GREENVILLE, SC (FOX Carolina) -Angel Johnson is a former South Carolina Air Force Capitan empowering men and women across the country. She served overseas for various missions in Afghanistan, Korea, and Kuwait. She added that her time in the military taught her life skills that have helped her create a successful business during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Her idea to begin a fitness line started with an embarrassing moment at the gym.
“I experienced an embarrassing moment at the Buckley Air Force Base gym. One of my friends came up to me and said that he could see through my activewear, and that was a horrifying experience,” Johnson said.
After that moment, she wanted to make a difference by creating squat-proof leggings for women. She designed the logo as a power button, and the overlay represents strength and versatility. The name Iconi means “I can overcome, nothing’s impossible.” She launched her brand in 2020, shortly before Covid-19 shut down the country.
“I was freaking out because I was going to build my brand through gyms, and then I had to pivot to social media. It was very stressful for me,” she added.
That’s when she turned to social media to help promote her business, using videos of her at-home workouts to inspire others. Success came in November of 2020 when she discovered that her brand was listed as part of Oprah’s top favorite things. A huge accomplishment for her, considering she had only been in business for 11 months. As her business grew, she created men’s activewear and added more sizes to her line to make it more inclusive.
“We are tired of men and women having unsupportive, transparent, and boring activewear. We are inclusive. Our size range goes from small to 4XLarge she says.
Although her activewear is making others feel more confident in their workouts, each piece of clothing goes towards a good cause. Her company donates a portion of her proceeds to non-profits across South and North Carolina.
“We donated to My Sisters House in Charleston, and in North Carolina, we donated to the Healings Wings Foundation. We also provide a ten percent discount to service members as well.”
Although the road to success has been a challenge she is seeing the fruits of her labor. Since starting her business, she has sold nearly half a million dollars in apparel, and she is just getting started.
“It feels surreal. Even when I see people at the grocery store, and I see them wearing my leggings, I’m screaming on the inside. It just makes me feel good as a small business owner. I’m trying to cherish all these moments. Proving that anyone can overcome anything and nothing is impossible with hard work and dedication.”
For more information on Johnson’s company can visit https://iconi.com/collections/leggings
Copyright 2023 WHNS. All rights reserved.