Puma Passion

Matthew Golia

Branch Manager

514 Bridgeport Ave 

Shelton, CT 06484

Dear Puma,

My name is Matthew Golia and I have been a fan of your product line since 1995 when I was a young boy playing basketball in your Puma Super Baskets Mid in Navy Blue. At the age of 15, with my peers gracing the court with Pump Action sneakers, Air Bubbled souls, and mounds of leather, plastic and suede weighing them down, I graced the hardwood, sans sock, with my foot and ankle wrapped in an Ace Bandage sporting my Pumas; I felt as if I was harkening back to the days of the mid 1900's, when an Athlete's style sprung from their moves made on the court, which in turn brought attention to their feet, not the other way around. It is that minimalist, yet timeless style that I feel has helped Puma to endure, while cultivating a mass following with unique takes on the color palette, turning heads with it's brimming style. As I have grown into adulthood, shifting further from day dreams of the playing in the NCAA Tournament, and being a top five pick in the NBA draft, I find (like many) that iconic images of my past,stir up such positive memories, and help that youthful energy and passion rise back through me. 

It is with that thought, coupled with the fact that my hoop dreams (ala Arthur Agee and William Gates) have dissipated into the ether, that I write to you proposing an idea for new line of clothing and possible focus for  sponsorship for Puma. Many woman and men, who once sacrificed their very body and soul (insert blood, sweat and tears cliché), now are part of the corporate work force. Many of these positions entail nearly as much movement, if not all day activity, where the necessary flexibility, durability, comfort and, above all else, style are integral to looking your best, performing at a higher caliber, while maintaining an overwhelming sense of well-being. Many of us, while passionate about our specific sport, did not make it to the "big show", a vast majority, though many of us played high school and collegiate sports, entering into the work force after school, and have to settle for intramural teams, pick up games, and the pangs of watching others at professional sporting events. Our dreams though, have not died, and we bring the same fire and attention to detail, motivation and teamwork to our corporate professional positions.

I work as a manager for Enterprise Rent A Car in Southern CT. Our dress attire is suit and tie for men, every day of the week. There is certainly a lot of style out there, but there is limited versatility and ruggedness available to me. This ensemble is truly a professional presentation to our customers. In a time, for many companies, when casual Friday has bled back into the work week, Enterprise Rent A Car holds its stance as a corporate professional company. My position not only entails that I present myself well manicured and sharply dressed to these customers and local accounts, as well as to my employees, but necessitates that I am always on the go, picking up customers, delivering cars, moving between different offices, and sometimes stepping into our wash bay to clean cars perform other basic maintenance procedures. Moving between these two wholly different aspects of my day to day responsibilities, my clothing is put under nearly as much stress as I am. I consistently blowing through the elbows of suits and shirts, wearing the bottoms of my pants, and interior lining of my suits. (In our procedures for checking customers in and out of vehicles, it is necessary to bend to an umpire position at all four corners of the vehicle; and we check in nearly 20 cars per day). 

Recently I was turned onto your Golf clothing line as leisure wear. The durability of the apparel is necessary for the movements of an active athlete. The style and corporate look is necessary to be presentable on all golf courses across the world. The similarities abound…and those professionals who would be your target market, are all of the high school and collegiate athletes like myself, who still close their eyes from time to time, and propel themselves back into that youthful enigma that was once them, on the court, or field, or on the bench, drenched in sweat, cheering their team to victory. Imagine the excitement each day, the passion and drive that would be elicited from these same professionals, bringing with them to work, each day, adorned in the same athletic brand, now corporate professional outfit that fueled their youth. Imagine a Tie line, or Button Down Dress Shirt, affixed with small Puma emblem; a durable dress shoe, with rubber sole which cushions the foot. Imgaine a suit, made with a more durable, yet light weight material, that moved with the person, and not against them. Imagine the excitement of the prospects of the day, the tasks and responsibilities that these corporate athletes must complete and follow up on every day; Imagine the youthful exuberance and drive to succeed that would be harnessed from a clothing line that linked the athleticism of their youth with the critical analysis and problem solving of their adult lives. Imagine!

There have been times when my mind has rambled to a consistent murmur, and my thoughts seemed to formulate to some whole entity of an idea. That idea, followed through to fruition, would elicit some projection of the future that would be better shaped by the ideas my mind was in the process of calculating. Most of those thoughts, never form to a solid mass, and drift away in the atmosphere, incomplete. But my passion for this idea stems from my inability to believe that what's past is truly passed. I bring a grit and determination to work every day, yet there doesn't seem to be an outfitter that can keep up with me. But most of all I want to bring the memory of dribbling up the court, setting the play as the general on the court at point, back to life. The cross over dribble, bringing my defender into a screen set by my big man, him, rolling from the screen and my arm extending out past his defender, curling the ball around, and a bounce pass towards the bass line (the quintessential pick and roll), my big man grasps the ball and with one dribble, lays the ball into the hoop for lead and win. Daily, with my team at work, we weave the same plays, the organization and sales drive that keeps our customers happy and our branches profitable. There is an inextricable link between the past and the present; I want Puma to be a part of that link! 

Sincerely,

MG