LUCY HORSELL
“It fuels me to believe we can see a whole generation grow up without the worries we had.”
Meet Lucy Horsell, one of two co-founders of PEBE, a company that designs and creates innovative performance sports bras, tested and ranked #1 on the market for movement control. PEBE works with schools, universities, sports organisations, and the military to deliver performance-led sessions focused on the impact of breast biomechanics on athletes from all walks of life.
“My dad has given me the confidence to go out and solve a problem that needed solving. He has brought me up with an instilled self-belief and love of sport that has made me want to share that passion with others.”
“I have a background in school sports wear development , focussing on creating kit that helped girls feel comfortable in sport with the goal to keep them active. I realised that sports bras were a challenge: the market is full of bad products, confusing sizing, and nobody was talking about how and where to get help.
I was always sporty at school but don't have big boobs and didn't grow up with the pressures of social media/the gym aesthetic.
Now, I live on Brighton seafront and we work with the London Marathon. Every day I see women ‘make do’ with bad kit, compromising their bodies just to ‘fit the mould’.
Whenever we fit women properly, we have a real ‘OMG’ moment from them. We get thanks, tears, hugs... and all over a sports bra that we created. At PEBE, our bras rank #1 for performance, which is pretty embarrassing for the global brands.
That’s what fuels me. The belief that we can see a whole generation grow up without the worries we have had.”
COMMERCIAL OPPORTUNITIES IN SPORT
“Seeing female athletes being heard — and rewarded — for sharing their stories is a really exciting shift in the commercial space. We need to reward them for being brave, and speaking about their experiences. We also should pay the people who support them properly, and not make everything about brand and data.
At PEBE, we're partnering with some fantastic clubs that are respecting and valuing the education we're delivering and the importance of helping women find the time to get fitted. We recently partnered with Bristol Sport - Bears and City FC.
Education is at the heart of what we do. We work with schools, universities, sport and the military to deliver performance-led sessions focusing on the impact of breast biomechanics on athletes of all different walks of life.
Our goal is to reinstate sports bras as a critical piece of kit - not a ‘nice to have if you have time’. The research is clear: performance is affected and injury risk increases. We can’t keep ignoring it.
We can offer discounts to help, but brands like us can't send a box of 50 bras for free to a club in exchange for a linkedin post and using a logo. The only way we could do that is by making rubbish product (probably in Small, Medium and Large), and then we're back at square one.
We need funding to be able to better support women in sports.”
ADVICE FOR YOUNG WOMEN IN SPORT
“Come and join the most fantastic group of strong-willed, forward thinking group of women I've ever met! Its tough, it's gross, it's unbelievably bang-your-head-against-the-wall frustrating at times...but it's also changing and being a part of that is fantastic!”
“See the challenge, design the best, go out and have difficult conversations”
PEBE
PEBE is on a mission to redefine how women experience movement. Founded on the belief that education, fit, and performance should come before branding, PEBE designs high-quality sports bras backed by biomechanics research — and delivers fitting support to athletes of all levels. From schools and sports clubs to elite teams and the military, PEBE is championing a new standard where women are seen, supported, and never expected to "make do."
