In The Game Podcast · Nat Cook & Sarah Maxwell

138: Creating a Global Swimwear Brand as a Single Mum: Rebecca Klodinksy's Re-Claims the Word Ambition

·41 min·2 clips

Rebecca says she was “one of the first people in the country” to use Instagram as a sales tool.

1. In The Game Podcast episode 138 focuses on Rebecca Klodinsky, who built Exist swimwear and Presswick Place while raising two children. 2. Host Sarah Maxwell introduces Rebecca as the founder of two multi-million-dollar brands, the partner of retired AFL star Lockie Henderson, and a mother of two. 3. The episode asks how Rebecca turned a $2,000 start into a global brand, managed single motherhood, and kept ambition central. 4. Rebecca says she is a “self-proclaimed relationship engineer” and Sarah Maxwell frames season seven around women’s stories and career choices. 5. Rebecca says she was “one of the first people in the country” to use Instagram as a sales tool for Exist. 6. She explains that she was selling when Instagram, Facebook, and MySpace were all still shifting, and she says that timing let her experiment early. 7. Rebecca says she deferred university and treated the first business as something she could walk away from if it failed. 8. She says Exist received attention from Kylie Jenner’s assistant, Kim Kardashian’s assistant, and an order that surprised her enough to read the address. 9. Rebecca says she was a single mother later in the business and that having a child forced her to narrow her attention to “the firstborn and it’s the business.” 10. She says she bought a house with a work side and a home side so she could separate business from family life. 11. Rebecca says she never felt pressure to follow the crowd and describes choosing a Louis Vuitton bag over schoolies in 2004. 12. She says she has always had a “hustle” and can see smarter ways to do things, rather than staying tied to a nine-to-five. 13. Rebecca says her psychology degrees help her understand human behavior and the way people use phones and respond to content. 14. She says the “wag” label came with a negative connotation, even though she was working and supporting Lockie Henderson. 15. Rebecca says working with Lockie works because he was already successful in his own career and did not need her to explain ambition. 16. She says they have clear roles in the business and that he is “a lot softer” than she is. 17. Rebecca says the mental load of parenting is real because there is no break for self-regulation and no break from daily demands. 18. She says she sleeps early, keeps her phone out of the bedroom, and tells women to call a friend and stay off Instagram when they feel overwhelmed. 19. Listeners who like business, motherhood, and ambitious women will get the most from this episode. 20. Listeners looking for a polished startup case study with minimal family detail may skip it.

As heard by us

A plainspoken episode about ambition, labels, and the strain of meeting a partner on equal footing.

An episode like this leans on the friction between ambition and the labels people hand out. The conversation works best once it gets past biography and into the messier part: being called a WAG, carrying the breadwinner role, and wanting a partner who can meet you on equal…

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Why you'd press play

For a candid look at ambition, motherhood, and being labeled by others.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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