Marnie Rabinovitch Consky

Marnie Rabinovitch Consky is the CEO and Chief Anti-Chafing Champion of Thigh Society, the #1 brand of anti-chafing underwear. She founded the company in 2009, inspired by her need for long underwear that wasn’t constricting like shapewear, and with a mission to end diet culture’s stigma of thigh chafe as a weight issue.

She was told the business was too niche and didn’t have legs (pun intended!) because women only wanted shapewear. It turns out, they want comfortable, long-leg underwear that isn’t shapewear — and a new product category was born: slip shorts. Now, Thigh Society is a $10M+ self-funded and profitable business run by a team of part-time remote freelancers. The brand has a global cult-like following for its shorties that offer chafe prevention, moisture wicking and modesty, help with butt sweat and hot flashes, and can be worn for fitness, sleepwear, loungewear, pregnancy, post-surgery and more. Its size inclusive range of stretchy and breathable fabrics in different colors and leg lengths ensures that there’s a pair for everyone.

Instead of feeling sucked in and suffocated by undergarments designed to constrict and shrink, Thigh Society offers soft, empowering solutions that offer freedom of movement instead of restriction and distraction.

What is your typical day, and how do you make it productive?

Most days are pretty similar – the entire Thigh Society team is remote, and I work from home in my dedicated office that’s set up ergonomically with a proper desk and chair. Before the pandemic, people underestimated the importance of a good setup for productivity, but being comfortable – especially if you’ll be sitting for a lot of hours – is so important. I usually have 1-3 video calls a day and I try to space them out on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays so I’m not in back to back meetings each day. I usually keep Mondays and Fridays open for more focussed work. I schedule walks and exercise; blocking out the time and marking myself as”busy” in my calendar is the only way it happens. On those evenings where I have to work, I’ll sometimes work by candlelight (and the glare of my huge monitor!) to make myself feel more zen and calm.

How do you bring ideas to life?

Listening to our customers and community is a key source of ideas for new products. Our new color launches are driven more by customer requests than fashion trends, and our new Cargo shorts with a pocket was the #1 request by our customers for years.

What’s one trend that excites you?

I love that society and the media feels like it’s becoming more open – albeit very slowly – to less ageist attitudes in business and fashion. And I hope it’s a trend that sticks. Take Martha Stewart being on the cover of Swimsuit Illustrated at 81 years old. This would have been unfathomable a decade ago. Having pursued Thigh Society full-time at 40 years old, I know full well that starting a business and/or and living your best life has no age limit.

What is one habit that helps you be productive?

Scheduling everything in my calendar. This includes meetings, errands, family events, birthday reminders, etc. Even workouts!

What advice would you give your younger self?

Be confident and stop worrying so much about what you look like. Move your body in a way that feels good. Eat in a way that nourishes your body and makes you happy. There’s so much more to life than trying to shrink your body. What you look like is the least interesting thing about you.

Tell us something you believe almost nobody agrees with you.

That there’s no such thing as a dumb question. A lot of people – especially women and more so women in business – don’t like asking questions because they feel like it makes them look stupid. Stop worrying about what the other person might think of you. Did you ever consider that maybe they could have communicated better? Just ask.

What is the one thing you repeatedly do and recommend everyone else do?

Donate clothes that don’t fit you anymore. Get them out of your closet – seeing them every day doesn’t help your body image and keeps you focused on the past instead of the present.

When you feel overwhelmed or unfocused, what do you do?

I either have a dance party in my kitchen or go for a walk and listen to my fave playlist.

What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business or advance in your career?

Networking with people. Relationships are everything in business and career. You never know if you’ll be able to help someone or vice versa. For example, when I had the idea for Thigh Society, I mentioned it to people in my group fitness class as part of casual conversation. Unbeknownst to me, one of the guys managed all of the domestic production for a huge fitness apparel brand and was able to make a warm introduction to their factory. It would have taken me months to find them and get them to take a meeting with me.

What is one failure in your career, how did you overcome it, and what lessons did you take away from it?

Putting too much trust and faith in a few expensive marketing agencies. These failures had a few things in common: I didn’t ask enough questions about their processes, I was too trusting that they had my company’s best interest at heart, and they didn’t truly understand our brand. I fixed these issues by asking a lot more clarifying questions up front, beefing up onboarding, and staying involved day-to-day until I felt comfortable easing off. And trusting my gut!

What is one business idea you’re willing to give away to our readers?

I have no idea – if I did I’d probably be starting another business doing it 🙂

What is one piece of software that helps you be productive? How do you use it?

Definitely 1Password, where you can enter all of your passwords from every single website you have a login for into one app. It works seamlessly across both mobile and desktop and with any internet browser. It even suggests randomly generated passwords instead of using the same one for every site (guilty!) and will tell you which of your passwords are great or terrible. I never have to remember passwords anymore except for the one to login to 1Password. So much more brain space!

What is the best $100 you recently spent?

A $25 portable battery charger called Pocket Juice to charge my cell phone on the go. Great for holidays and the beach where there are no electrical outlets around but you want to take more selfies or finish that Netflix show you downloaded.

Do you have a favorite book or podcast from which you’ve received much value?

More Than a Body by Drs. Lindsay and Lexi Kite. Their book helps women in particular understand that we’re so much more than what we look like, and that our bodies are the least interesting thing about us. These books, among many others, have shaped my views on diet culture and how we’re influenced by such toxic and unrealistic beauty standards.

What’s a movie or series you recently enjoyed and why?

I loved the crazy story of The Real Chippendales, on Disney+ of all networks LOL. It’s about the founder of Chippendales, how he started the business and how it became the male striptease enterprise we know it to be. Can’t say more as I don’t want to give away any spoilers.

Key learnings:

• Chart your own path when it comes to starting a business, whether that’s how you work, build your team or fund your company – and you’re never too old to start
• Lean into technology to make your day-to-day life (personal and professional) more productive and efficient
• Your body is the least interesting thing about you.