Meet Nika Cleaver of JIV Athletics in Downtown

Today we’d like to introduce you to Nika Cleaver.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Nika. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I’ve always been a dreamer and an achiever in which I inherited both from my mom. She taught me how to set my mind to something specific, have a clear vision of what it looks like, and then take the proper steps towards achieving it. One “specific” encompassed owning my own company. I always knew this would happen within my journey of life, I just didn’t know when, how, or what it would be.

Looking back, I realize to know the “when”, “how”, or “what”, you have to experience LIFE. The ups, the downs, and everything in between. Experiencing LIFE is what sparks certain dreams, ambition, passion, and most important, your PURPOSE. Growing up I was a total tomboy. I had a love for sports but also a crazy romance with the world of fashion.

Sports:
I loved the way the exercise made me feel mentally and physically. It was a healthy outlet for me during my adolescent years and really taught me a lot about myself. I realized I loved pushing my limits and would have inner challenges to test my capabilities. For example, before a swim meet, I would say to myself – “If you come in 1st place, one day all your dreams will come true”. Yes, this is a lot of pressure to put on yourself at a young age, but I weirdly loved it!

Sometimes I would achieve my goals and other times I wouldn’t. But that was never a failure to me. In fact, when I wouldn’t come in first I would get excited because I knew I had something to work towards. This is how I taught myself to set goals and be relentless until they were achieved. I still do this inner dialogue today.

Fashion: As a young girl I loved flipping through fashion magazines because it gave me the opportunity to envision myself within the specific scenery. It was literally an out of body experience! I would imagine myself in beautiful garments or arm and arm with a tall, dark, and handsome man … I was obsessed with the Europeans!

Today I realize fashion was a creative outlet for me to dream beyond my current atmosphere or environment. I was 12 wanting to be 30. I knew there was a whole big world out there and couldn’t wait to get my hands on it!

How I got to where I am today:
Well, that’s a reeeaalllly long story but for now, let’s fast forward to my Los Angeles fashion days. At the age of 21 my boyfriend, Tommy Cleaver (now husband) and I moved to LA to work with a fashion company specializing in denim. It was Korean owned and we were hired to run their sales department.

Tommy ran all international accounts (imports/exports) and I oversaw the domestic side of sales. We were stoked on the opportunity but had no idea what we were in for. We soon realized the ENTIRE office spoke Korean and the factory spoke Spanish. English was a hard language to come by so you can imagine how heavily they relied on us to be the face of many important business discussions. Within the first week we were ready to quit but having the responsibility of high rent and bills to pay, we were forced to stay and teach ourselves EVERYTHING.

We even learned enough Korean slang to get insider information from all the Korean interns! Every day we were thrown into new uncomfortable challenges but were determined to succeed. Our boss was a ruthless 5’ Korean woman who scared the living bejeezus out of us! She led with the old “scare tactic”. The office would hear her heels click-clack as she walked through the hall which gave everyone enough time to tidy up their desks and act like they were “really busy”. This avoided any unnecessary confrontation.

One day I was sent on a red-eye to New York so I could take care of a failing account which was the bread and butter of our company. She told me that if I didn’t mend the relationship and come back with a big purchase order they wouldn’t be able to afford me. Challenge accepted! Here I was, 21 years old with “Director of Domestic Sales” on my business card. I had zero experience but a shit load of ambition and confidence. Someone challenged me and I wanted to deliver. One thing I gained from all my high school work experience was relationship building.

My goal was to make this account my new best friend and that I did! I not only walked away with new friends but also a large purchase order. As a couple years went by, Tommy and I helped launch new brands and grew their business. Tommy flourished on the design and creative side while I became extra savvy on the business end. We made one badass team! It was then that we knew we wanted to start our own fashion line but had to gain more credibility.

With credibility in mind, I ended up getting my fashion degree from FIDM and business degree from Pepperdine University. While going to school I worked full time with fashion houses on Rodeo Drive. I always thought I wanted to create a high fashion lifestyle brand but quickly changed my mind when moving back to San Diego to work for and athletic apparel company. This is when I discovered a niche market that had to be addressed!

The birth of JIV Athletics:
The athletic apparel company was very different than all the brands I had ever worked with. I fell in love with their culture. Not only because they believed in an ethical work/life balance but they also believed in having a conscious carbon footprint. Also, instead of smoking cigarettes on their break because of high-stress levels, all my co-workers were either on hikes or taking yoga classes within the downstairs gym. Working for this company set my soul on fire because it allowed me to do my two favorite things – Sports and Fashion!

With so much opportunity to work out, about 80% of the women would either wear spandex leggings to work or have them on hand in case of an impromptu class. This is when I discovered the rapid amount of women struggling with what we all know as, Camel Toe – (a.k.a frontal rise). Cameltoe became a common topic amongst my peers and we all had creative ways of covering it up. Whether we wore longer shirts, pulled the crotch of our spandex down, or the classic tie the long sleeved shirt around your waist… it became a “thing”… a very frustrating “thing”.

Then, one day an important woman stood up in front of our company and gave a presentation. There it was staring me and the audience dead in the face – a camel toe! It was at that moment I thought, this can’t be “locker room talk” anymore. I wanted to come up with a solution and bring it to the masses. That night, Tommy, my mom and I drew up our business plan.

Connecting the dots in life is one of the most magical things to me. So many people I have met, experiences I have shared, and life lessons that were taught have brought me to this very moment in life. Today I am 30 years old and living out my PURPOSE of inspiring others to chase their dreams!

Has it been a smooth road?
We have definitely had our bumps in the road but it has only made it more fun and interesting for us! If everything went smoothly it would get boring. For example, one of the “bumps” was finding the right manufacturer. We wanted to start out with our product being ethically made here in the USA.

The first company we ended up working with talked a pretty picture but what we ended up with wasn’t so pretty. We got ripped off and were left with horribly made samples. Fortunately, that forced us to our current manufacturer who is in Los Angeles. They produce incredible quality and we have built a trusting relationship with them. I’ve learned it’s important to look at the bumps as great lessons rather than setbacks.

So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the JIV Athletics story. Tell us more about the business.
Our company is called JIV Athletics and we specialize in athletic undergarments. We have matching breathable/wick-able sets of sports bra’s and athletic thongs. What sets us apart from the rest?

All our garments are:
(1) tag-less
(2) roll-free
(3) Our athletic thong PREVENTS CAMEL TOE within your everyday spandex!

All our fabric is Italian made and our elastics are from Japan. The combination of our luxury fabrics, design, and assembly provides the ultimate comfort. We have been told our garments feel like butter on your skin! All packaging comes from a company in Irvine called Earthpack. We love working with them because they also value the ethical and sustainable side of sourcing.

There are two things we are most proud of as a company:
(1) We are thrilled to deliver a quality solution to camel toe for women around the globe. We want every woman feeling confident in their everyday spandex!

(2) We will be giving back our time and a percentage of proceeds to a non-profit called, “The Real Girl Lifestyle” founded by Sarah Anderson. Her non-profit creates a safe space for girls to share their triumphs, explore their struggles, and develop REAL confidence. LOVE IT!!

How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
Social media platforms are slowly becoming more and more the brand’s hub rather than the actual brand website. There will be A LOT more sales volume through these platforms especially due to the “one touch” method and “swipe up” feature. Websites will slowly fade out and social media platforms will dominate the market.

I believe there will always be a market for physical brick n mortar’s, however, retailers will get more savvy and efficient with their square footage. Department stores will slowly shrink in size due to brands seeing more opportunity within their direct to consumer business model.

This will, of course, entail eComm and give more focus on pop up shops.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.jivathletics.com
• Email: info@jivathletics.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jiv_athletics/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pg/jivathletics/about/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/JIV_Athletics

Image Credit:
Cole Moser

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