What is tortis sportswear?
tortis sportswear is a company founded by kelsey meyers. yes, that kelsey meyers! she noticed a gap in the market of functional, unique, women’s specific endurance apparel. tortis aims to solve the dilemma of walking into a coffee shop after a long bike ride in a full bike kit- sourcing pieces of athletic clothing you will actually want to wear in public!
tortis is currently an exclusively online platform. during my internship, i have been working on ways to optimize the website and drive traffic through newsletters, social media posts, and organic engagement with content.
first things first:
Tortis carries a thoughtful mix of niche and emerging brands—many of which customers may not have heard of before. To make the shopping experience feel more intuitive (and more fun), I added a “Brands We Carry” section. Instead of being limited to shopping by activity category, customers can explore all the unique labels we’ve curated in one place. It turns product discovery into more of a boutique experience—like browsing through hidden gems we’ve scoured the internet to find and brought together under the Tortis umbrella.
When I updated the Tortis Sportswear website, one of my first priorities was reimagining the way our products are photographed. Instead of relying on flat studio shots, I shifted toward imagery that shows our clothing styled on real people, in motion, and in context. A technical garment on a white background may be practical, but it rarely tells a story. On a model, that same garment suddenly carries emotion—it hints at how it drapes, how it moves with you, and how it becomes part of your everyday.
I’ve always found it frustrating to shop on sites that make you scroll endlessly before you see clothes on a body. It feels impersonal, like you’re being asked to buy into an idea without ever seeing how it truly lives. At Tortis, I wanted to create the opposite experience: to invite shoppers in right away, letting them imagine themselves in each piece from the first click.
This choice also connects to the larger creative direction of the brand. My boss often says she wants Tortis to feel like the Anthropologie of women’s sportswear—a place where performance and great design live side by side. Anthropologie is known for selling more than just a product; they sell a mood and a sense of possibility. That’s the energy I wanted to bring into Tortis: images that don’t just show clothing, but spark a feeling.
my first newsletter!!
One of my favorite projects during my Tortis internship was writing my first newsletter, which reached an audience of over 4,000 subscribers. I designed it to be more than just a product roundup—it was an introduction to me, my role at Tortis, and the personality behind the brand. I included a short “about me” section, a curated list of products I love from the site (complete with links and cheeky, conversational descriptions), and wove it all together in the Tortis brand voice my boss carefully developed.
That voice— (sassy yet empowering and inspired by the Call Her Daddy podcast’s Alex Cooper) confident, unfiltered, and always encouraging women to take up space. The result was a newsletter that felt less like marketing and more like a note from a friend who gets you.
SAHA CYCLING PRE-launch:
As part of the Saha Cycling pre-launch, I helped build anticipation through a multi-channel strategy that included another newsletter and a focused Pinterest campaign. On Pinterest, I optimized pin descriptions with keyword-rich, aesthetic language designed to capture search traffic while still feeling aligned with the Tortis brand voice. Each pin featured Saha’s studio photography, which I edited to include a clear “Coming Soon to Tortis Sportswear” overlay. This gave the imagery a polished, campaign-ready look while signaling exclusivity and building momentum ahead of launch.
The result was a cohesive pre-launch presence: the newsletter gave our 4,000+ subscribers an insider’s preview, while Pinterest extended the reach, tapping into an audience actively searching for inspiration in cycling apparel and lifestyle aesthetics.
Product descriptions:
I also optimized product descriptions across the site to better reflect the Tortis brand voice—confident, witty, and empowering. Instead of generic technical copy, I rewrote descriptions to highlight both performance features and personality, blending functionality with a playful, sassy tone. This made the products feel less like cold specs and more like pieces of a lifestyle, giving customers a clearer sense of what Tortis stands for.
TO CONCLUDE:
I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity to contribute to Tortis Sportswear during this internship. From shaping the brand voice to experimenting with new campaigns, every project has been a chance to learn, create, and grow. I’m excited to see what’s next for Tortis as it continues to carve out its space in women’s sportswear, and I feel lucky to have played a small part in that journey.