Most jobs come with a uniform—hard hats, hiking boots, stage clothes, or a lawyer’s blazer. But underneath it all, what you wear closest to your skin is just as (if not more) important. That’s why we asked five women with wildly different—and incredibly inspiring—careers to tell us what their days look like, and why what they wear makes all the difference.
From fighting wildfires in Idaho to guiding teens through the backcountry, touring the country with a banjo, climbing the world’s highest peaks, and rowing across the Arctic Ocean, these women face extremes—of heat, distance, pressure, and persistence and keep showing up. Here’s how they got started, what a day on the job really looks like, and how BRANWYN Performance Merino Innerwear helps them keep moving, creating, leading, and thriving no matter where work takes them.
Katrina Mohr
Fire Captain, U.S. Forest Service
As the lead of a wildland fire engine crew in Idaho, Katrina guides her team of six through smoke, heat, and rugged terrain. Her work ranges from driving a truck loaded with 800 gallons of water to hiking steep slopes with chainsaws, tools, and hoses to contain flames.
How it all started: Firefighting wasn’t part of Katrina’s plan. She was 26, working long hours in food service, when a boyfriend introduced her to wildland fire—a profession she didn’t even know existed. “It sounded like summer camp for adults,” she laughs. A few applications later, she found herself on a fuels crew in California, expecting to do it for a summer or two. Fourteen years later, she’s still here—and still hooked.
Surprising fact: Most people assume the biggest danger is fire itself, but Katrina explains the real danger lies in the trees: “Falling timber is what kills more firefighters than flames,” she explains. These days, her deepest worry isn’t for herself, but for her crew. “The idea of ever having to tell one of my 20-year-old’s families that I missed something—that’s what keeps me up at night.”
Day in the life: During fire season, Katrina’s alarm goes off before sunrise. By 6 a.m., she’s at fire camp with nearly a thousand other firefighters for a massive briefing, then breaking down the day’s plan for her crew. After that, it’s long drives to the fire line, hauling supplies, laying hose, and working shoulder to shoulder with other teams to hold the flames back. “Today we put in a mile of hose,” she says. Shifts often stretch until 8 p.m., followed by late dinners, quick chores, and sleep before doing it all again the next day.
Why Performance Innerwear matters: “I wear my BRANWYN Racerback sports bra 14 days straight on the fire line. It doesn’t get smelly, it doesn’t lose its shape—it’s just the perfect thing.” And there’s more at stake than comfort. Synthetic fabrics can actually melt to skin in high heat, which is why wildland firefighters stick to natural fibers like Merino. Off the line, she swaps into the BRANWYN Essential Bralette for downtime at camp. “After a long day, it’s softer, comfier, exactly what I need.”
Ashley Resurreccion
Art Therapist & Wilderness Instructor
Ashley splits her time between guiding youth through the wilderness and supporting others through art therapy. As a wilderness instructor where she carries a 60-pound pack and leads teens on multi-week expeditions through rugged terrain—teaching them backpacking, climbing, and leadership along the way. Back home in Los Angeles, she provides art therapy to marginalized communities, using creativity as a tool for healing.
How it all started: Ashley’s path began with a love for both psychology and art, which she combined in graduate school to become an art therapist. But her connection to the outdoors traces back further—to her Filipino roots and her Peace Corps service in Thailand, where farming and time in nature rekindled her sense of home. “If you know your plants and you know your people, you know your home,” she says. That philosophy eventually led her to outdoor education, where she blends art, culture, and nature in powerful ways.
Surprising fact: Ashley once hiked 14 miles down a mountain to evacuate a sick co-instructor, then turned around and hiked another 14 miles back up the same day—while still caring for a dozen students. “That was a 28-mile day,” she recalls. “It’s hard, but I wouldn’t be in this work if I didn’t love it.”
Day in the life: During a wilderness training expedition, Ashley’s alarm goes off at 4 a.m. She packs her gear, hikes 8–10 miles with her students, and spends evenings teaching lessons on leadership, land stewardship, and Indigenous culture under the stars. Meals are simple: quinoa, pasta, and sometimes “scramble cakes” made from brownie mix cooked in a pan. The backcountry hiking trips stretch for weeks at a time, with resupplies arriving by horse or llama packers. By the end, the students who start out missing their phones are often transformed. “They stop caring about appearances and start caring about each other,” Ashley says.
Why Performance Innerwear matters: Out in the backcountry, packing light is key, and Ashley swears by her BRANWYN bras and underwear. “They just work,” she says. “Synthetic ones feel disgusting after a day. Merino feels good, wet or dry.” On shorter trips, she can wear one bra the whole time; on longer expeditions, she hand-washes with Dr. Bronner’s in a bag and lets the sun freshen it.
Sparrow Smith
Musician & Songwriter
Sparrow makes her living through music—touring, recording, and leading bands. She and her husband perform across the country, carrying forward folk traditions while creating original songs rooted in place. “I just love playing music. It’s how I want to spend my time. It makes people happy, and it makes me happy too,” she says.
How it all started: After high school, Sparrow hit the road, hitchhiking and riding trains around the country. Along the way, she fell into vibrant music scenes where busking was a way of life. Playing on street corners honed her skills and taught her what moved people. Years later, meeting her husband, Keith—a seasoned busker himself—convinced her it was possible to do music full-time. Together, they’ve now been performing professionally for 11 years.
Surprising fact: Sparrow’s artistry isn’t limited to music. She also creates “cranky puppet shows”—hand-painted scrolling illustrations that accompany Appalachian ballads. Her latest, tied to a song on her debut solo album Carolina Mountains, will debut on stage this summer. “It’s basically like a really long painting you crank through while you sing,” she explains.
Day in the life: No two days look the same. When she’s on tour, Sparrow spends weeks on the road, playing shows nearly every night. At home in Marshall, North Carolina, she juggles mailing out records, rehearsing new songs, and preserving summer produce from her garden. On a recent day: “I woke up at 9:30 to post on social, packed records to ship, ran errands for tour, and this afternoon I’m making a banjo video down by the river before rehearsal tonight.”
Why Performance Innerwear matters: Sparrow leans on her Innerwear to keep up with a life in constant motion. “I actually wear my Busty Bra as a tank top all the time—it’s so versatile. I can wear it to the river, then run errands, then even play a show in it.” For a touring musician who packs light, Merino is key: quick-drying, odor-resistant, and performance-ready. “I’m a pretty active (and stinky!) person,” she laughs. “Polyester smells awful almost instantly, but BRANWYN still feels good whether I’m on stage, hiking, or driving all day in the car.”
Anjali Mehta
Human Rights Lawyer & Founder, What is the Power of We
Anjali is a human rights lawyer who left big law in New York to launch What is the Power of We, a nonprofit dedicated to combating gender-based violence. The organization tackles one of the field’s biggest problems—advocates and small organizations working in isolation with too few resources. Through a global digital hub, The Power of We connects frontline groups, enabling them to collaborate, share tools, and access funding that might otherwise be out of reach. “The goal is to keep shelters open, keep food and emergency hotlines available,” she explains. She also leads Survivors to Summits, a campaign to climb the Seven Summits to raise awareness and amplify survivor voices.
How it all started: Advocacy has always been central to Anjali’s calling. She first thought dance would be her medium, even working with a dance-for-justice company in India. But it was a study abroad trip to Chile—where she helped rewrite a law to recognize sexual violence as torture—that changed her course. “Hearing survivors’ stories and seeing how legislation could give them power was when I realized law could be my way to make a difference.”
Surprising fact: As part of Survivors to Summits, Anjali is training to climb all Seven Summits, starting with Mount Vinson in Antarctica this year and aiming for Everest in 2028. For her, the mountains aren’t just physical challenges—they’re symbols. “Even in the most remote places in the world, our stories can still connect us.”
Day in the life: Anjali’s mornings begin with grounding—yoga, journaling, or simply coffee and quiet before diving into her work. By 9, she’s at her computer, breaking the day into blocks: drafting advocacy pieces, connecting with organizations, or working on the Survivors to Summits documentary pitch. Afternoons include training sessions—sometimes an hour on the Stairmaster with 50 pounds in her pack, sometimes strength work or mobility-focused yoga. Evenings are for community: dinner with her husband, time with friends, or contributing to the development of a new musical about gender-based violence in India.
Why Performance Innerwear matters: Training and advocacy both demand resilience, and for Anjali, comfort is non-negotiable. “I have three BRANWYN bras that I rotate—they’re basically my hack. I put one on in the morning, and it reminds me to stay connected to my body all day.” On expeditions, the choice becomes even more critical. “Every ounce matters on a mountain, and BRANWYN is light, comfortable, and versatile. I can hike in it, rest in it, even sleep in it. No cuts, no chafing—10 out of 10,” she says.
Hannah Huppi
Rowing Coach, Athlete & Entrepreneur
Hannah has spent nearly two decades in the sport of rowing—first as a collegiate athlete, then as a trailblazer in coastal and ocean rowing. She and her husband relaunched the New Orleans Rowing Club, developed junior and indoor programs, and even competed on the first-ever U.S. National Coastal Rowing Team, where she medaled at the World Championships. In 2023, she created a team that became the first to complete an unsupported row across the Arctic Ocean, shattering the world record by five days.
How it all started: Rowing first hooked Hannah when she joined Tulane’s team in 2007. She knew instantly: “This is my sport.” From there, she pushed boundaries—dabbling in coastal beach sprints, training with Team USA, and finally setting her sights on ocean rowing. “The ocean was calling. I wanted to lose sight of shore.”
Surprising fact: Hannah is the first woman to row the Arctic Ocean as part of a registered, unsupported expedition. “Breaking barriers for women and moms in adventure sports was as important to me as breaking the record itself,” she says. Her crew also raised funds for two New Orleans nonprofits supporting youth, proving the challenge was about more than the finish line.
Day in the life: In the Arctic, during her record-breaking row, “day” and “night” blur together under 24-hour sunlight. Hannah rowed in 90-minute shifts, 12 hours each day, alternating with crewmates to keep the boat moving nonstop. Off-shifts were spent desalinating seawater, boiling water for freeze-dried meals, or collapsing into a cramped, wet cabin for 30–45 minutes of sleep. “It felt like being inside a washing machine,” she says. Despite seasickness, she found the rhythm meditative—long hours of blue water, fog, and silence. The team finished in Longyearbyen Harbor, greeted by a pod of belugas and the best midnight pizza of her life.
Why Performance Innerwear matters: When you’re living in wet gear for weeks, every layer counts. Hannah wore her BRANWYN Essential Racerback Sports Bra across the Arctic, only swapping it once. “It smelled good, it felt good—I didn’t need to change it,” she says. The wide straps kept her comfortable under her foul weather gear, and the Merino stayed breathable, quick-drying, and resilient through storms, sweat, and seawater. “It let me focus on rowing, not on discomfort,” she says.
We want to know: what does work look like for you? There are so many different types of labor—some are labors of love, others necessity—all meaningful in their own way. Share your story with us by emailing info@branwyn.com or DMing us on Instagram @branynofficial. We can’t wait to hear from you!
