The Angel City Football Club (ACFC) recently partnered with PNC Bank to host a panel titled “Insights from and for LA Leaders: Accelerating Women’ Financial Equality.” The panel featured ACFC forward Jasmyne Spencer, who also created the lifestyle brand Jas It Up.
Jas It Up started in 2016 when Spencer created a collection of customized headbands; she was competing for the Orlando Pride at the time. Spencer noted how she would spend a lot of money on headbands for soccer.
“My sister-in-law actually was the one who gave me the idea and she was like “you should make your own,”” she said. “It got a ton of support from the fan base down in Orlando … I used it as a way to encourage people to embrace their individuality and lead an active lifestyle.”
Spencer used a portion of the profits to host a free clinic at a local YMCA in Orlando. The next year, Spencer introduced the environmental sustainability component to the brand; she also hosted a beach cleanup with part of her profits. The impact of climate change hit close to home for Spencer.
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“I studied biology in college. I grew up on Long Island, so I spent all my summers at the beach,” she said. “My dad used to work for a power company and when Hurricane Sandy hit New York, he was in mandatory 16-hour shifts.”
While recovering from a torn ACL in 2019, Spencer rebranded Jas It Up by making it a full fashion line.
“Fashion is so influential as an industry,” Spencer said. “I thought it was the best way for me to communicate this message that it’s important to protect the environment and it’s important to show up and support your community.”
Running Jas It Up while competing in the NWSL does come with its challenges. Spencer noted how balancing the two brings out the best in her.
“I think it’s so difficult to be an elite athlete, you are training 100 percent all the time, you’re competing 100 percent all the time,” she said. “Having Jas It Up as an outlet is so good for my mental health because it helps me to let that competitive side go and channel my energy into creating things.”
Spencer was on the panel with ACFC co-founder Kara Nortman, Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Maria Salinas, and PNC Bank regional president Todd Wilson. They talked about pay equity, retaining female employees and entrepreneurs and economic empowerment for female athletes. Spencer mentioned how being on the panel was a humbling experience.
“I’m in awe of our founders and honestly our entire investment group and what they’ve been able to do in terms of pushing the game of women’s soccer forward on a global scale,” she said. “To have an outside investor group actually believe that what you want and what you believe you’re valued out is possible and want to make sure you feel that is incredible.”
