Brooding, troubled, edgy. These are the sorts of characters Walton Goggins has become famous for playing.
Taking on parts like the tortured, haunted Rick Hatchett in the blockbuster TV series White Lotus and the flawed, conflicted Detective Vendrell in The Shield has earned Goggins a scroll of awards and award nominations.
Yet there’s one role that talented Goggins didn’t take to as easily as the others.
That’s the role of business owner.
In winter 2024, Walton partnered with GoDaddy to launch the small business idea Walton Goggins Goggle Glasses.
The concept?
A range of stylish goggle/sunglasses with interchangeable head straps and over-ear arms that could be used for everything from skiing, snowboarding and biking to ‘walking the red carpet’.
The goggle glasses were developed in five different colors, from Goggins’ personal favorite, the tortoise-patterned La Tortuga to the yellow Limoncello version inspired by the actor’s time in Italy.
They’re a quality product, with polarized lenses made by Revo, a company that made eyewear protection for NASA in the 1980s.
Walton said: "I started this line of premium Goggle Glasses because I felt like nothing out there was doin' the job. What job, you ask? A pair of stylish sunglasses that expressed and integrated with my inward and outward journey. A sexy pair of shades that move with you as you dance to the rhythm of life."
With the product vision turned into a reality, it was time to unveil the concept to the world.
In other words, it was time for the hard part.
The part that Goggins, like many entrepreneurs, knew very little about.
Like so many small business owners the world over, Goggins didn’t have a business degree or even a how-to book on how to launch a successful small business from scratch.
Fortunately, this is where GoDaddy Airo stepped up.
Here’s why…
Even if you don’t know how to take your idea and turn it into a thriving business, with GoDaddy Airo, it’s like you know what you’re doing.
Using Airo, Goggins designed a logo.
"This logo is sexier than a salmon suit on a Seersucker Sunday, " he said.
He designed and published a website.
“Figuring out how to make a website was pretty hard on the old noggin,” he said. “But with GoDaddy Airo I can just tell it what I want and it uses AI to make a website so fast it pretty much blows my noggin, with a beautiful design that will blow my customers’ noggins. Which allowed me to focus my noggin on making more Goggins to put on their noggins.”
The actor used Airo to build order and shipping confirmation emails. Then he created social media content and scheduled it into a social media content calendar.
"As owner of Walton Goggins Goggle Glasses, I know how to make slick looking goggles,” he said. “But I have no idea how to make slick social media stuff to sell it.
“But GoDaddy Airo uses AI not only to create social content out of thin air but to build a whole social media calendar just for my business.
"Starting out, who even knows you need something like a content calendar? Not me. But GoDaddy Airo is like magic and just makes it happen. All I had to do was upload a video of me and my pretty face and voila!”
The launch of Walton Goggins Goggle Glasses was a roaring success, with the Tortuga and Limoncello versions going to backorder status at first.
Wired magazine said “I’m Googley-Eyed for the Walton Goggins Goggle Glasses”.
GQ reported: “The Righteous Gemstones star’s namesake shades are as bold and freaky as his best performances.”.
Rolling Stone meanwhile wrote: “Walton Goggins isn’t kidding about his eyewear brand.”
At GoDaddy, meanwhile, we showcased the actors’ success in a multi-channel awareness and marketing campaign that included a coveted commercial slot during the American Superbowl.
With the wildly successful website and social media launch under our belts, we filmed an incredible series of ads in Mexico City with production company ProdCo and award-winning director, Ian Pons Jewell. Those spots feature all the ways GoDaddy Airo helped Walton’s business become successful.
"It was such a blast to be a part of. The creative was smart, funny, and true because I had absolutely no idea what I was doing as a small business owner,” Goggins said. “And I got the best of both worlds. GoDaddy Airo helped me launch my business and my story might help other aspiring entrepreneurs to do the same. Can’t beat that.”
Want to look like you grow business for fun? Find out more about Airo on our Airo demo pages.
