This Rittenhouse Athletic Wear Brand Champions Women in Combat Sports
Alchemize Fightwear offers gear for jiujitsu, wrestling, MMA and boxing.
Maya Nazareth, founder of Alchemize Fightwear / Photography by Aaron Richter
Maya Nazareth fell in love with Brazilian jiujitsu when she was 17. Though she found that learning to subdue opponents built confidence, she quickly realized there were major problems with women’s fightwear.
“Jiujitsu made me a stronger version of myself, but the gear I was wearing did not make me feel fierce,” she says. “It’s a high-contact sport, and your clothes are being constantly pulled, which can lead to exposure. I had issues with rash guards riding up and leggings that were see-through or wouldn’t stay on my waist.”
That’s why, a few years into training, the University of Delaware grad spent the summer of 2020 designing better apparel for women athletes, thanks to the university’s Horn Entrepreneurship pre-accelerator program. The result? Rash guards that were longer and outfitted with a silicone band on the bottom to keep them in place — and the launch of Alchemize Fightwear.
A long-sleeve protective rash guard and grappling spats by Alchemize Fightwear
Today, her Rittenhouse-based brand is no longer focused solely on jiujitsu; it offers gear for women wrestlers, MMA fighters and boxers. There are rash guards differentiated by belt color, sports bras, spats, grappling shorts, and singlets — these last double-lined (so, not transparent!) and featuring a higher neckline and a built-in sports bra. For off-the-mat moments, there are hoodies, leggings, crew-neck tops, sweats and beanies.
A cropped sweatshirt by Alchemize Fightwear
In addition to creating combat gear, Alchemize hosts events for both new and experienced fighters, like weekend grappling camps across the country and free self-defense workshops at its headquarters. It also has donated a portion of sales to organizations dedicated to ending violence against women, including Center City-based Women Against Abuse and the Domestic Abuse Project of Delaware County.
Alchemize’s mission of elevating and empowering women combat athletes has seen major reach these past four years. In 2021, Nazareth was selected as one of Philadelphia Business Journal’s Inno Under 25 honorees. The label currently boasts tens of thousands of clients around the world.
“You can be feminine and a badass at the same time,” Nazareth says, “which is why we strive to help women go from fearful to fierce and push themselves confidently in every dimension of their lives.”
Published as “Ring Leader: Girl Power” in the July 2024 issue of Philadelphia magazine.
