story

"My name is Olajuwon Ajanaku, Founder of Eastside Golf. Today we're at John A. White Driving Range with a couple of young professionals, Jakari and Solomon. Thank you guys for coming out with us today. We see ourselves in you guys. What do you see yourself doing with ... "

"Golf in the next two to three years? I would say probably in the next two, three years I could definitely see myself, just like, giving back as much as possible to the game that gave me everything, you know. I would say learning all aspects about golf because there's so much more in the golf industry out there and ... "

"That'll give us more opportunities for youth and minorities growing up, knowing that they can have a space in the golf community. And I think it's very important that y'all know that this brand was built for y'all. We look at it as a platform to kind of tell those ... "

"Stories and tell your story. As a golfer, you're put in a box, right? Especially as an African-American Golfer. When they see us, the first thing they think is either a caddie or Tiger Woods, right? You haven't really seen that in the middle. That middle space is where the power is. And, you know, my personal story ... "

"I met the candidate at that time who was the mayor and he was a 73-year-old white man. He kind of had his eye and saw how I was working the room and was able to connect with different people and it just opened up the gateway where he's like, listen, man ... "

"I really want you in my administration. Like, I'd get to the final interview, and the first question they'd ask, always, what's your handicap? You're already in the top 1% of golf. So like, the majority of golfers, you don't even have to prove yourself to, so you can be out there building those relationships".

"Yeah, one of my good coaches, he always said, there's really only three things externally that can really lead to your success in golf. One is access to the best equipment, two is access to the best facilities, three, and I think the most important, is just access to really good coaching. I think ... "

"Those three on top of the heart that you have to have inside of you, I think that can really just get the job done and take you wherever you want to go. Because I don't think that there's enough information on how to get sponsorships and how to get from amateur to pro. As we talk about these barriers ... "

"We also, we want to reverse engineer it and look at it as opportunities. And, I definitely feel like that's something that we're going lean into, is just the education of the game. When I actually started Eastside Golf, I mean, my main purpose was to turn pro".

"The reason I started it was because I wanted to take the entrepreneur route and sponsor myself. What is it that you guys see can change in the game?"

"I would say just seeing more Black women out there, like that would really help, and encourage other Black women to want to play golf. I think it would really just be the stigma that golf is a white, male-dominated sport. Standing behind diversity in the game will change the game completely".

"That's what I feel like we're doing and that's what I feel like we have the confidence to do. We did a little bit of a long-game action but I'm excited about the short game because I feel it's often overlooked and because you think it's the small ... "

"Part of the game. It's the little things that matter and it's similar to life. It's almost like finishing out strong. An analogy to life is definitely paying attention to the details. Certain situations where it's like, damn, I can't catch a break".

"There's always a way through it. We had one of our mentors say to me one time, like, golf is a game you can never own, only borrow. Right? And it's like a journey and the moment you think you own it ... "

"It's like it'll remind you like, nah, nah, nah, you don't own this one yet, you know? And I'll say lastly, you know, be the change that you want to see. We definitely want to keep in touch with you".

"Hit us up whenever you have anything you guys want to talk about. We're here for you. Thanks for coming out, man. Good to see you. I wanna hear from you! Absolutely, absolutely".

Talking Shop: Jordan x Eastside Golf Part 2