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.

Big, Big Changes to the Real Deal Brazil Brand!

OK, just in case you stumble on this entry days after it was originally posted, please take a look at the day it was published before reading any further. That should give you a good clue to its seriousness. Or lack thereof ...

Some huge changes to talk about, folks!

Like so many small businesses, the Real Deal Brazil has had a hellish time in this sluggish economy. Add to that the outrageous spikes in recycled-tarp prices in Brazil, and shipping from the rural center of such a vast and often underdeveloped country, plus the various customs hurdles, which are, honestly, a money-suck, and it’s been really, really hard. And it’s only getting harder.

But we’re still here!

Still, if we’re going to continue past this, then going forward, fundamental changes have gotta take place. It’s that, regrettably, or close our doors. And we aren’t quitters.

After some serious research and lengthy negotiations, we’re finally at the point of transferring production to where we can afford to keep this thing up and running. So, to China we go! Happily, we’ve found a Beijing-area town that specializes in fabric goods and industrial sewing, and a small nationalized company that can take things over immediately, for a reasonable price, even with shipping considerations.

The hat photo at top is just a mockup sent by our new sewing company.Fabric is having to change, of course, since they neither have recycled canvas truck tarps in China, at least not for sale, nor can we remotely afford to import them from Brazil. We are, however, very pleased with the fabric change we’ve selected: We think the purple is fantastic! It’s really individual and fun, and fits, we think, the spirit of our brand. The sequins you see in the photo are hopefully within our budget as well, but that detail isn’t set in stone yet.

Hat style will also shift a bit, to more of a classic fedora a la Indiana Jones, since that’s what they do best there.

And we won’t have to go up on our hat prices at all!

All Brazilian product names will stay the same. We don’t want to add any further confusion to the transition.

Bags will likewise be the same new fabric; beyond that, we don’t know yet about the various styles. It’ll all depend on what this company can manage.

We’ll start getting new product in soon, and will then start updating realdealbrazil.com. In the meantime, we’ll keep selling the remainders of what we have, until we run out. We wish we could discount the remainders, but honestly, we’re too broke for that.

The best of an unfortunate situation. So we hope you can get as excited for these changes as we've become!

Testimonial: A Little Exotic, a Bit Three-Sheets-in-the-Wind, a Trifle Oh-Behave, Yippee!

At the Real Deal Brazil, we really do get the best testimonials. That said, this just-received unsolicited review from former Oregonian Lito Croy, who now lives in Antigua, Guatemala, ranks right on up there with the one from the Texan who couldn't remember how he'd ended up naked on a Puerto Rican beach chasing a chicken.

Lito wrote us:

I figured it was about time to let you know how much I love my Original RDB hat. Let's just put it this way -- traveling through Mexico and working as a bartender in Guatemala I have been offered and turned down high tech gear swaps, muchos drogas, booze, exorbitant amounts of money, AND a threesome with two VERY attractive Swiss girls in exchange for my hat. Sometimes I have to drunkenly sprint away from hoards of hat-hungry gringo tourists just to keep it on my head. Needless to say, it's a good hat.

How's that for a review? Buy one.

How's that for a review, indeed!

So we asked Lito for a few pictures, since the original email contained none. Our hero (and really, who doesn't now kinda wanna be this guy?) sent the two you see here, from some of the Guatemalan bars he's worked at.

Lito's note that came with the photos:

We're very professional. The (top) photo includes the two Swiss girls previously mentioned. I had some more great shots but I got too drunk on my birthday and inadvertently donated my camera to some random Guatemalan. ...I hope they like looking at pictures of my weed plants.

'Mythbusters' Geek Goddess Kari Byron in Zombie-Killing Real Deal Brazil Recycled-Tarp Hat

Some people we can’t help but wanna see wearing one of our hats. Cuz who can argue with a perfect fit, y'know?

Ron Perlman. Johnny Depp. Erica Cerra. That Dirty Jobs guy. And like that.

And way up high on that list: Kari Byron, the geekboy dream on Mythbusters, Discovery Channel’s veritable nerdfest of brainy coolness.

So late last month, we sent the fiery-haired Mythbusters host a note and a couple of hats, our compliments. We figured the package would come back to us, wrong address, refused, etc. But then, playing around online today, we stumbled across this Tweet from Kari: 

“Just got a Zombie killing hat in the mail! What a great gift! Thanks Real Deal Brazil.”

Oh, blush! Our little fanboy hearts goin' boom, boom, boom! Her Tweet, by the way, included the photo you see above. (Can you say: office poster!)

Here’s a version of the note we sent Kari, which will bring you up to speed on exactly why we sprang the Real Deal love on her now:

So when we saw that Mythbusters would be giving the drooling undead their due (in an episode tentatively slated for this spring), we got a little excited. We are, to be fair, a pretty excitable bunch here, though maybe even a little more so when the subject is zombies. Them lifeless brain-munchers been very, very good to us.

If you’re unfamiliar with the Real Deal Brazil … (allow us to) sum up: Recycled-truck-tarp hats handmade in rural equatorial Brazil and, most notably for many folks, worn with great aplomb by eco-minded actor Woody Harrelson in Zombieland, in his wildass character’s quest to annihilate the ravenous scourge of rotting meatbags and find spongy yellow snack cakes that might actually have zombie-making-properties all their own.

Consequently, our hat routinely surfaces in zombie-centric blogs and forums, and even in documentaries on zombie-this and zombie-that. We have become, you see, the world’s premiere zombie-killing hat. The absence yet of actual zombies does nothing to change that.

Thus, this package (you’ve just received). You folks are doing zombies. We kill-a the zombies. And like that.

Also, as Mythbusters watchers, we are united in the certainty that if there’s one person who would so rock our hat (besides Woody H., of course, and maybe the Queen of England; she’s tougher than she looks), it’s you. Your show’s plans for zombie mythbustin’ finally gave us all the excuse we needed to get mushy and gift-give-y, and send this along. We blushing fanboys do what we must.

We’ve included several hats of different sizes, in hopes one fits you comfortably; Mama always said to never assume a woman’s head-size. We’re confident you can find willing noggins for the others. …

So if this package actually reaches you, we hope it becomes the source of much hat-wearing joy, for you, and for anyone else you deem Real Deal enough.

Since we’re all so sold here on you wearing an RDB and lovin’ it, should we then never see any evidence to this effect, we’ll just pretend otherwise. Our world makes so much more sense that way.

What a great world. Cuz now we don’t even have to pretend!

We're Now Increasingly Up-Top Down Under!

Not sure what's led to it all of a sudden, but we're seeing more and more orders from the opposite side of the world, from Australia, and New Zealand. We love it!

That said, here's a recent great note from one of our new Aussie buddies, James Dean. As in, yes, really, his name's James Dean. That's not him, above, by the way. We don't have a photo of James right now to share. So, then, things got kinda silly. Just be glad we couldn't find a shot of a kangaroo we liked is all we're sayin' ...

So this from James, who hails from Cessnock, in New South Wales:

Hi guys just wanted to give u a quick rave...first saw ur hat on woody in zombieland (man good publicity) and decided it was about time to get me one...in australia its what is known as bloody hot...well i got my trusty akubra (THE australiam manufacturer of hats...an aussie stetson if u will) but a man can never have too many hats in this country...well it finally arrived and...wow...sorry akubra all $160 of you...the tarp hat would have to be the most comfortable hat i have ever worn...in the bush it is just fantastic...light comfortable and bulletproof...i can throw in the the back of the ute and put tools on top of it and when its time to use it again...perfect...so thanks guys...good for the planet and good for my head and truly my go to hat for as long as it lasts...a long time i imagine...outstanding.

The Real Deal Brazil. Increasingly, it's Australian for cool ...

A New Year's Shout-Out From the Real Deal Brazil

The first day of a new year. No better time to stop and recall all our American brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, daughters, son, aunts, uncles, cousins and friends abroad, in service in hostile places, be they members of the U.S. military, military contractors, support staff, diplomatic corps, aid workers.

So as a never-frequent-enough shout-out today, we share this just-received message, and these four photos with fun descriptions, from one American military contractor and his buddy, dedicated Real Deal Brazil fans both, from somewhere in-country, Afghanistan:

Hello from Afghanistan!

My name is Randy Thackston. After 22 years of Military service, and my 6th year as a military contractor, I realized I needed some really tough protection against the elements, and the hazards of War. After some extensive searching, I discovered the Real Deal Brazil Original Tarp Hat. I immediately knew I had found the ultimate body-armor! I placed an order and received it at my Forward Operational Base within 9 days. When my partner Mike saw my new Original Tarp Hat, he knew that my survivability factor had increased by 110%, and he realized that the only way to survive over here to procure one himself. He did just that! Now for us, danger is just another day in the field. (Well, that’s pretty much every day anyway).

Thank you so much for the World’s most Awesome Headgear!

I’d like to share with you how my partner Mike & I, with the help of Real Deal Brazil, survived our close call with the End of the World.

-- Randy (Freedom) Thackston
Mike (Charger) Sircher
Undisclosed Locations, Afghanistan

Above, in Randy's words: "As you can see, my RDB Original Tarp Hat easily provides me with superior protection against the brutal Afghan sun, so that I can concentrate on more important things like having some fun on the 4th of July."

Above, in Randy's words: "Here you can see us watching the end of the world coming at us with complete confidence that we will most likely be among the survivors. Thanks to Real Deal Brazil ultimate head protection, we’ll be around to help repopulate the world. (By the way, that is 3, yes, 3 tornadoes coming at us, categories F2-F3, several miles out.)"

Above, in Randy's words: "Even while facing imminent annihilation, Tarp Hats securely mounted, we face the end of the world head-on with confidence. (One F2 tornado nearly on top of us.)"

Above, in Randy's words: “Can you believe it? I got a text at the very last minute … Apparently ‘They’ decided to postpone the End Of The World (again) until 2020. I will be ready, my friends!”

'Ripping Frosty's Head in Two': Another Real Deal Brazil Gift-Success Story!

Not sure which we've enjoyed more, the photo, below, of new Waco, Texas, Real Deal Brazil owner/fan Jeffrey Piht Bull Quintavalle and his darling young daughter, dwarfed under daddy's great, big hat, or Piht Bull's killer just-got-an-RDB-for-Christmas note, a little further below.

Piht Bull's note, in its entirety: 

Just got to say something. I have drooled over RDB hats from the moment I saw Woody's hat in the Zombieland preview. I am a hat guy but I could never find a hat that was just right. I gave away a $300 felt Stetson just because it wasn't right. I wanted a certain look and feel. I watched Zombieland and the hat had the beat up battle-worn look I wanted. So I dreamt of this hat but could never find the extra cash to get one. 

Well Friday the wife and mom and her partner let me open a gift early. I unwrapped the Santa paper to reveal a snowman shirt box. My initial reaction was "a shirt?" That’s not special enough to open this early. So I cracked the tape off of one side and caught a small shimmer of frayed canvas and stitching. I could not believe it! It was my RDB hat! I tore open the box ripping Frosty's head in two and pulled out the most badass hat in the world. Just the right color a few patches that ARE covering holes. Stains from the beautiful Brazilian weather and probably greasy military hands.

This hat I know will outlive me and that’s exactly what I want. After I’m gone I want grand or great-grand kids to pull it out and remember the stories I told them about my roller coaster adventurous life. 

The only two modifications I will make is add a hat band I’m making out of random stuff I'll find in the woods and I’m getting the wife to draw a pit bull on it. I really want to thank you guys for the amazing work on both sides of the company. My mom said customer service was amazing and I can see the hard work that went into turning what would be trash to most people into a lifelong work of art I will wear daily and very proudly state its REAL DEAL BRAZIL when asked. I live in Texas and I assure you I will be asked daily about my hat. Well I could rattle all day about this rugged masterpiece so I guess I better cut this off now.

Thanks again. I’m a fan for life.

With fans like Piht Bull, we are indeed conquering the world, one cool head at a time ...