A Continuous Lean

Historically there is perhaps no contribution to the game of golf and the Masters Tournament as overlooked as the hardworking, predominantly Black local caddies of Augusta National Golf Club. In a recent update to his book, The Legendary Caddies of Augusta National, Ward Clayton gives a voice to these incredible people and their long overlooked contributions to America’s most prestigious golf club and most famous golf tournament. Following a rule change in 1982, the Masters Tournament was the last of the major championships to allow outside caddies. This meant that players could then bring their own full-time outside caddie, and most players did. Prior to the 1983 Masters every player competing in the invitational tournament used a local caddie who worked at Augusta National Golf Club each season. The majority of the caddie corps was Black and mostly from a nearby community called Sand Hills. These men were highly skilled at navigating the topography of Augusta. No one knew that golf course as well as they did. The acquired expertise of a course as demanding as Augusta National is often learned and perfected over decades. This understanding of the wind, topography and contours of the course was truly an art form. The knowledge was passed down from man-to-man thru generations. Ward’s book rightfully celebrates these often overlooked men who spent their lives guiding some of the best players and most powerful people in the world around the green hills of Augusta National Golf Club. There are few as knowledgeable about the Masters Tournament and golf than Clayton. He is an accomplished sportswriter, author and editorial contributor for Masters.com. In 2019 his book about the Augusta National caddies was the inspiration for the film *Loopers: The Caddie’s Long Walk*, which he also helped to produce. In the book Ward tells the story of caddie (and Atlanta Bus Driver) Walter “Cricket” Pritchett who caddied for Charles Coody during his 1971 Masters win. That story and the explanation for his towel (as pictured above) is in our conversation. I hope you enjoy our chat. The ACL Podcast is meant to be an add-on to the newsletter. You can listen in the Substack App, on Apple Podcasts or via Spotify directly if you prefer that. If you like this story please consider subscribing and sending to a friend. As always I appreciate your support.Big thanks to Al James for lending me his music. The song is: Hard Working Dogs by Dolorean. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.acl.news/subscribe

Mark McNairy played a big role in the initial inspiration for starting ACL. I met him in 2005 when he was the creative director at J. Press. At his core he’s a product guy, and he introduced me to so many interesting people, brands and American manufacturers. The first factories I visited in Maine and New York were with him (one of which was the Bentley Cravats factory in Chelsea which we discuss briefly) and the first time I went to Japan was with him. Mark has design instincts that I have never seen in other people. He has an incredible ability to quickly see something interesting and create a design with a totally unique point of view. He does this better than anyone I have worked with over the years. I also find Mark to be hilarious with an extremely dry sense of humor. We hit it off from the start and I still consider him one of my favorite people of all time. Mark is designing a new collection called McNairy & Co. and is always looking for new projects and design partnerships. As I said, he loves product and always wants to be creating new things with his unique vision. I hope you enjoy our conversation. The ACL Podcast is meant to be an add-on to the newsletter. You can listen in the Substack App, on Apple Podcasts or via Spotify directly if you prefer that. If you like this story please consider subscribing and sending to a friend. As always I appreciate your support.Big thanks to Al James for lending me his music. The song is: Hard Working Dogs by Dolorean. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.acl.news/subscribe

Cost and efficiency can’t be the only things that matter. Sometimes you need to take the meandering route. If one-click ordering ruled everything we do, then we would be neglected an experience like the one Jake Mueser provides at J Mueser. In modern-day 2024 Jake doesn’t just make clothes, he becomes trusted advisor and confidant. Seeing him is akin to an executive health consultation. There might be some concerns with seeing the raw data, but trust that Jake be there with his expertise and keen eye to help you navigate any issues. Jake is like a highly sought after concierge doctor for your aesthetic soul. Like your good doctor, Jake has seen it all before.With his easygoing ways and subtle suggestions he reminds you that your goals are aligned here. Jake is on your team, like the on-staff sports psychologist roaming the sidelines of a high stakes game helping us find our center. Jake is our guy and he’s vital to the success of our team. And by success I mean, looking good and feeling correct. A visit to Jake on Christopher street is low-tech meets high touch in the best possible way. It’s an exercise in trust and beauty. What could be better? This week while he is working his way around Pitti Uomo in Florence, it seemed appropriate to share a conversation we had about style, tailoring and what it’s like to still do things in the traditions of the past. Hope you enjoy it. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.acl.news/subscribe

One of our favorite shows of the year. Michael reveals his psychedelics strategy, Coggins learns to make rice and we look forward to the holiday. Hope you like it! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.acl.news/subscribe

We talk about Michael’s trip to New York, a curious incident at Keens Steakhouse and the Coggins family finally getting into roller bags (gasp!). Hope you like it!The shirt company that made my MTM is Kamakura. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.acl.news/subscribe

There really aren’t a lot of ways to reinvent a woven shirt. Somehow in 1999 Steven Alan found a way to do it. That was the year he created the Reverse Seam which would go on to sell tens of thousands of shirts. The innovation? To twist the placket and to reveal the outseam. It’s more than that though, Steven flipped the dress shirt to be a deliberately casual button-down. It’s not complicated, but the Reverse Seam was a important reinterpretation. It’s like going back in time two decades and popularizing the entire ridiculous idea for Untuckit. Only these shirts were for people who don’t hate themselves. (Sorry, I had to do it.) In all seriousness, a casual woven shirt was a great idea and that’s why Steven has sold so many of them and why Amy Larocca called it the perfect shirt, which I think sums things up fairly well. My opinion is that Steven Alan is a legend. I’ve always loved his point of view and his Annex shop in Tribeca was my favorite shop in New York. His product was great, he brought in amazing brands from all over the world and there was always something great to discover. I mostly wear his other woven shirt, the Single Needle, since it’s a bit roomier and we collaborated to make some flap-pocket shirts way back when. They sold out in like 38 minutes. It was a bit of a dream collab for me because I love Steven’s general aesthetic. Over the years Steven expanded the business to a point that became difficult to manage in a changing world. As wholesale and physical retail evolved Steven had to close all of his stores and the financial situation took him to the brink. He made some tough decisions to extract the company from the store leases and eventually he was able to recommit to a completely online only direct-to-consumer brand and web shop. When the brand relaunched online Steven started making shirts in the garment center again and the Reverse Seam and the Single Needle have been resurrected. In a way the business has come full circle and Steven himself seems reinvigorated with the simplicity of it all. I’ve missed shopping at the Annex and seeing Steven in New York and was curious about the evolution of the brand. I reached out to Steven a little while back and we recorded a sort of impromptu podcast. Through our conversation we chart the early days of his stores and how Steven Alan has evolved through the years. Steven has had a huge impact of so much of what we see today. His brand is as relevant as ever, especially now that the Reverse Seam is back. Hope you enjoy our conversation. The ACL Podcast is more of an add-on to the newsletter than a full fledged podcast. You can listen in Apple Podcasts or via Spotify directly if you prefer that to Substack. If you enjoy this edition, please consider subscribing and sending to a friend who you think would like this. I appreciate your support.Thanks to Al James for lending me his music. The song is: Hard Working Dogs by Dolorean. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.acl.news/subscribe

It’s been a year of Central Division. It’s hard to decide if a podcast’s birthday is something to be proud of or embarrassed about. But here we are. So we reflect on a year of the show, consider some friendly criticisms from loved ones, and fearlessly look forward. We also invited some friends to celebrate. Master of all media Chris Black joins us (19:25). And we talk to our old friend Matt Hranek, the king of print (40:45). Hope you like it and thanks to everyone for listening and supporting this year. Michael and DavidListen to Chris Black on How Long Gone. Order Matt Hranek’s book The Martini. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.acl.news/subscribe

A few weeks back I recommended the book Everything Now: Lessons from the City-State of Los Angeles by Rosecrans Baldwin for a summer reading list. Having been an admirer of Rosecrans’ writing (especially in his newsletter) I was eager to chat with him about the book on the podcast. He graciously drove across town and we had a great chat in my backyard. We spoke about the many great stories in the book, life in Southern California and he even opened up about his relationship with the brand Patagonia. “What if I hate Los Angeles? Why should I read this book.” That’s the big question for Rosecrans. It’s something we speak about in the podcast but it is worth pointing out again here. If you love L.A. this is a good book for you. If you hate it — there’s likely something for you too. If you are interested in the human stories that bring a place to life then you will enjoy it. All of this thinking about Los Angeles makes me revisit the ongoing N.Y. vs L.A. debate. So much is said about these two cities but it doesn’t seem like many people truly understand either place all that well — myself included. I’ve got a connection to each city, but I’m not really from either and don’t think I’ll ever consider myself a New Yorker or an Angeleno. I only think I know them well enough to know that I’ve only scratched the surface. The book reinforces this theory.One fact I heard during the pandemic about the size of L.A. surprised me. If Los Angeles County was a state it would rank 8th in terms of population. That statistic helped illustrate in my mind just how big L.A. is and how it is often too easily distilled down to one industry or one frequently visited part of town. Everything Now helps to open up these places, and to help us all better understand the people who give them life. The book is unlike what one might expect from a story about a city, no less a story about L.A., but that is one of the reasons it’s so enjoyable. It’s unexpected in a lot of ways, and like L.A., it’s not as easy to characterize as you might think. Hope you enjoy our conversation. Some show notes are below. 0:52 Coffee: Mudd 2.0 from How Long Gone.4:20 One Morning in Maine & Time of Wonder.5:30 Rosecrans’ newsletter: Meditations in an Emergency.6:55 The book is called: Everything Now.9:27 Los Angeles has the second greatest urban density in a metropolitan area in the U.S. behind New York City.10:33 New York Times Book Review.16:17 Betting on three horses to finish first, second and third in that exact order is called a trifecta.16:58 Luck on HBO.19:30 We looked it up and 30.2% of Los Angeles residents live alone.35:40 Types of Adventures (or fun).45:46 We looked it up. Los Angeles is second in diverse and endangered species in the U.S. next to Hawaii.57:27 Explore DTLA. The Last Bookstore LA. Tacos at Sonoratown.59:00 Our Malibu Beaches App.Thanks to my summer associate Max Arden for fact checking and annotating this conversation. The ACL Podcast is more of an add-on to the newsletter than a full fledged podcast. You can listen in Apple Podcasts or via Spotify directly if you prefer that to Substack. If you enjoy this edition, please consider subscribing and sending to a friend who you think would like this. I appreciate your support.Thanks to Al James for lending me his music. The song is: Hard Working Dogs by Dolorean. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.acl.news/subscribe