When 瑞安·埃利斯 ’03 graduated from Concordia Irvine, 他决定不像他父亲和姐姐那样从事篮球事业, and instead launched into the clothing industry. 今天, 埃利斯 is president of 特拉维斯马修, the hottest brand in men's apparel for work and play, whose fans include actor Mark Wahlberg, TV celebrity Chris Harrison and dozens of PGA players, surfers and pro athletes.
埃利斯说:“我一直想创造出看起来很舒服的东西。. “(过去)你可以穿着舒适的衣服，看起来就像刚起床一样, or nice clothing and it looks good but doesn't feel great. I’ve always wanted to combine the two.”
埃利斯是该公司2007年的第一个雇员，当时一个小团队开始构思设计高尔夫球服的愿景，这种服装看起来不像宽松的荧光气球. 这个行业变革的时机已经成熟——但一开始，埃利斯并不相信自己会参与其中.
“I didn’t have a lot of interest in golf,他说. “But I believed in the concept and thought we had good people.”
With the brand’s rapid rise, 埃利斯 served in almost every role at the company, which in 2017 was bought by Callaway Golf. 他说，作为总裁，他仍然“站在打造我们产品的最前沿”. “我几乎在顾客说之前就知道他们会说什么，因为我每一季都会向顾客展示.”
I learned a lot of my leadership through basketball, 其中很多都来自肯·安曼(肯·安曼是Concordia大学欧文分校的教练).
埃利斯, 谁身高6尺5寸, 2001年来到赌博十大平台排行，希望在进入现实世界之前再打一年篮球.
“我一直在寻找一种不那么独裁的教练与球员之间的关系, 比他在另一所大学的经历更少, 埃利斯说. “当我第一次见到康考迪亚大学欧文分校(Concordia University Irvine)男篮主教练阿曼(Ammann)时，我就爱上了他. He was super personable. 我能看到他想要做的事情，这正是我想要的.”
而埃利斯则获得了全额奖学金和首发位置, 他之所以选择欧文的康考迪亚大学，是因为阿曼的坦率和远见. “Coach Ammann was straight up front with me and said, ‘看, you’ll probably come off the bench for us,’”埃利斯回忆道. “他在招聘的时候厚颜无耻地对我说了这些话，真是太棒了. 我过去接触过的教练会告诉你一件事，做另一件事. I just wanted to know where I stood.”
那一年，老鹰队赢得了36场比赛，比其他任何一支大学球队都多.
“It was incredible,” says Ammann. “在全国锦标赛上，我们只是希望赢得一两场比赛, and then we won the whole thing, 加时赛88比84.”
埃利斯 was a huge part of the team’s success, posting four three-pointers in the championship game, 并刷新了康科迪亚·欧文的单赛季三分球命中率纪录, 它仍然屹立不倒.
“He was always a good leader, 善于与人相处, could relate well to every single guy on the team,安曼说. “He had a rare quality. It’s one reason he’s so good at business.”
在此之前或之后，老鹰队都没有产生过如此好的化学反应或如此持久的关系, 阿曼说. “It was a special group,他说. “We pride ourselves on having close teams and great chemistry, but that year is going to be hard to beat. Those guys still go on vacation every year, a big group of them.”
“Concordia was awesome,埃利斯说。. 她说:“我所有的老师都非常善于接受我们正在做的事情, 解释我们要完成的任务，制定好的计划，这样我们都能取得成功.”
After turning his tassel, 埃利斯有意识地决定不去欧洲打篮球，因为他的父亲和妹妹在欧洲打了16年篮球.
“I knew I wasn’t going to be a great professional player, and I didn’t want to return at 27 without money,他说. “I felt I needed to go out and start my career.”
目标是在一家动作运动公司的服装行业工作, he found it very difficult to get his foot in the door. So he started his apparel career in retail, 在一家颇受欢迎的大型服装公司的关键地点担任经理助理. 他做得很好，三个月后公司给了他自己的店. 4个月后，他又开了一家店，销量翻了三倍.
“I realized that if I kept doing well, 他们会继续提拔我，然后我就会得到一个让我很难离开的薪酬水平,他说.
他想成为买方，帮助创造产品，而不仅仅是销售产品. “At the store level you have zero control,埃利斯说。. “The product shows up and you put it out. I thought I knew what would work in stores. I thought if I got on that side I could make better choices.”
After a stint running retail for PacSun, Ryan finally got his break, landing a job with an Australian surf company. He opened and built their first retail store, 然后在第一年就被提升为销售专员，最终成为销售经理. 而美国.S. company was having success, 当这家澳大利亚公司关闭在美国的分公司时，埃利斯发现自己在婚礼前夕失业了.S. operations due to lack of funding in Australia. 大约在那个时候, 埃利斯接到了一家尚未成立的高尔夫服装公司的电话，希望他负责他们的销售.
I looked at golf clothing as boring. They said, ‘That’s the point. We have the idea to make golf clothing better.
“I looked at golf clothing as boring,埃利斯说。. “They said, ‘That’s the point. 我们的想法是把高尔夫球服做得更好，让你喜欢穿, not just a uniform you golf in.’”
Still, the initial sketches “didn’t do much for me,” 埃利斯 admits. “It was a shirt with a pocket on it. I didn’t understand performance fabric at the time.”
通过给乡村俱乐部和度假村打电话来衡量对新品牌的兴趣, the positive response shocked him.
“I thought, there is a massive niche here.他总结道:“如果有人在50岁以下打高尔夫球，我们就有办法了。.”
The team began designing shirts in consultation with customers, 整合“对公司非常有价值的反馈”,埃利斯说。. “We were able to avoid pitfalls.”
The first line caught immediate interest, 但是第二行, designed without the benefit of customer feedback, 以失败告终.
“我对我们的员工说，我想取消这整个系列，继续销售第一个系列. We need to re-look at direction,” 埃利斯 recalls.
到2010年，第三条线又回到了特拉维斯·马修的独特风格——时髦的工作和娱乐风格和感觉, the growth curve was heading upward. 埃利斯从销售和商品推广转向管理创意过程.
“我不是他. Fashion,” he attests, but he had a sixth sense about fabrics. “I don’t know if I have sensitive skin, but I'm the type of person that after going surfing, I can’t put on a t-shirt without taking a shower. I’m the same way with fabrics. 我可以马上感觉到布料是否合适，是否太痒，是否太下垂. 从第一天起，我就觉得一件衬衫和另一件衬衫的品牌有很多不一致之处. 我们试着创造出那种一致性，这样如果你喜欢一件衬衫，你就会喜欢我们做的其他衬衫.”
特拉维斯马修, 他说, pays more attention to fabrications than any other brand he knows, and offers more than fifty combinations of polyester, 棉花, 氨纶, Tencel and other materials designed to withstand shrinkage, 起皱和褪色, while drying quickly and being easy to treat. 特拉维斯马修 has redefined performance, 他说, building products made for travel, comfort and easy wash and wear.
安曼现在是这个品牌的粉丝，他称特拉维斯·马修的服装是“最好的东西”.”
“It feels good on your skin. It’s an incredible product,安曼说. “My wife gets mad at me because I keep bringing those polos home. They look good, they feel good. I don’t know what else you want.”
埃利斯 credits Ammann for helping to shape his leadership style.
“I learned a lot of my leadership through basketball, and a lot of it came from Ken Ammann and how he led,埃利斯说。. “你不必为了最大限度地利用他们而大喊大叫或贬低他们. That’s old-school thinking. 有一种方法可以更有效地管理员工，让他们发挥最大的作用，让他们尊重你.”
从安曼的角度来看，“当有人取得伟大成就时，从来都不是偶然的. It’s talent and a lot of hard work. 很高兴看到瑞恩有一个明确的目标和一个强大的职业生涯，并在这么小的年纪就实现了它.”
Ryan was recipient of the 2019 Alumnus of the Year: Professional Achievement Award.