Where two cultures collide

The Pivot

As some of you know, I've worked on other clothing brands/concepts before, though I've never truly given them the attention they required. In many ways all that came before has led me to this point. And while the focus previously has primarily been on surfing, it’s dawned on me that the surfing industry is already over-saturated, competitive, and filled with a lot of young and exciting brands.

In late 2021, as I fell back in love with golf, I realized, here's an industry that is quite lacking, particularly when it comes to the clothing industry around it. I remember the attire being one of the reasons I personally never felt at home on the golf course. Especially when learning to play as a kid.

A golfing skateboarder?

At the time my parents dragged me and my brother to the golf course, I was heavily into skateboarding, thanks to said older brother and his radical friends. But golf and skateboarding, did not exactly go hand in hand. They were like the opposite ends of a spectrum. Golf being kinda for posh folks in the upper echelons of society, and skateboarding something very new (in my home country), bordering to be considered an act of vandalism.

Luckily, some of my golf teachers were a bit younger and diverse enough that they took an interest in the skateboarding tricks I performed around the parking lot, which was filled with expensive cars. Somehow I managed to never scratch or dent one of them. But their interest in the thing I was passionate about, helped bridge the gap, and I didn’t mind showing up for a lesson now and then.

When it came to golf, I did actually enjoy the sport itself, and was quite a decent swinger of the golf club. I just couldn’t click with the other kids and the culture surrounding it. That’s why I quit the first chance I had, no more training, no more competitions, though I would still semi-regularly play a round with my folks, as I always enjoyed doing so (and still do to this day).

Surf & turf

Throughout my teenage years, I played golf off and on. Though in my late adolescence I got really into surfing, and that became the only thing that mattered in my life. This brings us to this crossroads I’m at now; enjoying both ends of the spectrum.

I've come to realize there are way more similarities between surfing and golf then one may think. So many, I've even thought about starting a podcast on it with a good friend (may follow). There are also more surfers, and probably skateboarders too, who enjoy playing golf. Or at least, more and more people who align with skate and/or surf culture, who also enjoy a round of golf. To give an extreme example, Kelly Slater, probably the world's most famous surfer, is a fanatic of golf (and quite a decent player), and so are some of the other world class surfers out there.

That brings us back to Volpe, a brand started by a skateboarding golfer, turned surfer, turned golfer again. It will be a golf brand with surfy vibes. Our aim is to shake up the golf clothing industry, bringing a bit more spice to the game, and offering something different. Overall though, we’re building an inclusive multi-disciplinary brand, with a focus on an ethical and environmentally friendlier approach. Whether you’re a golfer or a surfer, or somewhere in between, you’re welcome to wear our threads.

In the next newsletter we'll talk about some of the struggles we encountered while starting out this brand.