Inside the wellness world of Brittany Hugoboom, founder of app 28

Visionary entrepreneur Brittany Hugoboom has made significant contributions to the feminine health industry through her cycle-syncing app, 28. With a passion for fitness & wellness, the founder embarked on a journey to revolutionize the way women approach their well-being. Her inspiring career trajectory reflects her unwavering commitment to empowering women and promoting holistic self-care.

Guided by the expertise of top trainers, nutritionists, and doctors, 28 offers personalized fitness and lifestyle programs that take into account the unique fluctuations of the female body. By incorporating cycle tracking and a science-based horoscope model, 28 empowers women to optimize their physical and mental well-being according to their menstrual cycles.

Brittany’s innovative approach bridges the gap between fitness, self-care, and reproductive health, catering to women’s specific needs and preferences. Brittany’s relentless pursuit of knowledge and passion for creating positive change have positioned her as a leading force in the industry. With her visionary leadership and commitment to women’s holistic well-being, Brittany continues to inspire and empower countless individuals on their own journeys toward health and self-discovery.

The inspiration that brought 28 app to life

As a young athlete, Brittany Hugoboom has always loved working out. She wasn’t just a blackbelt in Tae Kwon Do, who medaled in the Junior Olympics, but also a cheerleader. When she began modelling and trained with almost every trainer in Los Angeles, the part she found out about her hormone fluctuations into account and eventually led her to pursue a career in wellness.

“I met Justin Gelband, arguably the best women’s personal trainer of all time. For decades, he’s trained many of the most iconic women in the world, from superstars like Taylor Swift to the Victoria’s Secret Angels. He understood the unique differences in how women can approach fitness in contrast to men due to our vastly different hormone cycles.
After working with him for years, I had never felt better. He became a mentor and friend and introduced me to the Gray Institute, where I became a certified functional trainer.
The majority of personal trainers get certified through NASM or ACE but they don’t learn to move their body in three planes of motion. And they certainly don’t learn how the menstrual cycle plays a huge role in the types and intensity of movements that are best for the female body throughout the month.”

28 app revolutionizes the way women approach their well-being

Wellness has been a major buzzword throughout the past decade, with many brands and businesses offering their takes on the term, and pushing out their preferred paths to optimizing all things holistic health. But no company has taken an original idea quite like 28, the app that is bringing women’s health back to the forefront of the conversation, especially when it comes to the menstrual cycle.

“I’ve seen first-hand the debilitating effect hormone imbalance can have on your life as a woman. It’s an epidemic that 84% of the world’s women suffer from, but hardly anyone talks about it. It’s one of the underlying causes of so many health struggles women are facing, especially in the West, from infertility to endometriosis and PCOS.
The most common way hormone imbalance manifests is in the menstrual cycle. Our big idea is that the majority of women can restore balance to their hormones naturally and essentially eliminate period pain and PMS by working with their cycle, not against it, by changing the way they move and eat throughout the month.

Most women grow up in the dark about their bodies. We’re told “You’re a woman now” when you get your first period; the extent of our “education” about our cycle is a poorly taught sex ed class. That’s basically it. We grow up feeling like we’re in the passenger seats of our own bodies and that we’re really not in control of how we feel, physically or emotionally, on any given day. There’s embarrassingly little research done on women’s health issues, and many doctors are poorly educated on this subject at best and dismissive at worst.
For most women, understanding their hormones and their cycle has been a very long, frustrating journey. You’d have to read obscure books or stumble upon more holistic doctors on social media.
After seeing so many women close to me struggle with understanding their bodies and watching them suffer through these issues every month, I wanted to create a radically new solution – combining nature and technology – that allows women to take control of their bodies in a simple, healthy way. Ultimately, I want to turn a woman’s cycle into her superpower.”

Brittany Hugoboom’s advice to aspiring entrepreneurs

Unlike other wellness entrepreneurs, sharing their lives and personalities is a huge part of the brands. Brittany Hugoboom does not post every single moment of her life on social media. She is a big advocate for living in the moment, especially at a time when so much of what is seen on social media isn’t real.

For her, 28 is a movement of women embracing their nature and unlocking the power of their cycle, where she is passionate about sharing the life-changing benefits of 28 with brand followers. Now, the app has attracted over 600,000 people, thanks to the incredible product she has built and how transformative its methodology is, which is the reason it keeps going viral on TikTok.

The co-founder of 28 app also highlighted the importance of hiring: “Learn to hire well and discern (and act) quickly when someone isn’t the right fit. Finding the right people is incredibly challenging but so critical to the success of the company. The type of person who thrives in a startup is very different from those who are better off in an established company.”

When Harper’s Bazaar asked Brittany: What’s your advice to aspiring entrepreneurs? She said:

“Find a problem you’re passionate about solving that your talents are well suited to take on. It’s not going to be easy. There are a lot of ups and downs. But if the problem inspires you, and the vision for solving it excites you even more, it will propel you forward through difficult times.
There are so many resources and free information available at our fingertips. Things are becoming easier and cheaper to produce. Social media has allowed anyone with a phone to reach millions around the world without spending a dime.
Basically, it’s never been easier to start a business. So experiment, find what it is you’re good at, what your special talents are, and learn to fall in love with the process. And if you can, find a mentor! Good mentors are invaluable.”

Brittany Hugoboom’s secret to becoming her best self

For Brittany, self-care means loving her body enough to do what’s best for it, and giving it what it needs when it needs it. She mused: “There’s so much pressure to hustle constantly and be “on” all the time. As women, our bodies run on a 28-day hormone cycle (more or less), as opposed to the 24-hour hormone cycle that men experience. A lot of changes throughout those 28 days. It’s almost like we become different versions of ourselves, with different phases unlocking different needs, desires, capabilities, and challenges.”

For Brittany, one of the most important aspects of balancing is managing stress. “Stress unchecked can be debilitating, mentally and physically. One of my favourite ways to destress is to connect with nature. There are so many healing qualities that the earth has to offer. Simply taking a walk by the ocean and breathing in the saltwater air can do wonders. I also love lymphatic drainage massages which are popular in Miami and Brazil.”

Sharing about the role of fashion in her life, the entrepreneur and founder said: “I’ve always had a lot of fun with fashion. I loved taking trips to NYC and buying the latest trends before they hit the west coast, and the excitement of discovering which cuts, patterns, and styles look best for my body and personality. When you look good, you feel good. For me, fashion is ultimately a beautiful way to express and celebrate my femininity. I love experiencing ultra-feminine dresses, corsets, lace, and all things girly. It’s romantic in all the best ways.”

Since becoming a mom, she stopped believing in the cultural idea that women should change the way they dress and adopt a more “sensible” look. For her, there is nothing wrong with continuing to dress fashionably and youthful: “When you’re so busy with your baby, especially a newborn, it’s easy to put yourself last. I’m inspired seeing moms like Rihanna who don’t do the stereotypical maternity clothes, although I’m not as bold as she is, style-wise. I’ll see paparazzi photos of Irina Shayk and her daughter and she looks so stylish and sophisticated. Especially postpartum, when you don’t feel as confident, it really helps to take a few minutes for yourself to put on something cute and get ready for the day. It puts you in a positive mindset.”

What’s next for 28 and the wellness empire? Brittany shared some tidbits: “We’re building the future of holistic wellness for women, combining all the resources they need to live their most (hormonally) balanced lives. This means removing the need for women to use multiple apps to empower their lifestyle and combining the most popular features into one hyper-personalized experience. Wearables are coming. More content is coming. More customization is coming. And an integrated wellness store is coming. Ultimately, we are listening intently to the needs and desires of our users and working tirelessly to deliver the best possible experience.

At the end of the interview, Brittany showed how Asian countries have been inspiring her stylistically:

“One thing I love about the countries I’ve visited in Asia was that everyone is dressed to the nines as soon as they walk out the door. In big cities in America, a lot of women like to wear activewear during the day but in the East, women are dressed to impress the second they leave the house. It’s very feminine, which I love. It inspires me not to be lazy.
In America, most marketing is catered towards confidence and independence. In Asia, it tends to focus on beauty, family, and love. There’s a culture of respect that I admire so greatly.
I’ve never been to Vietnam but I’d love to go. From what I’ve seen in photos, it has some of the most stunning, lush landscapes. I’ve always wanted to go see the Ban Gioc Detian Waterfalls.”