Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to La’ Naya Carter. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

La’ Naya, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

Getting into fitness apparel was always something that I wanted to do. After having a year experience in personal training, I started writing ideas down on how I wanted to expand Nyla K. Fit. One of the biggest ideas I had was having my own fitness apparel line. I wanted to build a brand that when you see that logo you know who Embodied is. A brand that is authentic, that meant a little more than another brand with a cool logo and some hard t-shirts in different colors. There were so many concepts, names, schemes I was literally going through my brain scrambling. The first name I came up for the clothing was ” Bodygalore” and I’m literally sitting there talking to my friend at the time and they are starring at me like ” girl you know you can do better, stop playing. Eventually, one day I am sitting alone and I’m doing some reflecting and I remembered that someone told me the best you can do is learn who you are and embody every change you go through to become the best version of yourself because it’s a journey. From that moment EMBODIED was created. I wanted a brand that showed “quality over quantity”. My next mission was to find material that was so unique no other brand would be like it. I wanted material that was comfortable, but also durable not only in the gym but daily living activates. After playing around with ideas and concepts, Embodied became an Athleisure and Lounge Wear Brand. Embodied has such a unique approach because it was more about meaning behind it, what it means to be EMBODIED, what it means to be your authentic self and be the one to make a positive change in yourself, and community.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My name is La’ Naya, I am from Baltimore, Maryland. I’ve have history of playing sports from middle school through my first two years of college. I played Women’s Lacrosse and ran cross country. I’ve always had a interest in the gym and I enjoyed working out. In the summer of 2020 I got my first trainer and I started to going to the gym consistently. It went from being able to run a mile to being able to run three to four miles and getting stronger in the gym and I loved every bit of it. In 2021 I started to learn under a mentor on how to be a trainer. I started getting clients and learning more in depth how you can move the body and became fantasied with how the body can really change. I’m most proud in my growth and how much it has taught me that anything worth having you will have to go a lot downs, that everything is growth and its a journey. A journey of self, but also the journey of growing your baby which is your bossiness. I want both brands to showcase being authentic and loving who you are and follow your passions.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

Connections and networking, building relationships because they matter. We are at the age were majority of us are hitting our mid twenties. We are at the stage of our life where the relationships matter more than anything. Being kind, authentic, being yourself and having confidence with a positive mindset. Show love, genuine love. I build my social media based of just being myself and meeting new people, building relationships with the people I have met and learning from the people I met. Keeping a curious mind has helped me grow my social media. My advice for those building don’t be afraid to make friendships. Don’t be afraid to talk to people random people, be confident not only in yourself but be confident in your brand. You are your brand. You are representing your brand don’t be afraid to show it. Marketing wise Embodied has done numbers with our second launch. I was too shocked to believe it, but I was able to because of the relationships I have made that help grow embodied. Seeing people wear my clothes in and out the gym makes me smile every time, best joy ever.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

The summer of 2021 I had a huge pivot in my career, business and life all together. So much was going on. I was transitioning as a person, as a business women. Everything was shifting. It was very hard at first to deal with, I was stressed. This was the moment in my life where I had to decide to either let get to me or for me to take control of the wheel and make it happen. I had a major set back with my clothing line. Vendors weren’t replying, I went to a bunch of different graphic designers, prototypes being delayed, samples not being correct. It was stressful and I wanted to give up. I had to remember that it won’t be easy and it will not happen overnight. I learned it’s a journey. You have to learn to balance the three. You have to learn that them roadblocks are making you stronger mentally. They are molding you building a stronger version of yourself. Learning to control your emotions and just stay calm when things don’t go as planned. I’ve learned to always be prepared for things to not go as planned. I look at those setbacks at lessons not failure.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://theembodiedcollection.com/
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/embodiedcollection?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

Image Credits
CEO: LaNaya Carter Photographers: Jamar Simms Jr Jayyyviews & Stevie 24k.Visuals  Graphics: Garshét Hatcher the429graphics