WEBVTT 1 00:00:02.359 --> 00:00:06.559 What is it about the shoe that is making them better? It really is 2 00:00:06.599 --> 00:00:10.800 physics. I'll get a little technical here. When we're standing, we push 3 00:00:10.880 --> 00:00:14.240 into the ground, but the ground pushes back up. That's called ground reaction 4 00:00:14.359 --> 00:00:18.519 force. And when we push with our muscles harder than the ground is holding 5 00:00:18.559 --> 00:00:21.719 us down, that's how we move. So what we did with our shoes 6 00:00:21.839 --> 00:00:25.920 is we angled the ground reaction force so more of it is going in towards 7 00:00:25.920 --> 00:00:29.280 the body. So now when you load on your backside, you're a little 8 00:00:29.280 --> 00:00:32.640 bit more stable and you've got more force going into your body. And then 9 00:00:32.640 --> 00:00:35.640 when you transfer from the backside to the front side, you get more force 10 00:00:35.719 --> 00:00:39.880 into your body. So it just creates a more stable base that able to 11 00:00:39.960 --> 00:00:45.079 use the ground force a little bit more effectively in the body. Hi, 12 00:00:45.280 --> 00:00:50.600 this is Alan Than from Sunny Singapore and I played Keppel Country Club. Welcome 13 00:00:50.640 --> 00:00:57.119 to Golf SMARTA number nine hundred and thirty one. Bernard Langer swears by the 14 00:00:57.159 --> 00:01:03.600 performance of athlon shoes because they make a difference with Tim Marcus is is golf 15 00:01:03.679 --> 00:01:08.200 smurter, sharing stories, tips and insights from great golf mindes to help you 16 00:01:08.280 --> 00:01:14.480 lower your score and raise your golf IQ here's your host, Fred Green. 17 00:01:15.439 --> 00:01:19.599 Welcome to the Golf Smurder Podcast. Tim. Hello, Fred, You're an 18 00:01:19.760 --> 00:01:26.000 enigma in the golf industry because you have a real job. I've got a 19 00:01:26.040 --> 00:01:30.599 couple of real jobs. Oh my gosh, that's exhausting already. Yeah, 20 00:01:32.359 --> 00:01:37.920 but you've got a shoe company, a golf shoe company now called Athlons. 21 00:01:38.319 --> 00:01:44.760 Yes, and how long has Afalon's been around now? So I actually started 22 00:01:44.840 --> 00:01:52.079 Athlons in two thousand and eleven. So it's we originated in baseball. So 23 00:01:52.120 --> 00:01:55.760 I'll give you the background story. So I grew up wanted to be a 24 00:01:55.760 --> 00:02:00.000 baseball player, went to college to play baseball, and got her, so 25 00:02:00.400 --> 00:02:06.120 my baseball dreams ever came true. But I always loved playing. So when 26 00:02:06.120 --> 00:02:09.719 my kids got a little older, I started playing adult baseball. And in 27 00:02:09.759 --> 00:02:15.000 twenty ten I went to this pro ball camp. So it was an adult 28 00:02:15.120 --> 00:02:17.960 camp. I was topped by major league coaches. It was four days of 29 00:02:19.039 --> 00:02:22.240 like spring training. It wasn't like a fantasy league. He actually went to 30 00:02:22.319 --> 00:02:27.400 learn how to play baseball. Wow, that it was amazing. I wish 31 00:02:27.479 --> 00:02:31.639 i'd had that when I was sixteen instead of forty nine. But it actually 32 00:02:31.680 --> 00:02:37.120 turned me into a better hitter at forty nine years old that I was in 33 00:02:37.199 --> 00:02:42.800 high school college just the fund House. But during that camp, Rick Adare 34 00:02:42.960 --> 00:02:46.280 was a pitching coach for the Warrioles at the time. He had this drill 35 00:02:46.360 --> 00:02:50.560 where it put a rousin bag underneath the drivewake heel on the outside of the 36 00:02:50.599 --> 00:02:53.319 foot to tip the knee inward. So if we were to draw a line 37 00:02:53.319 --> 00:02:57.919 from the ankle to the groin, the knee would be on the inside of 38 00:02:57.960 --> 00:03:00.280 that line. And how he came up with that drill study at Hall of 39 00:03:00.319 --> 00:03:05.759 Fame caliber pictures and talking to him, and they all had just just incredibly 40 00:03:06.039 --> 00:03:10.199 powerful and balanced lower half and if you drew that line from the ankle to 41 00:03:10.199 --> 00:03:14.719 the growing they all had the knee just on the inside of that line. 42 00:03:15.199 --> 00:03:17.759 But most major league players, even at that level did it. So hence 43 00:03:19.039 --> 00:03:22.800 the drill. So when we got talking, he found out I was a 44 00:03:22.840 --> 00:03:23.960 patent charty. He goes, hey, do you think you then we could 45 00:03:23.960 --> 00:03:29.280 figure out how to put that idea into a shoe. So that's how athlon's 46 00:03:29.319 --> 00:03:36.800 got started in early two thousand. You're a patent attorney, and so he 47 00:03:36.879 --> 00:03:38.199 said, can we put this in a shoe? I mean it's like, 48 00:03:38.240 --> 00:03:44.400 when did you ever design a shoe? Yeah, what a weird way to 49 00:03:44.400 --> 00:03:47.319 get to there? Okay it is, yeah, so but that's how that's 50 00:03:47.360 --> 00:03:52.840 the that's how athlon has got born. I see. So what brought it 51 00:03:52.879 --> 00:03:57.879 to golf? So we It took us several years. So first thing we 52 00:03:57.919 --> 00:04:00.520 did was patent in every conceivable way I could think of to implement that. 53 00:04:00.560 --> 00:04:03.599 After doing some research on how shoes are made, and I'm sure as a 54 00:04:03.639 --> 00:04:09.080 patent attorney you know every single way to bet and something, we did do 55 00:04:09.120 --> 00:04:13.879 a good job there. So we have twenty some issued paths down our shoes, 56 00:04:15.039 --> 00:04:17.879 so a lot of different ways how to implement it. So it took 57 00:04:17.920 --> 00:04:21.240 us a few years to get a prototype built. So we started actually in 58 00:04:21.279 --> 00:04:27.480 baseball and softball and in twenty fifteen, twenty and sixteen, and we always 59 00:04:27.560 --> 00:04:32.480 knew our technology would be applicable to all sports, including golf, and so 60 00:04:32.639 --> 00:04:36.319 we were planning on like twenty nineteen. It really get started with golf, 61 00:04:38.040 --> 00:04:42.959 and early in twenty and eighteen, we were at a charity golf events and 62 00:04:43.000 --> 00:04:47.519 the four of us were wearing our Afflon soft shoes and we paid the twenty 63 00:04:47.560 --> 00:04:51.000 five bucks to have a long driver hit one of our t shirts. So 64 00:04:51.079 --> 00:04:55.720 we were standing around talking to this guy, his name which Mitch McDowell. 65 00:04:56.079 --> 00:05:00.839 Sadly, Mitch says, passed, but we with him and said, hey, 66 00:05:01.000 --> 00:05:04.720 you know, would you mind trying our shoes, And fortunately, one 67 00:05:04.759 --> 00:05:09.480 of the guys in our foursome at the same time shoe as Mitchell, and 68 00:05:09.519 --> 00:05:13.279 he took one swing in the shoes and he goes, oh my god, 69 00:05:13.560 --> 00:05:16.199 my backside stayed locked in and I just hit the ball forty yards for her. 70 00:05:16.319 --> 00:05:18.720 He goes, okay, let me do it again, Let me do 71 00:05:18.759 --> 00:05:23.480 it again. He did it six times in a row, all felt the 72 00:05:23.519 --> 00:05:26.920 same thing and hit the ball, you know, thirty forty yards further each 73 00:05:27.000 --> 00:05:30.279 time. That's amazing. So he was like, oh, you got to 74 00:05:30.319 --> 00:05:34.319 give me a pair of these. So so that kind of that'spedited our desire 75 00:05:34.360 --> 00:05:42.040 to get into golf. Yeah. Yeah, by that summer we had a 76 00:05:42.079 --> 00:05:46.480 prototype pair of golf shoes ready to go. So Mitch took those to a 77 00:05:46.519 --> 00:05:49.639 long drive competition. And Mitch had been competing for a fifteen years by the 78 00:05:49.639 --> 00:05:54.240 time, so he was kind of ending his career, or at least the 79 00:05:54.240 --> 00:05:58.279 real competitive things of it, and so he got knocked out in the route 80 00:05:58.279 --> 00:06:01.000 of thirty two. But Ryan Stein it was number six in the world. 81 00:06:01.199 --> 00:06:06.079 So this is two thousand and eight and number six in the world. Been 82 00:06:06.120 --> 00:06:10.959 competing for eight years but never won in a long drive event. So he 83 00:06:10.959 --> 00:06:13.480 goes, hey, let me try those shoes. He puts the shoes on, 84 00:06:13.600 --> 00:06:16.959 he wins that of it back to that out in our shoes, he 85 00:06:17.000 --> 00:06:21.040 wins that event. People like, Ryan, what do you do differently? 86 00:06:21.079 --> 00:06:26.879 He goes, literally, I changed my shoes. What a testimonial. Yeah, 87 00:06:26.920 --> 00:06:29.920 so it's been awesome. And then you know, and then the next 88 00:06:29.959 --> 00:06:32.519 guy I tried it, and the next guy. So by the time the 89 00:06:32.560 --> 00:06:39.720 twenty nineteen long drive season was going, we had we had eight of the 90 00:06:39.759 --> 00:06:42.600 top ten men and eight of the top ten women in our shoes, and 91 00:06:42.639 --> 00:06:47.120 over half of all the competitors were wearing our shoes because you know that at 92 00:06:47.160 --> 00:06:51.839 that stage they're trying to get everything they can out of the ground. In 93 00:06:51.920 --> 00:06:57.319 our shoes just help them be more stable and use the ground up. And 94 00:06:57.360 --> 00:07:03.680 then later that year we got introduced to the Champions Tour through one of our 95 00:07:03.720 --> 00:07:11.279 representatives, and Bernard Layer said, Pele trip, So we set a pair 96 00:07:11.399 --> 00:07:15.759 of Bernard and he was looking at staying with his current shoe company and one 97 00:07:15.800 --> 00:07:18.759 other shoe company, and he took our shoes and the other two pairs of 98 00:07:18.839 --> 00:07:24.240 the driving range and hit and he hit in our shoes and it's like, 99 00:07:24.399 --> 00:07:26.879 man, I hit those balls really well, that must be a fluke. 100 00:07:27.240 --> 00:07:30.959 So he did that a dozen times. Our shoes, their shoes, their 101 00:07:30.000 --> 00:07:33.040 shoes. Every time in our shoes, he goes, I'm at the ball. 102 00:07:33.079 --> 00:07:39.199 Bet So Bernard has been wearing our shoes since twenty twenty. WHOA, 103 00:07:40.240 --> 00:07:45.839 that's really impressive. What is it about the shoe that is making some of 104 00:07:45.920 --> 00:07:49.480 the people with, you know, the top of our game, making them 105 00:07:49.680 --> 00:07:56.000 better and feeling better about it? Clearly? Yeah, so it really is 106 00:07:56.120 --> 00:08:01.240 physics, you know, when it's a little technical here, but you know, 107 00:08:01.319 --> 00:08:05.800 when we when we're standing, we push into the ground, but the 108 00:08:05.839 --> 00:08:09.319 ground pushes back up. That's called ground reaction force. And when our when 109 00:08:09.360 --> 00:08:13.920 we push with our muscles harder than the ground is holding us down. That's 110 00:08:13.959 --> 00:08:18.199 how we work. So what we did with our shoes is we angle the 111 00:08:18.279 --> 00:08:22.720 ground reaction force some more of it is going in towards the body. So 112 00:08:22.480 --> 00:08:26.800 uh so, now when you load out of your backside you've got you're a 113 00:08:26.800 --> 00:08:30.240 little bit more stable and you've got more force going into your body. And 114 00:08:30.279 --> 00:08:33.039 then when you transfer from the backside to the front side, you get more 115 00:08:33.120 --> 00:08:37.720 force into your body. So it just creates some more stable base and able 116 00:08:37.759 --> 00:08:41.679 to use the ground force a little bit more effectively in the body. Okay, 117 00:08:43.679 --> 00:08:52.399 And and is that something I'm really kind of lost at this because I 118 00:08:52.519 --> 00:08:54.679 when I look at the shoe and you sent me a pair, and I 119 00:08:54.759 --> 00:08:58.080 appreciate that, I've been wearing them for a couple of days now around the 120 00:08:58.120 --> 00:09:03.480 house because I'm not gonna go outside with him. Yet they don't look that 121 00:09:03.480 --> 00:09:11.720 radically different than a shoe except for a couple things. And is that all 122 00:09:11.799 --> 00:09:16.919 it takes to make them stand out like that? So in the heel, 123 00:09:16.600 --> 00:09:20.919 it's like any other shoe, And as you go down from the heel towards 124 00:09:22.000 --> 00:09:26.399 the toe, it has essentially the same slope on the ladder side or the 125 00:09:26.440 --> 00:09:30.039 outside of the shoe, but on the inside of the shoe it has a 126 00:09:30.120 --> 00:09:33.480 steeper slope. So at the time you get to the ball of foot toe 127 00:09:33.600 --> 00:09:37.159 area, it's about a quarter of an inch higher on the ladder side than 128 00:09:37.240 --> 00:09:41.279 the media side. So when you get into that athletic position, your feet 129 00:09:41.320 --> 00:09:46.159 are kind of rolling in just a little bit, and that shifts your knees 130 00:09:46.200 --> 00:09:50.679 in a little bit, which shifts the ground reaction force. Wow. Incredible. 131 00:09:50.039 --> 00:09:54.879 Also the bottom of the shoe you have a what you call a grip 132 00:09:54.960 --> 00:09:58.720 and glide outside. Yeah. Yeah, So this is the version that you're 133 00:09:58.720 --> 00:10:03.799 wearing. That's our grip and glide pro the envy that our previous shoe, 134 00:10:03.840 --> 00:10:09.799 which we're in the process of winding down. It has a little bit less 135 00:10:09.840 --> 00:10:16.480 aggressive pattern. But so what it's intended to do is when you're loading on 136 00:10:16.600 --> 00:10:18.639 your backside, you really want that shoe to grip because you don't want your 137 00:10:18.679 --> 00:10:24.320 flip to slip as you're loading on your backside. But then as you're releasing 138 00:10:24.440 --> 00:10:28.279 your backside, you want to shoot a kind of let up. So so 139 00:10:28.399 --> 00:10:31.440 it grips when you're loading and then glides when you're releasing. And then the 140 00:10:31.519 --> 00:10:35.240 same thing on the front side. You know, when you're putting that energy 141 00:10:35.600 --> 00:10:39.080 out of your front side and really want that shoe to lock you in, 142 00:10:39.519 --> 00:10:41.960 it grips and then when you can release it, let's go. So hence 143 00:10:43.000 --> 00:10:46.879 the grip and blunt Yeah, because immediately when you look at it, you 144 00:10:46.000 --> 00:10:48.840 go, oh, that's a different kind of design. I've never seen that 145 00:10:48.960 --> 00:10:52.720 before, but it seems to make sense because you want to rotate, you 146 00:10:52.799 --> 00:10:58.279 know, on your feet, and it just kind of glides you through that, 147 00:10:58.399 --> 00:11:00.679 I guess is the best way to put that. Yeah, yeah, 148 00:11:00.759 --> 00:11:03.279 yeah. In the direction you want to rotate, it has a lot less 149 00:11:03.320 --> 00:11:07.279 friction, so you can rotate easier. And in the direction you don't want 150 00:11:07.320 --> 00:11:11.600 to rotate, it's got a lot higher friction components so you stay locked in. 151 00:11:11.240 --> 00:11:16.440 Yeah, and conventional golf shoes, the friction coefficient is essentially the same 152 00:11:16.519 --> 00:11:20.559 whether you're rotating to the left or right around the bully interesting. I mean, 153 00:11:20.600 --> 00:11:24.120 it does help, but it's it's, you know, our shoe, 154 00:11:24.399 --> 00:11:26.200 you know, because we've had people say, well, you know, I'm 155 00:11:26.200 --> 00:11:28.399 not our laying now that I'm wearing your shoes, and it says, well, 156 00:11:28.480 --> 00:11:31.039 but the shoes only do so much for you. I just want to 157 00:11:31.080 --> 00:11:37.240 make that Oh no, they do so much more, and we're going to 158 00:11:37.320 --> 00:11:39.399 learn about that on the other side of this when we come back after this. 159 00:11:46.200 --> 00:11:52.440 Tim I'm really fascinated. Why is it that you guys figured this out 160 00:11:54.080 --> 00:11:58.039 and got such great results and nobody else has Or is it because you're that 161 00:11:58.240 --> 00:12:03.559 good of an a patent attorney, you know? I think it's yeah. 162 00:12:03.720 --> 00:12:09.279 I've been doing patent law for thirty five years, and what I've noticed, 163 00:12:09.519 --> 00:12:16.519 the most disruptive inventions for a technology or in a market space usually comes from 164 00:12:16.519 --> 00:12:22.480 an outsider. So I am definitely an outsider when it comes to designing shoes. 165 00:12:22.159 --> 00:12:26.279 And then I look at the team that we had to put this together. 166 00:12:26.360 --> 00:12:31.120 So I was working with major league baseball coaches who really understood athletic performance 167 00:12:31.159 --> 00:12:35.440 at the highest level. And then we also worked from day one with the 168 00:12:35.600 --> 00:12:41.039 orthopedic surgeon Preston Wolan out of Chicago, so he brought that perspective in. 169 00:12:41.840 --> 00:12:46.039 And then we had sports scientists, so Gary McCoy has been working with us 170 00:12:46.120 --> 00:12:50.799 for almost ten years, and then Jeremiah Johnson who's with us in house. 171 00:12:52.720 --> 00:12:56.120 He's also a sport scientist. And then I bring the engineering side of things. 172 00:12:56.159 --> 00:13:01.759 I have an electrical engineering degree in a minor physics, so I look 173 00:13:01.840 --> 00:13:05.919 at things completely differently than an orthopedic would, that a sports scientist would, 174 00:13:07.720 --> 00:13:11.480 or as a baseball coach would. So but collectively we're like, okay, 175 00:13:11.759 --> 00:13:16.039 we all brought our own backgrounds and experiences to this, and when I looked 176 00:13:16.039 --> 00:13:18.320 at it, I looked at as a physic It's like, well, how 177 00:13:18.360 --> 00:13:22.320 do I get the best energy from the ground through your shoe to the bottom. 178 00:13:22.039 --> 00:13:26.440 And I think that's a pretty unique perspective when it comes to design and 179 00:13:26.480 --> 00:13:31.240 shoes. I think that's why, you know, our shoes do what we 180 00:13:31.360 --> 00:13:35.879 say they'll do what as far is making it more stable, a little bit 181 00:13:35.960 --> 00:13:39.159 better consistency and swaying in some in better distance because you just get more power 182 00:13:39.440 --> 00:13:46.320 and stability recently, and these shoes have a wider area for the toes correct 183 00:13:46.840 --> 00:13:50.720 in comparison to our previous shoe to envy. Yes, so it's a little 184 00:13:50.759 --> 00:13:58.120 bit more anatomically friendly to the forflet, but it still doesn't it's still you 185 00:13:58.200 --> 00:14:01.120 get the really good rep. It's just a little bit more comfortable at the 186 00:14:01.200 --> 00:14:05.480 forefoot, so you know, people with a little bit wider foot now will 187 00:14:05.480 --> 00:14:11.360 be a little bit more comfortable. Yeah, noticed it immediately. And also 188 00:14:13.799 --> 00:14:18.399 you know I prefer to walk when I play golf, and I encourage people 189 00:14:18.480 --> 00:14:28.080 to do so, and these seem to have a lot of support and give 190 00:14:28.240 --> 00:14:35.039 to hold me up and not have to do any inserts that I generally put 191 00:14:35.080 --> 00:14:39.600 in my own shoes. Yeah, that was that was our intent, you 192 00:14:39.679 --> 00:14:43.919 know. So the midsole, which has our technology in it, it's also 193 00:14:45.039 --> 00:14:52.519 made out of repurposed Mitchel material, so it's a green product. But you 194 00:14:52.600 --> 00:14:56.639 know, we wanted just enough cushion in the heel to you know, make 195 00:14:56.679 --> 00:15:01.159 it comfortable as you're walking. The other thing that with the the slopes that 196 00:15:01.240 --> 00:15:05.200 we have in there the don end float, is that as you're walking, 197 00:15:05.639 --> 00:15:09.519 it kind of rolls your fore foot to push off your big toe and second 198 00:15:09.600 --> 00:15:11.840 toe, so very much like the natural movement of your foot, you know, 199 00:15:13.039 --> 00:15:15.799 you heal sprikey kind of roll and then push off your big toe, 200 00:15:15.879 --> 00:15:18.320 second toe. So the shoe kind of helps with that too to help so 201 00:15:18.480 --> 00:15:24.480 that enhances the comfort as well. M How many different styles of shoes do 202 00:15:24.559 --> 00:15:28.600 you have now? So we have the current one out, which is the 203 00:15:28.720 --> 00:15:33.039 Mangrove. We have three color ways on. We have the Envy and three 204 00:15:33.120 --> 00:15:39.559 color ways that we're coming out with an NB two within the next three to 205 00:15:39.639 --> 00:15:43.360 four months, depending on production, and there'll be three different color ways for 206 00:15:43.519 --> 00:15:50.559 that U and then we've got several more designs in the work just to keep 207 00:15:50.639 --> 00:15:54.639 adding. We keep figuring out better and better ways to make the shoe and 208 00:15:56.240 --> 00:15:58.559 enhance the performance. Uh. You know one of the things that we also 209 00:15:58.639 --> 00:16:03.679 prior to ourselves on as the longevity of our shoe, that you know, 210 00:16:03.799 --> 00:16:07.519 they they should last, especially the Envy Pro because they've got a little bit 211 00:16:07.559 --> 00:16:11.960 thicker nd salt to them. I mean, I'll sol they should last a 212 00:16:11.000 --> 00:16:15.320 good season even if you're you know, walking all the time, and even 213 00:16:15.360 --> 00:16:18.879 if you're walking out assholes, they should it should last a good season. 214 00:16:18.639 --> 00:16:22.960 And these are spikeless shoes, correct. Yeah, And with respect to that 215 00:16:23.159 --> 00:16:26.879 as you brought that up, because we I did a bunch of testing in 216 00:16:26.960 --> 00:16:33.600 our lab and the end the gripp and glide prug gave as much traction as 217 00:16:34.200 --> 00:16:40.480 cleated shoes that we were testing. Wow, how do you test that and 218 00:16:40.919 --> 00:16:47.600 quantify it? Yeah, so it's it was a slippage test. So I 219 00:16:47.879 --> 00:16:52.120 just basically take weight and pull on the shoe and a certain amount of weight 220 00:16:52.440 --> 00:16:56.360 you'd break the friction of the shoe to the ground and that then you could 221 00:16:56.440 --> 00:17:00.639 calculate, you know, what that friction can for, and then you do 222 00:17:00.720 --> 00:17:03.960 it from different angles. You you can see how the sheet responds. So 223 00:17:03.440 --> 00:17:11.720 our shoe, especially in the rotation in the grip side of rotation, was 224 00:17:11.880 --> 00:17:18.880 a little bit better than conventional spikes. Fascinating to me because more and more 225 00:17:19.039 --> 00:17:23.480 golfers are wearing spike less shoes. But then the people who compete are like, 226 00:17:23.519 --> 00:17:26.359 no, no, no, you gotta have spikes. It's like it's 227 00:17:26.440 --> 00:17:30.359 so important to have spikes. But you're seeing guys like Bernard Langer and others 228 00:17:30.839 --> 00:17:34.559 in the Champions Tour. The older golfers are like, I don't want spikes 229 00:17:34.559 --> 00:17:37.720 anymore. I need comfort. I need you know, I need to support 230 00:17:37.799 --> 00:17:41.039 my back, I need to support my walk. Yeah, And I think 231 00:17:41.119 --> 00:17:48.440 as the PGA players become more and more aware of what we're doing, this 232 00:17:48.599 --> 00:17:52.440 is our hope anyway that they'll realize that, yeah, you don't beat a 233 00:17:52.559 --> 00:17:59.039 cleated shoe if it's designed to give you the traction that you need. And 234 00:17:59.480 --> 00:18:03.160 you know, that's the whole point of the spiral pattern that we created. 235 00:18:03.240 --> 00:18:07.000 It creates so much surface area to connect with the wound that it I mean, 236 00:18:07.079 --> 00:18:11.480 that's that's what creates all the friction, which is you know what you're 237 00:18:11.480 --> 00:18:17.359 trying to do, right, and do you have how blurs. I guess 238 00:18:17.400 --> 00:18:21.680 the question is how many different styles do you have and are these styles primarily 239 00:18:21.799 --> 00:18:26.480 for men or do you have both. We don't have specific female shoes you 240 00:18:26.640 --> 00:18:30.759 we have so we have we have three of the mangrove right now. There's 241 00:18:30.799 --> 00:18:36.559 the black leather upper, and then we have two white uppers, one with 242 00:18:37.319 --> 00:18:41.160 a blue mid salt, really really cool looking, and then we have a 243 00:18:41.279 --> 00:18:49.359 white upper with a very light gray mittil. So we gain those as unisex, 244 00:18:51.160 --> 00:18:56.319 and so far our sales have been about twenty percent to women with the 245 00:18:56.400 --> 00:19:02.920 new shoes. Wow. Yeah, to anticipate or I think no fingers crossed 246 00:19:03.119 --> 00:19:08.000 with the envy. We were like ninety five that so so this style, 247 00:19:08.640 --> 00:19:15.079 at least of the early early releases. Uh, women are much more drawn 248 00:19:15.119 --> 00:19:18.319 to this shoe than the NB ship. Yeah. Now I've noticed that there's 249 00:19:18.440 --> 00:19:26.160 no ventilation or air holes or the you know, the uppers have you know, 250 00:19:26.400 --> 00:19:30.240 cooling in them. They're they're not a mesh. So I'm assuming that 251 00:19:30.640 --> 00:19:36.680 these were going to be great for you know, mourning play, when it's 252 00:19:36.880 --> 00:19:41.279 moist, it's damp, rain play. Tell me about how these were designed 253 00:19:41.359 --> 00:19:47.039 for for keeping your foot dries. Yeah, so that is a leather upper 254 00:19:48.160 --> 00:19:52.839 and it has been waterproofed, so the shoe is is waterproof, so it's 255 00:19:52.960 --> 00:19:59.359 it's great for those damp warnings and even rain and you and then the extra 256 00:20:00.039 --> 00:20:03.119 fraction you get with the gripping glide pro outsol. I think you know, 257 00:20:03.200 --> 00:20:06.599 we've had some players already playing in really wet, damp conditions and they're like, 258 00:20:06.680 --> 00:20:12.680 wow, it really really locked in some good early feedback on that excellent. 259 00:20:12.880 --> 00:20:18.400 Congratulations, Thanks you, congratulations. And I saw that on your website 260 00:20:18.440 --> 00:20:23.319 that you're also selling insoles separately than what you have in the shoe. Yeah, 261 00:20:23.759 --> 00:20:27.480 So why we started doing that is, you know, right now, 262 00:20:27.599 --> 00:20:32.680 like I mentioned, we have about a quarter of an inch difference between the 263 00:20:32.759 --> 00:20:37.079 later side and the medial side. So the outside took the inside of the 264 00:20:37.119 --> 00:20:41.039 shoe and the forefoot area and so by time you get down to the toes, 265 00:20:41.119 --> 00:20:44.160 it's about that different. And it as you taper up towards the heel, 266 00:20:44.200 --> 00:20:47.680 it gets less and less. But we've noticed that some people want a 267 00:20:47.720 --> 00:20:49.759 little bit less of that slope and some people want a little bit more. 268 00:20:51.279 --> 00:20:53.880 We've had players, well they'll put a little bit less in the front foot 269 00:20:53.920 --> 00:20:56.960 and a little bit more on the back foot, so they can get better 270 00:20:57.079 --> 00:21:02.359 rotation through on the backside. But really that I'm sorry, get better rotations 271 00:21:02.359 --> 00:21:04.759 through on the front side. Really keep that bat side locked in. So 272 00:21:04.920 --> 00:21:10.839 the insuls allow you to customize your fit or your sweltering in the athletic field. 273 00:21:11.599 --> 00:21:17.200 And is your fit true to normal sizing or do you recommend something a 274 00:21:17.240 --> 00:21:21.559 little bigger, a little smaller. Yeah, so these are running true to 275 00:21:21.720 --> 00:21:26.240 size, maybe a half size big depending on what you've come from. So 276 00:21:26.319 --> 00:21:30.559 they're certainly running a half size bigger than our Envy shoes did. So people 277 00:21:30.599 --> 00:21:33.759 have ordered Envies in the past, they should probably go down half the size. 278 00:21:34.720 --> 00:21:38.799 So and with respect to like a Nike, we're probably a half a 279 00:21:38.920 --> 00:21:45.119 size smaller than what they run. Okay, let's take another break and we'll 280 00:21:45.160 --> 00:21:55.319 talk more about this and your pet project when we come back. When we 281 00:21:55.440 --> 00:21:59.359 started the conversation, you said the company started in twenty eleven. Kind of 282 00:21:59.400 --> 00:22:03.839 surprised. I've not heard of these shoes. I've not seen them. I 283 00:22:04.519 --> 00:22:11.839 may have missed them at the PGA show last year. I don't know where 284 00:22:12.160 --> 00:22:18.519 where are they? Where do you find That's an excellent question. So it, 285 00:22:18.000 --> 00:22:23.759 like you said it, we didn't come out with our first prototypes until 286 00:22:23.920 --> 00:22:29.720 like twenty and fifteen, and then we were focused in baseball softball, so 287 00:22:29.799 --> 00:22:33.279 we really came out with golf shoes and ate twenty eighteen or two thousand and 288 00:22:33.400 --> 00:22:37.519 nineteen. We were at the twenty nineteen pgation. Okay, and then what 289 00:22:37.680 --> 00:22:41.200 happened, Oh right, COVID. Yeah, that COVID thing, that COVID 290 00:22:41.279 --> 00:22:47.640 thing will be, and you know it was in plans. It was yeah. 291 00:22:47.680 --> 00:22:52.440 I mean, we're one of hundreds of thousands of businesses. But had 292 00:22:52.519 --> 00:22:57.279 COVID been three months later, we would have been an entirely different position because 293 00:22:57.640 --> 00:23:06.960 we had just signed Bernardline in twenty twenty and he was off to a great 294 00:23:07.039 --> 00:23:10.279 start. He was in Tucson, so we went down and met with him 295 00:23:10.279 --> 00:23:14.880 because we're in the Phoenix area and through another well, through Rick Adare, 296 00:23:15.160 --> 00:23:18.160 he knew many of those broadcasters. So he called up and said, Hey, 297 00:23:18.279 --> 00:23:22.759 go talk to town. So I'm talking to the broadcasters, and you 298 00:23:22.839 --> 00:23:26.759 know, they want to know more about the shoe and you know why Bernard 299 00:23:26.920 --> 00:23:30.039 is wearing it, and Bernard is winning that event, so he's on of 300 00:23:30.079 --> 00:23:33.440 TV at the time, so they're talking about the shoe. How much it's 301 00:23:33.480 --> 00:23:38.240 helping him. And so we're getting all this great coverage in the end of 302 00:23:38.279 --> 00:23:44.960 FI and at the same time, we were in discussions with a venture capital 303 00:23:45.000 --> 00:23:48.680 group that was in the footwear industry that love what we were doing and wanted 304 00:23:48.759 --> 00:23:55.279 to take us to the next level and be out. And then you get 305 00:23:55.359 --> 00:24:00.720 to mid March and everything stopped. We were it felt like we were, 306 00:24:02.039 --> 00:24:06.240 you know, finally on the runway, all ready to lift off. It's 307 00:24:06.319 --> 00:24:10.559 like that go back to the hang. Oh well, the the the VC 308 00:24:10.759 --> 00:24:14.160 group was led by a doctor out of Austin. I forget his name, 309 00:24:14.279 --> 00:24:18.440 but he was called to be on the National COVID Committee and about four months 310 00:24:18.480 --> 00:24:25.119 later he found out he had stage four terminal cancer. It's just yeah, 311 00:24:26.000 --> 00:24:29.920 so that whole opportunity, uh, you know, getting the funding we needed 312 00:24:30.000 --> 00:24:34.799 to really grow the business. It's just at adaptorate. And then with the 313 00:24:34.880 --> 00:24:40.480 shutdown of uh, you know everything for several months, you know, all 314 00:24:40.519 --> 00:24:45.599 that all that no meta was lost and then yeah, it's just been a 315 00:24:45.640 --> 00:24:51.440 struggle to to recapture it. And we had some and then we had inventory 316 00:24:51.559 --> 00:24:55.759 issues or shipment issues, uh, production issues because we were having our shoes 317 00:24:55.799 --> 00:25:00.440 made in South Korea. These shoes that you're wearing, they we're made in 318 00:25:00.559 --> 00:25:06.079 l A. Okay, so our shoes. So that's another big benefit of 319 00:25:06.119 --> 00:25:10.640 our shoes is they're they're handmade in l A. Wow. So so we 320 00:25:10.759 --> 00:25:15.880 eliminated the international shipping because we haven't made it. Look and you also eliminated 321 00:25:15.920 --> 00:25:21.279 that supply chain issue. Yeah. Yeah, so that's that's helped considerably. 322 00:25:22.200 --> 00:25:25.839 I mean, it's it's just they've been great to work with, the companies 323 00:25:25.880 --> 00:25:30.200 called Community made out of LA So they've been they've been great to work with, 324 00:25:30.480 --> 00:25:34.880 and we've got we've got big things planned together going forward. So hopefully, 325 00:25:36.240 --> 00:25:40.160 uh, you know, we'll start we'll regain that momentum we had just 326 00:25:40.319 --> 00:25:44.079 going it right before COVID hit. But yeah, it just took a long 327 00:25:44.160 --> 00:25:47.720 time and then, you know, the investment market has just been brutal for 328 00:25:47.759 --> 00:25:52.359 the last two years. So finding capitals just that that painting. Well. 329 00:25:52.599 --> 00:25:56.000 Hopefully this kind of exposure is going to help you as well, and people 330 00:25:56.000 --> 00:26:00.400 are going to be fascinated and they'll go online and and check them out. 331 00:26:02.160 --> 00:26:07.279 Where are they available? Is it online only? Yeah, it's primarily through 332 00:26:07.359 --> 00:26:11.759 our website Athalons dot com. So that's a T H A l O n 333 00:26:11.920 --> 00:26:18.119 Z dot com. They eventually will be available through Dicks and Amazon, but 334 00:26:18.240 --> 00:26:22.920 we're still just getting getting going there. So the envy you can still get 335 00:26:22.119 --> 00:26:26.000 through a Dix online. We're not in any brick and mortar stores, so 336 00:26:26.200 --> 00:26:32.079 I any solid and is there a plan to make them out there in the 337 00:26:32.119 --> 00:26:37.119 brick and mortar and big box world. Ah, if if we can grow 338 00:26:37.400 --> 00:26:41.240 the way we'd like to, then we'd love to, you know, be 339 00:26:41.720 --> 00:26:45.759 being one of the golf stores or several of them. Yeah. And I 340 00:26:45.920 --> 00:26:51.839 noticed that from the different varieties of shoes that are on the website, there's 341 00:26:51.920 --> 00:27:00.720 a big price difference from top to bottom. Yeah. So the the the 342 00:27:00.839 --> 00:27:03.000 man Grove shoes which you're wearing, you know, they're they're at two eighty 343 00:27:03.079 --> 00:27:07.640 five, so they're at the high end, but they're also they have their 344 00:27:07.720 --> 00:27:11.200 R shoe, they have all the new technology in it. It's handmade, 345 00:27:11.279 --> 00:27:15.480 it's leather upper, it's really comfortable. Yeah, I'm gonna say right now 346 00:27:15.960 --> 00:27:21.039 and deally comfortable. Yeah. And then like the baseball shoes, those are 347 00:27:21.079 --> 00:27:25.400 on clearance. Uh, the nvs will soon be go on Clarence. So 348 00:27:26.119 --> 00:27:30.640 our future is in the man growth in the next generations of shoes where we're 349 00:27:30.680 --> 00:27:33.559 going to be building are making and they'll all be made or at the final 350 00:27:33.599 --> 00:27:40.200 assembly here in the United States to help with you know, just the logistics 351 00:27:40.720 --> 00:27:45.400 of supply chain MH. And are you going to try to make an appearance 352 00:27:45.400 --> 00:27:51.400 at the PGA show in twenty twenty four or not not this coming year twenty 353 00:27:51.480 --> 00:27:55.480 five? Maybe? Yeah, yeah, so it it It just depends on 354 00:27:55.599 --> 00:28:00.279 how we do and you know, and to be honest, we were at 355 00:28:00.319 --> 00:28:03.960 the show in twenty nineteen and in twenty twenty. Course, twenty twenty was 356 00:28:04.240 --> 00:28:08.480 a not a good not a good year to judge anything by. Yeah, 357 00:28:08.599 --> 00:28:15.039 right, twenty nineteen we did, we did get a fair bit of awareness 358 00:28:15.119 --> 00:28:19.599 through there. It's just been you know, logistics and finance right now that 359 00:28:19.920 --> 00:28:26.599 limits what we can do. Market marketing, well, it's truly remarkable that, 360 00:28:26.000 --> 00:28:30.599 you know, so many companies that I talked to are hoping to someday 361 00:28:30.720 --> 00:28:34.400 get to a high profile person to showcase their product, to get it out 362 00:28:34.440 --> 00:28:38.160 there a little bit more. But you guys started with the high profile names 363 00:28:38.759 --> 00:28:42.960 of people endorsing the product, and then it's like, okay, let's put 364 00:28:44.000 --> 00:28:48.400 it out there and see what happens. That's really unique in this industry to 365 00:28:48.480 --> 00:28:53.680 get that kind of endorsement up front. Yeah, it's it's been a fun 366 00:28:53.799 --> 00:28:57.319 project, but I you know, if you'd told me in twenty and eleven, 367 00:28:59.160 --> 00:29:03.160 we'd still be struggling by twenty twenty three, added like, yeah, 368 00:29:03.680 --> 00:29:06.279 now, what would it do? I taken it this long? Well would 369 00:29:06.279 --> 00:29:10.839 I've may not have started at the verse CLIs, but here we are. 370 00:29:11.799 --> 00:29:18.720 And where does the name Athalons come from? So that came from a marketing 371 00:29:18.839 --> 00:29:22.000 firm and that was we spent one hundred and fifty grand out of marketing firm 372 00:29:22.039 --> 00:29:26.160 and that was all we got out of But it was because shoe. I'm 373 00:29:26.200 --> 00:29:30.480 going to apologize for that one. I'm really sorry to hear that. It's 374 00:29:30.759 --> 00:29:37.920 uh, that's been quite a learning experience. We can we can touch on 375 00:29:37.000 --> 00:29:41.759 that in a second. But because our shoe is applicable really to all sports, 376 00:29:41.920 --> 00:29:48.880 they thought of athlete and decathorn, So Athalons is so athlete and the 377 00:29:49.000 --> 00:29:55.960 kathalon merged together and then put the Z on there for some spice. That 378 00:29:56.160 --> 00:29:57.759 was worth it. That was worth another fifty grand right now? Oh yeah, 379 00:29:57.920 --> 00:30:04.519 yeah, ouch, let's take one more break. We'll be back after 380 00:30:04.640 --> 00:30:17.000 this. As we talked about how you have some great endorsements just before you 381 00:30:17.119 --> 00:30:22.720 get out the gate and exciting. I'm sure that there's competitors out there. 382 00:30:22.799 --> 00:30:30.759 There's so many different shoe brands out there, and it's the viciously competitive field. 383 00:30:30.920 --> 00:30:36.279 I'm sure somebody took note of what you guys were doing and said, 384 00:30:36.559 --> 00:30:40.279 oh, we can do that. Yeah. So it's been it's been an 385 00:30:40.319 --> 00:30:44.039 interesting journey, you know, since you know, we started with you know, 386 00:30:44.160 --> 00:30:47.759 the marketing, you know, just said hey, you know, shoes 387 00:30:47.799 --> 00:30:53.440 really do matter in performance, for athletic performance. And we got a lot 388 00:30:53.519 --> 00:30:57.920 of scoffing initially from the markets that tome on the shoes a shoe, How 389 00:30:57.960 --> 00:31:03.680 can that matter? You know? But but over the years we've had you 390 00:31:03.759 --> 00:31:07.799 know, more and more people are like, yeah, you know it really, 391 00:31:07.000 --> 00:31:11.720 it really does work. So it's interesting. Now Jeremiah does our social 392 00:31:11.799 --> 00:31:15.920 media, but somebody will will come on and say, you know, geez, 393 00:31:17.000 --> 00:31:21.200 that's a bunch of that's a bunch of who is I'll be kind uh, 394 00:31:21.680 --> 00:31:25.039 And you know, Jeremiah didn't have to respond. You know, people 395 00:31:25.119 --> 00:31:26.720 that wear our shoes, it is like, no, it's not it's it's 396 00:31:26.960 --> 00:31:30.119 it really does work. You know, it's rooted in physics and it just 397 00:31:30.240 --> 00:31:38.240 makes sense. And you know, so earlier this year, because it does 398 00:31:38.400 --> 00:31:45.359 work, other brands, another brands started started coppying our technology. So we 399 00:31:45.480 --> 00:31:52.160 file the patent entrenchment suit in the Eastern District of Texas against under Armor alleging 400 00:31:52.240 --> 00:31:56.240 that they're infringing five of our patents. So that that suit is currently in 401 00:31:56.359 --> 00:32:01.720 process. Wow, and I thought under Armour was a Baltimore based company. 402 00:32:02.319 --> 00:32:08.880 I'mous. I'm curious as to can you talk about what specifically they tried to 403 00:32:09.359 --> 00:32:17.960 steal of your patents? So it's it's alleged patent intringing it. So yeah, 404 00:32:19.359 --> 00:32:22.079 we've asserted that we're infringing our patent, but until it's fully adjudicated, 405 00:32:22.119 --> 00:32:29.599 it's elected. Right, you're an attorney, okay. But yeah, So 406 00:32:29.839 --> 00:32:32.960 our our athletic positioning is what we call it, it's optimal athletic positioning, 407 00:32:34.400 --> 00:32:40.359 and it's it's the three dimensional uh trigonometry and geometry that we created in the 408 00:32:40.480 --> 00:32:45.359 mid soul to get you that athletic positioning which shifts those glol reactric forces in. 409 00:32:46.200 --> 00:32:52.240 And we've got a bunch of patents regarding a variety of ways to implement 410 00:32:52.359 --> 00:32:55.079 that, and you know, we believe that under arms using five of those 411 00:32:55.160 --> 00:33:02.079 patents and a variety of we ended up having a file of the at an 412 00:33:02.079 --> 00:33:07.559 infringement suit and we did that in April of this year. Well, good 413 00:33:07.640 --> 00:33:10.680 luck with that. Thank you. I hope that goes to how you want 414 00:33:10.720 --> 00:33:13.960 it to go. Yeah, well thanks. You know, one of the 415 00:33:14.079 --> 00:33:16.920 things that it does, you know, just from my perspective, is it 416 00:33:17.079 --> 00:33:22.480 validates the technology, because that's that's one of the things that you know, 417 00:33:22.559 --> 00:33:27.359 we've struggled with is getting getting the message out there that no shoes really do 418 00:33:27.559 --> 00:33:34.400 matter and if you can create better ground body connection through your shoe using physics 419 00:33:34.880 --> 00:33:37.160 your performance, that you be a little bit staler, a little bit better 420 00:33:37.279 --> 00:33:45.200 power, and more consistent. And so having a major brand allegedly infringing our 421 00:33:45.279 --> 00:33:53.000 patents is great validation for the technology that we shoes really do matter. They 422 00:33:53.079 --> 00:33:57.480 do. And even it has on your website better shoes, better golf. 423 00:33:57.920 --> 00:34:00.519 It's not just a slogan. No, that's the name of the episode. 424 00:34:05.200 --> 00:34:08.840 One of the things that really jumped out to me when I was communicating with 425 00:34:08.920 --> 00:34:15.159 your people about having you guys come on the show and expose us to this 426 00:34:15.559 --> 00:34:21.039 was that there was not just the Athlon's logo at the at their signature, 427 00:34:21.639 --> 00:34:28.639 but there was a logo for a nonprofit called Interwoven Circles. Yes, would 428 00:34:28.719 --> 00:34:34.119 you mind sharing why that's in the signature of employees of the shoe company, 429 00:34:34.400 --> 00:34:39.239 so that that is the nonprofit that that we had. Athlons started to help 430 00:34:39.280 --> 00:34:46.119 support child abuse prevention. I grew up in an abusive home, and you 431 00:34:46.199 --> 00:34:53.519 know, in many ways it struggled with the negative self image of an abused 432 00:34:53.559 --> 00:34:59.320 child, and it's been a lifelong, lifelong battle. And you know, 433 00:34:59.440 --> 00:35:04.400 for most of my life I wasn't had any intentions of ever talking about it 434 00:35:04.480 --> 00:35:09.119 publicly. And then in my mid fifties, so five or six, well 435 00:35:09.199 --> 00:35:15.000 seven years ago now, I started having flashbacks more of what happened to me 436 00:35:15.400 --> 00:35:21.320 in my childhood, and so that prompted me to say, you know, 437 00:35:21.760 --> 00:35:27.400 if I keep my mouth shut, then I'm just complicit in allowing child abuse 438 00:35:27.480 --> 00:35:31.000 to continue. And I couldn't do that. So we started, we started 439 00:35:31.119 --> 00:35:36.679 Athlon I'm sorry, we started Interwolven Circles and parallel with Athlons, and we 440 00:35:36.800 --> 00:35:43.960 were hoping as the Athlons ran grew, you couldn't think we could hear athlons 441 00:35:44.000 --> 00:35:49.960 with awful thinking child abuse prevention. So that was why we really coupled them 442 00:35:50.000 --> 00:35:52.480 together. Because imagine if you thought, you know, every time you heard 443 00:35:52.519 --> 00:35:55.519 the word miike, you couldn't help but think child abuse prevention, it'd be 444 00:35:55.599 --> 00:36:01.079 on the forefront of everybody's mind, and tilt that happens, we're never going 445 00:36:01.159 --> 00:36:10.079 to make real headway and preventive child abuse. No, I'm really sorry that 446 00:36:12.199 --> 00:36:16.159 you had to go through that. Thank you. Everybody's got their own story, 447 00:36:17.719 --> 00:36:22.559 unique story of what they had to go through to become an adult and 448 00:36:23.280 --> 00:36:29.679 to have that haunt you have, your childhood haunt you as an adult, 449 00:36:30.559 --> 00:36:32.519 I can see why. You know, you never think you'd want to share 450 00:36:32.559 --> 00:36:37.719 it or talk about it, but once you come to the realization that a, 451 00:36:37.039 --> 00:36:40.760 it's really important to let people know and be You're not going to sleep 452 00:36:40.840 --> 00:36:47.280 well until you do. Yeah, that's that's so true. Yeah, and 453 00:36:47.519 --> 00:36:53.159 it would just it would just be there, And I'm glad you were able 454 00:36:53.239 --> 00:36:57.639 to break the cycle. Thank you, thank you. Yeah, that's that's 455 00:36:58.239 --> 00:37:01.480 that's my big motivation. You know, at the stage of my life and 456 00:37:01.639 --> 00:37:08.559 careers, I'd like to make a more positive contribution to society and helping bring 457 00:37:08.679 --> 00:37:15.679 more awareness to child abuse prevention. And you know, and my my vehicles 458 00:37:15.760 --> 00:37:19.199 are are what I can do, you know, through athalons and and then 459 00:37:19.440 --> 00:37:22.920 through the law practice, you know. So the more opportunities we get to 460 00:37:23.000 --> 00:37:28.000 talk about child abuse prevention, the more we can get that out of people's 461 00:37:28.079 --> 00:37:32.880 minds. That's that's the way we're really going to see the improvement. And 462 00:37:34.000 --> 00:37:38.440 the statistics are staggering, right, And I can't imagine it's we're we're trying 463 00:37:38.480 --> 00:37:45.280 to talk to kids about children about this. We need to like get adults 464 00:37:45.360 --> 00:37:52.320 to admit yea that they're partner run you know, Joe Torre's organization. They 465 00:37:52.400 --> 00:37:57.480 do a great job of working with the kids. So this is my perspective, 466 00:37:57.480 --> 00:38:00.920 and it's nothing against what everything, but if you're if you're teaching a 467 00:38:01.039 --> 00:38:08.440 kid, it's to recognize when you're being abused. So it's it's after the 468 00:38:08.559 --> 00:38:15.199 fact dealing with it as opposed to preventing it in the first place. So 469 00:38:15.599 --> 00:38:17.960 what I really want to focus on is preventing it in the first place. 470 00:38:19.159 --> 00:38:22.480 So what what causes a person to act out? I mean, there's certainly 471 00:38:22.840 --> 00:38:28.559 some psychological issues that no matter what treatment they're they're just going to do that. 472 00:38:29.480 --> 00:38:34.639 They're going to have that behavior. But there's I think most abusers are 473 00:38:35.559 --> 00:38:39.679 are trying to heal some of their own internal word wounds and they just act 474 00:38:39.760 --> 00:38:45.880 out in the wrong way. If they had a better release for their own 475 00:38:45.039 --> 00:38:52.079 internal issues, then to take it out on a kit, we'd start to 476 00:38:52.119 --> 00:38:57.280 see the numbers drop. Yeah, well, thank you for that work, 477 00:38:59.079 --> 00:39:05.800 and we wish best of luck on that there are places where we can go 478 00:39:05.920 --> 00:39:09.119 and make donations to help support it. Yeah, so right now we're really 479 00:39:09.280 --> 00:39:15.639 kind of in a Hiati's motion is with all the work trying to do athalons 480 00:39:15.679 --> 00:39:20.559 to recover from COVID. So but the organization is still there. But you 481 00:39:20.639 --> 00:39:24.159 know what I would recommend if somebody wants to donate, you know, Joe 482 00:39:24.280 --> 00:39:29.599 Torre's safe at Hall of Organization out of New York in LA a great place 483 00:39:29.679 --> 00:39:35.039 to go. Almost every town has a cost of program, where almost every 484 00:39:35.119 --> 00:39:39.039 major city has a cost of program. There's all kinds and really that's what 485 00:39:39.159 --> 00:39:44.440 Interwoven Circles was intended to do. We'd raise money and then give it to 486 00:39:45.280 --> 00:39:50.920 various charities that we're already doing work. Great so because I don't want to 487 00:39:50.960 --> 00:39:55.039 create another organization and we're competing for money, I'm really trying to unite all 488 00:39:55.119 --> 00:40:00.159 the charities that are working on the same issues. Yep, so that we 489 00:40:00.280 --> 00:40:06.440 have a much better collective voice than trying to compete for fox. Let's collectively 490 00:40:06.559 --> 00:40:12.559 work together to raise defonse. Wow. All right, but thank you for 491 00:40:12.840 --> 00:40:17.960 sharing all that. And again I'm sorry for you know, your childhood and 492 00:40:19.320 --> 00:40:22.880 I'm glad it led you to a place where you can make other childhood better. 493 00:40:23.440 --> 00:40:27.440 Yeah, that's that's the hope that we're trying to do, you know. 494 00:40:27.480 --> 00:40:30.239 And I think that's kind of the beauty of golf, you know, 495 00:40:30.480 --> 00:40:34.480 is it? It really is. Yeah, it's about making life better, 496 00:40:34.679 --> 00:40:38.599 more enjoyable. So so to be able to you know, work within that 497 00:40:38.800 --> 00:40:44.559 platform and just you know, take a second one out, taking a sway 498 00:40:44.599 --> 00:40:46.360 and enjoying a beautiful day on the golf course. Just you know, what 499 00:40:46.920 --> 00:40:51.599 what can I do to help others? Right? You know, a little 500 00:40:51.599 --> 00:40:53.800 bit of donation here and there to some of these great organizations can make the 501 00:40:53.880 --> 00:40:59.280 world a difference for a chip. Yes, any time of the year, 502 00:40:59.760 --> 00:41:04.639 any time of the year. Absolutely, Oh, Tim, Well, congratulations 503 00:41:04.719 --> 00:41:07.480 on these shoes. They're really comfortable. I cannot wait to get them out 504 00:41:07.519 --> 00:41:14.480 on the golf course. Unfortunately I have to, that's right, not because 505 00:41:14.480 --> 00:41:16.280 of weather, but just because I'm staying away from the golf course for a 506 00:41:16.360 --> 00:41:22.519 couple weeks as I recover from some nasty tennis elbow. But that's a whole 507 00:41:22.519 --> 00:41:28.199 different conversation. Has nothing to do with your product, because I'm going to 508 00:41:28.320 --> 00:41:30.960 check it out definitely, but I'm going to wear them a lot in the 509 00:41:30.039 --> 00:41:36.239 meantime because they are so comfortable and easy for walking. So great. Yeah, 510 00:41:36.320 --> 00:41:37.880 that's what I use it for. I don't bolf near it out, 511 00:41:38.079 --> 00:41:43.320 so they're my They're my work shoes when I have to go meet with lions. 512 00:41:44.119 --> 00:41:49.639 No, they're They're a comfortable shoe and they look great with Oh good 513 00:41:49.639 --> 00:41:52.440 because your client's not going you just coming here directly from the golf course, 514 00:41:52.519 --> 00:41:59.239 because they do look they do have a golf shoe look to them. It's 515 00:41:59.360 --> 00:42:04.280 not like a sneaker we're talking about here. Yeah, and where can we 516 00:42:04.440 --> 00:42:07.239 follow? Whether you're on social media or is it just your website. You 517 00:42:07.320 --> 00:42:10.840 guys have an active social media account, So we have an Instagram account, 518 00:42:13.000 --> 00:42:20.480 Facebook account. All Athalons yes, yep, okay, awesome, well Tim, 519 00:42:20.559 --> 00:42:22.480 thank you so much again, and best of luck. I hope this 520 00:42:22.639 --> 00:42:28.280 really works out and that more pros take a peek at these and say, 521 00:42:28.400 --> 00:42:30.519 oh my gosh, I just hit the ball better because I put these shoes 522 00:42:30.559 --> 00:42:37.079 on. Because you know what, it works right, that shoes really do 523 00:42:37.199 --> 00:42:39.519 make a difference, shoes really do matter. Thanks so much for your time 524 00:42:39.599 --> 00:42:45.159 and best of luck. All right, thanks for that's pleasure. So my 525 00:42:45.360 --> 00:42:52.239 recovery from the pinch nerve and tennis elbow is progressing very nicely. Yet it's 526 00:42:52.280 --> 00:42:55.519 still not fully recovered, nor have I had a golf club in my hands 527 00:42:55.559 --> 00:43:04.360 in about six weeks, and for a Californian that is a long time anyway. 528 00:43:04.679 --> 00:43:08.079 Good news is that any day I'm expecting to receive the all new Lab 529 00:43:08.239 --> 00:43:14.440 Golf DF three point zero putter, which is being released to the public probably 530 00:43:14.480 --> 00:43:17.639 by the time you hear this. Ever, since I interviewed CEO Sam Han 531 00:43:17.760 --> 00:43:22.559 in early December, I've set my goal to stay away from hitting balls or 532 00:43:23.119 --> 00:43:29.159 putting until that putter arrives, and once it does, I'll shoot a video 533 00:43:29.280 --> 00:43:34.599 of the unboxing comparing it to the DF two point one. The fitting process 534 00:43:34.760 --> 00:43:37.599 and take a couple of putts in my backyard green to show you my first 535 00:43:37.679 --> 00:43:44.159 reaction. And as long as we have dry weather, I'll start practicing putting 536 00:43:44.320 --> 00:43:47.920 daily and then slowly move into working on my shortcam. I may not be 537 00:43:49.000 --> 00:43:52.400 able to take full swings until I get back from my two week vacation to 538 00:43:52.440 --> 00:43:55.960 Costa Rica in February. So keep your eyes on social media at golf Smarter 539 00:43:57.480 --> 00:44:01.880 to get the introduction to the newest release from Golf and get daily video highlights, 540 00:44:01.960 --> 00:44:07.079 tips and insights from our featured guests on Golf Smarter and golf Smarter Mulligans. 541 00:44:07.559 --> 00:44:12.360 And you don't have to follow on every platform because each post goes to 542 00:44:13.000 --> 00:44:20.320 YouTube shorts, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter. Shout out 543 00:44:20.320 --> 00:44:24.519 to Alan Tan, our first Golf Smarter Ambassador, checking in from sunny Singapore. 544 00:44:25.679 --> 00:44:30.679 Clearly, Alan recorded his episode open on his phone and then sent me 545 00:44:30.800 --> 00:44:35.639 the file and with that he's received a free link to Tony Manzoni's video of 546 00:44:35.719 --> 00:44:39.519 the loss Fundamental. I encourage you to become a Golf Smarter Ambassador with the 547 00:44:39.599 --> 00:44:45.079 incentive of getting a choice of three great gifts for your effort of telling us 548 00:44:45.119 --> 00:44:49.760 where you're from and where you play Like Alan, you can choose Tony Manzoni's 549 00:44:49.800 --> 00:44:53.719 video of the loss Fundamental. Other choices include a glove and glove storage compartment 550 00:44:53.760 --> 00:44:59.480 from Red Roostergolf dot com, the company that offers a unique glove subscription service. 551 00:45:00.079 --> 00:45:02.760 And our third and newest option for you to choose from is an eight 552 00:45:02.880 --> 00:45:10.639 pack of flightpathgolf tees at flightpathgolf dot com. And did you know that if 553 00:45:10.719 --> 00:45:16.920 you break a flight Path goolf tee you have a lifetime guarantee to get it 554 00:45:17.039 --> 00:45:22.000 replaced. I mean, so like a pack of eight can last you end 555 00:45:22.079 --> 00:45:27.760 up lasting you years. They just don't break you just got to pay attention 556 00:45:27.880 --> 00:45:30.840 and not lose them anyway. Just write to me directly and I'll send you 557 00:45:30.920 --> 00:45:35.480 simple instructions on how to record an episode opening that takes less than a minute. 558 00:45:36.000 --> 00:45:38.199 Check out today's show notes to find links about each gift that you have 559 00:45:38.400 --> 00:45:43.159 to choose from. If you have any questions, comments, suggestions for upcoming 560 00:45:43.239 --> 00:45:46.400 episodes, or want to join our mailing list of Golf Smarter Ambassadors who've received 561 00:45:46.440 --> 00:45:52.280 that free gift, write to Golf Smarter podcast at gmail dot com or click 562 00:45:52.320 --> 00:45:55.079 on the Heyfred button when you visit golfsmarter dot com