BCKR

On September 6, 2023, I met a friend for coffee halfway between our Austin homes. We’d met eight years prior and worked together at YETI, and our conversations tend toward our percolating business ideas. On that fall morning, I looked down at my well-loved Oregon Ducks hoodie and casually threw out one such idea: Someone should make better fan gear. We racked our brains to recall some top-of-the-line brand we must be forgetting. Wasn’t anybody doing that? I walked away with the spark of an idea, then threw myself into research and planning. I grew up in Eugene, Oregon, and a lot of my fondest memories involve the Ducks, from our end zone GA seats at Autzen to the shaking rafters of Mac Court. How much cheaply made green-and-yellow merch have I bought and replaced through the years? Professionally, I’ve worked with visionaries who’ve doggedly pursued superior materials and thoughtful designs to make products—knives, coolers, drinkware, pizza ovens—that leap above a category’s historic offerings. Like them, I now feel inspired to tackle my own long-simmering annoyance—shoddy fan gear—in the hope of making something better. Yesterday, fifteen months and four days after that coffee meeting, our company, BCKR, sold its first product. It was a burnt-orange half-zip pullover jacket made from a technical cooling fabric, emblazoned with the iconic silhouette of the Texas Longhorns logo. It was purchased by my daughter’s best friend’s mother, who learned our site was (finally) live from my wife’s proud Instagram post. Here we go. In the 461 days from idea to launch, we’ve assembled a coast-to-coast team of my favorite people, most of whom I’ve met during the 21 years I’ve spent in the outdoor industry, each of whom brings incredible talent, a laser-sharp skillset, and a battle-tested attitude to our fledgling endeavor. We’ve built the BCKR brand, product line, supply chain, and website from nothing, all of which I’m deeply proud of. When I approached my friends and family members (my stomach in knots) to ask for financial support for our still-just-an-idea business, they came through in ways I’ll never really be able to repay. I’m grateful beyond words to our team and partners. We’ve been deeply fortunate to find partners who have immediately become extensions of our team, like SIDFACTOR, Saturday Republic, ShowLabs, Backbone Media, and FOND Group Email Consulting. Our four launch schools—The Ohio State University, The University of Texas at Austin, The University of Georgia, and the University of Oregon—were patiently helpful as we navigated the licensing process. We placed a bet on these schools a year ago and are thrilled to see their football teams compete for the national championship. Will BCKR succeed? Are people willing to pay more for better quality fan gear? We’ll find out. I certainly hope so, and will dedicate every day to giving us the best chance possible to prove our worthiness. It has taken us 461 days to get here…to day one.