DETROIT – Olajuwon Ajanaku and Earl Cooper were shocked by the reaction they had at the January PGA Merchandise Show.
Friends and business partners walked proudly on the aisles wearing the logo of their new company, Eastside Golf, on their shirts. A logo with a man playing golf in jeans, a sweatshirt, a gold chain and a baseball cap.
It’s more than a logo, though. It is a representation of Ajanaku and Cooper, both 31, the journey they have made in golf and their desire to help grow sport through fashion and culture. It embodies their effort to attract a different demographic to golf and show people that they can be themselves on the golf course and that you don’t need to leave your personality in the parking lot.
At 6 feet-3, and African-American in a sport that is trying to increase her diversity, Ajanaku has already distinguished herself, but she walks the aisles of the PGA Merchandise Show wearing a logo that is so far from the norm in the golf sector , stood out even more. The two friends and former college teammates were testing the reaction to their new clothing company by industry professionals to see if their concept could work.
“I being a PGA professional, I’ve been to a lot of PGA shows and when Olajuwon said we had to go there, I was really hesitant,” said Cooper. “Let’s go over there and I’ve never seen anything so contagious before; not in the golf industry. I told Olajuwon in Orlando that you have something here.”
Cooper was hesitant because he wasn’t sure how an ultra traditional industry that, for the most part, stayed within the lines when it came to clothing and fashion would react to the brand. Two African American golfers with a lifestyle brand received an extremely positive reaction.
That reaction aroused a sigh of relief from Ajanaku, who initially started the company as a way to finance his dreams of making it on the PGA Tour.
He has been playing golf since he was 6 years old, growing up in east Atlanta. When all his friends chose basketball or football, he chose golf. Sport became something that filled all the gaps he had in his life and became his passion.
He and Cooper met as teammates on the golf team at Morehouse College. Their team won the National Minority Golf Championship, now called the PGA Works Collegiate Championship, in 2010.
Ajanaku played professional golf, while Cooper became a member of the PGA who worked in private clubs and started education and teaching.
Playing mini-tours proved difficult for Ajanaku. Even with few wins, keeping up financially can be difficult for even the best golfers. Managing travel expenses, tournament costs and everything needed to compete has consistently achieved and forced him into business.
Always playing golf on a recreational level, Ajanaku joined the world of commercial finance, working with banks during the day to pay bills and pass the time. However, finance did not fill the void as golf did, and he knew he could not miss the opportunity to pursue his passion for playing golf professionally.
One evening, walking to the door after a long day of work, Ajanaku realized he needed golf in his life. He lacked that piece that fed him and had been an integral part of what he was. So he decided to act.
He knew from his past experience that if he had to pursue golf professionally, he would need some financial security. He also knew that he would have to brand himself and try to find a way to market himself and get his name in the spotlight.
This is when the logo was created. The man wearing jeans, a sweatshirt, a gold chain and a hat.
He somehow represented Ajanaku, but he also represented his former teammates in Morehouse, his friends in Atlanta who had chosen basketball and football instead of golf and anyone who thought that golf might not be suitable for them based on their perception of the game and who to fit into that mold.
He put the logo on a shirt and wore it around the city in his new Detroit home. He was stopped by about 20 people asking him what the brand was and where they could find one of the shirts. It was at that moment that he knew it would be more than a way to finance his dream.
It was an opportunity to bring newcomers to the game he loved and who otherwise would never have thought of adapting.
“For the younger generation to see that logo and think that golf can be beautiful, I can be myself, and that’s what jeans, the sweatshirt and the chain represent,” said Ajanaku. “I can be myself and look how I want and get into the game of golf, because many times when you go to a country club, you have to get into this box. But in this way, you can be yourself outside that box, but play still golf. “
In November 2019, Ajanaku implemented a business plan to create Eastside shirts, sweatshirts, hats and golf balloons, all decorated with the distinctive logo.
The new brand has sent the message that golf is for everyone, that you can be yourself on the course and that you don’t have to look for a certain way to play.
“The way you really grow the game is outside of golf,” said Ajanaku. “We had an interview with AllHipHop.com and I think we are probably the first golf company to have an interview with a hip-hop company. But this says that we can be what we want in life by staying yourself and this is the most important part. “
Some of the biggest golf apparel companies have moved towards using fashion as a means of pushing the boundaries. Puma has introduced a variety of golf shoes, including high tops and more recently the RS-G shoe, reminiscent of Kanye West’s Yeezy wave running shoe. Nike has also pushed its limits with clothing and shoes, but the idea of growing the game by showing non-golfers that there is no way you have to appear is new.
That someone can wear an Eastside golf shirt with a logo and spark a conversation about golf or arouse someone’s interest in sports is what Ajanaku and Cooper hope the brand will achieve. Both believe that the game has given them so much, and as their company grows in popularity, they hope to have the opportunity to show others what golf can offer them too.
The opportunities with youth golf organizations, including The First Tee, are all part of Eastside Golf’s future plans to help return and continue spreading its message.
“It’s definitely a platform that we believe can be used to inspire change,” said Cooper. “This is already inspirational for people, but to see that change nationally now, I hope we can continue contributing to this. This brand speaks to our children and will speak to the next generation of golfers, so we don’t see looking forward to being authentic and helping to use this brand to grow the game. “
What started as an idea to help an individual achieve a personal goal is now becoming a catalyst for bringing others together in a community where they otherwise would not have felt suitable. Regardless of race, age or status, Eastside Golf says it is for everyone; so that everyone can try the game of golf and do it together.
“Eastside Golf is saying to those people, ‘Try playing golf,'” said Ajanaku. “He’s giving them leeway to say, ‘It’s nice, it’s something I can try. Let me try, and later, I can get the benefits.’
“So we’ll go ahead and try to give everyone golf.”
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