Today we’d like to introduce you to Jonny Hoffner

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?

We started Good Lion Golf in 2022 anchored in the concept of GOOD > SAFE. This pertains to golf and life writ large. Good Lion is rooted in a love of the game and the beauty it contains, but we also desire to see it grow and evolve beyond the stale, fratty aesthetic that is all too pervasive.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?

Life as a small business owner is a rapid series of highs and lows. Encouragement and discouragement can exist almost simultaneously.

The focus and ethos of Good Lion Golf is dialed in which makes product ideation and creation a much smoother process. Getting our brand in front of people has been challenging since we’re also a bit social media averse. That said, we’re trying to find comfort in the discomfort that is slow, organic, meaningful growth.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?

My wife and I have owned and operated our photography business, Paper Antler, since 2008. Our goal with photography is to present familiar settings or environments in a new light or with a different perspective.

The purpose of Good Lion Golf is much the same. We’re not interested in recreating what has already been done thousands of times by other, bigger brands. I find it much more interesting to do something that hasn’t been done before even when that path isn’t terribly clear or well trodden.

We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?

Our mantra for Good Lion Golf is GOOD > SAFE, inspired by the pages of Narnia. Risk-taking, within reason and generally speaking, is good and not always safe.

I studied philosophy at a small liberal arts college, which from an employment standpoint is risky, but the more risks that I’ve taken in the past nearly 20 years, the less they even feel like risks.

My wife and I quit our jobs when we got engaged in 2007 and haven’t looked back. We then doubled down and traveled the world for six months, followed by a year-long road trip around the country in 2012.

You have to build up a risk-tolerance like anything else. At first it’s surely scary to enter into the unfamiliar but eventually it can be scarier to never try or take a shot.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://goodliongolf.com
• Instagram: @goodliongolf

Image Credits

Paper Antler