• Celebrity & Lifestyle

A little over a year ago, we made a decision that was destined to change our lives forever. When we decided to follow the path that God had laid out for us and launch our own athletic line, we had no idea of the journey we were about to embark on. Now, 365 days later, we find ourselves filled with love, pride, and gratitude for what we’ve been able to accomplish. In honor of this incredibly significant milestone, we’ll be sharing our success storyline thus far, including how we started, what we’ve done, and our plans for the next year.

The Beginning

Shortly after our wedding in February of 2020, as we all know, COVID struck, and with it came unprecedented hardships and difficulties. We experienced our own struggles when Shaun was unexpectedly laid off from his job. This time in our life was filled with uncertainty, but it also carried an unexpected blessing with it. God put it into our hearts to do something that would create a lasting legacy for ourselves and our families: follow our dream of creating an all-inclusive, Black-owned athleticwear line. Thus, on the anniversary of our engagement, Maye-Williams Active was born.

The First Year

This year has been one filled with hard work, lessons learned, and countless blessings. Since its founding, Maye-Williams Active has been featured in Cosmopolitan, Business Insider, and Women’s Health Magazine, as well as in articles for Sezzle and Yahoo Mail. Additionally, we’ve joined Amazon’s Black Business Accelerator Program, dedicated to helping grow and sustain Black entrepreneurs like ourselves, and were nominated for Business of the Year by the San Diego Black Chamber of Commerce.

We’ve participated in amazing partnerships as well. We took part in a pop-up with LA Fitness and, most recently, had the opportunity to partner with Space Jam: A New Legacy. In celebration of the movie’s release, we provided our Maye-Williams Active™ Basketballs for the event’s dunk contest and shootouts. We met and shared our story with the film’s director, Malcom D. Lee, and his wife, who were both incredibly kind and supportive of our journey thus far. As die-hard lovers of basketball, this was an unforgettable opportunity and moment that’s we’ll always treasure.

We had the amazing opportunity to partner with Shopify and produce an ad for their platform, as well as a feature on their home page. The ad even surpassed 11 million views on Facebook alone! This project truly felt like the perfect culmination of our first year in business.

And last, but certainly not least, are our amazing customers. None of these accomplishments and opportunities could have been achieved without you. The reviews we’ve received on our products have been a driving force that keeps accelerating us on the path to success.

What’s Next for Maye-Williams Active

With all of these accomplishments and more under our belt, we couldn’t be more excited to embark on chapter 2 of the Maye-Williams journey. Here’s a sneak peek of what’s in store for our second year of business.

First, one of this year’s primary focuses will be growing our brand, building our team, and continuing the never-ending path to growing as business owners. By continuing to build upon these foundational aspects of our business, we hope to invite even more incredible opportunities going forward.

In addition, we’ll be looking into building connections with big-box retailers, along with joining fitness expos, farmer’s markets, and pop-up shops. We also plan to partner with more gyms and yoga studios over the next year.

Lastly, we aim to continue going above and beyond in providing the world with inspiration to be a better, more inclusive space. We do this by providing representation for all people, regardless of gender, race, or body type, and continuing to create apparel that our family (customers) loves.

Here’s To the Next Year

Again, a huge thank you to our loyal customers who have made this exciting year possible. We can’t wait to see where the next year takes us and couldn’t be more grateful to have you all with us along for the ride. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you. Now, let’s get to work on creating another amazing year to #StayActive!

• Model: Sharon Clawson
• Model: Imani Powell
• Model: Dulce
• Owners: Mycah & Shaun Maye-Williams