Best friends and businesswomen Jennifer Spector, Shari Schneider and Mary Lindenberg – who live within a mile of each other here in Austin and co-founded tennis brand Runway Athletics – talk love, hope and fashion, on and off the court.
What inspired you to start Runway Athletics?
As lifelong tennis players, we were tired of seeing the same old looks on the tennis court. We wanted to create fun and fashionable court wear. We also realized that many players and even non-players were now wearing athletic apparel throughout the day. We kept that in mind as we curated and designed our line. We wanted every woman to feel good and look good, both on and off the court. We designed our clothes so women could feel well put together and comfortable to go straight from the court to lunch or errands, without having to change in between.
How did you get the, ahem, ball rolling…
Having played tennis together for years, we were always talking about the need for better looking clothes on the courts. We had several three way calls about it and decided we were all at a point in our lives where our children were grown and we were ready for a new challenge, that we really could do this. In November of 2020, we purchased our website name, filled out the necessary paperwork and Runway Athletics was born. When we first started, our plan was to come out with a super cute, comfortable, and flattering tennis dress that would be manufactured in the U.S. As we started to learn the ins and outs of manufacturing and creating samples, we realized with so many body types out there, getting the right fit in an athletic dress was going to be very tricky so began working on our court skirt. This skirt which we have manufactured right here in Texas, has been the anchor skirt for our entire line and has been a top seller ever since.
How are you unique in the fashion industry?
Three women in their 50's starting a business during the Covid pandemic was no easy feat, but we did it, and here we are. And as a female owned company, we recognize the importance of helping other female entrepreneurs in any way that we can.
What is the philosophy of the business?
Since our inception, our philosophy at Runway Athletics has always been the same… LOOK GOOD, PLAY HARD! We recognize the confidence provided by a great looking outfit.
Tell us about the charity organizations you support.
We designed our Hope, Strength, Love court skirt in honor of all those fighting breast cancer. Runway Athletics gives back 20% of net profits from the sale of the skirt to the Susan G Komen Foundation.
Share your biggest success so far.
We are so proud to have been chosen by Dropshot Series as the only women’s clothing vendor at the inaugural ATX Open, Austin’s only professional tour-level tennis tournament and the city’s largest women’s professional sporting event. We worked tirelessly from 7am to 10pm for ten days straight, but it was well worth it.
For more information on the items pictured go to runwayathletics.com
"Three women in their 50's starting a business during the Covid pandemic was no easy feat, but we did it, and here we are."