My buddy Jay has been running Red Clay Soul since the mid-2000s, covering Southern menswear and living well before most of us tried our hand at sharing our interests online. Today his site relaunches with a full redesign, and I caught up with him about it before it went live.

What was the catalyst for the refresh?

JRS: It’s a great question. My last ‘refresh’ was pre-COVID back in 2019, and since then we’ve seen BIG growth, not only on the website and Instagram, but we’ve added a bunch of other properties to the portfolio — namely Substack and Shopify, as well as an email newsletter. I felt like they weren’t all playing well together.

I went through all of the properties from a reader’s perspective, and it wasn’t a great experience. It felt clunky, mis-mashed, and not well thought out. I took some time and evaluated it all.

I talked to friends, long-time readers, and most importantly Mrs. RCS, and I built the refresh. It wasn’t easy, but now that we’re done, I believe it is going to be a GREAT experience for my most important asset: my readers. Now they’ll be able to go between any of the RCS properties seamlessly, and it will be a cohesive experience.

Take me back to when you started Red Clay Soul. What was the original idea, and how has it evolved since then?

JRS: Well, it was pretty simple. I was reading a lot of blogs back in ’06-’09 that were focused on men’s lifestyle and fashion.

At the same time, Garden & Gun got going. Having zero ego about it, I decided to start Red Clay Soul, as a Southern-based publication that talked about mostly the same subjects we talk about today. There were (and still are) a lot of guys in this demo. And we all get along!

The evolution has been fun. Having the ability to run the site and the experience while seeing the tremendous growth over the last 8-10 years has been extremely rewarding.

I am a one-man band (which may change very shortly), and I’m still able to adhere to the same principles that I started with: a) the site isn’t about me. I’m in NO way a celebrity. b) my credibility is job one. All organic and honest. c) it has to be fun.

What’s changed the most about how you think about menswear and living well since you started, and how does that show up in the new site?

JRS: The thing I love about this space is how the menswear ethos evolves. It’s almost cyclical.

The biggest change is how men are focusing on fit as much as style. Better-fitting garments are much more readily available than they were 15 years ago (‘slim fit,’ etc.), and men have latched on. I also see more of a lean towards the ‘buy less/buy better’ mentality. I’m seeing guys wearing a $600 pair of Alden loafers vs four pairs of $100 junk…I think that’s a good thing. It makes getting dressed easier.

From the living well perspective, I think that comes with age and priorities shifting. Having kids, moving up in your job, paying things off…they all lend to more appreciation of experiences vs. things. That’s how we are doing it in our house.

Where do you want to take Red Clay Soul from here — new content, new formats, new direction?

JRS: I believe that this redesign is a good foundation for the future. It will allow the reader a MUCH better experience and more access to all things Red Clay Soul. I’m really proud of it.

I also think it allows for more interaction between readers, more partnerships, and RCS-sponsored events (golf tournaments, fishing trips, etc.). I’m not looking to take RCS in a different direction, but rather to enhance the experience in all facets.

Go check out the new Red Clay Soul and see the refresh for yourself.