In 2011, PRETTY GIRLS SWEAT founder Aeshia DeVore Branch heard statistics that changed her life forever.
As a new mom, she was mystified to learn how childhood obesity disproportionately affects minority communities:
African American and Hispanic children ages 2-19 are 30% more likely to be overweight or obese than their white counterparts. (*National Institute of Health, 2021.)
Aeshia decided it was her mandate to help change those unhealthy and startling facts.
Leaving behind a successful career in TV production and tapping into her network of celebrity talent and influencers — this young parent of three daughters — gave birth to something else: The PRETTY GIRLS SWEAT lifestyle movement.
Leveraging the knowledge that mothers make 80% of the healthcare decisions in their households, Aeshia’s mission was to prove that Fitness is Fun for women at every life stage: teen and college years, pre-and during pregnancy, throughout motherhood & beyond.
PRETTY GIRLS SWEAT helps women establish healthy lives for the greater good. Healthy women empowered with fitness and wellness knowledge can help stop the cycle of obesity. #SweatSisterhood
PRETTY GIRLS SWEAT (PGS) — a wellness company always focused on inclusion and celebrating its 12th anniversary — knew the best way to make this vision a reality was to make fitness fun, accessible, and affordable. So PGS, over a decade, has perfected the art of making fitness and healthy eating easy and enjoyable — to help women get fit and love it for their entire life.
Originating with celebrity-driven live events and online content — PGS has evolved through consumer demand to include an engaging multi-channel content platform (growing 5% each month!), popular custom products and sell-out quarterly subscription boxes, virtual events — and the popular live events where it all began. For example, in 2019, over 1,000 women paid to attend the annual PGS fest, with many flying in from other cities.
The media has been intrigued by the PGS phenomenon, with generous press coverage from ABC, Shape, Essence, BET, PopSugar, to name a few.
MEET the FOUNDER: Aeshia
(pronounced AY-EE-shuh)
A passionate and self-funded fitness & healthy lifestyle entrepreneur, Aeshia built PRETTY GIRLS SWEAT from the ground up through DIY, determination, discipline, and willpower.
She has contributed her expertise to former First Lady Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move!” fight for childhood health and obesity prevention and is regularly called upon by brands such as Nike — working with their Game Growers initiative, designed to encourage girls to stay involved in team sports. (Girls are 150% more likely to drop out of team sports than boys by the age of 14, and by age 17, over half of girls will quit playing sports altogether.)
Prior to PRETTY GIRLS SWEAT, Aeshia spent a decade in the TV industry — from ABC, to senior producer at global content company RadicalMedia — producing award-winning programs such as Sundance Channel’s Iconoclasts (featuring Venus Williams, Dave Chappelle, Maya Angelou, Deepak Chopra, Brian Grazer, Alicia Keys, Lorne Michaels and countless others.)
Aeshia was a committed athlete in high school (varsity track, volleyball, and basketball), is a proud member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., and was signed to Wilhelmina Models during her time in NYC.
Aeshia is a loving wife celebrating 19 years and a devoted basketball mom of three girls. The girls have a true passion for the game and have won 7 championships with their AAU organization in less than a year. In her free time, Aeshia enjoys amplifying girls’ basketball as a social media manager for her daughter’s AAU teams, consuming inspirational books and podcasts, and enjoying good food with great friends.
Making Fitness Fun Since 2011
2011
FITNESS IS FUN
Aeshia launches PGS on September 24th, 2011 with 100 Girls in New York, NY. Keri Hilson becomes the first SWEATlebrity Ambassador
2012
SWEAT SISTERHOOD
Aeshia discovers that women make 80% of healthcare decisions and targets female college students to be health advocates before they transition into adulthood — forming PGS on-campus teams.
2013
LET’S MAKE IT OFFICIAL
Demand grows for PGS tees, and the mantra PRETTY GIRLS SWEAT is trademarked. The first t-shirt is sold to the public and featured on ABC.
2014
REACHING NEW HEIGHTS
PGS partners with BET, Girl Scouts, and Essence to host wellness events — garnering 5.6 million social media impressions.
2015
PGS MOVES TO ATL
With popular apparel, inspiring content, and transformational wellness experiences, Aeshia brings Pretty Girls Sweat LLC to Atlanta, GA.
2016
BRIDGING THE GAP
Corporate companies begin hiring PGS to engage multicultural women with their products through meaningful wellness events.
2017
CHANGING THE FACE OF FITNESS
#PGSFEST launches with 500 paid guests, honoring 6 SWEATlebrities while fostering 90+ diverse wellness influencer partnerships.
2018
INVEST IN HEALTH!
PGS 501c3 nonprofit SWEAT MAKES CENTS reaches a milestone of over $180,000 in donations for childhood obesity prevention programs.
2019
YOU GROW GIRL
1,000 women paid to attend the annual #PGSFEST, with many flying in from other cities.
2020
DIGITAL DANCE PARTY
During the pandemic, PGS pivots to make fitness fun at home for sweat sisters.
2021
10TH ANNIVERSARY!
PGS launches a new and improved website to make fitness fun, affordable, and accessible for busy women so they can look and feel their best.
OUR TEAM
GIVING BACK
Relentless in the mission to end childhood obesity for future generations — PGS donates a portion of profits to their 501(c)3 nonprofit SWEAT MAKES CENTS.
SWEAT MAKES CENTS trains young health leaders and wellness journalists at 30 college campuses nationwide and awards scholarships.
Over 500 girls have successfully completed the 9-month SWEAT MAKES CENTS programs, impacting more than 20,000 peers—and are on track to building healthy families while fulfilling the SMC mission they began in college.