Reggie Bush, TravisMathew changing the face of golf fashion impeccably
Reggie Bush, the day after having his Heisman Trophy reinstated, released his TravisMathew collection.
Wednesday, Reggie Bush received some of the best news he has likely heard in quite some time. Bush’s Heisman Trophy from his record-setting 2005 season at USC had been reinstated.
One day later, he was at the TravisMathew store in Century City, CA launching his collection.
The timing could not possibly have been more impeccable.
But as TravisMathew CEO Ryan Ellis said to Playing Through in an exclusive, “When you prepare, you get lucky. Reggie prepared more than ever for this collection to pop and here it is out at the perfect time.”
It certainly was.
There was a ton of media coverage at the event, with FOX 11 news doing a live broadcast in the middle of it all.
As great as it was to see Bush getting his hardware back, deservedly so, that was just the cherry on top. The cake itself was a fantastic collection that golfers and anyone with an active lifestyle can get excited about.
Reggie Bush’s Love for the Game of Golf
Bush was recently inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. He is undeniably one of the greatest college football players fans have ever been lucky enough to witness.
He transitioned into the NFL and was one of the most versatile weapons in the league for years. Bush ultimately helped the New Orleans Saints win Super Bowl XLIV.
He had an amazing career in football.
However, like every professional athlete, the sun eventually sets. When that happens, there is one alternative to keep those competitive juices flowing: golf.
“I started playing golf two or three years before I retired from the NFL. I wish I had picked it up much sooner because I have learned a lot of life lessons in golf. It has also given me something to drive towards after football,” Bush said to Playing Through.
“I can’t play football at a high level anymore but I can go out on a golf course and play with my boys... talk trash... almost recreate that locker room feel.”
It was at that point that Bush explained his understanding of how difficult golf truly is.
“I always felt like I was a great athlete until I stepped into the golf world. The first time I swung the golf club, I couldn’t even hit the ball. I was frustrated... From that very experience it just grabbed me.”
“That is the thing that drives me. You can never master it [golf]. I am always working, my golf game is always under construction.”
It was through that newfound love of golf that brought about the harmonious connection with TravisMathew.
“That is where it organically started, my relationship with TravisMathew, was in the golf space. I love golf. They obviously have a huge presence in golf. I wanted to be able to bring my vision, my fashion vision to the golf world.”
The former USC Trojan then made me think of Happy Gilmore.
“I see a lot of guys on the golf course that don’t have a lot of fashion sense. I want to be able to help,” Bush said playfully.
In case the Happy Gilmore reference got past you, “If I saw myself in clothes like that, I’d have to kick my own ass.” Now you likely remember.
Needless to say, not only has Bush brought a fashion sense into the sport, he has brought his game along with it.
Ten years after retiring from football and picking up a club, Bush is a six-handicap on the golf course.
Reggie Bush X TravisMathew Collection
The Reggie Bush Collection had a goal. Both Bush and Ellis wanted to create something different, something anyone could wear whether they were on the green or in the air.
“You can wear it to work. You can wear it to play golf. You can wear it if you are traveling,” Ellis said.
“You think about a guy like Reggie, how active his lifestyle is, he doesn’t want to change five times in a day. So he wanted to build apparel that he can wear throughout the day.”
But not only was it important for both Bush and TravisMathew to create versatile apparel, but they wanted it to look sharp, look clean.
They crushed that goal.
I was lucky enough to walk away with a couple pieces myself and cannot wait to rock them.
If you want to gear up yourself, you can find the collection here.
Typically, the designer or brand has all of the control. A brand ambassador, which Bush became with TravisMathew in 2023, is more or less a face to a product.
But that is not the case here.
“The Reggie collection is the first ever collection we have done with an ambassador, which is really unique. We have such an attention to detail and it is hard to get the time, or even the vision from a professional athlete,” Ellis explained.
“Reggie came in meticulous. He brought 15 pieces for us to look at and said ‘here’s all the things I like.’ We started envisioning together... Not only was he very involved, but he essentially designed it with our designers.”
Clearly, the clothing designer recognized that Bush knew what he was talking about. He has been known to have a keen eye on fashion sense.
The former running back took that role with TravisMathew very seriously, too.
“Shopping can be tough. When you are shopping for yourself... trying to find the perfect pieces, sometimes it is hard to match that all up. What we are doing here is creating here, we are taking all of the thinking out of it,” Bush detailed.
“It all works together. You can buy the shirt, buy the pants, mix and match and they all go together.”
The collection is available in both an army green and light brown, both of which I plan on wearing on and off the course.
As golf fashion continues to be part a more pertinent part of the sport’s lexicon, Bush will likely be a key figure for course attire.
Kendall Capps is the Senior Editor of SB Nation’s Playing Through. For more golf coverage, follow us @_PlayingThrough on all major social media platforms.