We love hearing how TIY custom hair ties empower our community on and off the field. TIY CEO Andrea Nucete-Elliott recently sat down with professional beach volleyball player and three-time Olympic gold medalist Kerri Walsh Jennings to talk hair, authenticity and TIY hair ties. Here’s their conversation:

Andrea: What is your personal relationship with your hair? 

Kerri: I have come to really love my hair despite the unruliness — despite the confusion that it gives me sometimes. I really believe that there is a lot of power in my hair and I love it. I feel like it’s a big part of my personality. I feel like the way I wear it, whether it’s back in a ponytail, ready to be a warrior on the volleyball court or in the gym, or whether it’s down and beachy and wavy, it shows the world and it shows myself what I’m preparing myself for, and I like that part of it.

Andrea: Does it empower you somehow? 

Kerri: I think so. It’s a ritual, at this point, when I’m getting ready for pre-match. I’m kind of putting on my war paint and I’m putting my hair back and I’m getting ready for battle. I feel very empowered when I’m doing that. It’s part of my process to go and kick butt. And when I’m not in the competitive mode and I’m just being a woman in this world, yes, my hair is a big part of who I am.   

Andrea: Does your hair allow you to express yourself in different ways? 

Kerri: It does. This is kind of a side story, but at one point after surgery, I couldn’t do my hair, so I got a Brazilian blowout, because it was supposed to make my life easier, and I feel like it turned me into a fraud and it turned away my power. The craziness of my hair is like the craziness within me. It’s like an authentic part of me. To do a process to strip the authenticity away, it was really hard for me as that grew out. I just think if you take the big picture of me, or of a woman, or a human being, their hair is a choice.

How you wear your hair is a choice. It’s a sign that you’re putting out to the world about who you are. And I don’t know what my sign is saying about me, but it makes me feel more “me” whenever I choose to do my hair in a certain way.

Andrea: Why do you like TIY? What is the main thing that, even if we’re not one of your sponsors and we don’t pay you, you keep using them and including them in your ritual — how has that become part of you and how is it different? 

Kerri: This is an authentic relationship. When I love something, I love it, and I don’t care if I’m getting paid or not, love is love. To be honest with you, for two years, I would not try these things. I would not try them because in my mind I was like, “Why would I ever want to cut my own hair ties? That just makes life so much harder. I don’t want to try something I’m not going to believe in.”

And then finally, I tried them, and I was like, “Kerri, you’re such an idiot!” These things are game-changing, and that’s not even an exaggeration, I love them. You have sent me so many of them that I could never get through them in a lifetime, and yet, it’s hard for me to share, because I love them.

They’re awesome, they’re the best. They’re consistent and reliable and easy and sassy and fun. They allow me to do my job better, and I love it. So, it just kind of hits all the notes that I want to hit in my life. I need reliable stuff. I don’t have time to use stuff that’s not reliable and not effective and doesn’t have integrity. You guys have created a product that, for me, is game-changing and it’s the easy choice. If I could tell the entire world who uses hair ties, I would recommend them to use your product, because it’s that good. 

About Kerri Walsh Jennings

Kerri Walsh Jennings is a professional beach volleyball player, three-time Olympic Gold medalist and one-time Olympic bronze medalist.   

About Andrea Nucete-Elliott

Andrea Nucete-Elliott is a professional beach volleyball player and coach, former Miss Universe Italy and CEO of TIY Hair Ties. 

TIY Custom Hair Ties: The Ultimate Game-Changer

TIY hair ties were specifically designed to help pro athletes like Kerri do what they do best. We love our TIY Tribe and it’s always growing. Join our community on Instagram and Facebook. You can also check out our Youtube channel for pro tips and hair hacks from our Tribe. 

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