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What if a backpack could carry more than your stuff—what if it could carry your story? We sit down with Stanley Cup champion and two-time Olympian Brett Hedican to unpack Hedie Gear, his modular bag company that turns memories into design with durable, Velcro-backed embroidered patches. From national parks and miniature country flags to NHL and collegiate licenses, Brett shows how identity, travel, and achievement can live on the outside of your bag, ready to spark conversations anywhere.

Brett brings a rare blend of grit and grace to entrepreneurship, borrowing the humility, routine, and relentless iteration that shaped his hockey career. He walks us through the spark—a fishing trip tradition where friends earned patches for milestones—and the hard work that followed: sourcing factories, engineering panels that lock patches in place, and navigating the complex world of licensing with the NHL, CLC, and Exemplar. We dig into the product roadmap too: six backpacks today, crossbodies and fanny packs next, plus duffel and guitar case prototypes ready for the right music retail partners. Think letter jacket meets guitar case, built for a life in motion.

We also explore channel strategy and smart scaling: NIL ambassadors on campus, college bookstore rollouts, targeted social and marketplace presence, and how AI helps a lean team punch above its weight. Brett opens his own pack—“Dig In,” the 1994 Finals, Olympic pride, martial arts, family travel—to show how meaning stacks over time. Pricing stays accessible, custom orders turn around fast, and a growing limited-edition series hints at a vibrant collector community. The horizon is bold: multi-logo back-to-school displays, music and sport crossovers, and an Olympic bridge that brings numbers, roles, and mantras to the surface.

Ready to start your own patch story? Subscribe, share this conversation with a friend, and leave a quick review to help others discover the show. Then visit hedygear.com to choose a bag, pick your first patches, and carry what matters next.

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