Yvonne Brady

Updated March 2014

Yvonne Brady, 41, is a vibrant mother of three who took up running after the birth of her youngest child. ‘I wondered if I hadn’t started too early! On longer runs I experienced light bladder leakage and I was mortified. I felt totally alone.’ Yvonne hunted for support-wear in sports shops, but found nothing that was effective against leakage. A civil engineer and avid problem-solver, she started to research the cause and imagine what product she could create to help. The result is EVB sports shorts.

Yvonne had no knowledge of sportswear before embarking on her quest. Her first move was to gain clinical knowledge from a physiotherapist. ‘The big difficulty was finding a manufacturer with the knowhow to work with the materials we needed. I located a company in Portugal who make premium sportswear and was able to express my vision to them.’

Bouncing with confidence

The shorts are made in quality materials, with anti-bacteria and moisture-wicking treatments and flat-lock seams for comfort. The compression panels are designed to provide firm support to the pelvic girdle, abdomen and lower back and lift up the perineum and the pelvic floor. ‘This increases compression of the muscles and the pelvic girdle joints that form the body’s core,’ says Yvonne, who based her idea on the bridges she used to build as a civil engineer. The structure is visually reminiscent of baby bouncers. ‘It forms a sling that hugs you like taut pelvic floor muscles. The equivalent of a running bra, but for the pelvis!’ Yvonne was well placed to be the guinea pig for the trial-and-error fitting sessions that went on at the factory. ‘When you experience this kind of problem your confidence is destroyed. I want women to feel confident to run and do sports as they please.’

Taboo subject

As with many sensitive health difficulties faced by women, there is a general taboo about discussing them. ‘I’m a very private person so it hasn’t been an easy journey,’ says Yvonne. ‘It took me a year to realise how sensitive this problem is and find gentle wording that won’t have people running away from the issue.’ EVB stands for ‘everybody’, ‘because sport is for everybody,’ smiles Yvonne, whose research into exercise-induced urinary incontinence uncovered statistics that made her shudder: ‘One in four women stop sport due to this kind of problem.’

Tests carried out by Dublin City University showed that confidence and enjoyment were raised among women who ran wearing EVB shorts. Since launching its product in May 2013, EVB has sold over 1,300 units, which retail at approximately US$70, mostly through sports outlets. It sells across the world and has attracted brand ambassadors, such as the Norwegian women’s rugby team, plus endorsement from physiotherapists.

The women’s sportswear market in the US alone was worth US$11.5 billion in 2013 and is growing faster than the women’s fashion industry, but despite the number of women who experience the problem of leakage, this is one area that has not yet been addressed. ‘Most studies conclude that there is little knowledge about pelvic floor disorders, scant awareness and a lack of research. We’re trying to change this,’ says Yvonne. ‘Perhaps it is a mountain to climb, but we have to do it.’