Tales of Real Deal Brazil hats lost, and found

Our hat winds up in some pretty surprising places, no question.

There's the story of this guy, Shawn, from Kiowa, Kan., whose father gave him a Real Deal Brazil recycled-tarp hat after Dad fished the then-new RDB out of a Dumpster in Longdale, Okla. After seven years of constant wearing since then, Shawn sent his RDB, above, back to us for some re-stitching around the brim; once fixed, this trash-to-treasure hat will be bound back to Shawn's waiting head.

Not only do we think that's a really cool story, but Shawn’s much-beloved hat turns out to be one of our very first, a literal prototype, from 2008, with an oversized logo on the side; we're not even sure if we would have sold that to anyone. So how it ended up in Oklahoma, we'll never know ...

 And then there's the phenomenal story recently emailed to us, also from an RDB-wearing Sean, the scuba guy immediately above:


"I am from Pinedale, WY and often go scuba diving in the clear mountain lakes we have here. This past Sunday, I was diving at about 30 feet in Fremont Lake when I saw something that didn't belong. As I swam over to the irregular shape lying on the bottom among the rocks, I was surprised to find this RDB hat. I picked it up and put it on my head and immediately started to surface. It dried beautifully and one would never know it had (been lying) in the bottom of a mountain lake for who knows how long.

Inside the crown, you make the claim that you can do nothing to this hat that hasn't already been done. I would bet that this is the only RDB hat that has laid on the bottom of a mountain glacier lake at an elevation of almost 8000' and been recovered to be worn again. Only the hat knows for sure.

A big thank you to the person who was unfortunate enough to lose this great hat."


Also, a big thank you from us, to these two guys for sharing these stories!

National Nude Day 2013: Several days late, and a couple of coconuts short ...

OK, for those of you who got here from Facebook, you can't say we didn't tell you what to expect. Coconuts. Actual coconuts.

Though truth be told, those really are some oddly shaped palm fruits, huh? Not that we're the kind of people to judge or anything ...

We've posted this picture in a slightly belated homage to National Nude Day, July 14. We missed this year's celebration entirely, not knowing such a day even existed, wandering around as we were amid all those other folks with their clothes on.

But we have faith these two island naturalists were naked that day, if they knew said celebration in honor of shedding clothes existed.

We're pretty sure the guy in our hat is Chester Elizondo of San Antonio, Texas, one of our longtime favorite RDB wild men. No clue on the identity of his buddy, though the two are seen, almost in their entirety here, in Puerto Rico, where Chet has gotten into plenty of Real Deal mischief in the past.

His April 2011 "exploration adventure" to several different Puerto Rican beaches, involving much "sun, surf, rum and fun," produced what may be our favorite photo explanation of all time, for the below cockeyed-hat shot he sent us back then:

"Ya’ll make one hell of a hat. I swam in that thing…buried it in the sand..stuffed it in my back pack…had sex in it…filled it with ice and used it as a small ice chest….at one point it was my loin cloth while I chased a chicken naked down the beach (not sure how I ended up naked…and the chicken was very very fast)…"

Notice any kind of pattern here? We're thinking it's probably pretty nakedly obvious ...

Our hats on to Real Deal dads this Father's Day!

Longtime RDB pal Darin Gagne of Manchester, N.H., leads us all by example. So, to you fellow Real Deal dads out there: Rattle the bars on your cage today! Yawp your barbaric yawp! Do something that, if found out, will perplex and unsettle everyone who knows you! Real Deal it up and straight back down again!

You have our express permission to run amok today… right up until that point where you decide to call us for bail money. Because don’t waste that one phone call, is all we’re sayin’; we’ll simply pretend we’ve never heard of you, and then hang up suddenly. It’s our money, after all, and we intend to squander it on ourselves in Vegas.

Of course, you could just call Darin here instead. Cuz obviously, his example is what led you astray in the first place …

Happy Father’s Day!

Team Tallahassee rides again, with Real Deal Brazil sponsorhip, and RDB hats in tow!

Whoot, there we are! The Real Deal Brazil: proud sponsors of Team Tallahassee.

Sometimes, you’ve just gotta break your own rules.

We recently gave a modest sum toward Real Deal Brazil mega-fan Greg Bickford’s participation in Rally New England, a 1,200-mile fundraising drive supporting the nonprofit Camp Sunshine in Casco, Maine. This idyllic lakeside getaway for children battling life-threatening diseases, and for their immediate families, doesn’t charge people to stay, and includes onsite medical and psychological support.

The Real Deal Brazil is a small company, and we’ve had to make it our policy that we don’t do cash donations; it’s simply not something we can routinely afford. Yet with Greg, this is actually the second year in a row we’ve broken our own rule on that! Because how could we not? Greg is such a huge fan of the Real Deal brand, promoting us at every turn. And we’re big fans of his own efforts to turn his free time into a, no pun intended, vehicle for helping others.

Rally New England drivers start their trek July 22 in upstate New York, winding up four days later in New Brunswick, Canada. Each of the participating 85-plus cars is a team of two or more people. Last year, Greg’s Team Tallahassee – named for his current hometown in Florida, and maybe even a little for his love of “all things Zombieland” – was filled out by his brother, Chris; this year, Greg’s dad, Richard, is handling co-pilot duties.

Greg Bickford, right, and dad Richard, with their pre-sponsor-stickered Mustang GT:                          Team Tallahassee.

And again this year, Team Tallahassee is driving Greg’s black 2010 Ford Mustang GT, with a big white RDB logo to be prominently displayed on it, alongside those of other sponsors. But the Real Deal Brazil will be there in more than just logo: Greg and his dad will also be sporting our hats along the way.

Last year, Team Tallahassee rode in Rally Dixie 2012, a 1,300-mile fundraising drive supporting the national nonprofit Accelerated Cure Project for Multiple Sclerosis.

We’re not suggesting you should donate to Camp Sunshine via Greg’s team; this email is just an FYI of what we’re up to, and to say how proud we are to be even a tiny part of Greg’s efforts. But should you wanna check out Team Tallahassee’s fundraising site – https://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/team-tallahassee/rallynewengland – y’know, that would be mighty cool, too.

'You guys make the best hat ... In the World!'

"The best hat ... In the World." Well, OK, then!

Sometimes we just have to share the nice stuff that people say. And Real Deal Brazil fan Nathan Cantu of Lynchburg, Va., who sent us an email with that very same declaration of our awesomeness in the subject line, also included this:

"I love my RDB Hat! After my first summer working at a camp in Texas, I knew I needed a decent hat, but can't rock the classic Texas Stetson. A friend recommended the RDB hat, and after I realized it was "The Zombieland Hat" I knew I needed one of my own. It's stayed with me through the whole summer, and kept me cool in the sun, and dry in the rain! I love it! I attached a picture (above) of four of us at camp all geared up to go to battle with the camp property. During yardwork on a 100+ degree day, this hat was a God send! ...

Thanks again for making a great hat!"

The Real Deal Brazil. Not that we're braggin' or nothin' ...

Real Deal Brazil hats go places, and do great things!

Serving meals to the homeless at a regional dump in rural Zacapa, Guatemala.

A lot of phenomenal folks are out there doing their Real Deal best to make the world a better place, with our hat proudly tagging along for the ride. And that fact just makes us grin, knowing we’re aiding in a tiny bit of the good, even if only by association.

That said, meet Real Deal Brazil hat owner and middle-school teacher Greg Crow of Charlottesville, Va.

Back in January, Greg took a trip to Zacapa, Guatemala, with 22 fellow parishioners from his church, The Point Church of Charlottesville. With help from Virginia faith-based humanitarian agency World Help (http://worldhelp.net), Greg’s group adopted a village, population 700, in this mostly rural area at the southeastern end of the country.

His group plans to help the village for the next few years with everything from clean water to food, education and more.

“We will assist them with their physical needs,” Greg wrote us, in sending the pictures you see here, “as well as minister to their spiritual needs.

Feeding a child at a Zacapa orphanage.

“I have traveled all over our planet doing similar work,” Greg added, “and have never seen poor and starving children like this. We ended up feeding children at (a) regional dump, because of the overwhelming need there. We couldn't just drive by (after seeing them there), and leave them with nothing.

“In fact, it was such an overwhelming trip that my wife and I are leading a (church) team back there in August.”

Want to learn more about Greg and his church’s efforts in Zacapa? They have a Facebook page; search Village Project Guatemala.

Sifting riverbed rocks and sand to make concrete for a Zacapa home-building project.

 

Earth Day is our day, too!

Hello from near the top of the bottom of the world!

That’s Justin Cranmer, above, of Tucson, Ariz., wearing his trusty Real Deal Brazil recycled-tarp hat in, yes, Brazil! This spring 2011 shot finds Justin atop Tijuca Peak, which offers a sweeping view of sprawling Rio de Janeiro below. The mountaintop is literally right in the middle of the city.

Justin's verdant travel photo seemed in need of revisiting today, of all days: Nature’s grandeur smack dab in the middle of bustling human life, Brazil, us.

Because today is Earth Day, the day people of every stripe celebrate where we all live, and what we can do to promote continuing to live here. And by here, we mean the big here, the spinning blue-and-green ball of home. The elemental sphere following its set circular path in space, three back from the sun. That here.

Earth Day is all about throwing the world a bone, so to speak. Championing things that can help to preserve what's here, before it's gone and can't be replaced.

So you know Real Deal Brazil products are made from recycled stuff, right? People sometimes forget that, getting all caught up in how we also happen to look mighty freakin’ cool, all rough-and-tumble and Woody Harrelson in Zombieland, and like that. Yet the heart of our signature products is reclaimed old canvas cargo-truck tarps from Brazil, tough and weathered and kind of grizzled, and as unique as you are.

The recycling runs even deeper with us, though: Our classic hats get their shape from strands of heavy wire pulled from landfilled old Brazilian truck tires.

Then there's our hat bands, which include an assortment carved from old coconut shells, or those assembled from trash-bound bottle caps collected from favorite brews.

Reclaimed resources, handmade into resourceful products that look cool enough to forget they're pretty Earth-nifty, too. That, good people, is the Real Deal Brazil!

So we choose to think of today, Earth Day, as a little bit our day as well.