By Samantha Goretski
In a chill, relaxed bar in the heart of Williamsburg, Brooklyn I sat down with Amongst Friends owner, Mikol Stambaugh. Before we made our way to a back patio to conduct our interview, I was introduced to his brother, some close friends and was offered a beer. Those first initial minutes of our meeting, it was abundantly clear as to why the brand is called Amongst Friends. Mikol doesn’t claim streetwear royalty nor does he pretend to know it all. He simply aims to make quality gear and to fit in some golf time.
Where does your love of golf come from?
My dad. He used to take my brothers and I all the time when we were young. It used to be like fuck, we have to play golf again? It was almost like a chore for us to play, but it was my dad’s way of spending time with us. But as I got older, I started to develop a respect for the game, and looked at it as a personal challenge.
Why was it important to incorporate golf into your streetwear brand?
My goal was to offer something that wasn’t available and to fill a void. The style of golf is so prep and so performance based which are aspects I like, but I also wanted to have it be appropriate for the market I know which is street wear. In street wear, everyone was making crazy graphic tees and hoodies, but my personal style was a little more cleaner, a little more prep than that. I figured fuck it, if I can make something that you can wear on the golf course and at the bar, it would be awesome to cross those lines.
Is there an AF rule of thumb?
When we started the design and creative process, we wanted to make clothes that weren’t season specific.
We wanted to avoid hearing, “Oh, that’s that Amongst Friends Fall 2008 tee.” We really try to create timeless pieces.
Does AF have signature staple item(s)?
We will always do belts, polos, cut and sew and headwear.
Does AF have a target consumer/market?
The original target market was a broader market. We initially launched the brand thinking we could have two brands; an official golf brand to sell at country clubs or pro shop sand also, a mature streetwear brand. We wanted to utilize the same line but with two extremes. We actually went to PGA tradeshows and also had a booth at MAGIC, trying to do both hustles. I mean, we were the new jacks in golf apparel, the country club dude with his trophy wife wasn’t exactly receptive. We definitely learned from that experience and are now solely focusing on the streetwear consumer.
Has the economy affected business and/or have you scaled back on production?
Yes and no. We are fortunate enough to where each season, we are growing as a company and establishing more accounts. On the other side of that coin, we are still a small company, so we have plenty of room to grow. Since we are growing in a slow economy, I think when the economy does turn around, we’ll be in a good position. We have scaled back though and concentrate more on what is working.
Would you ever open up a store?
Absolutely. Hopefully one day we will be at that level.
Do you think your collaboration with New Era catapulted your brand?
Most definitely. It absolutely brought credibility to AF right out the box because with our first season, we already had a New Era and continue to do so with every season.
Do you guys look to do collaborations outside of New Era?
As far as a collaboration with another brand, we are more than anything waiting for the right opportunity. Right now, we are making hats for some hip hop artists; a hat for Bun B’s and N.O.R.E’s album release and doing some special make-ups for some of our top tier accounts for fall /holiday.
Anything for the ladies?
I get asked this all the time but my answer is, I have to get the men’s stuff on point before I can even think about ladies. But definitely down the line, women’s and kids.
