UC grad was 'least talented person in school'; now a big wig at Tiger's "Sun Day Red"

When Charlie Hudak was sketching shoes as a kid, influenced by icons like Michael Jordan, he never knew it could be a career.

“I always thought shoes just showed up on the shelves at Dick’s Sporting Goods,” Hudak said.

Fast forward to today, and the 2011 University of Cincinnati (UC) grad makes a living designing shoes for maybe the only living athlete at the stature of Jordan: Tiger Woods.

After 27 years with Nike, Woods recently launched his own apparel brand called “Sun Day Red,” a reference to the iconic red turtleneck Woods wears on tournament Sundays. Shortly after, he hired Hudak as his executive creative director.

“I think they probably sought out other candidates,” Hudak said. “I’m not sure exactly what they saw in me.”

Hudak has design experience at a dozen companies, from Under Armour to DC Shoes and TaylorMade. After graduating from Miami University, he didn’t know what he wanted to do. He tried marketing, sales, restaurants, hotels and even joined the Peace Corps.

Eventually, he found his way to the UC College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning (DAAP).

“I would say when I got (to UC), I barely knew how to turn on the computer,” Hudak said. “I was probably the least talented person in the whole school. I just worked really hard to try to get to a better place.”

Hudak said that the “Bauhaus” design style was popular at UC DAAP when he was there. The minimalism and emphasis on function of that style has partly influenced the design of Tiger’s apparel.

Hudak says the shoe features innovative technology. Even if it may look traditional, the bones of it are going to be a difference maker. Tiger plays a large part in the design process, and many of his characteristics on the golf course carry into the studio. Hudak says he’s generous but intense. Kind and respectful, but he expects the best.

“With all of his successes and injuries and even some of his failures, he’s very much a tinkerer,” Hudak said. “So he comes to our table with all of these ideas and we try to execute them.”

Sun Day Red’s flagship shoe is currently on its 18 ^th prototype, with more iterations expected before it releases in November.

Ever since graduating from UC, Hudak makes time every year to come back for DAAPcamps , which are held on campus during the summer. The camps’ students, many from Cincinnati, but some from other places like Atlanta and even Guatemala, learn the basics of different types of artistic disciplines. According to Hudak, the point isn’t to make them shoe designers. It’s to show them there are many ways to make a career out of creativity, maybe while teaching them a thing or two along the way.

These days, Hudak spends most of his time between Denver, San Diego and Jupiter, Fla., but for the foreseeable future he’ll be coming back to Cincinnati every summer to give back.

You can already buy a lot of Sun Day Red apparel on its website, but Hudak’s baby – the shoes – won’t be available until later this year.

“Working with the most significant athlete that has ever walked the planet is pretty amazing,” Hudak said.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: UC grad was 'least talented person in school'; now a big wig at Tiger's "Sun Day Red"