Russ Ortiz has always held a deeply personal and sincere passion for helping others.

When Ortiz retired from Major League Baseball back in 2010, the former All-Star had amassed 113 wins over 12 seasons including a 21-win season in 2003 with the Atlanta Braves.

With his baseball career over, Ortiz looked for ways to combine his passion for helping others with his lifelong love for golf. Over a round of golf with a buddy in 2009, the idea for 2nd Guy Golf was born.

[quote_box_center]“2nd Guy Golf is a term I believe a lot of golfers know,” Ortiz says. “When you hit a bad shot, and throw down another ball, that next swing is always better. The 2nd guy is always better.”[/quote_box_center]

2nd Guy’s “Old School” Polo: $48

While 2nd Guy Golf definitely has some very sharp shirts, hats and accessory offerings, this isn’t your average apparel company, as it donates 100 percent of its net profits to charity.

[quote_box_center]“I made enough playing baseball,” Ortiz told me. “I wanted to build this brand around the core of who we are – passionate about golf and helping others.”[/quote_box_center]

I had the chance to catch up with Ortiz recently to ask him about his company, his faith, charity, and the challenges of creating and promoting your own brand.

JL: Given your background in professional baseball, what experiences from your playing days have you used?

RO: One thing I had to develop was thick skin. In the professional world, I have been able to deal with failure, harsh comments, and adversity that I knew our team would experience. I have brought that to the table with 2nd Guy Golf. My ability to be a fair and honest leader comes from the field and I have made it known that I will always be fair and upfront with my employees. In baseball, being on a team, you develop a trust and care for your teammates. The same goes here at 2nd Guy Golf. I care about my employees and I trust them wholeheartedly. In the MLB, you have to put on your big boy pants. In the business world, you must come to work with your big boy pants and be responsible for your work.

2nd Guy’s ‘Bill” Hat: $25

JL: You’ve said that you have always felt a sense of “responsibility” to help and serve others. What influences from your life do you feel instilled this in you?

RO: As a professional baseball player, I was taught from day one how important it was to be a positive impact with the platform baseball provides. As a Christian man, I’ve been able to follow my Lord’s lead in helping those in need; to show love for fellow man. That is a big responsibility to take on. But it’s something that has come easy to me. I really feel like the desire to give and help others is a gift from the Lord.

JL: Talk some more about the importance faith plays in your life.

RO: My faith is the most important part of my life. Throughout my playing career, my faith helped me during the successes and the failures. Knowing that God has given me the ability to throw a baseball well, and that he has placed me in positions to help others, brings me a ton of confidence. 2nd Guy Golf was birthed because of that same confidence in my abilities and the opportunities I have. When it comes to how faith plays a role in business, integrity, honesty, and respect are of utmost importance. That’s how we do business. Our partners, vendors, and customers are so important to us. They are VIP’s to us. And we will treat them that way.

JL: How are you promoting the 2nd Guy Golf brand on the Tours, as well as to other athletes and celebrities?

RO: We’ve already reached out and have given our product to other athletes and celebrities and Tour pros. That was on my radar right away. I’m happy to say we have gotten very positive responses. We have already signed four professional golfers – Sophia Sheridan (now retired), Jessi White (Symetra Tour), Marissa Steen (LPGA rookie, 2014 Symetra Player of the Year and No. 1 on money list), and Brian Cooper (PGA Latin America, former Big Break contestant). All of these pros not only love our gear, but also what we do with our proceeds. They all have a heart for their communities and to help and give back to others.

JL: Discuss the importance of finding the right balance between creating unique and innovative designs versus comfort and durability.

RO: I believe the design of the polo is the easy part. Aaron (Aaron Thew, Director of Apparel Design) is passionate about design. His creativity flows out onto the templates he creates. He has so many new, fresh designs that we are excited to put out into the market. The hard part is figuring out which fabric combinations to go with or what texture of fabric to use. We just don’t want to make a basic golf polo; we want it to stand out in design, feel, comfort, and performance.

JL: When did your passion for golf begin?

RO: My brother and I grew up in our grandparent’s home. Our grandpa played golf regularly. He was our father figure, so we wanted to do the things he did. So we got into golf around 12 years old. From then on I was hooked. It is such a hard sport, that I liked the challenge. In college and in my pro ball career is when I was able to play most and work on my game. Now I get to play on average once every 10 days. I take golf seriously but have a great time as well. I am currently a scratch golfer.

JL: Talk about the charities 2nd Guy Golf supports.

RO: The first place we partnered with was the Phoenix Children’s Hospital. We provided meals to the cancer and blood disorder center for the first half of 2013 with our proceeds. The PCH center is where kids would go and get their treatments. Sometimes they were long and PCH would provide a meal for them.

Then we partnered with Feed My Starving Children. This is an organization that packages nutritious meals of protein, soy, vegetables and rice to help starving children, and sends them all over the world to feed hungry children. They have a packing facility here in Tempe, Ari., and soon to have one in Mesa. Our proceeds have been used to host two packing sessions which created roughly 35,000-to-40,000 meals. And also to help sponsor and participate in an event where 500,000 meals were packed in one day.

The new partnership we have is with Josie’s Angels. This is a rescue home for girls in the Philippines. They are safely removed from abusive situations in the squatter villages and given shelter, food, clothing and an education. Josie Long provides a safe place for them to have an opportunity to stop the cycle of abuse for these young girls. The cycle is to grow up in poverty, hardly any schooling if any, be abused, get pregnant at an early age and watch their children do the same.

2nd Guy’s “Zebra” Women’s Polo: $48

JL: What do you think makes 2nd Guy Golf so unique?

RO: Our uniqueness is our mission with the 2nd Guy Golf brand. Giving all of our net proceeds to charity is a rarity in this business. Our new, fresh designs hopefully set us apart as well.

JL: What are the most difficult business challenges 2nd Guy Golf faces?

RO: Brand awareness is probably the most difficult hurdle to get over with any startup business. We are currently working with a team of people to do just that. So we are excited for what lies ahead. Another challenge is for people to trust that we in fact do give all our proceeds away because it is not the norm. People start businesses to make money. I started 2nd Guy Golf because of my passion for the game of golf and to impact people.

JL: Who is playing with you in your dream foursome and where are you teeing it up?

RO: Playing Augusta National with my brother, Will Clark (favorite MLB player) and John Elway (favorite NFL player).

JL: What’s your game like right now?

RO: I have worked my handicap to a zero. That has always been my goal. So I’m happy where my game is at right now. My strongest area is my wedge play. I have worked hard on that part. I have two golf holes with three tee boxes at my house from 85-to-105 yards so my wedges better be strong. I probably struggle with putting the most and having golf greens in back makes me look bad for not being a better putter.

JL: What’s in your bag?

RO: I play Ping. Love them. I have the G20 driver, G30 3-wood and rescues, S55 irons, TaylorMade 50 and 56 degree wedges and a 60 degree Ping wedge. Putter is a Ping Shea mallet. I only use Bridgestone B330 golf balls.