Abacoa & Alton Neighbors - October 2026

8 A B A C O A & A LT O N N E I G H B O R S | O C T O B E R 2 0 2 6 Mark Gundry FOUNDER - HOLE LIFE® PROFILES OF LEADERSHIP - By Dan Hauser | Photos by Neil Cohen Photography - F rom a Pink Chair to Hole Life®: The Story Behind the Brand For Mark Gundry, the story of Hole Life® began in an unlikely place: a little pink reclining chair, a quiet moment, and a prayer. In 2022, shortly after Gundry broke a Guinness World Record in cornhole, he found himself thinking about what might come next. He had an idea. COVER FEATURE FROM A PINK CHAIR TO HOLE LIFE®: THE STORY BEHIND THE BRAND Rather than launching with a massive advertising budget, Gundry put the shirts into the hands of people he knew. Professional athletes and other recognizable figures began wearing them, sharing them, and introducing the brand to new audiences. “I just gave shirts to them,” Mark said. “Just try it on and give me your feedback.” The approach was decidedly organic. Gundry describes Hole Life's growth as a snowball: relationships create credibility, credibility creates opportunities, and those opportunities create more relationships. “The biggest thing that I really tried to develop with Hole Life® from the beginning was to build credibility,” Mark explained. “If you don't build credibility, it's hard for you to exist in any kind of business world.” That philosophy has remained central as Hole Life® has expanded beyond its original connection to cornhole and into golf, corporate apparel, and a growing variety of sports and lifestyle products. Today, the brand produces everything from golf polos and T-shirts to bowling, fishing, pool league, and hoodie shirts. ADIFFERENTKIND OF GOLF BRAND Golf has become an especially important part of the Hole Life® identity. Gundry saw an opportunity among former professional athletes who had transitioned into golf and wanted apparel that reflected their past teams, schools, and personal identities without simply reproducing licensed logos. “I like to be different,” Mark said. “I want to be different than everyone else.” That willingness to be different can even be seen in one of Hole Life's most distinctive details: its logo placement. Rather than following the traditional left- chest placement used by most apparel brands, Hole Life® places its logo on the right side. “From a business standpoint, when you go to shake hands with somebody, your eye goes to the right, and that's where I want it to go,” Gundry explained. It's a small detail, but it represents something much bigger about the brand: don't simply follow what everyone else is doing. WEARWHATYOU BELIEVE IN The product itself is another point of emphasis. Gundry says he has worn Hole Life® apparel essentially every day since the company What he didn't yet have was a business—or even a clear idea of what that business would become. “The story of Hole Life truly begins in 2022 after I was inducted into the Guinness Book of World Records when I was at the Cornhole World event in Rock Hill, South Carolina,” Gundry recalled. “I came back home to Florida, and while I was sitting in my daughter's little pink recliner, I was asking God for an idea. I didn't want the lottery numbers. I didn't want any of that stuff. I just wanted an idea and to make me work for it.” That idea became Hole Life®, a premium apparel brand that began with T-shirts and has grown into golf polos, corporate apparel, event shirts, and custom designs. Today, Hole Life® serves customers in Palm Beach County and beyond, including sports organizations, businesses, charitable groups, and international clients. But the name came before the business plan. “I had no idea what I was going to do with it,” Mark said. “I really didn't. I just thought it was a really cool name, and other people made brands just from a name.” BUILTON RELATIONSHIPS AND CREDIBILITY Gundry's background helped provide the foundation for what came next. A former football contract negotiator who worked in the Canadian Football League, arena football, and NFL circles, Mark spent years building relationships based on trust, honesty, and credibility. Those relationships became one of Hole Life's earliest—and most effective— marketing tools.