Meet the architect designing the perfect performance underwear
How Sarah Weihman is helping active women adventure with a foundation that doesn’t give up, ride up, or fall down
A former three-sport Division I athlete, Sarah Weihman channels that same fierce drive into performance, design, and, as it turns out, underwear.
For most of her adult life, she relied on the same brand of performance sport underwear to support her active lifestyle running, hiking, and biking. But by 2017, the brand had changed the fabric and cut, and newer pairs just weren’t, well, cutting it.
The spark
“I was on a big hiking trip with my family and I noticed that this newer pair was riding up. I was so annoyed, I finally looked at the brand’s review section and saw that their underwear had two and a half stars. A lot of women [in the comments] were angry, calling out the change.”
Sarah tried other brands, all equally disappointing. Some weren’t designed well, and others didn’t stay in place. Friends didn’t have brands they liked either.
But Sarah had been an architect for over 20 years. She had a natural mindset: if I can draw it, someone can build it.
“My instinct was to go to the makers. I started calling mills and factories in the US, looking for partners. I eventually ended up with a designer who had worked in the intimates space, as well as for NASA and the US military. She had this very technical experience and came up with our first prototype.”
Paradis Sport, named for the first woman to climb Mont Blanc, was ready to hit the ground running.
Undercover heroes
When the pandemic hit in 2020, Sarah’s alma mater reached out. The Dartmouth athletic season had been sidelined, and the school hoped to support their athletes with professional development. Would Sarah be open to talking to them about her career as an architect?
“A lot of the women on these calls were more interested in this side project than my architecture work. They ended up becoming my first interns and fit testers.”
One year and eight prototypes later, Paradis Sports launched its first product: a seamless bikini brief.
Grassroots growth
The Los Angeles manufacturer had a high minimum order requirement - 1,000 pairs per size.
“I had to order 3,000 pairs of underwear to start. And I didn’t really have a plan for how to sell them.”
Sarah started off sponsoring nearby trail races, setting up a booth, and just talking to people about what they were doing. Word quickly spread.
“We DM'd the top half of the US Open tennis draw. And so many of these athletes - in the middle of the tournament! - got back to me. Saying yes, we need something better. It was very affirming and a reminder that we're providing something that women need and want.”
But some of the biggest growth came from the brand’s ambassador program. The first group of interns suggested a formalized program, offering free pairs and discount codes to coaches and athletes in exchange for feedback and social media reviews.
“Dartmouth has a strong alumni support network, so every athlete I reached out to agreed to be part of our ambassador program. They were so instrumental in developing products and getting the word out. They were just as responsible for growing this brand as I am.”
Hitting a snag
As Paradis Sport grew, the brand introduced new styles, including a Seamless thong and natural fiber line. The Seamless collection quickly became a best-seller, and last spring, started to sell out. With an order set to arrive in May, Paradis started taking pre-orders from customers and retailers.
Ten boxes – 2,000 pairs – arrived at Sarah’s home address, where she was still personally managing inspection and inventory.
“I got into it, and they were not to specifications. The leg opening was off on the first 5% that I checked.”
Each piece is measured in 17 different places, so it took Sarah two weeks of 15-hour days to inspect and measure everything. Ultimately, 91% of them were off spec.
“Luckily, we had that 9% which was JUST enough to fulfil pre-orders. But we sold out from that in two weeks.”
The manufacturing facility had done two successful production rounds prior, so it was unclear why this order didn’t meet standards. The facility ended up closing shortly after.
The best-selling Seamless bikini was sold out for eight months until the brand could partner with a new manufacturer. Despite that, Paradis Sports sales were up 266% last year.
“That was a huge affirmation that there’s a market for what we're doing, helping women to find a product that they need and want and deserve.”
How did you initially fund the business?
In the first few years, I was just doing product development, so there was little overhead. We weren’t doing any paid marketing. I was able to fund it with some savings and my architecture business. We’re now at a point where I’m at a bit of a crossroads. Women’s sports are exploding. A couple of years ago, if you googled “Active Underwear” we would appear right on the first page, but now we’re getting outbid by all these big brands.
How are you navigating the impending tariffs?
Up until very recently, we were doing all our manufacturing in the US. Our Seamless line was made in Los Angeles, and our natural fiber line at this very cool, sixth generation-owned manufacturer in Massachusetts.
When the Los Angeles factory closed, we couldn’t find another US manufacturer that could make the Seamless model. And the Massachusetts facility couldn't get their costs down to a point where we could offer them to stores. Our margins were just so bad.
I got on the phone with our Massachusetts manufacturer and asked if they could get down to a lower price. They couldn’t adjust their pricing until the point where they're making our product every day. And we're not even close to that.
So we took that manufacturing to Vietnam and moved the Seamless to Portugal. And we really love our manufacturer there. The tariffs for Vietnam were set at 46%, which would have been really high. At the same time, we did a quick study and saw that our margins – with a 46% tariff – are still better than what we had in the US.
Trying to manufacture in the US is so hard. It’s unfortunate. You need people who are trained to work these machines, and the cost of labor is so high. So we’re going to stay the course and continue to manufacture in Vietnam and Portugal. If we can scale with our natural fiber line to the point that we're selling it at volume, then I would certainly consider going back to my Massachusetts manufacturer. Because then they can get their prices down. I’ll continue to do limited edition and special-order stuff with them. We did a Team USA limited edition bikini. I'd love to do more of that because I want to keep some of our manufacturing here.
What keeps you going when things get tough?
My family. My husband and our two sons are always encouraging me to keep going and telling me "You've got this!" I am inspired by their perseverance in work and life and want to grow Paradis Sport so I can spend more time with them!
What's a book, mantra, or quote that fuels your fire?
"Form Follows Function1." I know this is so boring (editor’s note: it is so not!), but I'm an architectural and landscape designer, and in all areas of design (buildings, gardens, products) I really believe in it.
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Love that this started from her need, the best products do!
Interesting and daring path.