We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Stephanie Giacalone. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Stephanie below.
Stephanie, looking forward to learning from your journey. You’ve got an amazing story and before we dive into that, let’s start with an important building block. Where do you get your work ethic from?
I think work ethic is a nurtured characteristic. It’s impossible for work ethic to be nature because nature refers to how genetics influence an individual’s personality. Nurture refers to how their environment (including relationships and experiences) impacts their development, which is exactly how my work ethic was developed.
From a young age my parents did their best to show me the value of working hard. I grew up in a well-off household where we never struggled over money and enjoyed annual family vacations. Both of my parents worked corporate jobs, but still made it a priority to spend time with me and encourage me to pursue any of my ideas and talents.
My parents put me in cheerleading, dance, and gymnastics. Gymnastics was the sport that I enjoyed the most and spent 10 years of my life developing social skills in a team setting, self discipline, time management, and motivation.
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?
Brooklyn Lifting Co started in my garage gym in November of 2020. Throughout quarantine I spent countless hours lifting in my garage alone. I found that my gym equipment wasn’t holding up. My belts were folding and the velcro wore out quickly. Noticing that most big box brands had these issues, I decided to cut open a bunch of belts. I realized they were all made of the same cheap materials. It became my “sense of purpose” to develop a product that was not only functional and durable, but also cute!
I created numerous prototypes and tested them on family and friends. Within a couple months I had the product that I offer today. It is a hybrid straight belt – 3 and 4 inch width options. Hybrid means there is a leather insert for extra stability and a velcro closure for ease of tightening the belt. All belts are fully customizable which means you can literally build it from scratch – choose fabric, add word embroidery, or add logo embroidery.
Currently I have 4 competitive USAW Team USA athletes who are battling it out for 2024 Tokyo Olympics spots who wear my belts, as well as numerous Team USA international competitive weightlifters. I also have one CrossFit Games athlete who sports my gear!
Aside from belts, I also offer custom weightlifting singlets in 3 silhouette options, wrist wraps, barbell sleeves, chalk bags, and shoe bags.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Looking back, the top 3 qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful to my journey come from my years of work experience in the NYC Fashion Industry and Fitness Industry.
1. My ability to sell came from my position as a Sales Executive at G-III Apparel Group. I worked for Calvin Klein Performance for 5 years where I started as an Assistant and worked my way up to a Sales Executive. Working under the President of CKP taught me how to manage clients, multi million dollar accounts, sales presentations and pitches, and close deals. The President may have been hard on me at times but without her Type-A personality constantly micromanaging me, I would not be the tenacious Founder I am today. My ability to source materials and produce goods came from my position at United Legwear where I worked on brands such as Puma, Rockport, and Happy Socks. I worked as a Receptionist, but also assisted the Production Team who taught me how to negotiate and build relationships with factories.
2. My entrepreneur drive was sparked through my time working as a Membership Advisor and Personal Trainer at Equinox. Both roles were commission based and forced me to put my sales and networking skills to work in order to afford rent every month. To say the least, it was a hustle, but it helped me recognize that a salary position was not the only way to make money. In fact, I realized commission work was almost better because there was no cap to what you could make.
3. My creativity was cultivated by my mom and dialed in by my university. My mother was a fantastic artist which sparked my interest at a very young age. I remember entering art contests and always winning. It gave me the confidence I needed to apply to art school. I attended Montclair State University and graduated with a BA in Fine Arts and Fashion Studies.
Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?
I am definitely looking to partner with athletes who partake and/or compete in CrossFit, weightlifting, and bodybuilding. The athlete must be active on social media and interactive with their followers. The content they put out to the world should be positive and fitness related. Ideally I’d like for them to have a good following or show they have a loyal following that will engage with the products and brands they influence.
I’d love to have athlete ambassadors for the brand who can help spread awareness of the brand.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://brooklynliftingco.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/brooklynliftingco
- Facebook: facebook.com/brooklynliftingco
