A Chat with Gustav Schauman, CEO and Founder at Disruptive Golf Sneaker Brand: Goatlane

Gustav Schauman

Goatlane is the Sweden-born golf sneaker brand combining PGA Tour-level performance with chic street fashion. We have developed beautifully designed, elite-level golf shoes in partnership with PGA Tour golfers – PGA pro Henrik Norlander is our technical advisor – to redefine style on and off the golf course.

Goatlane’s footwear is unique in blending street fashion aesthetics suitable for the office, nightclub, or clubhouse, with all the technical requirements of a professional-standard spikeless golf shoe.

We launched in the USA and across Europe ahead of the 2022 golf season.
 
 
GOATLANE
 

What’s the story behind the founding of the company?

 
Quite simply, I love golf. It’s been a true personal passion of mine since I was young. While studying an Economics degree in Milan – perhaps one of the chicest cities in the world – my interest in business and design only grew; however, I went into the corporate world.

It wasn’t until 2019, when I was in Turkey for a European Tour Pro-Am Rolex Series, professionally unsatisfied, that it all came together. Whilst playing against a party of Italians, immaculately dressed, I couldn’t help but notice their quite frankly ugly footwear.

Albeit functional, it did not fit with their aesthetic, and it was then that I had the inspiration that functional and fashionable should not need to be mutually exclusive. So, as soon as I got home, I began sketching designs, sourcing materials, and sending products to pro golfers to test out. In only one year, the first Goatlane collection had launched.
 

 

How has the company evolved during the pandemic?

 
Well, that’s an interesting one for us as we launched in 2020, the beginning of the pandemic and have only seen our sales grow. Golf popularity surged during the pandemic, being one of the few sports permitted in the guidelines of many governments.

Whilst the world lived in loungewear, we offered one of the few ways for people to express their style whilst playing sports. We gave people an opportunity to feel chic, which I believe is one of the reasons that boosted our growth and engagement.
 

What can we hope to see from Goatlane in the future?

 
Goatlane is serving the need for both the hardcore professional golfer and the everyday lifestyle golfer. We are pioneering the merging of sports and fashion in golf by bridging that gap. The best bit is that Goatlane has only just begun. I can see us continuing to disrupt golf attire as we develop more products that do not compromise on technical excellence nor aesthetic elegance.

Our growth has been incredible: in our first three months in the US and UK, preorders for the 2022 golf season exceeded the entire previous year’s sales. We have an anticipated sales growth of between 500% and 600% for 2022. There are more exciting things in store that I’m not allowed to mention just yet, but there’s lots in the pipeline. I’m delighted to say, we’re going from strength to strength.