Meet Olivia Martone and Lexi Molaro

We had the good fortune of connecting with Olivia Martone and Lexi Molaro and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Olivia Martone and Lexi Molaro, let’s talk legacy – what do you want yours to be?
Of course what we want is to help the sports merchandise business evolve and create for the modern hockey fan. We feel strongly that we have the right vision to honor hockey clubs merchandise while simultaneously creating improved apparel with inspiration from modern street style, and athleisure. We want our clothes to stand the test of time and evolve as the hockey world does. So in short, we would love to work with the NHL or other leagues. We also want our legacy to go far beyond just making apparel. Our ultimate goal is to make Off the Boards to become a community within the sports world. We would love to expand to other sports, as well as start a podcast centered around hockey and lifestyle one day. We want everyone to know who the girls are behind the clothes- and we want to mean something to people and be a source of entertainment and inspiration for them.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
We became friends doing social media and operations for a college hockey team on Long island. One night before a game we were doing inventory and as we folded the clothes we discussed how we thought there was a gap in the market for stylish merch that could be used for everyday wear while still honoring the heritage and history of hockey clubs. With backgrounds in sports, and degrees in business and fashion merchandising, we paired our skill sets and got to work. We wanted to create unisex apparel that was multidimensional and could be worn everyday as well as at games to support your favorite team. We drew inspiration from minimalist styles and streetwear and have made sure to create a product with uncompromising quality that we would proudly wear ourselves. The first few months of planning and ideas for the brand was so nerve racking for the both of us. It was filled with risks and what ifs. The biggest risk was actually making the decision to just get started. We weren’t sure if people would like our designs, especially not knowing what “Off the Boards” is. Taking the risk to try and start a brand at 23 from nothing is something we are choosing because we both truly believe in the brand and that it has the capability to turn into something bigger one day. This entire process has been such a learning curve. It has taught us so much about what it actually takes to start a business. We have put all of our own money into it, and it adds up so quickly. Everyone says when you’re starting a business that it takes time before you break even and see a monetary profit; however, we didn’t enter the industry with money in mind. We did this because we truly believe in the product we sell and we believe we can fill a gap we see and feel in the sports apparel industry. We measure success in so many other ways. We have had the chance to send our product to professional athletes, and influencers we look up to. Hearing them say they genuinely love the product has made us feel so good because we make every hoodie ourselves. Seeing people we don’t know make TikToks in our hoodies is kind of surreal to know they want something we made. To us, that is what success and profit means to us.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
We were born and raised in New York so it’s safe to say we have an itinerary down to a science. Where we live on Long Island is equal distance from both New York City and the Hamptons so we are going to do a little bit of everything. Starting out in the greatest city in the world- NYC. Liv lived on Wall Street throughout her college years so she is partial to downtown. You’re going to start your morning on a walk along the water in Battery Park- its perfect because you start at the tip of Manhattan looking at the Statue of Liberty in the distance. You get to walk along the water on the west side which will eventually lead you past the World Trade Center (stop and see the memorial of course) and shortly you’ll end up in Tribeca where you’ll find plenty of coffee shops, bagel places, and restaurants to choose from. SoHo is the place to go for shopping because it has any store you could want (Just not OTB…yet) When its night time our favorite places to go out are anywhere on Stone Street, and in the Village. We obviously have to tell you to go see a hockey game in New York but Liv is a Rangers fan, and Lexi is an Islanders fan so to remain neutral we will tell you to go see an LIU Hockey game on Long Island.

After this, we’re heading out east to the Hamptons. Our all time favorite cafe is the Golden Pear specifically the Bridgehampton location. Grab breakfast there then head to the beach or go shopping in East Hampton. Nick and Toni’s is the ultimate place for dinner and our favorite place to go out is Memory Motel in Montauk.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
We owe a large part of our launch to the people around us who have helped and supported us. When we first got the idea for the brand we showed the guys on our team our designs. The good part about working with 31 men is we were never without opinions. Having them tell us a design was cheesy or they couldn’t see themselves wearing it was a huge help because they are one of our target markets. The guys on our team were the first people to ever see the designs, and the first to wear them. We somehow even convinced two of them to walk in a fashion show as models for us. They handled it so well and made the best out of it. They were always supportive of it and we were lucky to have that when we were creating our vision for the brand. We also have to thank our friends and families. From letting us use a room in Lexi’s house as an office, helping us sew in tags, taking photos, and just simply believing in us that we can make this something bigger is such an amazing feeling.

Instagram: @offtheboardsco

Other: TikTok: @offtheboardsco

Image Credits
Emma Brown