What’s up, discgnerates? It’s your guy Swiss Cheese, reporting live from the digital disc golf universe, armed with all the holes in my game and way too much time collecting content for you to read instead of watching for some reason. Buckle in—this is gonna be a long one
Let’s not act shocked, because if you’ve been paying attention, you saw this coming. Another week, another round of layoffs and big exits in our little plastic-flinging world. But what might actually shock you is that this time, we’re not talking about Dynamic Discs. No, Discmania Colorado is shutting down—or at least that’s what the sources with their fingers in every pie are telling us. The future of the brand is basically one giant question mark scribbled on a shipping pallet.
How Discmania Got Here: A Short History of Big Hype and Even Bigger Problems
Discmania was once the crown jewel in the disc golf marketing machine. Mystery boxes? They did them first. Hot molds? They had them all. A cult following? Absolutely. But the moment the House of Discs—our friendly neighborhood private equity overlords—came sniffing around, the vibe shifted faster than your buddy who just discovered disc golf.
First, House of Discs scooped up Dynamic and Westside in March 2023. Seven months later, Discmania was next. And not under the best circumstances either. Remember the founder’s, uh, “legal entanglements”? Yeah, I’m talking prostitution scandals, lawsuits, and a subsequent media blackout that left us all refreshing Reddit threads for clues. Add in the loss of Simon Lizotte to MVP, and you could feel the walls closing in.
Disc Golf’s Tumultuous Offseason
For any of you scouring the internet for information about disc golf’s business drama—well, congrats. You’ve found it. Because here we are, watching Discmania’s warehouse shut down, leadership walk away, and employees get pink slips with barely a press release to mark the moment.
Let’s be clear: House of Discs moved quickly to consolidate. In April 2024, they closed the dealer store, moved wholesale shipping to Dynamic’s Emporia warehouse, and tried to sell us on a feel-good story about “returning brands to disc golfers.” Sure. If by disc golfers, you mean whoever was left after the layoffs. Because as soon as new leadership took their posts—Dave Berglund back as CEO, Seth Fendley and Juho Rantalaiho in GM roles—more layoffs followed within a month. And then came the mass exodus of player contracts. Remember Ricky Wysocki? Yeah, that was a sign.
The Resignations Heard ‘Round the World
In the last few days, two big names—Austin Montgomery and Chris Brubeck—announced they were resigning. Both were senior leaders at Discmania, both with around two decades of experience. Both insisted they left “on their own accord,” which is corporate speak for “I wasn’t laid off, but this place is a dumpster fire.”
If you’re out here on a quest to prove this isn’t real—go read their statements yourself. Or, since I know a lot of you prefer me spoon-feeding the details, here’s a quick pull quote:
Austin: “I have resigned from my role at House of Discs on my own accord.”
Chris: “I have resigned from my position at House of Discs under my own free will.”
They weren’t canned, but word is they were notified the warehouse was closing, staff were getting axed, and severance was allegedly nonexistent. I can’t verify all of that, but enough sources are talking that I’m willing to say it out loud for you to chew on.
Discmania’s Future: Shutdown, Sale, or Shuffle?
Some people think the brand will close entirely. Most think that’s too extreme, given how much Discmania’s molds and top-tier players still matter. After all, they’ve got Gannon Buhr and Niklas Anttila—two of the top five in the world. If they vanish, House of Discs would take a PR hit big enough to rattle their spreadsheets back in Sweden. More likely, they’ll shift those contracts to Latitude 64 or another surviving brand.
That said, nothing’s guaranteed. Remember Kristin Latt’s contract? It’s up this year too. And with all these high-dollar sponsorships sitting on the books, plus a disc golf market that’s not exactly booming, it’s fair to ask how this all shakes out. You can bet players and fans are refreshing their feeds for every shred of news
