Your Biggest Competitor Is Yourself: Interview With Ginger Ressler, Co-Founder of Fabletics

I recently went one-on-one with Ginger Ressler, co-founder of Fabletics.

Adam: Thanks again for taking the time to share your advice. First things first, though, I am sure readers would love to learn more about you. How did you get here? What experiences, failures, setbacks, or challenges have been most instrumental to your growth?

Ginger: My background has always been in fitness for as long as I can remember: get up and get going was the motto! As a young girl, fashion was also an immediate passion of mine and I set my sights on building something that could merge the two.

When my husband Don, our partner Adam, and I came together to build a fitness brand, there were definitely early challenges we faced. What was instrumental in getting us through that time was our teamwork and strong combined efforts to succeed. We were eager to build a positive fitness community that uplifted everybody. With that at the center, we created Fabletics. 

Building Fabletics has been a dream come true for me. To have an amazing community of employees and our VIP members is such a rewarding feeling. I’ve personally been empowered by some strong females and I want to keep paying that forward and create that environment within my own company.

Adam: How did the idea for Fabletics come together and how did you know it was worth pursuing? What advice do you have for others on how to come up with and test business ideas?

Ginger: Fabletics was a solution for a problem we saw in the industry. We didn’t feel there were high-quality activewear products that were affordable, comfortable, and designed to make all bodies look and feel their best. I knew that if I felt that way, other women likely did too. Some of the best business ideas come from personal passions. For me that was Fabletics. It was creating a line of quality, comfortable products that would suit my daily lifestyle and a lifestyle that I knew many women shared.

Adam: What are the key steps you have taken to grow your business? What advice do you have for others on how to take their businesses to the next level?

Ginger: Since Fabletics’ inception 10 years ago, we have listened to our member’s wants and created products that they want. We started with athleticwear for women that were balancing multiple activities a day and now we have expanded to several categories, including Men’s, Scrubs for the healthcare community, Swim, Any-Where and Lounge. We also partner with well-known public figures, which has been part of our DNA and growth, to give further light to our inclusive product offerings. 

My advice to anyone wanting to take their business to the next level would be to take the time to really think about what you’re creating and whether it will meet your customers’ needs and also learn to shelf things. Sometimes things that are meant to be just need the right timing. 

Adam: What are your tips on the topics of sales, marketing, and branding?

Ginger: It is important to have an authentic voice and stay true to it since it’s the most genuine link between you and your customer. For me, that means having some fun in the way we come across to our audience. While we do take our activewear seriously, we don’t take ourselves too seriously – we remember to have a good time and I believe that comes across on all our channels. Authenticity and creativity are the most powerful tools, especially in crowded industries.

Adam: In your experience, what are the defining qualities of an effective leader? How can leaders and aspiring leaders take their leadership skills to the next level?

Ginger: Leadership is knowing that you aren’t the smartest person in the room. Listen to the teams around you and have an open dialogue, sometimes even with your customers. You won’t have all the answers, and that's okay, but learn to share the room with others. 

Taking skills to the next level is rooted in timing –when to know something isn’t working anymore and not being afraid to take some risks. It can be quite stifling to stick to one thing and sometimes you’re so stuck in it that you can’t see the bigger picture. 

Adam: What is your best advice on building, leading, and managing teams?

Ginger: Knowing what to prioritize and coming up with a clear game plan. It’s important that not everything is priority number one. Pause and take a minute to decipher what needs to be done now and what can wait until later. 

When coming up with a game plan, never set unrealistic expectations because no one can do it all.t’s all accomplished through teamwork. Learn to work with others and know d where their strengths lay.

Adam: What are your three best tips applicable to entrepreneurs, executives, and civic leaders?

Ginger: Listen to others and know everyone has something to learn. 

Learn to be OK with saying no.

Understand that every opportunity, even failures, has a learning lesson. 

Adam: What are your best tips on the topics of health, fitness, and wellness?

Ginger: Health is wealth. There’s no better time to take care of you than now. Don’t push it out because if you don’t take care of you, you can’t take care of others. 

Also, don't set unrealistic goals, and know that your fitness journey is yours - it's not always the best thing to compete with others. Your biggest competitor is yourself. 

Adam: What is the single best piece of advice you have ever received?

Ginger: Someone once told me that the storm doesn't last forever. There will come a time when those challenges will be in the past and you will have learned from them. Those challenges are there for a reason.


Adam Mendler is an entrepreneur, writer, speaker, educator, and nationally recognized authority on leadership. Adam is the creator and host of the business and leadership podcast Thirty Minute Mentors, where he goes one-on-one with America's most successful people - Fortune 500 CEOs, founders of household name companies, Hall of Fame and Olympic gold medal-winning athletes, political and military leaders - for intimate half-hour conversations each week. A top leadership speaker, Adam draws upon his insights building and leading businesses and interviewing hundreds of America's top leaders as a top keynote speaker to businesses, universities, and non-profit organizations. Adam has written extensively on leadership and related topics, having authored over 70 articles published in major media outlets including Forbes, Inc. and HuffPost, and has conducted more than 500 one on one interviews with America’s top leaders through his collective media projects. Adam teaches graduate-level courses on leadership at UCLA and is an advisor to numerous companies and leaders. A Los Angeles native, Adam is a lifelong Angels fan and an avid backgammon player.

Follow Adam on Instagram and Twitter at @adammendler and on LinkedIn and listen and subscribe to Thirty Minute Mentors on your favorite podcasting app.