Charlotte Bowens: From a Health Crisis to 50-Mile Ultramarathon Finisher—Creating VestaPak for the Plus-Size Community in Outdoor Sports

Tough Girl Podcast

Charlotte Bowens: Founder of Conscious Gear and trailblazing innovator behind VestaPak, the world's first plus-size hydration vest. From university administrator to entrepreneur, she fearlessly reshapes the outdoor industry.

Motivated by a personal health scare, she champions inclusivity and empowers the plus-size community to embrace an active lifestyle.

Founding Story: A Transformation and a Vision

It all started with a health scare that jolted Charlotte's life. An unexpected visit to the emergency room revealed high blood pressure, high cholesterol, severe depression, borderline diabetes, and a stark classification of "morbidly obese."

The avalanche of this diagnosis could have overwhelmed anyone, but not Charlotte.

Charlotte made a decision that changed her life's trajectory. Fueled by fear and a fierce determination to regain control, she took her first steps towards transformation at the gym. The journey was slow and arduous. On that initial day, she could walk for only 2 minutes at a modest 2 mph on the treadmill. But that wasn't the end; it was the beginning.

Every day, Charlotte persevered, placing one foot in front of the other, pushing through every personal limit, and defying her own expectations. Sixteen months later, she crossed the finish line of her first 50-mile ultramarathon—an extraordinary feat of physical and mental strength. However, this triumph was also bittersweet.

Charlotte felt proud of her incredible achievement and continued her ultramarathoning journey but as she looked for outdoor gear and apparel to accommodate her taller, curvier, and bigger body, she encountered a glaring problem. The market offered limited options that catered to her specific needs if any at all. Existing outdoor gear companies had overlooked a significant portion of the population, neglecting to provide functional and fashionable products for those with bigger bodies.

It was during the challenging times of the pandemic that Charlotte made a solemn vow: if no one else was going to do it, she would. Conscious Gear was born, emerging as a symbol of resilience and innovation. VestaPak was nominated in October 2023 by USA Today as one of the top ten products for outdoor adventurers and is currently sold at REI.

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Show notes:

• Who is Charlotte
• Her outdoor adventure journey which started with Girl Scouts
• Selling Girl Scout cookies to fund camping trips
• Discusses her academic background in maths and science and her career in research administration
• Her experiences as a teenage single mother of three, which led to a sedentary lifestyle
• Moving to Arizona and falling in love with trail running and ultra marathons
• Reassessing her lifestyle due to high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and clinical depression
• Prioritising health and fitness, despite feeling overwhelmed as a single mother
• First experiences at the gym
• Being scared and unsure but determined to make a change
• Beginning to see improvements in her stamina and speed, which bolstered her confidence
• Completing her first 50-mile ultra marathon
• Improving her physical health and also restoring her desire to live
• Her transformative journey from depression to feeling alive
• Initially being sceptical about ultramarathons
• Completing a self-supported hundred-miler
• Looking forward to participating in longer races, including a 250-mile event in Phoenix and a 500-mile race in Tennessee
• The addictive nature of long-distance running
• Challenges in finding gear
• Going to thrift stores and DIY solutions using a library sewing machine
• Limited options for bigger bodies in the athletic clothing market
• The birth of the business, Conscious Gear
• Facing disruptions in ultrarunning due to the pandemic
• Creating hydration vests motivated by a lack of representation and options
• Being nominated as one of the top 10 outdoor products in 2023
• Increasing engagement from women, particularly Black women
• Addressing inclusivity in athletic wear
• Running community and personal preferences
• Running philosophy and training
• The importance of starting with what you can manage
• Helping the body adapt and grow stronger over time
• Respect the body's limits and trust the process of improvement
• A powerful moment while trail running in Michigan
• Her deep spiritual connection to running in nature
• The spiritual aspect of running and its connection to her identity
• Societal expectations that often lead to feelings of needing to do everything alone
• Her 50-mile race experience
• Physical exhaustion but remains motivated by her progress
• Experiencing an emotional breakthrough at the 48-mile mark
• Expressing gratitude for being alive and capable of such an achievement
• How her experience of running 50 miles instills a sense of resilience and determination
• Focusing on one mile at a time instead of the overall distance
• The challenges of balancing running with personal and professional commitments
• Acknowledging the necessity of hiring help for her business to prioritise her running
• Following a "me first" schedule, focusing on her well-being
• The peace and joy running brings her
• Letting go of less important commitments
• The importance of self-prioritisation especially for women
• Final words of wisdom

Social Media

About Conscious Gear - “It's simple we believe that bigger bodies deserve to be the center of design and not an afterthought. We consciously design outdoor gear and apparel for bigger-bodied endurance athletes and outdoor enthusiasts so they can live a healthier lifestyle and achieve maximum athletic performance.”

Website: conscious-gear.com

Instagram: @ConsciousGear1

Tiktok: @consciousgear

Facebook: @ConsciousGearStore

X/Twitter: @ConsciousGear