Meet Lindsey Carter: The Founder and CEO of Beloved Athleisure Brand Set Active

Welcome to Second Life, a podcast spotlighting successful women who've made major career changes—and fearlessly mastered the pivot. Hosted by Hillary Kerr, co-founder and chief content officer at Who What Wear, each episode gives you a direct line to women who are game changers in their fields. Subscribe to Second Life on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or anywhere you get your podcasts to stay tuned.

If you’re an athleisure guru, chances are you’re obsessed with the brand Set Active. Known for their incredibly chic, monochromatic activewear sets, SET Active was founded by Lindsey Carter with the intention to blur the lines between form and function, ultimately creating sets that didn’t sacrifice comfort for style — and vice versa. As the founder and CEO of Set Active, Carter created a brand that leads with the mission of "community first and brand second,” which has paid off in fostering a devout following of brand loyalists. 

In fact, the connection of the community is very clear. Since its launch in 2018, they’ve sold to a quarter million customers and have garnered over half a million followers between Instagram and TikTok, plus a 3.5 million monthly reach. Set Active has also evolved beyond activewear with a growing assortment of sweats and other wardrobe essentials. There’s no denying that over 15 years ago, Carter saw a niche in the activewear market, and today, she continues to remain at the forefront of the industry.

While it may come as a surprise that Carter’s early career days were actually spent in marketing and media, it’s always been about connection for Carter. She worked as an executive assistant at NBC Universal before joining the Variety magazine team, where she worked in marketing. She then launched her own social media agency, where she helped brands set strategies to maximize engagement across various platforms. 

Listen to the latest episode of Second Life to hear how Carter eventually pivoted her career from media into building a successful brand with purpose.

And keep scrolling to shop some of our favorites from Set Active.