The TM Story

Founded by a young touring professional, the Travis Mathew brand was created more so of demand than of hobby. At the time, 27 year-old Founder & Creative Director, Travis Johnson, was competing across the world trying to earn his way onto either the PGA or European Tours. During his travels and 4-years of playing at some of the highest levels of professional golf, Travis found himself time after time being dissatisfied with his apparel sponsors and their lack of providing quality products that met his needs.

So during the Winter of 2006, Travis felt impelled enough to approach one of his golf investors at the time about his idea of establishing a contemporary, yet still authentic golf apparel & lifestyle brand that stood apart from its competitors for the right reasons. The two got together for a round of golf at Shady Canyon in Irvine, CA to discuss the product concepts and business plan for the prospective company. After diving deep into the thoughts and ideas involving the brand, the two stood on the tee box of the 18th hole when Founding Investor, John Kruger, looked at Travis and said, “Alright, I like everything you’ve said today Johnson… So here’s the deal… You outdrive me on this hole, you’ve got your investor… If you don’t outdrive me, you owe me the $ (investment value) that you’re asking…” The result of the gamble can be imagined and a little less than a year later, on July 7th, 2007, the Travis Mathew Apparel brand was established.

The company’s first collection, “A World in Black & White,” which launched in the Spring of 2008 was conceptualized to reflect the brand’s vision of providing diversity to an industry filled with homogenized styling and fits. This theme proved to be overlooked and long past due in the golf apparel market, and quickly was embraced by both young players and distinguished veterans alike. Long-time PGA star Tommy Armour III immediately recognized the brand being worn on Tour by one of his good friends and early-30’s apprentice, John Mallinger. The two have come together along with a well known stable of notable golfers to represent Travis Mathew as more than just an apparel brand, but as a popular lifestyle and culture growing within the game.

COMPANY BIOS

TRAVIS JOHNSON – Founder & Creative Director
Travis was born and raised by a well known golfing family in Southern California. Learning to golf before he could even walk, Travis spent all day and every day at the course with his family. Travis became one of the top-ranked juniors in the country and went on to earning a scholarship to play golf for UCLA, where he was a 2-Time All-American, as well as a 2-Time Academic All-American. Travis turned professional directly after graduating college in 2004 and traveled across the world playing anywhere he could in hopes to gaining status on the PGA Tour. The European, Canadian, South American, Nationwide, Gateway, and Hooters Tour were just a few levels where Travis competed. While pursuing his golfing dream, Travis became intrigued by style and how it related to his performances. This newly found passion quickly turned into obsession, to the point that it has taken over his day-to-day for now until he sees his ultimate vision through, and at that point he still hopes for the opportunity to get one more shot at competing with most of his good friends who are now playing on Tour.

JOHN KRUGER – Founding Investor
John is a Southern California native that has made his career in a business his father started a little over 20 years ago making fabricated sheet metal casings and parts for customers all over the world (AMF). Being a strong family man well grounded in morality, John has used his own individual prosperities to give back to his community and others allowing them the opportunity to as he says, “Do the right thing!” John truly is an Angel Investor when it comes down to it and the Travis Mathew brand would not be here today without his leadership and foresight in both the business and integrity.

John met Travis in 2006, through a mutual friend at Seacliff Country Club in Huntington Beach, CA. John was looking to sponsor one of the top golfers in the area the play in the $2 Million Dollar Ultimate Game Challenge being hosted in Las Vegas at the Wynn Resort & Hotel. In the years past, John had been sponsored another great young local player for the event, John Mallinger, but Mallinger was now ineligible for the event since he was on the PGA Tour. After playing a round of golf with Travis, John thought he was a great fit for the event and it proved to be accurate as Travis rolled through the preliminaries of the event qualifying as one of the final-12 contestants to compete for the “Winner-Take-All” $2 Million dollar prize. Travis didn’t fare as well in the final 2 rounds of the televised event, losing to now PGA Tour player Scott Piercy. Though one may look at this event as a failure, it actually played a significant role between the two, as this marked the beginning of a friendship that would lead to the creation of something much bigger and meaningful to both John and Travis.

CHRIS ROSAASEN – Chief Executive Officer
Chris was the original Founder of clothing brand, Rosasen, which was one of the original “alternative” golf apparel brands to hit the scene in the late-90’s. Chris’ designs were known for their loud colors palettes, vibrant designs, and for dressing many of LA’s top celebrities. Chris truly was one of the pioneers in making golf funk mixed with fashion successful. In 2007 Chris decided to sell his shares from the business and look onto new projects that had his interest. Chris went onto taking a year away from the golfing industry to do freelance design work with some notable companies like Burberry, Nike, and Nordstrom Private Label. However, his passion for golf circled him right back to where he started.

When Travis found out about Chris’ absence from the golfing industry, he quickly reached out to introduce himself and setup a round of golf at Virginia Country Club in Long Beach, CA. The two got together and found out they carried similar passions for the game, but even more so they shared almost identical visions of what golf needed at the present day. It wasn’t golf funk or the chase of crazy trends, it was a classic simplicity with modern fabrications and innovation. Within a month, Chris was hired onto the team at Travis Mathew and has been the perfect complement to helping bring Travis’ vision to life.

TRAVIS BRASHER – Chief Operating Officer
Travis spent the last 15 years as the Head Golfing Professional at Seacliff Country Club in Huntington Beach, CA. His background in golf extends back to his childhood where he was one of the top junior golfers in Southern California, which led him to playing his collegiate golf at UC Santa Barbara. Travis graduated with a degree in Finance and Marketing, and within a couple of years of being out of college, was given the head job to run Seacliff CC.

Travis (“Brasher,” as everyone calls him..) was the catalyst of everyone’s involvement at Travis Mathew Apparel. Brasher was the individual responsible for introducing John Kruger to John Mallinger right out of college, which turned into a 3-year sponsorship for Mallinger before he ultimately made it onto the Tour. Brasher then introduced Kruger to Johnson for the purpose of another golf sponsorship, but that actually turned into the relationship which spawned the Travis Mathew brand. After two years of business for TM (2009), Brasher has left his career running Seacliff Country Club to run the operations and finance at the TM headquarters.

JOHN MALLINGER – Brand Ambassador
Mallinger was born and raised in a small town outside of San Diego, Escondido. Malli, as everyone calls him was another top-ranked junior golfer and chose to play his collegiate golf at Long Beach State. Upon graduation, Mallinger turned professional and traveled the country playing every Tour he could to gain the experience that he needed to keep moving up the ranks. After his third year of playing professionally, Malli finally broke through and earned his PGA Tour card qualifying past each of the three brutal stages of Q-School in ’06.

Mallinger first met Travis during a junior golf event held at Industry Hills Golf Course in Southern California at some point in the early 90’s. The two were paired together for the final round of the Maxfli Junior Championship. The two battled it out most of the day, but Mallinger went onto winning the event. From that point on though, Travis and Mallinger developed a mutual respect for one another’s talents as they continued to compete against each other throughout their junior and collegiate careers. Once both players hit the professional circuit, the two often chose to travel together to save costs while competing on several different mini-tours. Their relationship which initiated through that day of golf at Industry Hills as juniors, has transcended now to a great friendship of pals looking to help bring the Travis Mathew brand to life through a new aesthetic in golf.

BUSINESS
Travis Mathew is a progressive new brand providing an exclusive line of lifestyle wear and accessories to the finer retail locations in both the golfing and fashion industries. Based out of Southern California, the company has evolved to meet the demands of today’s active consumer. Meant for those with individual style & substance, Travis Mathew offers products suitable for work, play, and pleasure. We hope you enjoy our creation!

BRAND
Inspired by fashion, sports, music, and art, the Travis Mathew brand is a reflection of the cultures and lifestyles inherent to its Southern California roots. There is no age or race to our demographic, and in fact the name and signature   travisMathew does not symbolize any one individual a part of the company. Rather it represents a group of friends brought together by common interests and a single brand.

PRODUCTS
All of the products at Travis Mathew are created from the thread up guaranteeing both designer quality and ultimate comfort. As well, by creating all of its own proprietary fits and fabrics the company has been able to provide a newer aesthetic for golf…one crossed between the modern styling of today and that of the classical elegance of the game.

PERFORMANCE
One of the founding principles at Travis Mathew that will forever be at the forefront of design is performance. By combining performance based fabrics with a more appealing aesthetic, and a slightly tailored Americanized fit, Travis Mathew has become one of the fastest growing brands on the Tour.

INNOVATION
Travis Mathew designs so that the individual can do more with their day in a single outfit. Each piece designed by Travis Mathew is characterized with its own innovative features, which have become signature details for the brand. All shorts and pants are created with the company’s patented “iPocket,” which is located in the center back just below the waistband to allow one to store any handheld device so that it does not interfere with one’s swing or game. As well, certain bottoms will include the company’s Velcro “Glove-Stay,” which again is located in the center back just below “iPocket” to allow one to air out their glove between shots.

CREDE
Travis Mathew is a truly new authentic brand in golf with the goal of helping to perpetuate the growth of the game within its current boundaries, as well as to those outside of it. None of us would be here right now if it weren’t for this great game and we acknowledge the rich history and prestige that embodies the game, as well as respect for its long history and traditions.

Travis Mathew is also about style and substance. We are about creating products that match the eye and true needs of today’s player.

Travis Mathew is about innovation and allowing one to do more in their day in a single outfit.

VISION
Travis Mathew was born to help bridge the gap between mainstream fashion and modern athletic wear, without losing one percent of the performance which allows us to compete.