J. Michael Prince of U.S. Polo Assn.: “Polo is for everyone”

We had a chat with the President and CEO of USPA Global Licensing, the company that manages and oversees the U.S. Polo Assn. Brand, about how polo is changing, and why it could become a big passion of ours. Also in Italy.

The Italia Polo Challenge in Porto Cervo, one of the occasions when it is possible to witness the ”world's oldest extreme sport” in our country, is under way these days.

We asked some questions to J. Michael Prince of U.S. Polo Assn., who is a technical sponsor of the tournament, about what it is today and how one can approach even as a layman the game of polo.

GQ: Well first tell us: what is polo?

J. Michael Prince: One interesting thing about the sport, is that it originated around 600 BC. So it's actually, as we say, the oldest extreme sport in the world. And one of our goals as a brand is to tell this long story, both through media, such as broadcasting the games on ESPN globally, and also through apparel. The next step we're taking for the first time is to show people that it's a sport that's accessible to children, to students, to young people, no limits, and we want to bring it to people who have never played it before, give it more visibility. Because it's a beautiful sport, it's a social sport, to share with family, with friends, and you can be a part of it even without necessarily playing it yourself. You can go to the game, have lunch with friends, watch sports, have a glass of champagne, bring your dog.

Sociality is a key part of the sport, and enjoying an afternoon at the games is not just watching it, but actively participating.

And even in Italy they have events in Rome, or Cortina where they have snow polo, and also in Sardinia. And then Italy won the European Championship, which means it will go to the United States and compete for the World Championship, which is our World Polo Championship. It's a great moment for polo in Italy!

GQ: What do you think is the best way to approach it for someone who has never had anything to do with the sport?

J. Michael Prince: Going to a match, and enjoying a nice day in a relaxed environment. And there you might say, 'hey, I want to try to get on a horse.' Or 'hey, I want to try to play polo.' Or you might just get passionate about it and decide you want to join a club and have fun watching the games. You know, there are so many ways to get involved at all levels, and at all ages.

GQ: And how did you get into polo?

J. Michael Prince: I've always loved sports. I spent a long part of my career in Nike and Converse, and I played sports growing up. When I got involved with the brand I had seen the polo matches on television but had never been there in person. And when I was there the first time I thought I should have done it sooner, because when you experience it, you fall in love with it, you can't help but love it. And then it becomes part of your lifestyle and your family's lifestyle. And that's what I feel like advising the Italians as well, because I'm sure that polo will grow in your country in the coming years as well.

GQ: From a product point of view, how do you work? There is a great tradition, including aesthetics, regarding the game of polo, but when you see the product, you don't get the impression of something old or stopped in time, but of something contemporary. How do you make the aesthetics of polo relevant to the youth of 2022 as well?

J. Michael Prince: On the one hand, the polo aesthetic is timeless, but it is also constantly evolving. We have the Heritage collection, red, white and blue, with the colors of the American flag, and those are recognizable signs all over the world, it's always our best-selling collection. Then we have the USPA Fluo Collection, which is just for Italy, with beautiful bright fluorescent colors. The USPA Sport, which is more directly inspired by sports but in a contemporary and casual version, with a focus on comfort that also comes through the use of technical yarns. And then USPA life, which is our line in which the colors, white, blue and green, indicate to the consumer the sustainable origin of the product and which in Italy is collaborating with Treedom, a certified association based in Florence, which is committed to growing trees and forests around the world with the goal of making the planet greener.

Our polo shirt however is a timeless garment, it has been around for 50 years, and it will exist for at least another 50. It is our best seller all over the world. But it is important to give it a new look and feel with colors, technologies and sustainability. It's something we try to do every season, and we're really proud of the new spring summer 2023 collection.

GQ: Sustainability today is a must for any brand, it is not an option, but something that changes consumers' perceptions and can decree the success of a project.

J. Michael Prince: We want and need to be sustainable, it's simply the only thing to do. And we are working on it, and we are aware that we still have some way ahead of us to achieve this goal. We started several years ago, step by step. And now we have a global approach, covering all 190 countries where we are present. USPA life is a sustainable product in many of its features, to which we have added the work we are doing together with Treedom, thanks to an idea of Lorenzo Nencini, CEO of Incom. I think the best thing is to improve the product and then find sustainable partners who have the same vision as you, which is very important.

GQ: Going back to the relationship between sports, U.S. Polo Assn. and Italy, how do you see the near future?

J. Michael Prince: Italy is among our top 10 markets in the world. But it is certainly by far one of the most important in terms of fashion and style perception. Our business in the country doubled last year. So we are seeing tremendous momentum. And as I said before, what I think is happening is that the consumer, especially the younger consumer, is coming to our brand and therefore to the authenticity of the sport. We want to show the sustainability features and the social causes that we embrace, aspects that younger generations are interested in. We need to understand what younger people mean by elegance, but in an active way, not an elegance stuck in time, and this is directly related to the way they experience the sport. All while still making it affordable, because if things are too expensive, they become out of reach. What I also love about the brand is the ratio of quality to price, a ratio that is great for the younger consumer. So what we want to do is make the sport visible, the elegance around it, and make an affordable product available that you can take home at a reasonable price.

GQ: When you say polo is a sport for everyone, what do you mean?

J. Michael Prince: One thing we are proud of is that we work with 50 college teams in the United States. 60% of the players are women and 40% are men. So in universities today there are more women than men playing polo. And in polo, at any category, from beginners to the best in the world, men and women compete together. So women players have the opportunity to win championships, playing with men or against men. Something that happens in very few sports. And we work a lot with the LGBTQ+ community, and with the Gay Polo League. Then there's a whole part that's about animals, projects that include children following the welfare of horses, connecting children who come from troubled urban realities with animals in a natural setting.

GQ: What is the relationship between a polo player and his horse?

J. Michael Prince: They become one, really. They are two united athletes following the same goal, and working on the same mission together. The players love their horses. And the horses love the players.

GQ: And on the other hand, for those who don't play, when you say polo is a way of life, what do you mean?

J. Michael Prince: You watch the game. But you also watch the people on the field, off the field, what people are wearing, how they're dressed, their dogs and pooches running all over the field, the fancy cars. And no matter how old you are, or who you are, you can go there and enjoy what you like, nature, horses, a drink.

GQ: It sounds like you just love it!

J. Michael Prince: I love it and I have a lot of fun. It's a great way to spend a Sunday, I'm sure in Sardinia it will be great. You're from Milan, right? You'll see, we'll get there sooner or later!

READ MORE: https://www.gqitalia.it/lifestyle/article/intervista-michael-prince-us-polo