Episode 80: Supporting Women in Sports with Jenny Nguyen of Sports Bra PDX

A study conducted in 2019 found that coverage of women athletes on televised news and highlight shows accounts for only 5.4% of all airtime. And that number has risen only .4% since 1989. 

Today’s guest, Jenny Nguyen saw an opportunity to help change this. Jenny is the founder and owner of The Sports Bra PDX, a sports bar in Portland, OR dedicated to girls’ and women’s sports. Their motto, We Support Women 

The Sports Bra not only seeks to empower women in sport but also women in the food and beverage industry. By supporting female distilleries, farmers, and ranchers, The Sports Bra is elevating female owners and operators that are often underrepresented, underinvested, and overlooked in their industries. 

Jenny is passionate about sport, good food and most importantly creating an inclusive and supportive community. After this interview, you’re going to want to plan your trip to Portland to visit The Sports Bra.

About Jenny

Jenny Nguyen picked up a basketball right around the same time she put down her milk bottle. From an early age, people called her a tomboy. Instead of playing with dolls and wearing dresses, she climbed trees and rode bikes. But most of all, she loved to play basketball. That love shaped her whole identity and helped her to fit in all the way through high school. When she was 19 years old in her first year playing college ball at Clark College, Nguyen ruptured her ACL. She was devastated by the career-ending injury but stumbled upon a newfound passion: cooking. She cooked all through college, first for her roommate, then for the whole floor, and then for the entire dorm. She landed her first kitchen job at age 22 and fell in love with the craft all over again. After graduating from college, Nguyen enrolled at the Western Culinary Institute in downtown Portland. There she graduated from the expedited program while working full time at a couple of fine-dining restaurants. 

When she was in the kitchen, Nguyen was in her element. The zone. The basketball court and the kitchen have been the only two places she has ever felt like she belonged. Later, she realized that both those places are very male-dominated and that she had struggled, endured, and found success in her own way. She went on to work her way up in kitchens for another 15 years, with the last four years as an executive chef at Reed College for Bon Appétit Management Company

Connect with The Sports Bra

Website https://www.thesportsbrapdx.com

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/thesportsbrapdx/

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/thesportsbrapdx/

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