People don’t usually see us parenting our kids most of the day in between meetings and teaching classes and creating for our business. It’s often messy, working for 10 minutes here or there where we can fit it in. But we also feel incredibly lucky that our jobs are flexible enough that we get to be with our kids a lot! Being an entrepreneur and a Mom is challenging at times, but we wouldn’t have it any other way.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
We are Hillary and Yaya, Co-Creators of Shine Society Fit Shop. We design and bring to life fitness equipment that is colorful, girly and fun. Motivated by our love for movement and distaste for boring black fitness gear, we decided to make our own line of props and accessories that will make you feel cute and happy while you get fit. We are the first company to produce shaped sliders like hearts and peaches, along with our signature heart shaped dumbbells. We also created high quality hip bands, grip socks, and more apparel to enhance your workout and complete your outfit.
Appreciate your sharing that. Let’s talk about your life, growing up and some of topics and learnings around that. What’s a moment that really shaped how you see the world?
We are really shaped by our community. As fitness studio owners of almost 10 years, building our community has been an ultimate lesson in what fitness and business is really about. It’s about the people you bring together and how you make them feel. Fitness isn’t always about aesthetics- its about connection through movement. We strive to bring our community together in a series of special outdoor workout classes every year, always incorporating other women-owned local businesses. This sense of support and togetherness never gets old, and we see so many friendships built and a feeling of belonging that everyone really needs right now in the world.
Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
We have actually already developed a product that ended up failing to get produced. We wanted to get a patent and after many years of working on that particular product, the patent ended up getting denied. We have learned such resilience from that process, and we definitely took off a year or so from moving forward with other product ideas. But when you feel so passionately about something… you just have to do it.
Next, maybe we can discuss some of your foundational philosophies and views? Is the public version of you the real you?
We have always strived to be our most authentic selves in creating our businesses. We are advocates for body positivity in fitness, which is not always the easiest road to take. The fitness industry can be really superficial, so we want to go deeper into why people move and what their motivation is behind it. Hopefully it’s more than your jean size. Maybe it’s wanting to be the best parent for your family, or that you want to do this amazing hike on your upcoming vacation, or feel super confident wearing your favorite clothes. Whatever it is, we want to push you to start wherever you are in that fitness journey, and that you are already “good enough” to begin today.
Okay, so let’s keep going with one more question that means a lot to us: What is the story you hope people tell about you when you’re gone?
We hope people say that we changed the way that people viewed working out. That it can be joyful and fun, not something you have to do or dread doing. Our main goal is to spread that happiness through each workout, and I hope our equipment can do that for people around the world!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://shinesocietyfitshop.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shinesocietyfitshop
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@ShineSocietyFitShop
