Boast USA – What’s in a Name?

In 1973 when Bill St. John founded Boast, the company’s name was not just a word, it encapsulated the very spirit of American tennis during that era.  The early’s 70′s were a time of American dominance on and off the court, when players with big personalities would win games with authority and then go out for a few beers after.  During that year, St. John was working as a resident pro in Greenwich, Connecticut when decided to start a company that would emulate this bold era of American tennis.  Boast’s tennis sweaters became an instant success, not only on the tennis courts but in golf and squash as well.  Boast tapped into the attitude of this period, when athletes were brash and creative, and creatives dabbled in sports.  For Boast, this was a time of dominance in their own right as, everyone from the Yale squash team, to tennis pros, to John Updike sported the company’s maple leaf logo.

While that maple leaf emblem might have fallen out of the public eye for a few years now, the brand has recently seen a revival as entrepreneurs John Dowling and Alex Tiger have worked to reintroduce Boast to the modern market.  Inspired by their love for the brand that they used to wear as kids, the two men decided to contact Bill St. John to bring the brand into the 21st century.  Boast’s recognizable Pervuian cotton polos and maple leaf logo remain, but with the support of creatives Partners & Spade, and Ryan Babenzien, the designs have been updated for the contemporary man with that same brash spirit of 1970′s tennis pros.