College HUNKS founders back former employee’s golf startup

Nick Friedman and Omar Soliman, founders of College Hunks Hauling Junk & Moving, have invested in SWANG, a golf lifestyle startup founded by their first employee, Modi Oyewole.

The investment, announced April 15, connects one of Tampa Bay’s most visible founder stories to a new consumer brand gaining national traction.

Friedman and Soliman built College HUNKS from a single cargo van into a franchise system with nearly 200 locations. They are now backing Oyewole as he builds a company to change how people engage with golf.

“It all started with a van, two guys in college and an idea,” Friedman said in earlier TBBW coverage of the company’s founding. That same early team included Oyewole, who now leads SWANG.

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SWANG blends music, fashion and community into golf-centered events that draw first-time players and audiences outside the sport’s traditional base. The company has drawn national attention, including coverage in the Los Angeles Times, as it builds a following through events that operate closer to a driving range and social gathering than a country club.

For Friedman and Soliman, the investment builds on a model they developed while scaling College HUNKS, in which early employees took on larger roles as the business expanded. The company formalized operations and systems to support growth into a national franchise platform.

“At College HUNKS, we believe in building leaders, not just building a company,” Soliman said. “When someone who helped build our foundation steps forward to create something meaningful, we show up.”

SWANG is expanding through events, apparel and partnerships while advancing its current funding round. The company has added advisors across sports, media and business as it builds its next phase.

For Friedman and Soliman, the investment reflects a long-term approach to leadership and capital.

“The real success is when people you helped develop go on to build their own championship teams,” Friedman said.