Allyson Felix knows how to take on a lot all at once. After all, this is the woman who took on former sponsor Nike when the brand wanted to pay her 70% less after she gave birth to her daughter — despite the fact that as the most decorated women's Olympic track and field athlete ever, of all time, in the whole history of human existence, Allyson should command respect and only respect.
Allyson retired from track and field in August 2022, intent on charting out a new path for herself and opening up her world to a multitude of journeys and paths outside of dominating the track. One of those paths is helping other parents who, like herself, want to keep their kids healthy and safe, and a step toward that is partnering with Clorox to help parents combat germs as kids head back to school.
Allyson Felix gave birth unexpectedly two months before her daughter was due. Allyson was suffering from severe preeclampsia, which sent her to the hospital to deliver her baby girl by emergency C-section. Her daughter spent time in the NICU following her delivery, an experience that many a NICU veteran parent can tell you is intense.
Allyson is a veteran of five Olympics Games. She's represented the United States at the Games in Athens in 2004 and in each subsequent Games, all the way up to the most recent Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan. She somehow found the time and mental and emotional energy to become a mother while competing at the world's highest athletic levels.
Allyson explained that like most of us, she's just found ways to make it all work. As she said, "Since becoming a mom and going back to work, I feel like there's no way to balance it all. What I really try to do is just make both coexist, whether that's blocking time on my schedule and saying, 'I'm unavailable because we're doing a family trip.'"
She goes on to add that there has also been one major key to her success as a working mother: learning to say no. As she put it, "I don't know why that's so hard for me, but as a people pleaser, that's been life-changing for me as well."
Another key component? Bringing her daughter to work and "telling her I'm so passionate about what I do, and this is what Mom does when she's at work, and what that looks like. I think that's been really good for us as well."
This leads to Allyson's partnership with Clorox. She's teamed up with the company because she knows that as a mom of a preschooler, it's important to keep kids healthy and germ-free, especially as we move into the upcoming school year. Allyson explains, "Being that I do wear so many hats and know what it's like to juggle it all … I love that Clorox is helping parents to have this clean start. I'm excited to offer tips and ways that we can keep our kids in school and keep them from getting the cold and the flu."
In fact, there's one product from Clorox that is pretty incredible: the company's disinfecting mist. Allyson sprays it on her daughter's backpack after school, which helps keep such a regularly used (and exposed to germs) item germ-free. Allyson shared that she uses the mist around the home as well, especially on her couch.
In addition to new partnerships, Allyson has been focusing more of her time on Saysh, the women's lifestyle brand that she founded alongside her brother, Wes Felix. In addition to having the opportunity to develop shoes and clothing for women, Allyson shared that one fun part of running the company is that her daughter can be with her every step of the way.
She shared, "It's my next great challenge, to grow this company. It came about organically, after I parted ways with Nike after not being fully supported during my pregnancy. I was training for my fifth Olympic Games without a footwear sponsor and venting to my brother when he asked, 'What if we did this ourselves?'"
From there, Saysh was born. As Allyson put it, "This was an opportunity where we could create change instead of asking someone else to do it."
If that's not power personified, we don't know what else is.
