ABOUT US
Lukafit is an empowering activewear brand with a mission to:
- Create an affirming community of sisters united in self care
- Support and inspire one another along our health and wellness journeys
- Boldly Celebrate the skin we're in!
As an ode to my South African heritage, the name Lukafit is partially derived from the Zulu word juluka, which means to sweat. Sweating releases “feel good” endorphins, detoxifies your body, and gives you a healthy glow, so we encourage folks to sweat a lot!
WHAT INSPIRED LUKAFIT ACTIVEWEAR?
After many years of starting and stopping various exercise regimens on my own, I started a fitness accountability group with a few of my friends.
And we became obsessed - we constantly invited each other to exercise classes and motivated each other to stay consistent.
With all the motivation and accountability from our check-ins, I found myself exercising 4-5 times per week - Every. Single. Week.
I had never been able to maintain that kind of consistency on my own.
With more regular exercise I started to feel more confident and had a regular outlet to sweat my stress away.
I was so inspired by the accountability group I had with my friends that I decided to start a local workout buddy group for women of color in my area.
It started with just a few members in Brooklyn, but eventually over 1,000 women joined from all across New York City and New Jersey!
I was not expecting my group to grow to that size but I soon learned that all of us were yearning for a community-oriented approach to our health and wellness.
For the next few years, several of us would meet up every single week to workout together.
We tried a lot of fun activities together too!
When I asked members why they joined the group, most of the women shared concerns about their experiences in the fitness world—like feeling ignored, judged, and experiencing other microaggressions in workout classes.
We were also spending hundreds of dollars on our workout wardrobes, but the activewear we were spending so much money on didn’t fit our hips, our thighs, and especially not our derrieres.
We were uncomfortable in classes and uncomfortable in our clothing.
Like me, most of the women I’ve met along my health journey want to get stronger, healthier and feel more confident. However, it’s tough to feel confident in gym wear that don’t fit properly and that you constantly have to pull up and adjust.
It’s frustrating to support brands that treat women of color and curvier women as tokens in their advertising, if we're even included at all.
It’s difficult to stick to your health and fitness goals consistently when you’re going it alone.
After running my meetup group for a few years I was inspired to start an activewear company that addressed all of the issues my group members and I were facing -- and that's how Lukafit Activewear was born.
Lukafit provides activewear with uplifting designs specifically designed for our curves and a supportive community of sisters united in self-care.
Health and happiness,
Mbali
