Donna Johnson is the founder of Zena Sport – the world’s most advanced female protection vest for all contact sports.
Donna is somewhat of an accidental entrepreneur. With her kids all grown up, she wasn’t intending on looking for a new career path but a conversation with a friend was too important to ignore when discussing the breast impact women experience in contact sport and the fact that they had no suitable protection gear to wear. This concept kept Donna up at night. Her husband, Brad, an ex AFL player for the Western Bulldogs encouraged her to investigate.
3 years of research and development and Zena Sport was born – the world’s first protection vest. In the short year of business, amid a COVID-19 year, Zena Sport has become so much more than a manufacturer of female protection vests but an organisation that is championing women in sport and bringing injuries and the seriousness of them to the forefront. Zena Sport is a spokesperson for all women who play sport.
Tell us about Zena Sport.
Zena Sport is a small Australian start up business. We have been involved in professional sport for over 25 years. Brad is former captain of the AFL Western Bulldogs and currently a media presenter on Fox Footy. Donna was a stay at home mum when she came up with the idea of designing a protective vest for women playing contact sport. After four years of design and development Zena Sport was launched- the most advanced female impact protection vest for contact sport.
What inspired you to start Zena Sport?
Zena Sport started four years ago. Over a coffee with a friend I expressed my concern for adolescent females playing contact sport. These teens were at a crucial stage of physical development and it bothered me that they were sustaining injuries without the option to wear any form of protection. It was odd to me that there was no form of protective wear for females playing contact sport given the serious nature of breast injuries. I started researching products and information relating to breast injury in sport and to my surprise there was nothing. I found one study from the US that confirmed that breast injury was a real issue in women’s sport so with this information I did my own research project of over 300 women, teens, coaches, parents etc and found that breast and rib injury was real and going unreported. Females were uneducated about the risks and unaware of the need to report and discuss their injuries. After four years of research and development Zena Sport was launched and we are proud to provide the most advanced female impact protection vest for female contact sport. Suitable for all ages.
Tell us about your career and background.
I originally worked in hospitality and completed a Bachelor of Education. After teaching for a few years I made the decision to spend 15 years home with our 2 children. Brad played for the Western Bulldogs as a professional footballer in the AFL before moving into the media when he retired. He currently works at FoxFooty. Together we have two children Ella and Jack. Ella is 18 and is currently working on a career in music and Jack is 15 and a keen go kart driver with dreams of becoming a racing car driver.
Describe a typical work day for you.
A typical work day for us starts around 6.30am. Brad usually takes our previous days orders to the post office while I check our social media, respond to questions, social media posts for the day and look at possible content to share with our audience. We then both reply to emails and prepare for any meetings or interviews we might have for the day. In between this we work on future designs, apparel and pack orders that come in. We reply to all customer inquires throughout the day. We usually break for dinner and family time with kids before starting again around 8.30pm to pack any orders that have come in that afternoon and I finish the day as I started by checking social media, posting, answering questions and finding content for the following day.
What advice do you have for those wanting to start a business?
Just do it! You will know if it is right. I believe things come along at the right time. Zena Sport happened at a time in my life when I was ready and able to put the time in. Do your research and validate the need and want for your business. It won’t be easy. It will be all consuming but if its your passion you won’t feel like its work. Surround yourself with people who are experts in areas that you are not. It’s impossible to know everything especially if this is all new to you. Do short courses and ask lots of questions. Reach out to people as everyone is willing to help. Have mentors you can run things by. Call on family and friends to help. Be kind to yourself as you will make mistakes and that’s ok. Try and have a balance as it can become consuming.
What’s next for you, and Zena Sport?
We are working to continue growing our range. We are currently working on our Junior Vest based on the success of our Zena Z1 vest. This vest will be designed for girls ranging from 8-12 years of age. We will continue to raise awareness around breast injury as well as educating women about the importance of injury prevention. We look forward to becoming the number one provider of female impact protective wear.
