The Art of the After-Game: Why Leisure Deserves a Comeback

The following is a love letter to our friends who plan country club events, host golf fundraisers, and/or are slowly but surely getting into pickleball…

For centuries, sport wasn’t just about the competition—it was about the ritual surrounding it. The Greeks didn’t train and compete in isolation; they recovered in perfumed baths and honored their victories with feasts. Renaissance jousters weren’t simply warriors; they were participants in grand spectacles, where the tournament was just the prelude to an evening of music, fine fabrics, and indulgence. And even in the prim-and-proper Victorian era, sport was an excuse to blend physical activity with refinement—lawn tennis played in corsets and flower crowns, followed by fragrant sachets and garden teas.

Somewhere along the way, we lost the art of the after-game.

Today? We’ve made sporting transactional. You play your match, you wipe your brow, maybe you have a quick cocktail, and you move on. Gone are the ceremonies, the creative indulgences, the immersive experiences that once made play feel like a full, rich event.

We think it’s time to bring them back. (We did.)

Beyond the Game: Reclaiming the Rituals of Play

For centuries, winning and winding down weren’t separate—they were part of the same experience. Sport and creativity, movement and luxury, play and indulgence. These things have always belonged together, and yet, modern leisure has stripped away the softer, more ceremonial side of competition.

What if we put it back? (Again… we did.)

Imagine a round of golf that doesn’t end with a handshake and a drink but with a custom skincare workshop, where players blend their own recovery scrubs and balms—just as ancient athletes once anointed themselves with oils after competition.

Picture a summer tennis match that leads into an afternoon of floral crown crafting and terrarium building—echoing the Victorian tradition of turning sport into a full-fledged social affair.

Or consider the thrill of a modern tournament where players and spectators alike can adorn themselves with glittering body art, shimmer makeup, or bespoke nail designs—a playful, luxurious nod to the grandeur of Renaissance pageantry.

Even the simplest touches—a beautifully monogrammed cocktail or an ed

ible-ink printed treat—can elevate a sporting event into something richer and more immersive.

(This is the part where we finally point out that we offer these exact things! Now back to our point…) 

Leisure Is an Experience, Not Just an Activity

We’ve spent decades stripping play down to its most basic form: just the game. But history tells us that’s never how it was meant to be. Leisure has always been an experience, a ritual, a way to engage more deeply with the moment—not just physically, but creatively and socially.

It’s time to stop treating sports as a standalone event. The most memorable moments can also happen after the game.