Mitch Gilbert OYA is the story of a collegiate athlete who kept getting recurring skin and vaginal health problems, was told by doctors to stop wearing synthetic workout clothes and decided instead to build the activewear that did not exist. Gilbert is the founder and CEO of OYA Femtech Apparel, a Los Angeles company that makes leggings, underwear and base layers with hidden airflow channels, a pocket for a removable absorbent insert and antimicrobial fabric. In January 2023, the company announced a $1.3 million pre-seed round led by the Sixers Innovation Lab, and its website now says its gear is used by U.S. Air Force and Space Force personnel. Here is how Gilbert got there, how the product works, who backs it and what remains unproven.
Mitch Gilbert OYA: Who Is the Founder?
Mitch Gilbert, formally Mitchella Gilbert, is the founder and chief executive officer of OYA Femtech Apparel. On the company’s About page, she is signed as “Founder & CEO,” and the site tells her story in the first person, describing how she created OYA after her fifth yeast infection.
The company is based in Los Angeles. Preqin lists it as founded in 2019, and the 2023 funding release says it was founded at the Venture Accelerator at UCLA Anderson by Gilbert and co-founder Patrick Ayers. Black Enterprise reported that OYA marked the launch of her fourth company and that she has a background in tech, product design and retail.
She is also a visible advocate. The About page describes the company as an advocate for safe, inclusive, shame-free spaces to learn and talk about female health. That openness is the core of the Mitch Gilbert OYA story: a founder willing to say plainly what other apparel brands avoid.
From Deloitte and Teach for America to Entrepreneur
Gilbert’s early career was not in apparel. CB Insights lists her work history as Deloitte, Rocket Companies, Teach for America and FIRST, the youth robotics organization For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology. That mix suggests a path through consulting, financial technology, education and STEM outreach.
Black Enterprise’s profile adds that she is a product designer by training and a serial founder. The 2023 funding release also says OYA’s team was led by four women engineers, which fits a founder whose background includes technology and STEM education.
That background helps in two ways. A consulting and technology career builds comfort with data, pitching and operations. A product-design lens helps translate a health problem into a physical product. The pre-apparel career years are the professional foundation of Mitch Gilbert OYA.
The Athlete Who Was Told to Stop Wearing Leggings
The origin story is personal and specific. The homepage says that Gilbert got her fifth yeast infection in six months as a college athlete, and the About page adds that it happened in her junior year. Every doctor gave the same advice, she writes: stop wearing synthetic workout clothes.
For an athlete who lived in activewear, that advice was not realistic. The Story Exchange reported that in 2019 her OB-GYN advised her to stop wearing leggings to prevent infections, and that three years later she secured funding for her own line.
So she asked a different question, in her words: why doesn’t activewear that is actually good for skin health exist? The founder story is told respectfully and without graphic detail on the company’s site, and this article follows that approach. The question she asked is the creative seed of Mitch Gilbert OYA.
UCLA Anderson and Co-Founder Patrick Ayers
The idea became a company through an accelerator. According to the funding release, OYA was founded at the Venture Accelerator at UCLA Anderson by Gilbert and Patrick Ayers. The program gave early access to mentors, a startup community and pitch opportunities.
The Story Exchange profile notes that in early pitch competitions Gilbert did not yet have the funding to make a prototype of the leggings. That is a common early-stage problem for hardware and apparel founders, since physical samples are costly and the first versions are rarely right.
The sources reviewed describe Ayers as a co-founder but say little about his role or his background, so this article does not. Accelerators are especially useful for founders without a prototype, because they combine coaching with a first group of investors. The accelerator years are the launch pad of Mitch Gilbert OYA.
The Problem: Activewear Built Without Skin Health in Mind
The problem OYA describes is that most performance wear is built for stretch, compression and style, not for moisture and airflow. In the funding release, Gilbert said most performance wear is made with spandex blends, which trap moisture and do not breathe, and that this is not good for women athletes who need ventilation and moisture control.
The company’s website goes further and says many people deal with sweat and moisture-related skin problems in silence, either out of shame or because there were no solutions. Black Enterprise quotes OYA’s website saying that after some digging, it became clear how many millions of people with vaginas were secretly dealing with these issues.
OYA also positions itself against an industry norm of silence. The About page says the company talks openly about crotch sweat, yeast infections and UTIs when other brands pretend these problems do not exist. Whether the product solves the health problems it describes is a question for clinicians and further research, but the gap in conversation is real. That gap is the market Mitch Gilbert OYA set out to address.
Building OYA: Airflow, Inserts and Antimicrobial Fabric
According to the OYA homepage, the brand makes activewear and underwear engineered to keep skin dry and ventilated during exercise. Every bottom has hidden airflow channels, a pocket for a removable absorbent insert and antimicrobial fabric that the company says was lab-tested to reduce odor-causing bacteria by 99.9%.
The About page lists the development process. Gilbert says she spent two years engineering the solution, interviewed OB-GYNs, dermatologists and urologists, tested more than 30 fabric combinations and developed a patented moisture management system. The company also says its fabrics are laboratory-tested free from 80,000 toxic chemicals and use antimicrobial silver, and that the products are ethically made.
The 2023 release described an earlier version of the pitch: leggings that were twice as absorbent as leading brands, which is a company claim. Techfundingnews added that the line is primarily designed and produced in Los Angeles. The product design is the technical backbone of Mitch Gilbert OYA.
What the Name OYA Means
The name carries cultural meaning. Gilbert explained to Forbes, as quoted by Essence, that Oya is a mother goddess from Yoruban mythology in Nigeria, symbolizing rebirth, fertility and storms. She said she thought it was a great name for a sportswear company fighting feminine health issues with patented designs and textiles.
Essence’s headline describes the founder as Nigerian, while other coverage describes her as a Black woman founder. The founder’s own description of the name’s origin is what the sources agree on, so this article leaves other identity descriptions to the founder.
A name tied to an African goddess also gives the brand a voice: strong, protective and weather-proof. The name is part of the identity of Mitch Gilbert OYA, and it signals a brand that wants to be taken seriously about health.
Testing and the Medical Network
OYA leans heavily on testing and medical endorsements. The About page claims that the company spoke with more than 80 doctors, 200-plus athletes and 100-plus warfighters and firefighters. It says products were tested on doctors, WNBA players, athletes, soldiers, firefighters, menopausal women and moms, and that the company has backing from more than 80 medical professionals. A bullet list on the same page says its products are recommended by more than 60 healthcare professionals, so the figure varies by section.
The 2023 funding release put the numbers at more than 60 medical professionals and 200 product testers, which suggests the network has grown or the claims have been updated. The homepage says the products were developed with OB-GYNs and physicians and are HSA and FSA eligible.
The company has a testing page and a fabric guide on its site, which interested readers can review. These are the company’s own claims, and medical professionals who endorse a product are not the same as peer-reviewed clinical trials. The testing network is the credibility layer of Mitch Gilbert OYA.
The $1.3 Million Pre-Seed Round
In January 2023, OYA announced a $1.3 million oversubscribed pre-seed round. SportsPro reported that the round was led by the Sixers Innovation Lab, the $25 million fund for early-stage startups launched by Philadelphia 76ers owner Harris Blitzer Sports and Entertainment the year before.
The release said that Gilbert was now one of only 200 Black women to have ever raised more than $1 million in venture capital, and cited the statistic that less than 2% of venture capital goes to women and roughly 0.05% to Black women. Femtech Insider carried the same statement, which is a claim made by OYA and its investors.
SportsPro added context about the market: after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, women’s healthcare products and femtech companies saw an increase in investment. The new capital was meant to let the company develop more activewear products for women. The pre-seed round is the funding milestone of Mitch Gilbert OYA. For more on how rounds like this shape young brands, see our Funding News section.
The Investors: Sixers Innovation Lab and Techstars Sports
The round’s investors reflect OYA’s sports and venture connections. The lead, Sixers Innovation Lab, is tied to a professional basketball ownership group. Other participants named in the release were REI Path Ahead Ventures, R/GA Ventures, an SPV managed by Union Heritage Venture Partners and Techstars Sports.
Seth Berger of the Sixers Innovation Lab said in the release that successful businesses solve real problems and that the lab believes in OYA’s mission and Gilbert’s future impact. The release also quotes the actress Sophia Bush and the venture capitalist Nia Batts, named in the release with additional surnames, praising the team’s textile-based technology.
Backers from sports and retail, such as REI’s venture arm and Techstars Sports, bring industry networks that matter for an activewear brand, from athlete relationships to retail know-how. The sources reviewed do not describe any funding round after January 2023, so the later growth appears to have been funded by sales, grants or other sources not disclosed. That mix of sports and venture backers strengthens Mitch Gilbert OYA.
From Femtech to Health Solution: Military, Fire and Police
The most striking change since 2023 is the audience. The homepage’s meta description now says OYA is a health solution that happens to be activewear, trusted by the U.S. Department of Defense and professional athletes, designed with medical doctors and patented. The navigation includes a Military, Fire, and Police section, with pages for warfighters, police and fire personnel, tactical gear and bulk orders.
The About page says its gear is used by U.S. Air Force and Space Force personnel, and the site offers a GovX discount for service members. It also sells men’s and women’s underwear and base layers. The sources reviewed do not describe the contracts or scale of the Department of Defense relationship, so readers should treat “trusted by” as a company statement.
The shift makes business sense. Moisture and skin irritation are issues for anyone who sweats for long periods in uniform or gear, and institutional buyers can place larger orders than individual consumers. It also moves the brand beyond a narrow femtech label. The military pivot is the second growth path for Mitch Gilbert OYA.
Product Line and Customers
The homepage shows a focused product line. It calls out a best-selling legging described as helping fight UTIs, a best-selling brief, a best-selling high-support sports bra and a best-selling insert pack, along with a Find Your Perfect Bottom quiz and a shop-by-concern page. Earlier product names in a Preqin summary included sculpting and V-cut leggings and antimicrobial headbands.
The About page reports 3,000-plus customers, and says 87% report fewer infections and less skin irritation. These are company numbers, and the page does not say how the 87% was measured. The site is also HSA and FSA eligible through a Flex checkout option, with free U.S. shipping above $120.
The company runs an ambassador program, customized group orders and a careers page. Customer reviews are on a dedicated page, and the claims that the products fight infections are marketing statements, not medical findings. The products and customers are the commercial base of Mitch Gilbert OYA.
Where OYA Stands in Activewear and Femtech
The activewear market is huge and crowded, with giant brands, direct-to-consumer labels and a growing set of performance fabrics. In femtech, period underwear and women’s health products have attracted funding. CB Insights lists competitors such as MonthlyCup, The Flex Company and Monthly Gift, which sell menstrual products and period wear.
OYA’s differentiators are clear. It positions apparel as a health product, with airflow channels, an insert pocket and antimicrobial fabric. It has a founder with a personal story and a network of medical endorsers. It has expanded into institutional buyers. And it speaks openly about topics most apparel brands avoid.
The risks are real. Health claims are scrutinized, and apparel is not a medical device. Large activewear brands could add moisture features. Premium pricing may limit mass adoption. And a small company is selling to both consumers and institutions, which require different strategies. In a crowded field, Mitch Gilbert OYA competes on a specific problem and a specific promise.
Risks and Open Questions
A fair article on a health-oriented apparel company should name the open questions.
Clinical evidence. The website describes medical endorsements and customer-reported results, but the sources reviewed do not describe a clinical trial.
Health claims. Statements such as “fights UTIs” and “87% report fewer infections” are company claims, and individual results vary.
Funding. The only disclosed round is the January 2023 pre-seed, and later financing is not described.
Institutional scale. The scope of the Department of Defense relationship is not described in public sources.
Numbers vary. The count of supportive medical professionals differs across sections of the site (60-plus and 80-plus).
Regulatory scrutiny. Marketing health outcomes for apparel can attract attention from regulators and platforms.
None of these is unusual for an early-stage consumer health brand. Naming them is part of an honest look at Mitch Gilbert OYA.
Leadership Style and What’s Next
Gilbert leads as a mission-driven founder who speaks plainly. The company’s founder story is first-person and unembarrassed, and the brand has built a voice around naming problems that others avoid. She also leans on outside expertise, from physicians to engineers, which fits a founder who describes herself as having learned from experts.
The roadmap visible from the website includes the military and first-responder push, group and bulk orders, the ambassador program and continued product development. The test will be proving that the products deliver the benefits they describe, and finding steady growth across consumer and institutional channels. That discipline will define the next chapter of Mitch Gilbert OYA.
Lessons From the Mitch Gilbert OYA Journey
The Mitch Gilbert OYA journey offers five practical lessons for founders.
First, solve a problem you have lived. Gilbert’s own recurring health problems gave her a clear, credible reason to build.
Second, ask a different question. When doctors told her to avoid synthetic clothing, she asked why better clothing did not exist.
Third, recruit experts. Interviews and backing from physicians and engineers gave a first-time apparel founder credibility.
Fourth, say what others will not. Talking openly about uncomfortable topics set the brand apart.
Fifth, widen the market. Moving into base layers for military, fire and police teams added buyers beyond the original audience.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Mitch Gilbert?
Mitch Gilbert, formally Mitchella Gilbert, is the founder and CEO of OYA Femtech Apparel. She is a former collegiate athlete and serial entrepreneur with a background that includes Deloitte, Rocket Companies and Teach for America.
What is the Mitch Gilbert OYA story?
It is the story of an athlete who was told to stop wearing synthetic workout clothes after recurring infections, spent two years engineering a breathable alternative with medical input and raised a $1.3 million pre-seed round led by the Sixers Innovation Lab.
What is OYA Femtech Apparel?
OYA is a Los Angeles company that makes activewear and underwear with hidden airflow channels, a pocket for a removable absorbent insert and antimicrobial fabric, designed to keep skin dry and ventilated.
What does OYA mean?
The founder says Oya is a mother goddess from Yoruban mythology in Nigeria who symbolizes rebirth, fertility and storms.
How much funding has OYA raised?
OYA announced a $1.3 million pre-seed round in January 2023, led by the Sixers Innovation Lab. The sources reviewed do not describe a later round.
Who invests in OYA?
Investors include the Sixers Innovation Lab, REI Path Ahead Ventures, R/GA Ventures, Techstars Sports and an SPV managed by Union Heritage Venture Partners.
Is OYA used by the military?
The company says its gear is used by U.S. Air Force and Space Force personnel and it sells base layers to military, fire and police teams. The scope of those relationships is not detailed in public sources.
Are OYA products medical devices?
No. OYA’s own disclaimer says the company is not made up of medical doctors, does not diagnose illness and does not replace guidance from a health professional.
Can I use HSA or FSA funds for OYA?
The company says products are HSA and FSA eligible and offers a Flex option at checkout. Check your plan for eligibility.
Where is OYA based?
The company is based in Los Angeles, California.
Conclusion
Mitch Gilbert OYA shows how a founder’s own health frustration can become a product and a company. By asking why skin-friendly activewear did not exist, building a breathable system with medical advisers and winning backing from a sports-focused innovation fund, Gilbert turned a personal problem into a brand that has since reached military and first-responder buyers. The open questions are whether the health claims hold up under clinical scrutiny, how the company funds its next stage and whether the institutional push scales. If it can answer them, OYA may help change how activewear treats skin health.
For more founder journeys in consumer brands, see Freddie Martignetti’s Rosaluna, Jen Phan’s Passionfroot and Marcos del Pilar’s Pro Padel League on Denote Press, or browse all Founder Stories.
