As fitness wear becomes a trend, it’s time to shift our attention to one of the pioneers of this business.
Pinch Fitness was Cebu’s first-ever homegrown active brand that was born five years ago, and it’s curious to know how it all started.
Remember that time when we actually had to go to stores to buy clothes since online shopping still wasn’t a thing? Take that memory a step further to times when you had no choice but to add things to your wish list since most branded outfits were a bit too expensive.
This was the simple (and very relatable!) reason why the Cusi sisters, Tippi and Hannah decided to give Cebu more affordable activewear.
Even back then, we were already into fitness but the problem was when you go to Nike or Adidas, it was very expensive… so we started from scratch because cute activewear helps, in all honesty. When you feel confident with what you wear, you work out better.
Tippi Cusi
And thus, Pinch Fitness was born. Named after their family name (“Cusi”, a Bisaya word for “pinch”), Pinch Fitness slowly paved the way to cute activewear you can buy at affordable prices.
Real women: The inspiration behind the brand
Just as relatable as their reason for creating their business was, Tippi and Hannah also draw out inspirations from real women starting with themselves. Outside Pinch Fitness, the Cusi sisters are busy bees who try their best to insert fitness in their daily routine—sounds familiar?
Tippi is a 36-year-old old obstetrician-gynecologist, a wife, and a mother of two toddlers, whereas Hannah is a 31-year-old dog mom-entrepreneur handling an American-Chinese cloud kitchen called Oriental Express while helping around with their family’s real estate business.
Despite their busy schedules, both sisters stay fit in their own ways after reaping the benefits of exercise first-hand. Tippi enjoys yoga while Hannah does weight lifting and rock climbing.
Profession aside, fitness is a big part of our life, but we don’t make it our whole life. We try to be pretty balanced. Our health and wellness is part of our life but we also include other things we’re into, like we still eat a lot of different food and we don’t restrict ourselves. We work out so we can eat. And that’s what Pinch fitness is, we want to pinch women to be real women who live their lives while trying to stay fit themselves and their families.
Hannah Cusi
The brand continued to draw out inspiration from real women around them—their friends, families, and even their customers. Every time they did shoots pre-pandemic, they never hired actual models, they never edited their photos, and they always showed rawness-the body rolls, the belly folds, the pimples, and all things that make women “real”. From time to time, they also share photos of their actual customers, some of them turned to friends. You’ll also catch a glimpse of the Cusi sisters in some of their posts, being the main women behind the brand.
Ever since we began, we have always supported a “real woman”… We want to show that no matter what shape you’re in, fitness is a journey for you… We want to show real women in all the different sizes women come in.
Hannah Cusi
This value for “realness” can also be easily seen in their products. When looking for inspiration, the sisters think of an everyday woman’s lifestyle—particularly the busy bees who cannot change often and are always on the go.
Even their personal favorites are those that cater the most to their respective schedules. Hannah prefers the biker shorts, lush leggings, lioness bra, and the tie-back crop top as they’re easy to wear, perfect for the hot weather, and give the ample support needed for her activities. Tippi recommends the biker shorts and the lioness bra, both of which are so easy to wear that it quickly became the outfit she wears so often.
Collaboration: A value that goes beyond their business
Collaboration plays a big role in Pinch Fitness’ success. Due to how close they are as siblings, Hannah and Tippi easily balanced their respective weaknesses and strengths. Tippi works on procurement and logistics while Hannah works on the digital and marketing aspect of the business.
However, like all families, the Cusi sisters have their fair share of arguments while running the business together, mostly coming from miscommunication. As they described, the downside is familiarity and the inevitability of taking things personally. The upside is like most siblings, arguments are easily dropped and forgotten. Despite all these, they manage to keep their business afloat with their unique collaboration.
Hannah and Tippi also mentioned the special gift of the local community which they only discovered after experiencing it. They emphasized how joining events such as bazaars and meeting people pre-pandemic has helped them grow as a brand and as one of the reasons their name gained more support. In their terms, “your local community is your starting point and your lifeblood.”
Their value for collaboration extends to their message to people who want to start their own wellness journey. Aside from consistency and balance, the Cusi sisters advise having journey partners—someone who will go on a wellness journey with you. Just like how Hannah and Tippi push each other to stay fit, they believe that working out with someone makes the experience easier and more enjoyable.
It helps that you have people to work out with… It’s important to have people around you who do the same thing so you can push each other… It’s supposed to be something you want to do.
Tippi Cusi