October Supporter Spotlight: Leah Vusich

For the month of October we are thrilled to highlight Leah Vusich from Persist Headbands as Supporter Spotlight. Leah, started the business with her mom, Nancy Boody, who’s expert sewing skills makes the entire operation possible. As the Persist Headbands’ online following begins to grow, the team wanted to share in their success, aiming to donate $100 to Fast and Female once they hit their goal of 100 followers on Instagram.

Learn more about this small team with big hearts, in our Q&A below

Can you tell us about Persist Headbands and how you came to create this?

Persist Headbands started out a need to find a comfortable, absorbent headband that I could wear to workout and run with that actually stayed in my hair. My mom thought that maybe she could make one for me, so we bought and tested different fabrics, different styles, sizes, etc. until she made one that I loved.

What has been your experience with girls in sports and why was it important for you to support Fast and female?

Sport has always been a priority in our family – going back generations. My grandmother is a Hall of Fame ski champion! My parents made sacrifices to make sure their kids could find a sport that they loved and I was very fortunate to find the sport of synchronized swimming (now called Artistic Swimming). It is [was seen as] a sport for women, so I spent nearly 15 years competing and coaching in this sport that teaches so much to girls… how to work as a team, how to support and uplift other girls, develop confidence and poise, alongside the obvious physical health benefits. Now I am a mom of a six-year-old girl and I want to make sure that she has the same opportunities that I had to participate in sport, learn from incredible coaches, role models, and mentors. I want her to grow up loving physical activity and understanding the power of hard work, goal setting, and achieving your best.

Running a small business is tough! You’re doing so while fundraising for your community. What advice would you give to other community members who are looking for ways to give back?

Find something that you are passionate about – whatever that is – and explore ways to get involved. Even the smallest changes or contributions can make a difference.

What message do you have for young women who have not yet tapped into their own potential?

The tagline of our business is ‘do the damn thing’. What we mean by it is, if you want to do something, try something, or say something, don’t let fear of failure or judgement stop you. You won’t know what you’re capable of until you try, so we believe that every girl, no matter how old she is should put her headband on, put her head down, and just do the damn thing. She will almost certainly surprise herself with what she’s capable of.

Is there anything else that you’d like the Fast and Female community to know?

We’d love for the community to know just how great our headbands are! They don’t slip, they are comfortable, and they keep sweat out of your eyes. And they are cute too. Plus we are committed to always donating a portion of every headband sold to charities who support and empower women to pursue excellence, whether that is in sport, education, or politics. We’ve only been in business for 2 weeks, but we are a Mom/Daughter duo looking to make a difference one headband at a time.

If you’d like to support Persist Headbands, please follow them on Instagram @PersistHeadbands

Thank you Leah and Nancy for your support!