We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Gabby Male a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Gabby, thanks for joining us today. Parents can play a significant role in affecting how our lives and careers turn out – and so we think it’s important to look back and have conversations about what our parents did that affected us positive (or negatively) so that we can learn from the billions of experiences in each generation. What’s something you feel your parents did right that impacted you positively.

My mom was a business woman and then eventually had her own businesses while we were growing up and was always the breadwinner of the family. So watching her work really hard subconsciously told me from a young age that women can be the breadwinner and be successful. I always heard her on calls, saw her traveling, doing really cool things and making a lot of money for our family. So even if it wasn’t something I was fully aware of at the time, I subconsciously took notes on how work doesn’t always have to look traditional. Also my parents are super supportive and never told me not to do something out of fear of failure. They always let me have the freedom to try whatever I wanted, and provided me with a lot of independence when it came to what I wanted to “be when I grew up”.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I started my own business in 2016 when I was in college, doing mostly online personal training and making workout “challenges” for women who followed me online. That then grew into a more robust online fitness business, including health coaching, personalized workout programs, and group challenges. Around 2018 my friend Mik and I (who was doing a similar thing) decided to do a Retreat for women, and after the first one was such a success, we started a business together called The Rose Retreats. We have now done 4 Retreats, 2 online retreats and in 2022 we had our first conference. The focus of the retreats shifted as we did as people, though. We both started in fitness, but as we exited that world and both went on our own recovery journeys for our disordered relationships with food and exercise, the retreats became more about self love, empowerment and recovery for women who also struggled with the same thing. Then in 2020 during covid Ryan and I created relic96. I was bleach dying shirts for fun and started selling them online, and before I knew it we had a website, and a new business that was selling out weekly. Since then it has turned into an embroidery, screenprinting, sublimation and upcycling business where I get to have fun with designing, and creating clothes that share positive messages with the world. Then lastly as my social media grew, I signed on with a management company in 2018 and also work as a full time content creator where I work with brands to create content for their marketing campaigns.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

The biggest lesson I had to unlearn was definitely imposter syndrome and comparing myself to others. When I started relic96, especially, because I never saw myself as someone who was fashionable or would own a clothing brand. I also never saw myself as someone who is overly creative or talented in the creative realm. I started it sort of as a hobby, and I just thought that it was kind of cool that people were purchasing what I was making, and for the longest time it didn’t really click in my head that I was truly creating art, and people actually love it. It’s really hard in today’s world, especially with social media, to constantly compare yourself to others. But if you can release that… you will find your own path and you can create a really solid community that not only loves your work but has your back. Having that community really boosted my confidence and I’ve also noticed that the more confident I am, the better my designs are! Imposter Syndrome is only ever going to stop you from getting where you want to be, so the faster that you can release it and realize that you are talented and you are doing what you are meant to be doing, the faster your business will grow.

Have you ever had to pivot?

Relic96 was born because of a pivot. It was the pandemic, and I personally was going through a lot of changes and moving away from Fitness as my main form of income and my fiancé, Ryan, noticed how much my community was loving a hobby I had picked up (bleach dying). When he suggested that we should make relic96 an actual business, I had to make a big decision because I knew it meant pivoting my entire business and putting a lot more energy into something completely unknown and uncharted territory for me. But I’m so thankful for the pivot because I wouldn’t have relic96 without it! Sometimes life throws you curveballs and forks in the road and I’m a big believer in “everything happens for a reason” and I like to trust the universe and the signs that it send me. Usually when a pivot in life comes up, it means you’re ready for it.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.relic96.com
• Instagram: @relic96
• Other: My personal instagram: @gabbymale