by Rafael Pena
December 27, 2023
Black-owned golf attire model Eastside Golf began out with $100,000 in income its first 12 months to a projected $4 million in 2024.
In recent times, a brand new wave of golf attire manufacturers have emerged, revolutionizing the game with daring designs and attracting various gamers. One such model making waves is Eastside Golf, based in June 2019 by Olajuwon Ajanaku and Earl Cooper. Eastside Golf has skilled exponential development, ranging from two to 16 workers. In accordance with FastCompany, with income beginning at $100,000 in its first 12 months, it’s projected to achieve $4 million by the shut of 2023.
Initially a golf life-style attire firm, the model has advanced into a big pressure in diversifying the game, adorned by luminaries like Barack Obama, DJ Khaled, Dwyane Wade, and CC Sabathia. Collaborations with Jordan Model, the NBA, Apple, and Mercedes-Benz USA have cemented Eastside Golf’s place as a trailblazer within the trade.
Ajanaku and Cooper, former teammates on Morehouse Faculty’s golf workforce, performed pivotal roles within the Tigers successful a nationwide championship in 2010. Cooper turned a Class-A PGA professional and a famend teacher, whereas Ajanaku, unable to safe sponsorship for his professional golf aspirations, discovered a singular path. Leveraging his accounting diploma, Ajanaku ventured into finance however quickly conceived the thought of beginning his model, Eastside Golf.
The model’s distinctive swingman emblem, that includes Ajanaku in denims and a sweatshirt, caught the eye of onlookers. Ajanaku highlighted the brand’s significance, telling FastCompany, “The emblem actually says I don’t care. I’m out right here as a result of I like the sport of golf and since I like dressing fly. When persons are capable of be themselves, it offers them the facility to take action many different issues.”
Concerning the collaboration with Jordan Model, Ajanaku emphasised the shared ardour for the sport, stating, “We’re simply bringing a special wave to golf.” The collaboration resulted in various attire objects and footwear, with the latest launch of the Change 1961 Assortment that includes Eastside Golf X Jordan Golf footwear and a 14-piece attire assortment.
Past the accolades, Ajanaku and Cooper envision a extra vital impression on the golf trade. As the sport’s financial impression surpasses $100 billion, they purpose to foster range and expose communities to alternatives throughout the sport. Eastside Golf’s donation of $150,000 and a customized Sprinter van to the Morehouse golf program exemplifies their dedication to future leaders.
Wanting forward, Eastside Golf plans group occasions in numerous cities, together with Atlanta, Detroit, Memphis, and Augusta, Georgia. The model will launch a girls’s attire line round a distinguished girls’s novice golf occasion. Aspirations embody establishing a brick-and-mortar retailer in Atlanta, an Eastside Golf-style nation membership, and a basis nurturing junior golfers.
“We need to develop the model to a spot the place we’re touching all factors of golf,” Ajanaku mentioned. “Rising the sport of golf to a spot we needed to see it once we had been youthful. Now, it’s about placing that into play as a result of I do know that’s what the following generations need to see.”
Whereas Ajanaku hasn’t deserted his dream of turning professional, Eastside Golf’s founders are on a mission to go away a permanent impression on the sport and encourage generations to come back.
RELATED CONTENT: Eastside Golf Hits A Gap-In-One Partnering With Citi’s Motion for Racial Fairness Initiative
