Today we’d like to introduce you to Joe Annotti.
Hi Joe, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
Skull & Bogeys Golf Company, at its core, is a business that transforms my past pain into a present mission and future opportunities to support the addiction recovery community. I wanted to build a sustainable business that fed itself through its acts of charity – something that wasn’t just about profit, but about purpose. That’s why, from the very beginning, we donate 25% of our net profits to our nonprofit partners. These groups, like Boston-based NamaStay Sober and our local friends at Drug Free Duval, offer critical aid to those in recovery via wellness-focused community events.
This is a deeply personal journey for me. I spent years running from myself — drowning what I didn’t want to face. But on February 17, 2024, I made the decision that changed everything: I got sober. It wasn’t glamorous. It was messy, humbling, and harder than anything I’ve ever done. But it gave me my life back.
In rebuilding myself, I rediscovered what mattered: my family, my music, my love for golf, and a deep drive to help others find their footing too. Skull & Bogeys became my way to merge those worlds — a brand built on resilience, purpose, and a good dose of rebellion. Because some of us don’t fit the country club mold — and that’s exactly who we’re here for.
Every Skull & Bogeys piece carries that story — a reminder that rebellion can rebuild.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The road has been anything but smooth – that’s kind of the point though. There are plenty of euphemisms about the road less traveled, the best views are at the end of the hardest roads, etc. — I found those to be completely true, but marginalize the challenge of making the choice to take that harder road.
There’s a voice in the back of my head—he’s an absolute jerk and been with me for quite some time—that tells me every time I try to “better myself,” I’m being a narcissist.
I spent a couple of decades being the most selfish person in any room I walked into. When I was drinking, I was the sun and everyone else was a dying planet orbiting my chaos. My needs, my cravings, my hangovers, my drama. It was a one-man show, and the audience was totally wrapped around my finger (or so I thought – they were usually exhausted of my nonsense).
So, when I got sober and started hearing people talk about “self-care,” “personal growth,” and “becoming the best version of yourself,” it felt like more of the same. It felt like vanity. I thought, “Haven’t I spent enough time focused on myself? Isn’t it time to shut up and just exist?”
I worried that going to the gym, meditating, or even spending time obsessing over my golf swing was just another way of staring in the mirror. I felt like a jerk for wanting to be “better” when I had already taken so much from the people around me.
I’m starting to see how wrong I was. The truth? Staying broken is the ultimate act of selfishness.
Focusing on yourself isn’t about ego. It’s about maintenance. It’s about making sure that the person you show up as is someone worth being around.
If you’re feeling guilty for taking time to fix your head, your body, or your game—stop. The world doesn’t need more martyrs who are falling apart. It needs people who have done the work to be solid.
We believe that you should do the work. It’s the least selfish thing you can do.
As you know, we’re big fans of Skull & Bogeys Golf Co. . For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Our team is most proud of the work put into ourselves and our brand, especially in how we’re creating a safe space for the recovery community by drawing parallels to golf. We call it “The Teacher in the Trees.” Anyone who has played the game knows that a bad round of golf is a brutal, honest diagnostic tool. When you can’t find a fairway to save your life and your putter feels like a wet noodle, your true “swing” is exposed.
You see exactly where your mechanics break down under pressure. You realize your grip is too tight, or your tempo is rushed, or you’re pulling your head because you’re scared of the result. The bad round strips away the ego and leaves you with the data.
In my own recovery journey, my “bad rounds” were the days I woke up angry at the world for no reason. They were (and sometimes still are) the days I felt the old pull of the bottle or lashed out at someone I loved. In the past, I would have used those days as an excuse to quit. Now, I see them as a stress test. A bad day in sobriety tells me exactly where my “program” is weak:
The Grip: Am I trying to control things I can’t?
The Stance: Am I skipping the fundamentals like sleep, service, or honesty?
The Focus: Am I looking at the “hazard” of the past instead of the “target” of today?
At Skull & Bogeys, we have set out to differentiate between “the fluke” and “the work.” We don’t worship the hole-in-one. We worship the player who stays for an extra hour on the range after a terrible round.
The skull on our gear represents the reality that we don’t have time to lie to ourselves. A fluke is a lie. A bad round is a truth. When you have a bad day—on the course or in your head—you are being given a map of what needs to be fixed.
We stand by this adage: “The man who wins by accident is always one shot away from disaster. The man who learns from his failure is building a game that can’t be broken.”
What matters most to you?
Pure and simple, it’s our communities — from our peers on social media to our global brand ambassador to retail and nonprofit partners, Founding this brand and pursuing my recovery journey gave me the chance at something I literally didn’t have the biological capacity for when I was using: genuine peace through engagement with a supportive community.
And I say “chance” intentionally – you don’t just automatically gain peace with sobriety. Far from it. I’ve had to go through way more hell than I was expecting since I got sober. But, at least I have the chance to get the ability to sit on a bench at the turn, watch the sun hit the fairway, and not feel like I need to crawl out of my own skin. It’s the realization that “happiness” isn’t a high; it’s a baseline. It’s the quiet strength of knowing that no matter what the scorecard says at the end of the day, I’m not going to lose my soul in the process.
We liken that to showing up to the first tee with a bag full of lead weights. You’re exhausted, your back hurts, and you’re swinging like a man in a straitjacket. If someone came along and offers to take the weights out, would you complain that they’re “taking things away” from you? Would you mourn the loss of the lead?
Of course not. You’d feel light. You’d feel powerful. You’d realize that by losing the weight, you gained the game. That’s what the Skull & Bogeys lifestyle is about. We wear the skull because we acknowledge the disease. We know we’re fighting something that wants us dead. But we play the game because we’ve finally found the “plus” side of the ledger.
I didn’t give up drinking. I gained the morning. I didn’t give up “going out.” I gained the ability to actually be present when I’m there. I didn’t give up my edge. I gained a center.
Recovery is a gain, not a loss. It’s the realization that the “good times” the disease promised were just cheap knock-offs of the real life that was waiting for us once we cleared the fog. The path isn’t about what you’ve lost. It’s about the fact that for the first time in your life, you’re actually playing with a full set of clubs.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://skullandbogeys.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/skullandbogeys
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CaptainHooknSlice
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joseph-annotti-b10822396/
