Meet Natalie from Go Mama - maternity wear for active mamas
Meet Natalie, founder of Go Mama, a maternity brand offering activewear, swimwear, leisurewear, fitness equipment, and accessories designed to support women throughout their motherhood journey. Natalie embraces the joys and challenges of running a business and being a parent to her two young children.
OHbaby!: Tell us about yourself
My name is Natalie and I’m originally from Whangarei Heads in Northland. I moved to Auckland for work when I was 17 and joined the Royal New Zealand Air Force shortly after. I was posted to Auckland for the majority of my 21-year career in the Air Force before leaving last year to focus on Go Mama and get a little more equilibrium in the work/family juggle. We currently live on the Hibiscus Coast north of Auckland and I love soaking up the Coastie lifestyle exploring the beautiful beaches and trails.
OHbaby!: What does your family look like?
My husband and I are raising our two young children, Albie who is 5 and Cleo who recently turned 4. My husband has been in the Royal New Zealand Air Force since 2006 and was posted to Wellington for 2 years before his current deployment to Korea for 6 months so we’re thick in the season of staying connected through Messenger and WhatsApp!
OHbaby!: What is your business and what does it do/sell?
Go Mama is a maternity brand offering activewear, swimwear, leisure wear, fitness equipment and accessories all designed to support women throughout their motherhood journey. Our pieces are thoughtfully designed to remove barriers to exercise and help empower and inspire women to build the connection between physical activity and mental wellbeing. We want women to experience pieces that are comfortable, supportive and practical so they can continue to lead an active lifestyle and feel good!
OHbaby!: What is the story behind your business?
After the birth of my first child and during my second pregnancy, I experienced periods of postnatal depression and antenatal depression. I used exercise as a tool to help manage my mental health and during this period I was always on the hunt for functional pieces that not only supported me in my breastfeeding journey and pregnancy, but were affordable and comfortable too.
During one of Auckland’s lockdowns in 2020 while my husband and I were both navigating working from home with young children, we headed out for a family walk and I mentioned that I would love to have a home-based business I could mould around our family life. My husband suggested maternity activewear as I often talked about not being able to find items that ticked all the boxes…and the research started the moment we got home from our walk. He even came up with the name Go Mama that same day! I instantly fell in love with it as it feels like such a hype name and is so fitting because our ethos is all about wanting to encourage women to feel their best!
OHbaby!: What does a day in the life of you look like
Monday to Thursday is very much ‘School Mom’ hustling to get everyone out the door on time for daycare and school before settling back in to work on Go Mama for a few hours, packing orders, providing customer service and creating marketing content. I also try to use this time to clean the house and squeeze in some exercise. It’s then off to pick up the kiddies and a bit of play time (and more Go Mama) before kicking into the evening routine. Friday to Sunday I transition to ‘Soccer Mom’ ferrying the kids between swimming lessons, gymnastics, football and birthday parties.
We try to do dinner around 5.30pm each day followed by a bath, books then bed for the kids by 7pm…and more Go Mama for me.
OHbaby!: What is your favourite thing about your business?
My favourite thing is receiving feedback from Mamas who have found benefit in our products. It’s the best feeling in the world being able to support women on their maternity journey and knowing you’ve made a positive impact on their experience through pregnancy and postpartum.
OHbaby!: Favourite product?
Our Ultra leggings and Ultra bike shorts; I wear them almost every day of the year. They are one of our hero products and for good reason - they feel so amazing to wear and have all the must-have features like deep secure pockets, soft squat-proof fabric and just the right amount of compression and support. We have grown the Ultra range from 3 styles to 7, so now anyone from pregnancy to postpartum and long beyond can enjoy them in every season as much as I do!
OHbaby!: Any fun stories you would like to share?
Last year when Go Mama attended the Bay of Plenty Baby Expo, I was late booking accommodation and one of the only available options was a 6-bed female dorm at a hostel in central Tauranga. The location was perfect, and I was so excited to have a bed to myself without little people for a whole night and get a full night’s sleep! When I checked in to the hostel it was clear there were no available beds in my dorm room (there was no one in the room at the time but there were clothes, bags and towels draped everywhere). I spoke to reception who confirmed there were definitely only 5 others booked and they advised me to just ‘pick a bed’. I went out and grabbed some dinner then on my return I found the least cluttered bed and hopped in. I was awoken about midnight by someone saying I was in their bed so I moved to another bed we thought might be empty. I was woken twice more by others returning to the room, playing music, showering and talking then around 4am the final room-mate returned and promptly hopped into bed with me and started snoring. I jumped out and found the last empty bed and managed to drift off to sleep for a couple of hours. The room had advertised towels were provided so I didn’t bring my own towel (rookie!) and when I was the first one up at 7am, I found that all the towels had been used overnight so I had to dry myself with my pyjamas. As a recently-turned-40-year-old, I happily forfeited my second night there, found some new accommodation and firmly parked my hostel days in my twenties and thirties.
OHbaby!: What is one thing you said you wouldn’t do as a parent that you totally do?
I’m not sure I had set too many expectations on my parenting, but I am always surprised to hear all the ‘mumisms’ come out of my mouth. Do you know the ones? Like when your child asks a million ‘whys’ and you find yourself giving up and saying ‘just because’ or when they say they’re hungry and you say ‘have a piece of fruit’. Or you hear yourself saying things like “How many times do I have to repeat myself?”, “Have you got your shoes on yet?”. I often find myself saying things my Mum said to me and it always makes me smile as I reflect on how at the end of the day we’re all just mums out here doing our best!
