We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Kevin Fodrey. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Kevin below.
Kevin, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?
Cardinal Disc Golf was started out of a love for people and the sport of disc golf.
Lane and I, joked that almost all of the apparel worn in tournaments was an eye sore and most jerseys went WAY overboard. We wanted to create something people could wear any time, on the course, out with their friends, heck, even to work! Our brand is modern and sleek with a hint of flair, and we work hard to keep the designs on brand, even when designing and trying to meet the desires of the athletes we sponsor.
When we launched we only had 3 goals. 1) Have fun. 2) Give back to the athletes. 3) Create a fun and engaging community on our team. As of right now, we feel like we are accomplishing that goal very well, as our athletes all get a percentage of any sale they generate, pros get kickbacks on their signature jerseys, which Lane designed for each of them, and our team sends hundreds of messages back and forth daily just talking and building community. All of it has been extremely fun and the mission to create community could not be going better.
If you’re first hearing about Cardinal Disc Golf, just know that we started this company out of passion for people and sports, and if you don’t play disc golf that okay, our gear is great for all sports and leisure wear.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
My name is Kevin Fodrey, and I co-own Cardinal Disc Golf with my friend, Lane Mosolf. Lane is an insanely talented artist and we met through a mutual love for graphics, logos, and creating content in our relevant spaces.
I have worked in marketing my entire career, and in the last few years made the shift out of corporate marketing to the freelance/entrepreneur side to be able to spend more time with my family and compete professionally in Disc Golf. I specialize in the strategy, implementation, and athletics/team side of the business.
Lane has worked in the graphic design and art industry for years and has helped to create major brands and logos for athletes all acrosss the world. His work is second to none and if you’re interested in anything graphic design, give him a follow on Instagram @mosolfdesign. He manages all of our designs and branding.
Something you should know about us is that we care about our fans and team members deeply. It’s just us running the show here and we still try to boast the fastest replies, quickest solutions, and greatest customer service in the industry. This isn’t always easy, but we want people to see and understand how much we really care about the community we are building.
One of the main problems we try to solve is comfort, style, and functionality all in one jersey. If you play sports, you know that comfort and functionality is pivotal to your success in competition and many of the options that were available in the market either didn’t fit the standards we wanted, or were not something we would wear out on the course. Our jerseys provide 4-way stretch, extreme breathability and comfort, while not sacrificing style.
Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?
Be authentic. I don’t care if you have 100,000 followers or 100. If you’re not authentic, people aren’t going to buy into your mission and vision. Lane and I openly share our margin numbers, business delays or developments, or even failures with our team and sometimes our fans. We know that if you claim to be something, you have to be that thing all the time, and choosing to be authentic is hard, but we strive for that every day.
Create an image of what you want your brand to look like when you’re succeeding, then make actionable steps to get to that place. Whether it’s consistent branding on social media, your brand voice when communicating with customers/fans, or just simply in the design/implementation of your business, stick to the plan. Engagement>clicks.
Any thoughts, advice, or strategies you can share for fostering brand loyalty?
Social Media and events. We sponsor quite a few athletes and those people are our boots on the ground word of mouth soldiers. Through consistent messaging on social media, and positive word of mouth at all the events out target clientele is at, we hope to continue growing at a rapid pace, so that we can increase year over year that amount of help we can provide the athletes and the community.
I would say we post quite often on our various pages, but our stories are where we build a lot of relationships. Give your fans something to interact with and something to feel a part of.
Contact Info:
- Website: CardinalDiscGolf.com
- Instagram: @cardinaldiscgolf
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Cardinaldiscgolf?mibextid=LQQJ4d
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/cardinal-disc-golf/
Image Credits
Kurtis Stewart Photography