Under Armour: Playing Their Own Game

Under Armour’s Kevin Plank and golf star Jordan Spieth embrace boldness as they plot their future, together and apart.

- Robert Safian

Kevin Plank has built Under Armour into a $5 billion business from a very modest start in the basement of his grandmother’s house. Jordan Spieth, the face of UA’s golf apparel brand, won both the Masters and U.S. Open in 2015, and last year helped bring the Ryder Cup back to the U.S. In this conversation with Fast Company’s Robert Safian, Plank and Spieth discuss how they’ve inspired and empowered each other to be better at what they do.

How did you two find your way to each other? Jordan, what is it about Under Armour as a brand or a business that made you want to associate yourself with it?

JORDAN SPIETH: In 2012, while I was still at the University of Texas, I visited UA’s campus in Baltimore. Kevin wanted to know my goals, my ambitions, where I saw myself in 30 years. I was 19 and about to drop out of college [to go pro], so I was like, maybe I’ll take some food money. I loved the youth, the fearlessness, and the intensity that Kevin brought. I loved the commitment that he was making to golf. And I loved that they wanted me to be the face of the brand and [that we could] help grow it together. It really fit with who I am as a person.

Kevin, what did you see in Jordan?

KEVIN PLANK: I don’t know if there’s any one “wow, this is the guy” moment as much as all these things that lead you to know. The relationship, the handshake, the lunch with Jordan and his dad, seeing him win, seeing him lose—all those things that reveal character. When you can find someone who is classy, decent, and smart and yet still aggressive and still believes so much, that’s somebody we’ve got [to be in business with].