Destira is a Proud Beam Queen Boot Camp Partner

Samantha Peszek, 2008 Olympic Gymnast and 3-time NCAA Champion, graduated from college with an innovative dream to create something for the gymnastics world that she’d always wished she had as a young gymnast: a community and resource to help young gymnasts find their confidence on beam and in life. Her dream became Beam Queen Boot Camp (BQBC), now in its fourth year, and Destira is proud to have partnered with the camp at the very beginning.

Looking for custom branded leotards for Beam Queen, Sam was introduced to Destira co-owner Jodi Levy by a mutual friend. With their shared missions of empowerment and energetic optimism, the two immediately hit it off, excited together about the potential in Sam’s program, and in Destira’s role in designing a memorable leotard to keep participants connected to BQBC’s mission year-round and support the developing program’s branding.

Four Years of Striking Custom Leos

Summer 2020 is Beam Queen Boot Camp’s fourth year in operation, and Destira’s fourth year in designing awesome custom leotards for the program.

Senior Apparel Designer Alexis Moore has guided the evolution of the Beam Queen leotard for the last three years, to collaboration with Sam and Jodi, to develop dynamic leotards that capture the Beam Queen spirit—modern, confident, strong, and pink! Each year, the leos have increased in technical complexity, while maintaining the aesthetic the Beam Queen brand.

The first Beam Queen leotard in 2017 (Upper left and middle) was a solid black lycra front and pink back, with dazzling pink crystal embellishment. In 2018 (upper right), we shifted to a custom-printed design, with pink and black ombré and bold white BQBC letters on the chest. The 2019 leotard (lower left) featured our seamless side-panel design with BQCQ again on the chest, embellished with pink rhinestones for a some sparkle.

This year we raised the bar again with a unique design inspired by vintage swimsuits. The 2020 BQBC leotard (lower middle and right) features a printed sweetheart neckline and shimmery spangled belt. Sam says the leotard looks phenomenal, and we could not feel happier seeing it on smiling gymnasts in Beam Queen’s instagram feed.

“At first I did not like the idea of putting [the BQBC] on the back. But now, I actually like it better. It really symbolizes — especially during this time — that the Beam Queen Boot Camp community has your back.” — Samantha Peszek

We’re already pumped to keep serving up amazing design for BQBC for 2021.

World Class Online Gymnastics Programming

If 2020 had gone as planned, the 2020 Beam Queen Boot Camp leotard would have debuted to the Beam Team at a reveal party in Los Angeles in early spring, before hitting the road with BQBC in their camps nationwide this summer. With in-person events postponed, Sam decided to release all of her merchandise online instead, hoping to boost community morale.

And though BQBC camps are postponed, there’s still plenty to do. Sam and her very cool friends also launched Online Gym School—which is exactly what it sounds like—with online sessions featuring drills, workouts, and inspiration with more than 40 NCAA gymnasts, Olympic Champions, amazing choreographers, and elite coaches.

Not only is the program giving athletes access to world-class coaching, they’re also donating an amazing 50% of each athlete’s registration fee back to their local home gym. Online Gym School 1.0 generated over $63,000 in donations and their goal for 2.0 is to reach $100,000. Talk about the community having your back!

Partnership Means We're Here Together with You Too

When values-aligned organizations such as Beam Queen Boot Camp and Destira form partnerships, the relationship is more than business, more than dollars for pretty leotards. Relationships have always mattered to us, and they mean more now than ever as we all look for creative ways to support the gymnastics community through this unusual time.

You can read our COVID-specific updates here, and if you haven’t been in touch with us lately, drop us a line and let us know how you’re doing. Whether you’re inspired by the BQBC 2020 leotard and want to start designing your own custom leo, or you’re still figuring out how to survive in this new environment, we really want to hear from you!