Allyson Felix featured on the cover of Waymaker magazine with brother Wes Felix

Allyson Felix, an 11-time Olympic medalist, has been featured on the cover of the latest issue of Waymaker Journal, alongside her brother Wes Felix.

The sibling duo founded their own footwear brand 'Saysh' in 2021 after Allyson had trouble finding sponsors ahead of the Tokyo Olympics.

Following the termination of her contract with long-time sponsor Nike, Allyson donned a pair of her own shoes in Tokyo. The shoes were called the Saysh One, and she went on to win a gold and a silver wearing them, making her the most decorated American track and field athlete ever.

In the latest Waymaker issue, Allyson Felix and Wes Felix discuss their footwear brand, what it means to work together as a family, and challenging the big guns of the industry.

Allyson shared multiple photos of the cover on her Instagram, captioning them:

"Thank you @waymakerculture for the love! Excited to be featured in the black family issue 🖤 I love building @bysaysh with @wesfelix22 and in this interview we take a deep dive into what that really looks like."

---

Allyson Felix on building Saysh

The journey for Allyson Felix and Wes Felix's footwear brand Saysh began in 2017, soon after the former sat down with Nike to renew her contract. Not only did the company offer her 70% less than the original deal, but she also failed to receive any type of salary protection in terms of pregnancy.

Allyson then moved to apparel company Athleta in 2019, becoming their first sponsored athlete. Later in June 2021, she founded her own footwear brand alongside her brother Wes.

The focus of Saysh, according to the brand itself, is designing performance shoes, specifically for women, by women. Speaking to Waymaker about designing shoes for women, Allyson shared her surprise when she first found out that shoes aren't "made for women".

"Shoes have not been made for women. Basically, what that means is a shoe is built off of a last, which is just a mold of a foot—and it’s the mold of a man’s foot that is used to make women’s sneakers," she said.

For Allyson Felix, Saysh is the way to address the issue, as it makes shoes that prioritize the female foot form.

"Our shoes are completely made to fit the form of the female foot and address the differences in our feet, and really to push the industry to start doing that and not seeing women as an afterthought," the 37-year-old added.