Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Abby Britt. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Abby, so great to have you with us and we want to jump right into a really important question. In recent years, it’s become so clear that we’re living through a time where so many folks are lacking self-confidence and self-esteem. So, we’d love to hear about your journey and how you developed your self-confidence and self-esteem.
This is a great question and one that I have not thought much about lately. However, it seems important to revisit where my confidence and self-esteem comes from, and even more relevant at this time of my life.
This year I will turn 50 years old. That sounds like such a big number. How has 50 years of my life flown by that fast? When I look back, it feels like yesterday when I was graduating from High School, or playing college volleyball, or getting into Physical Therapy school, or graduating from PT school, or getting my first “real” job, or marring the love of my life, or becoming a mom! And yet, here I am almost 50 years old with over 24 years of experience being a Physical Therapist, 20 years of marriage, one daughter in college and the other daughter ready to graduate from High School and starting my business at 48 years old. If I am being perfectly honest, I am more excited about this time of my life than ever before. Don’t get me wrong, I love all the pieces and parts that have led up to this point, but not all have been presented on a bed of roses.
Confidence by definition is, “the feeling of trust or belief in oneself or abilities. It is a positive attitude that involves having a sense of control in your life and knowing your strengths and weaknesses.” (Oxford Languages). When I was 10 years old my parents divorced. It was a very messy divorce and one in which I was placed in the middle of my parents’ arguments and poor communication skills for most of my life. As difficult as this was, I developed an attitude that I was not going to feel sorry for myself or let other people’s issues consume my life.
I poured my time and effort into sports and academics. I would get up early to work out or study late for my classes. I would challenge myself to feel better by physically exhausting myself throughout the day with running, jumping, agility work, core workouts and skill building. I would find myself fascinated by the way the human body operates as I was learning anatomy, kinesiology, and physiology.
In this time, I developed skills that I did not know I had, I learned that I was strong and resilient. When I failed, and yes, I failed a lot, I did not let the failure consume me. I may have had a moment of self-doubt, but that was quickly replaced by a feeling of drive and determination to make it right. I would set my sights on the next goal, working to get better at each new challenge. I would strive to improve each mistake or failure and not let that failure consume me. I looked at the failure as a way to get better and improve on myself.
I believe my confidence and self-esteem was nothing that I was born with. I believe it was an accumulation of failures and mistakes throughout my life. That seems odd to admit, but looking back, the circumstances that something did not go my way was just another way to build myself up. Not everything was easy. I did not get my way in many aspects, but the hard work and determination was necessary to develop strong self-esteem and confidence to accomplish what I have done so far in life.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
As I mentioned previously, I am a Physical Therapist and a volleyball coach. I absolutely love to help people find solutions for their physical problems, whether it be a pain solution, improving their mobility, or gaining strength. This is what drove me to become a physical therapist, helping others find solutions to what is physically limiting them. Coaching is another extension of helping people find their potential through hard work, guidance and working together as a team. There is nothing better as a coach than working all week on certain fundamentals and succeeding with a win on the court.
A few years ago, I had a player suffer a vertebral fracture. This was a non-contact injury and developed over time. She was overextending her spine through volleyball hitting, poor posture and developing muscle imbalance of her core structures. I also began to notice in my own daughters and many of their friend’s poor posture and lack of understanding of core strength. As a PT, I frequently educate my patients on the importance of core strength and being more aware of how their posture affects their function on a daily basis. This is an area that we all benefit from being educated and more aware.
I started brainstorming on how we can work on our core awareness more effectively throughout our day or during workouts. And it hit me…Proprioception!!! Proprioception is how our body knows where we are in space. For example, if you stretch your arm out and are not looking at it, your body knows your arm is outstretched by the information that your muscles are sending your brain. Proprioception is inherent in everyone, but we usually don’t even know it exists. To prove, think about putting your shirt on in the morning. You initially feel it because our proprioceptive cues are being sent to the brain.
I began to think about how we could combine the proprioceptive cues we all possess and our clothes for daily reminders of core awareness and strength. The shirt needed to be compressive and a comfortable fit for optimal skin contact with the CueLines. The CueLines are the key to CUE Apparel. The design includes the CueLines to have a tacky surface placed in strategic anatomical positions on the internal portion of the shirt. They line the abdomen, shoulder blades and lower back region. As the person wears the tank top and moves throughout their day, they will feel the gentle tug, or proprioceptive cues, from the tacky CueLines. This reminds the person to engage their core and improve their posture. And the stronger our core muscles are, the stronger we are. If our clothing can help promote core awareness, like a personal trainer or PT providing those daily reminders all day long, then the person will be stronger and more intentional about their movements. Hence, CUE Apparel was created. Finally, clothing to serve a purpose of improved core awareness and strength with intentional abdominal contraction and improved spinal alignment.
CUE Apparel comes in mens and women sizes with black, gray and white color options. It is available for purchase on the website at cueyourlife.com. Another exciting even we will be participating in is the Women’s Sports and Health Expo on February 22, 2025 at Devos Place in Grand Rapids, MI.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
I believe the three areas that have been the most impactful thus far is trying to solve the problem of reduced core awareness/strength, using the education I have to bring awareness to this problem, and providing the solution with activewear focused on core strength designed in CUE Apparel.
Many people struggle with their posture and strength. Likewise, due to smart devices and more sedentary jobs or lifestyles, we are not helping combating the inevitable flexed forward posture and weakness that comes with living in gravity. If we do not become more aware about the importance of good posture, we will inevitably have increased pain, less mobility and impaired strength. One of the easiest ways to increase our core strength is by tightening our tummy or core muscles while we perform a task. This is an isometric contraction of the abdominal structures which engages the spinal structures, too. Likewise, tightening these muscles helps to stabilize the spine, form improved muscle memory pathways and create a stronger core to be able to perform activities to our full potential.
The advice I have found most helpful during this journey is perseverance. It is very easy to give up because the task appears too difficult or too time consuming or too hard to solve. And many people will think your idea or thought is absolutely insane or crazy or not justified. It is easier to just sit back and do nothing than forge ahead with an uncertain, but totally exciting future. And, I don’t know about you, but I would rather fail at this than think “if only I had tried.”
One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?
I am always looking for amazing people with drive and passion to help empower others. Each person has a specific skill set and collaborating with others is such a powerful tool in a small business. As I look at my journey with CUE Apparel, I know this is a clothing line unlike any other that exists. However, the power of CUE needs explaining and intention. The people to help make this possible are those that are driven and can see a more expansive role that our clothes can play to improve our strength, posture and athletic performance. This may not be for everyone, but it can make a significant difference in those people looking to improve their overall core strength and ultimately their function.
The best way to contact me is through my email [email protected]
Contact Info:
- Website: https://cueyourlife.com
- Instagram: #cueyourlife
- Facebook: CUE
- Linkedin: Abby Britt
- Twitter: CUE
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