Written by Menswear Style in Interviews on the 5th August 2021

AREA CODE was founded in 2018 in Stockholm, Sweden. The brand was born with the aim to facilitate opportunity for people living in developing communities around the globe through selling good quality apparel. The brand strives to build a community; one whereby consumers are connected to people in need. They believe knowledge and education is the key for sustainable growth. For that reason, their mission starts with helping the school GOROM 3, Bambilor, Senegal. This month they're also teaming up with England under 21 and Brighton & Albion star Tariq Lamptey and IK Sirius centre back Joseph Colley. Together with Area-Code they are funding the Area-Code Juvenile Tournament in Takrodi, Ghana, on the 10th - 12th August. Scouts will be coming over from Europe to watch and the aim is to create opportunities for local talent, to spot, grow and nurture future football stars.

In a recent episode of the MenswearStyle Podcast we interviewed Scott Golbourne, Co-Founder of AREA CODE about his mission-based sports chic brand which donates a percentage of its profits to those in need. The ex-footballer always had a keen interested in fashion and planned to enter the clothing market once his football career ended. The brand has now been operating since 2018 and links its profits to purpose with philanthropic collaborations. Our host Peter Brooker and Scott also talked about the mission and ethos of the brand, media training, charitable projects, and social missions.

“In a nutshell, we're a mission-based sports chic style brand. We take a portion of our profits, and we look to reinvest them back into communities and societies, creating opportunities for people around the world. I was a professional footballer for 17 years and I was always interested in fashion. I've always felt there would be purpose to my brand. I've always had a kind of lean towards linking profits to purpose. We’re currently helping a small school in Senegal where we started off with installing some toilets and then electricity. Then we went on to build a well so they could have running water. Right now, we’re at phase four where we're looking at a garden so they can grow their own food which is quite empowering for the kids to get involved in. Finally, we're looking at installing some solar panels so they can be self-sufficient. This power will also benefit the community in that area too. We document everything to create reassurance for people that are purchasing our clothes and following the brand. They can see what's happening and follow the journey. We want to create a movement where our community bound together and provide suggestions on things we could potentially do in the future.”

This is a shortened transcribed edit of episode 135 of the MenswearStyle Podcast with Scott Golbourne, Co-Founder of area-code.com. You can listen to the full version below or listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favourite podcast player.

We sit down and speak with Scott Golbourne, Co-Founder of AREA CODE about his brand's sports chic clothing, charity and Senegal.