SI LifeStyle

Kristin Juszczyk on Mentorship, Mistakes and Making Off Season a Movement

In an exclusive interview with SI Swimsuit, the designer opens up about growing a brand, embracing failure and leading with instinct.

Ananya Panchal

Kristin Juszczyk
Kristin Juszczyk / Alison Yin/Courtesy of Verizon Business

Kristin Juszczyk has had a whirlwind year.

The Off Season cofounder has gone from hand-sewing custom jackets in her living room to helming one of the fastest-growing names in fanwear—reimagining what sports fashion looks like, and who it’s for.

Panel at the Verizon Small Business Training Camp
Panel at the Verizon Small Business Training Camp / Alison Yin/Courtesy of Verizon Business

On Sept. 9—just hours after releasing what she called her “favorite drop yet”—Juszczyk arrived at the Verizon Small Business Training Camp in San Francisco with a different mission in mind: pouring into the next generation of entrepreneurs.

Verizon Small Business Training Camp
Verizon Small Business Training Camp / SI Staff

Held at the Verizon Innovation Lab in the city’s Financial District, the three-day program brought together 20 small business owners from across the country for immersive workshops, expert coaching and exclusive panels with leaders like Juszczyk and NFL legend Drew Brees. It was a rare moment of reflection and a chance to share the lessons behind her meteoric rise.

The mindset behind the movement

When asked what she wished she knew before starting Off Season, Juszczyk doesn’t hesitate to answer.

“Growth is never linear,” she tells SI Swimsuit. “You expect to learn and keep growing, but it’s not linear. There are dips, and it can go up, and it can go down. You’re gonna have some failures—but you have to turn your failures into learning experiences.”

It’s a philosophy she’s leaned on as Off Season has scaled from a single outerwear drop into a multi-category brand with five distinct collections in less than a year.

The inaugural January 2025 launch featured puffer jackets, vests and longline coats for five NFL teams. A ready-to-wear street style expansion followed, with fleece corsets, joggers and oversized tees. From there, Juszczyk and her cofounder Emma Grede broke new ground with the brand’s first-ever WNBA collection, then released a second wave of NFL pieces like shrug camis and baby tees. Up next, they are expanding the original puffers to seven additional teams, making the fan-favorite silhouettes available to even more audiences.

Still, Juszczyk remains grounded.

“I feel so lucky and so humbled every single day,” the New York native, who now lives in San Jose, Calif., adds. “Sometimes I have to take a step back and just be like—wow, this is actually happening.”

Designing for women, leading with instinct

One thing that sets Off Season apart is its unwavering focus on women.

In a fanwear economy that’s historically catered to men, Off Season makes women the priority—not a niche and not a bonus, but rather the baseline.

“It all started with me designing for me,” Juszczyk says. “And honestly, I’m still kind of designing for me. That’s where it all came from. I’m a fan at heart, and it’s important to dress for the fans. So when I’m designing, I want to wear every single piece myself.”

Her approach is deeply personal and deliberately hands-on. She tries every fit, styles every sample, and even tests pieces on her husband, 49ers fullback Kyle Juszczyk. “I like to fit them on Kyle, too,” she shares with a laugh. “Our graphic tees and oversized pieces are meant to be shared.”

That blend of intuitive design, thoughtful execution and fashion fluency has made Off Season feel like more than a brand; it’s a cultural reset for what fanwear can be. Stylish. Authentic. Inclusive.

“I think it’s so important as a founder, as a designer, to want to wear the pieces that you create,” she continues. “Every single piece in the collection I would buy and wear in a heartbeat.”

Juszczyk knows what it means to bet on yourself. And for the 20 entrepreneurs lucky enough to hear her speak at Training Camp, the message was clear:

“You’re gonna have doubts,” she said. “But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do it.”

Shop now at offseasonbrand.com.

More Kristin Juszczyk:

manual

Published
Home/Celebrities