So COVID-19 happened…and so did the manifestation of some of my biggest fears and disappointments. Everything that my photography business was made of…completely disappeared. Vanished into thin air. There was no steady decline or slow motion crumble wherein I could at least try and hold everything together like that one critical block in Jenga. Nope. None of that. C-19 swept my leg (and the legs of millions of others) like Johnny Lawrence did Daniel Larusso. This time, without Mr. Miyagi to heal us.
My focus turned to securing everything within my four walls which included “strategic” grocery store runs (you all know what I mean by that), cleaning my firearms and counting my ammo (yes I did, because early on we didn’t know what we were up against and how it would affect societal behavior), and dealing with the insecurities in my own mind about the way I looked (my wife and daughter as well) and how we’d be treated out in public because “Kung Flu” already existed in people’s hateful hearts even before the term had been coined. All of this while I feared for my parents and worried about my other family members. My business moved to the back-burner like little details in a movie that you lose sight of because you’re too engrossed in the story line. Days turned into weeks and those weeks started to run together - overlapped by my daughter’s unanswered daily questions about this crisis, zoom meetings, and the sound of paper being fed through my office printer in order to have the home school curriculum ready for the next day. Reality shifted. Priorities shifted. My role shifted. Our hearts remained heavy, especially for those friends and family whose income came to a standstill and those who were physically stricken down by the virus. We are a praying family. We always have been. Our prayers were sounding different the past few months.
On some days my mind would wander. My photography business while on the back-burner caught on fire and was burning into ashes. Photography (at least the kind that brings in income) requires physical and social interaction, sometimes with people you would be meeting for the first time. C-19 obviously changed all that. So I started going through my mixed bag of “App Ideas.” However, all the uncertainty in social behavior due to the virus and its long term effects would have me crossing out each app idea for one reason or another. I mean, even I thought my idea for an “Angie’s List meets Uber” for college tutors was a good one. Maybe if I changed it to “Angie’s List meets Zoom” for college tutors, I might be onto something. App ideas always start out great but then that bubble bursts after a quick google search to see if anything like your idea already exists. “Angie’s List meets Uber for college tutors” already exists lol and let’s not mention the personalized in-home escape room game idea smh.
Before the virus hit, the car rider line at my daughter’s school was one of my favorite places to be. Yes, I would get in line early, an hour early sometimes. Yup. I’m that dad. That hour was so valuable to me. Sometimes filled with the How I Built This with Guy Raz podcast. Sometimes with a book. Sometimes with a book about Tiger Woods. Sometimes with a book about golf in general… and then BAM! It hit me! Lennon has been playing golf since she was 4 years old. She’s got a set of clubs that are perfect for her petite frame but something was missing when it came to another piece of gear just as important in the game of golf. A golfer’s hat. Yes, a hat!
When Lennon first started playing it was tough for us to find golf headwear for kids that truly captured a youthful spirit within the game. Kids size golf hats were out there but they all were manufactured and sold by all the big name brands in the industry. While I’m all for Lennon looking up to and wanting to dress and fashion herself after her favorite players, she’s only 6 years old. The game of golf has a completely different meaning to a 6 year old. This is just my humble opinion but I know it’s also shared by many other parents, youth golf coaches, and professional golfers I’ve spoken with. Golf should be kept FUN for young kids. It should be a game, not a competition - at least not yet. There are so many moments a parent and child can share while learning this game. When your child sinks their first putt or when they make full contact on a swing and their eyes light up because of how far the ball flies. It’s an amazing feeling to share these small wins with them. At 6 years old, it should be about the connection between parent and child, not the connection between the backswing and the downswing. Again, just my opinion. Everything is subjective in the game of golf.
Lennon hopped into the car after school one day and I asked her if she’d like to start a business with me. She smiled and shouted, “Yes! I’ve always wanted to do a lemonade stand with you Daddy!” I smiled back and said, “Umm…I was thinking about something more along the lines of golf. How about a golf hat company for kids?!” She stayed silent for a moment. Her eyes wandering from left to right with her lips pursed - I knew she was in thinking mode. I was really nervous about what her reaction would be. Then she looked at me dead in the eye through the rear view mirror and said, “Oh my gosh. Are you serious Daddy?! I have an idea for a hat!” It was right then and there Afire Golf was born. Like really born. It wasn’t just something I had been harboring in my mind for over a year anymore. It was coming to life in the sparkle of my daughter’s eyes.
We listened to our hearts. We did our research. We sketched out designs. We punched holes in every idea we had. And here we are. We’ve set out to create a golf headwear line that would not only be functional but comfortable, lively, fun, and creative - for kids! And us big kids too! We sent samples to PGA and LPGA Tour golfers and their caddies. We wanted their feedback. We outfitted junior golfers in our hats and asked them to play in them and tell us how the hats fit, felt, and performed. We created Afire Golf Co. - a division of SoReal Unlimited, Inc. and now we’re about to launch our little family business (our version of a lemonade stand) out there for the entire world to see. I’m scared as hell, Lennon isn’t. Could it be that she’s showing me how to have confidence in my own swing? Whether we make one dollar or one million dollars in this venture…this ad-venture…we’re in it together. If there is one thing COVID-19 has proven to us, being together, is all that matters. And while I know fire has the power to burn things down, it’s that same fire that can clear the way for growth and replenishment. It brought us back to life. #WeAreAfireGolf