Queen B Athletics leading from the front in female sportswear
Bríd Ryan, co-owner of Queen B Athletics, which celebrates 10 years of business, championing women’s sport and sponsoring sports bras for elite teams.
The sports apparel company, set up by Bríd Ryan and her sister Aedin, has been designing functional but fashionable female sports clothing since 2013.
The sister duo has now established a new podcast entitled “My Sister/Business Partner”, discussing a wide range of topics, including starting a business and life in general.
Speaking to The Echo, Bríd reflected on the whirlwind journey so far.
“It will be 10 years next year and we cannot believe how quickly time has passed! Our ambition has always been to provide phenomenal sportswear for women.
“We have some items for men too but the dream, day one, was to respect the efforts and talents of our female athletes by giving them the best kit possible.
“When we started to create a community behind that ambition, we couldn’t possibly have envisaged how many people felt the same way we did and now we are so proud of the incredible athletes of all levels that make up our community,” she added.
When asked what her role in the company is, Bríd explained:
“I think most small business owners know, you don’t have one single role.
“You need to be ready to get stuck in wherever you are needed.
“Both myself and my sister are directors and owners and I am primarily responsible for sales and marketing but equally I get stuck in with the planning, design, and production when necessary, and I have on many an occasion been a courier delivering orders to clients in time for Christmas or birthdays.
“You do whatever needs to be done and we are so passionate about our work - it is always a thrill to have someone try on a piece of kit and walk away excited to wear it.” Queen B Athletics currently has six staff in various locations.
“We have our shop/office in Cork, we have our pop-up shop in Dublin and we are thrilled to now also have a pop-up shop in the UK,” said Bríd.
“Our colleagues are a talented lot, it is very much a two-way street, we couldn’t possibly grow the business without them.
“I would like to think that we bring the people of Cork, and particularly the women of Cork, options without compromise,” she added.
“You can shop locally and support a Cork business knowing that you do not have to compromise on fit, function, or look when it comes to sportswear.
“It is time that we primarily shop locally for our sports kit.
“We have created jobs and we work with local athletes to develop, design, and manufacture all of our own sportswear,” Bríd explained.
“We were the first brand to sponsor sports bras for a national team, a vital piece for any female athlete.
“We will continue to put the word out that supporting local does not mean an inferior product or business.
“In fact, we believe quite the opposite.
“We all know that there is no more discerning customer than the Cork woman so we are here providing the best for them.” Looking back on the past nine years or so, Bríd said the highlight for her has been sponsoring teams of athletes.
“As a small business you hope that one day you will be in a position to give back to your community and being able to offer sponsorship to women’s teams is something we get a real thrill from,” she explained.
“The day we gave the girls from Cork Camogie their kit was amazing.
“If you had told me 10 years ago that my business would be a proud sponsor of Cork Camogie, Hockey Ireland and most recently Dublin Camogie, even now I sometimes need to pinch myself!” Looking to the future, Bríd explained that Queen B Athletics have some big plans.
“We are always developing new products and we have some really exciting things coming.
“We started a podcast called ‘My Sister/Business Partner’ in 2022 and can’t wait to get series two out there.” Bríd also teased some big developments coming soon.
“Follow us on Instagram @queenbathletics and you’ll be the first to know,” she said.
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