re—inc | Revolutionary Love Collection - May 2023
I always say that Tobin Heath means Football to me.
In all its essence, in the true voice of this sport, in its most genuine image, Tobin Heath is its core.
She embraces the meeting point of body and mind, she masters skills and vision of the game, she combines logic and art, rules and rebellion, order and genius.
Between burning passion and focused calm, unconditional loyalty and constant committment, Tobin Heath is Football in its purest form, she can still see its original spirit and she makes it live, like oxygen for a flame.
But the truth is that Tobin is even more than football.
Her mind is colorful, vibrant, driven, free. Her voice is unique, authentic, different. She keeps learning, she keeps pushing herself beyond the limits of a comfort zone, she nevers stops, she always tries, always believes.
And that's why I realized that Tobin's greatest talent is not how she plays football but how she sees it. How she sees the world. Because I learned that reality looks so much better through Tobin Heath's eyes.
Happy Birthday, Tobin Heath, you live a universe of colors and lights.
Tobin Heath | Inspiration Summit 2023
You have transitioned to also being an entrepreneur, so tell the audience... I'd love for people to hear a little bit more about re—inc, how it came about, what you're trying to acheive, and what you want people to know about it.
We were fighting against structures, and we wanted to kind of switch up that narrative. We actually love the tension of fighting against things and also fighting for things at the same time. We believe that that's where progress actually exists. Progress is never perfect, and it's really challenging but I really believe it's found in that tension of fighting for and against at the same time. And that's where we were born.
It's interesting because we went into 2019 and we were defending our World Championship because we had won in 2015, but at the same time, we were fighting for equal pay. We had sued our employer, so we had basically thrown all the chips on the table and we said, 'You know what, it's like win big or nothing.' At the time, it was a really complicated relationship. We were suing our employer and we were also playing for them and trying to win a World Championship. And you know, people always say, particularly with athletes, the whole idea of 'Just shut up and dribble.'
If the US Women's National Team had just shut up and dribbled, we would have never filed out pay equity lawsuit, we would have never achieved equal pay, we may not even have won that World Cup because who knows? I think they were tied together in everything. I think this was the destiny of the US Women’s National Team and for whatever reason, I do believe in the vehicle and the power of sport to be able to transform and to create progress, I believe that firmly. And I think we had a unique opportuniy in a country that has a lot of progress to be able to share that with the rest of the world. Global Football, we touch every part of this planet, so for some reason, we were given this torch with the US Women’s National Team and it was our job and our responsibility to carry that torch as far and as high as possible for the sake of women's equality.
And I really preface this with, the biggest kind of catalyst to this thing is, we go into the World Cup final and we win the World Cup. And in a moment where you think the whole stadium would be chanting 'USA,' the whole stadium is chanting 'Equal Pay!' And this is a global movement. If there's anything that every single person felt in that moment and can relate to, and every women can relate to, across the world, is being treated and paid unequally. That's the thing that we can all— we have a shared experience.
In that moment, it was powerful and I think it's a catalyst for everything that we're doing in reimagining the world and reimagining the status quo with our company is that we saw in that moment that women's sports isn't just about sports and it's not just about women. It's about progress, it's about equity, equality, inclusion, and we have a real opportunity to use it as a vehicle to, I believe, change the world. And I think, looking forward to what is next, what are those next world cups, I think it is in creating companies and structures that look and feel more like us, and I'm happy that I get the opportunity to kind of lead that and build one of those structures.
Tobin & Christen's photos have always told a story to me.
When they weren't particularly "public" it was all about little touches and stolen looks. It was funny and intriguing.
When they started being more comfortable with the world knowing, their photos became sweet and warm, especially when they were with each other's families, there was a sense of domesticity.
Then they started holding hands and looking at each other totally lost in one another and it was romantic and passionate, there was chemistry, attraction, confidence.
But this photo, this one is pure PEACE. And for me there are very few things more important in any kind of relationship than to feel peace. For both of them, as we learnt, self love is extremely important, feeling fine and complete by themselves first, before connecting with other people. What this photo tells in my opinion is how they both found peace and safety within themselves first and in each other later.
I feel like they came out stronger together from some of the most difficult times they lived: injuries, losses, grief, pandemic, quarantine, surgeries, fights for equality.
And here they are again, maybe through another storm, standing in the sun holding to each other, in some sort of bliss created together. Because even the strongest people deserve and need someone to lean on to restore peace. And I like to believe they found it in their love.
These are only photos and mine are only thoughts but I've always wondered what stories some images hide and it's nice to believe in something good once in awhile.
christen providing us with tobin content thank you queen
We got the mewis family photo dump we’ve all been waiting for🤩🥰