Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Andrea Tobin. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Andrea, really happy you were able to join us today and we’re looking forward to sharing your story and insights with our readers. Let’s start with the heart of it all – purpose. How did you find your purpose?
I think finding your purpose is something so many people struggle with and I constantly struggle with. What am I doing with my life, why am I here, what gives me fulfillment? Even at 38 I still question what I’m doing with my life, so I started with when do I feel the most fulfilled in life and to answer that question: I feel full when I’m comfortable, out in nature (preferably on my MTB) and with my friends and family. So the first thing I said was comfortable, and I simply mean clothing. I used to think in order to feel confident and stylish you had to be uncomfortable in restrictive clothing and high heels (which can still be fun to wear) but most of time in life we need the freedom to move and live in our clothes. I had a background in clothing design and sports apparel and was already making clothing for myself and would constantly get compliments so I decided to share the love…. and Lynt was born 🙂
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I’m Andrea, founder of Lynt, born and raised in San Diego and have a slight addiction to mountain biking. Currently I run a bike shop with my boyfriend in San Diego called Adams Ave Bicycles and it is also currently the brick and mortar for Lynt. My main focus right now is building San Diego’s off-road cycling community and selfishly growing my clothing business within that community. People have grown to love and trust my clothes because I have proved that they durable, comfortable and are functional in all areas of life. I have customers who wear Lynt to the office, on hikes, the beach, camping, living out of their van, you name it! I too do a lot of those activities so I am constantly testing my own product which I think makes Lynt a pretty unique product.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Hmm… the first and obvious thing that jumps into my head is probably getting on a bike. I was in my 20s, just went through a breakup and realized I didn’t really have any adult hobbies and definitely not any healthy ones. I did just finish fashion school but wasn’t inspired to start sewing or designing. I only really got into designing my own clothes after I started riding and finding that I wasn’t liking what was out there. So three things that really helped me with Lynt and kept me going were: 1. Having a true love for what you are doing. No one else is pushing you to do this so you must love it, otherwise any speed bump could stop you.
2. Filling a void. Are you truly doing/offering something different and you believe is needed?
3. It’s hard, so keep practicing those skills everyday. You don’t become pro at something overnight, it’s thousands of hours and mistakes until you can work quickly and efficiently. Again, back to #1, you have to love it to keep going.
How would you spend the next decade if you somehow knew that it was your last?
Yes! And this might not be the most relatable challenge but with so many things in the world flipping from brick and mortar to online it has become a constant struggle to source fabric. True, the internet allows me to source materials from places like LA, NYC, etc… but online shopping for fabric is tricky. The hand refers to how a material feels the weight, softness, stretchability and is probably the most important thing to picking out new fabrics. When my favorite local fabric shop closed, Yardage Town, I was literally heart broken. I lost access to so many of my favorite fabrics that I don’t know how to source any other way. It’s been a pretty expensive journey of ordering samples and trying different online places to order from. I think that will always be a constant struggle for Lynt. Because it’s the amazing materials that make the clothes so great.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://allthingslynt.com
- Instagram: @allthingslynt
- Facebook: @allthingslynt
Image Credits
Andrea Tobin Chuck Cofer Jeff Lancaster Jesse Salisbury
