In 1999, Mike Austin went hunting for the first time at age 39. His father, an avid hunter, had died earlier that year.
“Just to be doing something that he used to do connected me in a new way with my father, who had passed away,” Austin said. “It became not only a connection point for me with my father, but then it became something I loved and enjoyed doing.”
Five years ago, he bought majority ownership of Treezyn, a camouflage gear and apparel company started by a community of Kentucky hunters in 2009.
“Long story short, you know the old phrase: I liked the company so much I bought it,” said Austin, who is now president of Treezyn.
Austin, now in his 60s, has expanded the company’s products and its reach.
Treezyn (treezyn.com) offers products for early and late season, as well as a Zyn outdoor line, and expanded its market to include 30 stores in South Africa, a popular hunting destination.
The company primarily sells directly to consumers online.
“Most people are looking to play golf for the rest of their life when they get to their 60s, but I love hunting,” Austin said.
Under his leadership, he moved the company’s warehouse operations from Missouri to Lexington, where he lives. The company’s 6,000-square foot warehouse is on his Lexington property.
Within Austin’s first year as president, he had to navigate major shipping disruptions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Treezyn’s products are made of technical fabrics, typically three or four fabric layers, engineered to be windproof, waterproof, antimicrobial and moisture wicking.
“Those fabrics are not produced in the United States, and the machines to cut and sew them are not here,” Austin said. “We have to balance this: We’re strongly pro-America, and yet we have to live in this global world.”
Before becoming president of Treezyn, Austin spent over 35 years as a pastor in the Presbyterian church.
“There’s a pivot point sometimes in life,” he said. “And, at those points, if you can pivot, accept change and adapt. Life gets very interesting.”
Austin’s wife, Suzanne Austin, who had previously worked in international manufacturing also switched her career to join the company as CFO.
“I’ve always been used to wearing a lot of hats,” Suzanne said.
Aside from her responsibilities as CFO, Suzanne also helps fulfill orders in the warehouse and answer customer service requests.
“It’s a very collegial environment,” Suzanne said.
Austin sees the company as a community centered on values, like conservation.
“It doesn't matter how good the product was or how much money I might have made — or not — because in life, it really comes down to people,” he said. “Everything is always about those relationships.”
When Austin takes clients on hunting trips to South Africa, he looks for animals past breeding age. On the couple’s Lexington property, he gives antiparasitics and food to the deer and turkey he hunts to ensure they are healthy.
“It’s important to steward the land and the animals,” Mike said.