Audacity Avenue — Our Story

"Where Did You Get That?"

One phrase. One hoodie. One hat. Then a question on every block.

Audacity Avenue is AJS, Patrick and Natalie — three co-founders.

You don't need a complex idea to start a brand. You just need something people want to wear, talk about, and live in.

The original print-on-demand sample hoodie and cap reading i only love you in the hamptons. — THE FIRST SWEATSHIRT AND HAT, MADE FOR MYSELF. SEPTEMBER 2024

The Story

The Spark

Before getting into who brought this to life, let’s talk about how the whole idea started. A few years back, sitting in the stands at a Yankee game with my dad and uncle while they joked about when I was going to retire them, I looked around and saw a simple four word hat driving massive attention. It clicked right there: you don’t need a complex idea. You need something simple, catchy, and deeply relatable.

That mindset brought me right back to what matters most to me. Growing up here, every important thing I ever experienced — every win, every loss, every lesson — happened right at home. The phrase i only love you in the hamptons wasn’t meant to be a literal slogan; it was just my way of saying there is no place like home.

The Accidental Product

Wearing the Answer

I wanted to start an e-commerce apparel brand, but I had zero design ideas. All I knew was that I wanted top quality blanks. To test out the feel, weight, and embroidery, I took my phrase and printed it on a basic hat and hoodie.

Since I had nothing else, I tossed them in my closet and just wore them around town. They were never meant to be sold. But then not only did people want to wear it, strangers started stopping me to ask about it. I realized I had been wearing the answer the whole time. At the end of the day, an idea is only as good as the people building it alongside you, massive shoutout to Pat and Natalie for pushing this forward, if not that same hoodie would be lost in my closet unless my ex took it... (yes there are that dang comfy.

Building the Brand

One Idea, Made Properly

What started as a test sample quickly turned into a brand built entirely around that core idea. I obsessed over the quality, ensuring every piece of apparel was soft, comfortable, and good enough to properly represent the message.

From “I” to “We”

The Right People

An idea is only as good as the people behind it, and people were eager to jump in and build it. I turned down potential partners — not because I am mean, but because I was looking for the exact right fit. I wanted someone I strive to be like, someone who made a name for himself at my age, someone everyone liked, and most importantly, someone who could start a business from scratch and make it work.

Pat and Natalie hit every single point. The only issue was I had barely spoken more than a few sentences to them, and honestly, I felt a bit below them. That is when I learned that not only are they all those things, but they are genuinely humble. They loved the idea and saw the potential in it. None of us are going to let this just be a side thing — this is going to be a household brand. I needed partners who wouldn’t give up on it, and that is exactly what I got: two mentors, two new friends, two new partners, and two new members of my family.

Three women holding hoodies and crewnecks in front of full racks

Three friends in i only love you in the hamptons hoodies at sunset on a vintage Bronco

Hundreds of products — one idea

The People

Three names behind the phrase

One idea only travels as far as the people carrying it. Here is who carries this one.

AJS

CO-FOUNDER

AJS sells real estate full time, which means being in front of people all day — clients, open houses, closings, and everything in between. The first hoodie and hat were never a business plan. They were a personal fix: something clean enough for a showing, easy enough for the sand afterward.

That first sample, dated September 20, 2024, is still the north star. Every fabric weight, every flat embroidery stitch, every garment-dyed colorway gets measured against one question — would I actually wear this all day?

The brand exists because strangers kept asking where he got it. He simply stopped saying "you can't."

Pat

CO-FOUNDER

Pat and AJS met the way most Southampton things start — passing each other at the offices, hellos and goodbyes, until it became obvious the two of them were aligned on how to move and what winning actually looks like.

The respect was never financial. It's the reputation, the humility, and the simple fact that nobody dislikes Pat. When the vision widened from one town to a rotation of destinations, he came in as a partner, not an investor. He backed it with his own money because he believed in it — never an ATM, always someone we wanted to build with. He made it real.

Nat

CO-FOUNDER

Natalie is Patrick's cousin, and the two have been inseparable their whole lives. She's the ultimate local connector — if you don't know Natalie, you are not a local, period.

She has been the literal glue of the brand since day one: the pop-ups, the people, the rooms nobody else can get into. Anyone can think of six words; it takes this specific team to build something real out of them.

The Timeline

From one piece to hundreds

September 20, 2024

The first piece

One print-on-demand hoodie and one cap reading “i only love you in the hamptons.” Made for me, to wear between showings and the beach. This is the first photo of it.

2 / 6

What’s Next — Goal No. 01

Want to collab?

Write us an email with your idea.

Email Us

i only love you in...^™

Shop the current drop →View the archive