When we first printed our bear punch t-shirt back in 2008, we had no idea of the epic following that it would gain. I remember receiving my first order of the Haymaker t-shirts in the mail and showing them to my friends and family. Everyone in my immediate circle thought that it was just your average bear punch t-shirt, but luckily they don’t make up my bear vs. lumberjack enthused customers.
Once the lumberjack punching bear t-shirt made its debut at a local craft show in DC, things started picking up. It’s been the leading item in my company for two years straight. One part of me feels like “Ok guys, I’ve got a lot of new stuff that doesn’t feature a dude punching a bear…” but the other part of me is like “Woohoo!”
So what does this bear punching tee mean? Some have speculated that the lumberjack character is Paul Bunyon, Chuck Norris or maybe someone they know like a grandfather, brother or boyfriend. Others notice the Russian script on the bear’s body and think that since it’s an American looking dude punching the bear, it represents the Cold War in a t-shirt image (American kicking Russia’s ass). Since we kept the facial details really abstract, there’s no straight answer to any of these questions…
My favorite moment with the haymaker t-shirt has to be when a guy named Voltaire Casino swung by my booth in Eastern Market rocking the haymaker hoodie. He asked me “Are you the bear punch dude?” and I answered yes. He then whipped out his iPhone and flipped to his photo section. He had over 100+ photos of friends and other random people that he met on his trip across America all wearing the bear punch hoodie. I was blown away and felt compelled to give away a free Haymaker iPhone case on the spot for such random dedication.
1 comment:
Please give this man a t-shirt!
https://youtu.be/D77FEz-O8FE
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