What the hell is FILL THE WELL?
No really, though…What the hell is FILL THE WELL?
Welcome to the wonderful world of
Fill The Well Athletics!
Where I keep the ‘T’ in “The” capitalized, like a total rebel.
Hello hello!
My name is Cori James (she/her) and I am the founder, designer, and all around mad woman behind the scenes of FTW Athletics!
A little bit about me:
I’ve been a tattoo artist since 2012 and an avid age group triathlete since 2015! I’ve competed in a whole butt load of triathlons (including two 140.6 and thirteen 70.3) and I love every single distance.
From sprints (where I almost always barf at the finish line) to the big whopper 140.6 (where I immediately ask for a pizza and bottle of red wine), I love them all and look forward to every single start line.
As an artist and athlete, it has been a dream of mine to create my own athletic wear for years! This brand is a bundle of heart felt designs that I love and want to race in myself! I’m designing for you, my dear sweet paying customer…..but I’m also designing for ME. I stand behind these designs and love each one with my whole heart.
I’ve watched the triathlon apparel game EXPLODE over the last few years and in the midst of a global pandemic I decided…why not add my crazy ideas to this already saturated market too? F*ck it!
2020 is proof that you shouldn’t postpone your dreams.
Get on the grind and get to it, y’all.
I am beyond stoked that Fill The Well has finally become a reality!
See kids? Dreams DO come true.
My whole goal with the creation of Fill The Well was to create athletic wear designs that make people smile, while also promoting self-love and positivity in a world full of…well, the opposite.
As an eating disorder survivor and constant mental health warrior, triathlon absolutely changed/saved my life.
Triathlon became my safe space. A place where I was suddenly capable of recognizing the value in my strength as opposed to constantly obsessing over the way I did or didn’t fit into society’s standard of beauty.
My priorities finally shifted after years and years of self-hate.
My mind ultimately said, “Okay, you can either starve yourself until you waste away and…well…die…
OR you can fuel your body, become the athlete you’ve always dreamed of being, and shut that stupid voice up that’s constantly telling you you’re not good enough. YOU ARE WORTHY OF LOVE.”
I found a community of like minded athletes in triathlon, who were more than happy to wake up at the ass crack of dawn with me, to train for races we didn’t get paid to compete in. Simply because they loved it as much as I did! I fell head over heals in love with triathlon right away.
I want to share this feeling with others! This feeling of accepting who you truly are, valuing strength and health above all the bullshit of society, and loving every bit of yourself -thorns and all.
What does Fill The Well even mean?
I came up with the name Fill The Well Athletics thanks to the book The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron. This book was the catalyst to my decision to make my dream of designing athletic wear a reality. In the book, Julia discusses how we must fill our wells in order to be able to live, love, and create to our greatest abilities. It’s almost like the instructions they give you on an airplane where, in case of an emergency, you’re supposed to put your own oxygen mask on before helping others. I mean, it makes sense! If you pass out from lack of oxygen, how can you help those around you? If your well is empty, how can you fill the lives of those around you with joy, passion, and love?
It’s all about self-love and how loving yourself isn’t some selfish notion. It is the epitome of selflessness, because if you give yourself the space to love yourself, ooOOoo weeeeee , the love you can feel and show others is magnified beyond belief!
Also, I have a ridiculous sense of humor and thought it was funny that it spelled out F-T-W…you know…like f*ck the world…but in reality the meaning is the exact opposite! I’m not weird…you’re weird…
What is JAKROO?
Jakroo is an amazing company that is one of the big reasons FTW even exists! Since I am a one woman show, with a one woman career, my dreams of designing athletic wear had always been dreams because I didn’t have the money to invest in a whole butt load of product with the desperate hopes of selling it. That’s where Jakroo comes in!
Jakroo is an amazing company that makes high quality print-to-order athletic wear! You order it! They print it!
They have been amazing to work with and their attire is absolutely top notch!
They even have a GUARANTEED SIZE SERVICE! Fill out this google doc with your measurements and they’ll send you customized size recommendations! It’s amazing!!!
I hope to some day print FTW designs on FTW products, but until then, I am so so thankful to have FTW designs printed on Jakroo products! :]
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR SUPPORT! FTW IS TINY, BUT MIGHTY SO Y’ALL WATCH OUT!