'Grails' on Hulu: How the founders of Eastside Golf are changing the game

After a long day of work, the idea came for the Eastside Golf logo: a Black golfer swinging a club, wearing jeans and a sweatshirt, with a baseball cap on his head, a gold chain around his neck and white sneakers on his feet.

"Seeing myself on a golf course, swinging freely, being authentic, challenging the norm, creating new traditions. The logo is me, Olajuwon Ajanaku. But it represents so much more. It's a symbol that can change the game," Ajanaku says in the first episode of the new show, "Grails: When Sneakers Change the Game."

The six-part docuseries, streaming on Hulu, follows the story of how that logo turned into a successful lifestyle brand, founded in 2020 by Ajanaku and Earl Cooper, who played golf together at Morehouse College.

From humble beginnings, Eastside Golf eventually caught the attention of Gentry Humphrey, then-vice president of Jordan Brand at Nike. That led to a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Ajanaku and Cooper to partner with Jordan Brand in designing an innovative line of golf sneakers and apparel to be worn on and off the course. This fall, they launched their very first capsule collection, following a limited release sneaker that dropped last year.

"Grails" short for "holy grails," is what sneaker collectors call a highly sought-after pair.

The series also includes interviews with celebrities, sports stars and industry leaders, like DJ Khaled, "Shark Tank" investor and FUBU CEO Daymond John and Phoenix Suns guard Chris Paul, among others.

Michael Cooper, an adviser for the United States Golf Association, gives a brief history of how Black people were historically excluded from the sport.

"Golf would go back in Scotland well into the 1600s, 1700s, but United States history picks it up in the late 1800s. It was white, it was male. And it remained that way for a very long time in mainstream golf," Cooper said.

Up until 1961, there was a white-only clause in the bylaws of the Professional Golfers' Association. Charlie Sifford became the first African American to play on the PGA Tour after the clause was rescinded.

"In his first tournament, [he] got to the first green. Somebody had gone to the bathroom in the hole. Kick his ball out, call him names, can't stay at the hotel. Allowed is one thing, accepted is another thing," Cooper said.

The two entrepreneurs behind Eastside Golf are hoping their brand will lead to meaningful change by promoting diversity on the golf course.

After college, Ajanaku said he tried to find a sponsor and to play pro golf for three years, but "just couldn't do it anymore" if he was going to support himself. He landed in commercial finance, but after about seven years, he wanted more out of life. He thought there might be a different space for him in the sport of golf.

"If I didn't see where I could play, maybe I could change it to where more people that look like me, brown girls and boys, to get into the game. So I end up making the logo and just started to really build a story behind it, on what the logo stands for. What I see that golf needs," Ajanaku said.

By then, Cooper had gotten a job working in the mayor's office in Wilmington, Delaware, and was teaching golf on the weekends when Ajanaku showed him the new logo he designed.

"And he's all excited, 'Yo it's crazy. You ain't going to believe this. People really like this.' I'm like, 'Man, you should put that on the shirt. That's hot," Cooper said.

"Grails: When Sneakers Change the Game" is produced by ABC News Studios in association with Brainstormin' Productions and is directed by Hannah Storm. It premiered Dec. 14 on Hulu.