IDAKA - The Launch of a Brand

We love golf, and we love Entrepreneurs. This episode marries the two together and ties in how we’re all chasin’ birdies in life. Steve Pirring is our guest on this week’s episode of Chasin’ Birdies. Steve gets into his background and his role at other golf clothing brands before finally stepping out on his own and launching IDAKA.We open up the episode and catch up with Steve. In early March, Bash was tapped as the ‘model’ for IDAKA before the launch. This has led many to question whether there’s more opportunity in modeling. Steve tells the story of how the photo shoot was almost a debacle after he decided to show up randomly in Pinehurst.We jump into the launch of a brand and what it took in order to get it off the ground. Steve dives into the details and explains what his concept is and why IDAKA is different. In fact, the brand has already created a buzz due to winning the Best Glove of 2026 award. Steve builds on his momentum and continues to see the vision for what he needs to do in order to be relevant in an already competitive business.We turn the episode over to some more banter before ending with the Tap In Segment, which wasn’t planned properly. Give it a listen and make sure you check out idaka.golf to check out their gear. The Sebastian hoodie is a must. Tune in, share, like, or love. Keep Chasin’!Key Links:Visit redvanly.com for great golf apparel now repped by Chasin’ Birdies. Stay tuned for more info on winning custom headcovers from WinstonCollection.comOur Tap-in segment is sponsored by Bettinardi GolfPartners with Nemacolin Resort. -----Follow Chasin’ Birdies on Instagram @chasin_birdies.Chasin’ Birdies is hosted by Ryan Bashour and Jonathan Pepe. Produced by Simpler Media.

This episode of Chasin’ Birdies is our latest and greatest since our last drop in February. It’s been a rough start to the year for our boy Pepe, but hopefully the tides are turning, and we can all embrace the golf season that is finally upon us.We open up the episode and pick up right where we left off. The 2026 Pine Needles Invitational at Pine Needles, Mid-Pines, and Southern Pines just wrapped up, and we have some stories to share from that. Plus, a good friend of the pod just launched his new clothing line, IDAKA, and Bash was a part of that initial launch by acting as a model. The story sparks humor as it relates to how and why.We turn the episode over and get into the Pelican Member Guest that Pepe just played in. The highlight of this episode is the ‘shit’ story…yes. The story can actually put you in tears. We hear from Pepe and their unsuccessful bid at defending the championship in 2026.The episode turns over, and we get into some golf talk with The Players kicking off. We run through the list of who we think has the best chance of winning. Naturally, March Madness is here, and NFL free agency is kicking off.We round out the episode with more banter and talks surrounding our 2-Man event in August. Tune in, share, and hear from the boys as we chop it up and look ahead to more guests here in Chasin’ Birdies.Key Links:Visit redvanly.com for great golf apparel now repped by Chasin’ Birdies.Stay tuned for more info on winning custom headcovers from WinstonCollection.comOur Tap-in segment is sponsored by Bettinardi GolfPartners with Nemacolin Resort.-----Follow Chasin’ Birdies on Instagram @chasin_birdies.Chasin’ Birdies is hosted by Ryan Bashour and Jonathan Pepe. Produced by Simpler Media.

We’re back this week on Chasin’ Birdies with a guest who knows a thing or two about perseverance and adversity. Mitch Harris joins us to catch up on life and tell his story. The former Navy Lieutenant was the first to be drafted in the MLB since 1921. The story of how they handled this is an interesting one.We open up and talk about the significant value taking preworkout has on your GI system. After this light talk, we turn the tables to getting into Mitch’s story. He attended the Naval Academy and wasn’t necessarily recruited to play baseball. After landing on the team, his future was about to unfold.We get into the ins and outs of attending the Naval Academy and what life was like. The episode turns into his story of being drafted and eventually landing on the mound as a relief pitcher. Along the way, Mitch realizes that success doesn’t have to just be a ‘me’ thing. With this philosophy in tow, he’s become a sought after speaker and wrote a book called My Private War - Relentlessly Chasing a Dream. After his career wrapped up, he has used his experiences to help people gain perspective on situations.We turn the episode over to some golf talk and finish with our standard Tap-In segment. Tune in to this warm hearted episode and hear from a person many look up to.Key Links:Visit redvanly.com for great golf apparel now repped by Chasin’ Birdies.Stay tuned for more info on winning custom headcovers from WinstonCollection.comOur Tap-in segment is sponsored by Bettinardi GolfPartners with Nemacolin Resort.-----Follow Chasin’ Birdies on Instagram @chasin_birdies.Chasin’ Birdies is hosted by Ryan Bashour and Jonathan Pepe. Produced by Simpler Media.

We’re back this week on Chasin’ Birdies, and to open the new year up, it’s just us giving banter. We open up the episode and get into some winter golf talk. We look ahead to some new things that are rolling out in 2026 for the golf world—clubs, grips, balls... all the essentials.We get into some hot topics in golf right now surrounding the LIV and PGA Tour. What’s next for the potential demise of LIV golf, or is LIV on a trajectory that none of us realize? No matter what happens, this golf season that’s upon us is about to get interesting.We turn over the talk to sports talk surrounding the National Championship Game as well as the NFL playoffs. Fun banter, good laughs, and us getting back in the saddle. Stay tuned for future drops with awesome guests and great stories to share. Tune in, share, listen, and we are ready for 2026 on Chasin’ Birdies.Key Links:Visit redvanly.com for great golf apparel now repped by Chasin’ Birdies. Stay tuned for more info on winning custom headcovers from WinstonCollection.comOur Tap-in segment is sponsored by Bettinardi GolfPartners with Nemacolin Resort. -----Follow Chasin’ Birdies on Instagram @chasin_birdies.Chasin’ Birdies is hosted by Ryan Bashour and Jonathan Pepe. Produced by Simpler Media.

We’re fortunate this week to have a friend of the pod carve out some of his time and jump on the mics. Taylor Kinney is here on Chasin’ Birdies. This one has us excited purely because we always love the opportunity to hang with TK, whether on or off the golf course. We open up the episode with our standard ten-minute banter before we get into the interview.The interview opens up with us talking about the early days and TK attending WVU in Morgantown, WV. We get into his travels and how he went from living in Hawaii to landing modeling/acting gigs. After some more life talk, we discuss how he came to be ‘that’ guy on Chicago Fire. Spoiler alert - a fire in Chicago near the set had everyone scrambling, thinking the cast were actual firefighters. The story is told from TK’s perspective. We get into a lot of questions surrounding filming and how the show operates behind the scenes. After more bantering, we turn the talk over to golf. We get into his early days of golf and how the game clawed its way back into his life not too long ago. We discuss traveling to play golf and how, without golf, we’d have never connected. The point being - we’re golf addicts. If you’re a golf addict, you can relate. We finally turn the episode over to our tap-in segment, where TK is asked questions that demand his quick response…although some answers aren’t quick. Tune in, share, and hear from an overall great guy hangin’ with us two for a good hour or so.Key Links:Visit redvanly.com for great golf apparel now repped by Chasin’ Birdies. Stay tuned for more info on winning custom headcovers from WinstonCollection.comOur Tap-in segment is sponsored by Bettinardi GolfPartners with Nemacolin Resort. -----Follow Chasin’ Birdies on Instagram @chasin_birdies.Chasin’ Birdies is hosted by Ryan Bashour and Jonathan Pepe. Produced by Simpler Media.

This episode highlights an individual who not only chases birdies on the course but also chases birdies in life. Chris Knott, the founder of Peter Millar and current Chief Merchandising Officer at Johnny-O, joins us on this week’s episode to share his journey. From a small-town upbringing to becoming a prominent figure in the golf apparel industry, Knotty explains how he got started in the clothing business, slingin’ sweaters from a rural NC town.We get into discussions about how the shift happened from men’s luxury apparel to golf, driven by opportunities at the PGA show. We talk about social media influencers and how they’re helping build brand awareness among brands on the reg. The fun talk picks up where we switch over to his current CMO role at Johnnie-O. We touch on the brand’s expansion and introduction of innovative products that weren’t released in the past.We turn the show over and chat golf and unfortunately, Pepe’s camera and mic overheat (fail!) so we lost him. Bash and Knotty finish out the show with an impromptu tap-in segment to finish the show. Tune in, share, and hear from a great business-minded leader who cares about what we wear! Key Links:Visit redvanly.com for great golf apparel now repped by Chasin’ Birdies. Stay tuned for more info on winning custom headcovers from WinstonCollection.comOur Tap-in segment is sponsored by Bettinardi GolfPartners with Nemacolin Resort. -----Follow Chasin’ Birdies on Instagram @chasin_birdies.Chasin’ Birdies is hosted by Ryan Bashour and Jonathan Pepe. Produced by Simpler Media.

Our episode this week involves one of Nashville’s most sought-after songwriters, Ray Fulcher. We’ve gotten to know Ray well over the last few years, and it’s no secret that outside of work and hunting, he can’t kick the golf bug.Cool story alert - we get into the beginning when he decided to move to Nashville. It was within that first week or so that he met another guy, and they both started hanging out and writing together. Ray tells the story and reveals that the guy he met early on was Luke Combs. The journey for him started there, and he started creating his craft by writing songs that ended up being cut by some major artists. We hear about what it’s like working in the music business and how the song process starts to take shape. If you’re an avid listener of the show, this isn’t your first time hearing from a songwriter. We turn the talk over to some small banter and life talk. Naturally, we gravitate into golf and ‘pay day’ Ray lets us in on his love for golf. This episode was recorded at Old Hickory in Nashville, TN. Sitting around a table, having a few beers, this episode will keep your attention. We turn the episode over to our tap-in segment, where Ray is asked four questions that demand his quick response. Tune in, share, and enjoy. It’s not too often you get to hear from a guy like Ray.  Key Links:Visit redvanly.com for great golf apparel now repped by Chasin’ Birdies. Stay tuned for more info on winning custom headcovers from WinstonCollection.comOur Tap-in segment is sponsored by Bettinardi GolfPartners with Nemacolin Resort. -----Follow Chasin’ Birdies on Instagram @chasin_birdies.Chasin’ Birdies is hosted by Ryan Bashour and Jonathan Pepe. Produced by Simpler Media.

If you’re an avid listener of the show, you know how we roll. Some weeks we have a guest, others it’s just a talk. That’s this week. We get into a wide variety of topics, including the ridiculous nature of a Halloween weekend with kids and a Halloween party that resulted in a fire.We cover our bases (no pun) on the recent MLB World Series and get into some general sports talk. After all, we are a ‘golf’ podcast, right? Speaking of golf, what is going on with golf? NOTHING! We tap into some fall golf discussion and touch on LIV golf opening a new qualifier up to the tour. Pepe gets challenged to No-Shave November. Will he do it? This episode is just us being us. Love it or hate it, it’s all we got. Next up..Ray Fulcher. Stay tuned for that drop. Key Links:Visit redvanly.com for great golf apparel now repped by Chasin’ Birdies. Stay tuned for more info on winning custom headcovers from WinstonCollection.comOur Tap-in segment is sponsored by Bettinardi GolfPartners with Nemacolin Resort. -----Follow Chasin’ Birdies on Instagram @chasin_birdies.Chasin’ Birdies is hosted by Ryan Bashour and Jonathan Pepe. Produced by Simpler Media.

In this episode of Chasin’ Birdies, we sit down with Dick Lebeau to talk about golf and football and of course, his illustrious career. The episode opens up with our banter for the first 10 minutes, and then we turn it over to our interview with coach. We reflect on his experiences as a coach and player and discuss the evolution of football as we know it today. Coach opens up and talks about his memories on the field. We shift into the creation of the “Zone Blitz” and how that started...on a napkin.We turn the episode over to some golf talk. Coach fondly remembers his experiences with Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer. We get into how he fell in love with golf and discuss similarities between football and golf.On a daily basis, he’d rather be chasin’ birdies. The episode shifts over to some good stories, and one he tells about the Super Bowl. Peep our instagram for the video.  We conclude the episode with Coach expressing gratitude towards the career he’s had and the joy he finds in playing golf with his family. We end with our standard tap-in segment, where we ask Coach some questions that demand his quick response.  Tune in, share, and listen to one of the greatest coaches to ever do it. Key Links:Visit redvanly.com for great golf apparel now repped by Chasin’ Birdies. Stay tuned for more info on winning custom headcovers from WinstonCollection.comOur Tap-in segment is sponsored by Bettinardi GolfPartners with Nemacolin Resort. -----Follow Chasin’ Birdies on Instagram @chasin_birdies.Chasin’ Birdies is hosted by Ryan Bashour and Jonathan Pepe. Produced by Simpler Media.

This episode of Chasin’ Birdies is a special one. We were a part of the WVU Medicine Children’s Inaugural Golf Tournament at Nemacolin Resort and we hosted a live podcast for the guests of the event. Tyler Reeve joined us on this episode to share his story with us and tie in some golf talk. We cover a lot of topics in this episode, but hearing again how certain songs are created and the inspiration behind them never gets old. Tyler wrote Brett Young’s “In Case You Didn’t Know,” which has over a billion streams. A text message to Eric Church led to the collaboration with Luke Combs on the hit “Does to me”. These stories and more are intertwined throughout this interview.If he’s not sitting on the porch at Old Hickory in Nashville jammin’ with John Daly and friends (porch talk, as he calls it), Tyler can be found on the golf course chasin’ birdies and placing friendly wagers between the group. We tie in golf talk and hear about his recent round breaking 70.Tune in now, share, and let us know your thoughts. This episode is not only entertaining but very interesting from the perspective of a top songwriter in the 615.  Key Links:Visit redvanly.com for great golf apparel now repped by Chasin’ Birdies. Stay tuned for more info on winning custom headcovers from WinstonCollection.comOur Tap-in segment is sponsored by Bettinardi GolfPartners with Nemacolin Resort. -----Follow Chasin’ Birdies on Instagram @chasin_birdies.Chasin’ Birdies is hosted by Ryan Bashour and Jonathan Pepe. Produced by Simpler Media.