We had the good fortune of connecting with Sam Goulden and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Sam, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
I wanted to make a golf bag and brand that put the focus on customization, innovation, and sustainability. There was no one (and still isn’t) in the golf industry who was putting the people over profit. I knew there was an audience in golf who was looking for a brand they could feel good about supporting. I also so some major deficiencies in product innovation and sustainability.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I’ve been enamored (and at some points obsessed) with golf for 28 years. Every golf bag I used while I competed had a failure of some kind – usually within a year of use. I knew that if we were going to make a great bag it had to be durable and I knew exactly which areas of the bag would most likely break.
I’m really excited about our current bags. We’ve learned so much in the past 7 years and have put every bit of feedback from our customers, our own use, and our factory input into the current models.
The biggest challenge has been doing business without paid advertising or paid influencers. We committed to never doing paid ads right from the start and it has forced us to really earn our relationships with customers.
I’m happy to say that is paying off.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I’d take them to surf el Porto in Manhattan beach. Then we’d go for breakfast at North End Cafe. After that we’d MNML GOLF CLUB in Redondo Beach for a cappuccino and some golf on the simulators. In the evening we’d hit a comedy show at the club and then cap it off with a burger at The Standing Room.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
The biggest influence on the brand, by far, has been the book Let My People Go Surfing, by Yvon Chouinard, founder of Patagonia. Our team reads a book every month and meets every week to discuss things we found interesting. That practice has really taught us a lot about each other, business, and life in general.

Website: https://minimalgolf.com

Instagram: @mnmlgolf

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/mnml-golf-co

Facebook: MNML GOLF CO

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjT_R2FwSsV_B-sCanfGWJg

Image Credits
Sam Goulden, Campbell Viles

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutLA is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.