We sat down with Dylan Rizzo, owner of the golf-inspired clothing brand Baggy Pants Golf, for a deep dive into the emerging Birmingham-based brand gaining national recognition across platforms.

SoulGrown:

We want to know, if you have it, what the specific moment was when you thought, “This is something I need to do.”

Dylan Rizzo:

I think for me it started when I lived in New York City. I did one year of college football before moving to New York City in 2017. I worked up there and was connected to a lot of people that were able to help me on a brand level. I had always been into fashion, and I had definitely been into the golf world. It was always a dream to be in that world in some way, whether it was on someone’s team or in a creative directing role. I thought “I think I could make a run at this.”

I was back in Birmingham in 2020 and playing a lot of golf right before COVID came into play. One day I was playing golf and I’d always been obsessed over the sort of nostalgic golf era—the late nineties, early two thousands. They tended to wear what we think of as vintage-inspired clothing with a lot of outfits focusing on baggier pants. It was a very cool era of golf in my opinion. The idea started out as an attempt to capture that look to create a mood board, but it quickly evolved into Baggy.

After creating a social presence for the brand, a few months later we gained some following to my surprise. I thought “This will be fun for me and my friends.” I was thinking I could drop something simple and see if my buddies would wear it. I always wanted to just make clothes that my friends and people I know could wear—pieces we really love.

SoulGrown:

So, what was the official first Baggy piece?

Dylan:

It started with a hat. I sent it to a designer friend of mine, and he sent back three or four things. I remember I was on the course and just in that moment I was thought, “I think I want to turn this into my clothing brand.” I already had a little bit of branding direction and a little bit of influence and following. I thought I could turn this into a clothing line and a movement—not necessarily golf clothing but a golf-inspired clothing line. A lot of the pieces are for the course. A lot of them aren’t. But I think that dream was always in my heart.

I waited four or five months and launched the first collection. I had no expectations. It consisted of eight to 10 different pieces. I did a full-blown photo shoot. I knew some friends who were in the game who helped me along the way. I didn’t know if I was going to sell anything, and totally to my surprise, my expectations were blown away. It was an experiment to see if this could possibly work. And six to seven corrections later—two years later—Baggy is still going.

SoulGrown:

Fascinating. It seems like a strong indicator of future success when something comes about in such an organic way—as a natural extension of the passions you already hold. Many brands have an origin story that centers around the founder being pushed radically out of their comfort zone to try and grasp at success. In your case, you had already held an interest in both industries. The brand is simply a marriage of your interests. Baggy is really an extension of yourself in a way.

Dylan:

Yes. I think it came naturally and happened pretty organically being that I was always into both golf and fashion. I think the timing of it worked out well. The golf-inspired branding has really taken off. I think the best thing is that it was a kind of a God dream moment. I thought “Man, I’m going to launch this and then see where it goes.” I was one of the first brands to launch like this and I feel like I’m in a unique niche being that I’m not from LA or New York or Miami. I’m here in Birmingham and I love it here.

SoulGrown:

We love seeing brands launch in this way as almost a sort of social experiment. It’s incredible when the launch happens and the branding really hits home with a very specific niche. So, what do you think it is about your branding that makes Baggy successful? Why do you think it caught on so quickly?

Dylan:

I think number one is that the game has grown and there’s a lot of room for a lot of people who haven’t played golf in the past. When the pandemic started it really got people into golfing. Also, I think the term baggy had its moment in the past year or two with baggy, oversized clothing becoming on-trend.

I always say that the first collection had a crash landing into the clothing industry. I guess we landed well, but it was a shot in the dark. In terms of branding, it’s been cool to not be boxed into the golf world completely. It’s a great world to be attached to. I think golf has entered an era where even people who don’t golf or don’t know about the game can be attached to this golf-inspired clothing line.

I didn’t necessarily create it for only male golfers. I think creating pieces that are gender-neutral was also cool. And I think you appeal to so many more people when you don’t stay strictly in one world.

SoulGrown:

We see a very specific type of branding that we can relate to a lot of streetwear brands. But Baggy has a unique spin­—that golf element that you don’t see elsewhere. We don’t know of a lot of brands that are intertwining those two worlds. You’ve created something that is unique and didn’t really exist previously, which should serve as a great indicator of potential brand longevity.

Dylan:

Yes. I have always wanted to put things where they don’t belong. I think those two worlds naturally don’t fit. But as the game grows, as well as this dichotomy of golf and streetwear, I believe we will enter an era where people will want to be involved with it.

SoulGrown:

We’ll ask the cliche question now: what do you envision for Baggy in the coming years?

Dylan:

I’m only two years in, and I’m a firm believer in putting a few years into anything you do. So, I want to continue to build, grow and establish myself as a staple clothing brand not just in the golf world but for everyone. Which is why I’ve self-labeled us as the Peoples’ Club.

My dad has always taught me to dream big, so I want to be involved in everything. I think Baggy could serve as an umbrella with a lot of different expressions. I want to get into music, art, a storefront location, furniture, and charity. I try to surround myself with people who also have a big vision. I’ve got a lot of interest, with clothing being the vehicle at the moment. I think this could be more than just a clothing brand down the road.

SoulGrown:

And, finally, what is success to you?

Dylan:

I think success is finding something you love and really walking in that purpose. So many times, I’ve been in spaces where I am trying to figure out what I want to do and what I love. And when you finally find that thing, the future’s bright. Walking in your purpose and being able to help people is key. I want people closest to me to love me and have respect for me, and, hopefully, it’s said that I’ve been kind and a blessing to people. I want to do the things I love. I want to have a good circle around me. With these things, I think success is inevitable.

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