Brett Hedican’s Journey From Stanley Cup To Custom Backpacks

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.

Transcript

Meet Brett Hedican

Voice Over 0:00

This is iDesign Lab, a podcast where creativity and curiosity meet style and design. Curator of interiors, furnishings, and lifestyles. Hosted by Tiffany Woolley, an interior designer and a style enthusiast, along with her serial entrepreneur husband Scott. iDesign Lab is your ultimate design podcast, where we explore the rich and vibrant world of design and its constant evolution in style and trends. Today on iDesign Lab, we're joined by Brett Hedeken, a Stanley Cup champion, two-time United States Olympian, and veteran of over 1,000 NHL games. But his greatest play might be off the ice. Brett is now the founder of Hedi, a customizable backpack brand built around celebrating the moments that shape who we are. From championship wins to everyday milestones, he's helping people carry their story with them. Literally. Let's dive into his journey from elite athlete to inspired entrepreneur.

TIffany Woolley 0:55

Welcome to the iDesign Lab Podcast. Today we are excited to have Brett Hedeken joining us remotely. But Brett, who has a very long career on the ice, an Olympian and a Stanley Cup winner, has now become creative director of his very own line, Hedie Gear.

Scott Woolley 1:16

So we're let me let me add a few things about Brett. So it's two Olympic US hockey teams he's played on. Over a thousand professional hockey teams. That's great. Which is uh an amazing feat to, you know. And on top of it, he's put the Stanley Cup over his head, raised it, and drank out of it because uh he won the Stanley Cup as a hockey player. In the last few years, he's been a broadcaster for the San Jose Shocks, and he's still very involved in hockey. But more important and more interesting is his entrepreneurial direction that he's taken in life, which we really want to dive into, having to do with his company Heady Gear.

TIffany Woolley 1:54

So welcome, Brett.

The Patch-Backpack Origin Story

Bret Hedican 1:57

Man, I thank you uh for the introduction, Scott and Tiff. Uh you know, you guys uh I always smile when I think about you too, because I've we've had so many great moments together over the years. And uh, you know, the hockey journey, as you guys referenced, you know, a long career, but through those that career, you meet a lot of great people along the way. And uh, you know, Scott, you were the first person I ever met when I was traded to the Florida Panthers. I was on the plane with the team after we met the team in New York. They had played the Rangers, I believe, that night when uh me and Pavel Burray got there with the team, and they said, uh, you got to sit here on the plane. The only seat that was left was the seat next to you. And that was when our friendship started.

Scott Woolley 2:38

You know, uh and a and a funny thing about that day, which is kind of a first and a last for me, was is that that was the last time that I spent the uh an evening and an afternoon with my friend John F. Kennedy Jr. I took him to the game, the two of us sat and watched that game, and then I got on the plane with the Panthers to fly home and met you, and it was kind of like the start of our friendship. The same, yeah, same to that.

Bret Hedican 3:03

Incredible. Um yeah, it just a lot of fun, you know, through the years of playing hockey. And and as you referenced, uh, I was really lucky to play in Olympic teams and then play in the NHL a long time and then did some broadcasting for the Sharks and now doing some work with the Anaheim Ducks. Uh, unfortunately, to try to stay around the game. I love working with players and I love the idea of trying to make uh guys better. And uh that's one of my passions as well is just trying to pay it forward. You know, I had a lot of great people helping me along the way and and guiding me. And now I had the opportunity uh with the the Nheim Ducks and the San Diego Gulls or Maya League team to work with a bunch of young players. But yeah, my passion as well, and something I started a few years ago was this HeadyGear.com. And um, you know, it really stemmed from uh a fishing trip I went on, and we can get into that. But yeah, um you can see my patches and some of my bags behind me. Uh uh, it's been a lot of fun to kind of do something that's outside my comfort zone. You know, clearly was an athlete, wasn't an entrepreneur, entrepreneur, and uh here I am uh trying to do uh you know, stay in the game of hockey, but yet also trying to be an entrepreneur.

Scott Woolley 4:13

Right. Designing a new business that you've never had never done before.

TIffany Woolley 4:17

So, where did the idea originate from? Well, let's explain what the idea is. Yeah, absolutely.

Scott Woolley 4:24

Because I I've always, since the day you first told me, I thought it was a fantastic idea, taking your memories and the things that you know you love about your life and you want to remember about your life and carrying them with you by putting them onto a backpack or a bag that you take, you know, take with you as you travel through life.

Bret Hedican 4:44

Yeah, uh, it happened about eight, eight years ago, and I go on an annual fishing trip with uh some of my best buds, and we go up to Canada and we we drive, it's about a six-hour drive in a van, and then we cross the Canadian-American border, we drive another 30 minutes. We the float plane's waiting there for us. We get on the float plane, we take it to my buddy's house. And uh, the one year I was on to do something special for this group, and I went and got these kind of tactical looking backpacks. I brought them to a guy in in in downtown St. Paul, Minnesota, and I had them put Velcro on the front panels and the side panels. And then I went and got their name tape created. If they ever caught a 40-inch muskie, it's a it's a big fish. Not really good-looking fish, but these fish that we catch. Um, if they ever caught a 40-inch muskie, I got a patch for that and I put it on their bag. Um, I went and found every guy's college that they went to, uh, you know, put that on their bag. I created a 50-inch muskie patch that I gave to Greg, whose house we go to, and I said, Greg, you're the only guy that can pass out these patches. If a guy catches a 50-inch muskie that night at dinner, you get to present him with a patch. But over the years, I would collect patches uh in the winter months. So getting ready for the summer annual fishing trip, I would have all these patches in my pocket ready to go. And at dinner, if a guy did something special, caught a special fish or whatever, I would present them with something that was special or significant in their life that I would do a little research on. Like uh my one buddy takes his father to the Indianapolis 500 every year, and I found this really nostalgic Indianapolis 500 patch. And well, he caught the biggest fish that day, and I presented it with them. I presented that patch to him uh at dinner. And uh, so over the years of you know, seven years, eight years of doing this, um, each of these backpacks kind of became a story of of every guy's kind of life and and moments that they've had in their life. And uh that's kind of where the business star sparked. I took a photo with all these backpacks laying there next to the float plane, and and that's kind of where that idea of man, I think I think we've got something here as a business, and uh, and here I am.

TIffany Woolley 6:50

That's so exciting.

From Idea To Launch

Scott Woolley 6:51

So now, how many patches do you have? Because you have so many different categories. I mean, from sports and tell us more about that.

Bret Hedican 7:01

Yeah, so um I I think the one thing I've been trying to uh accumulate here over the little while is uh licenses, you know. And so I was fortunate enough, you know, being an NHL player, uh, went to the NHL, told them my idea. And so my patches are not iron on. They're actually have velcro sewn on the back, and all my backpacks have the the loop velcro, the soft velcro. So the hook is on the hook patch, velcro is on the patch, and the loop velcro is on the bag, and those two are just being able to marry each other. And you can take the patches off and move them around. And those patches, once they're on your bag, they don't come off. I've traveled around the world with my backpack and never have lost one. But the NHL license is one that I have. I've now also uh accumulated two of the college uh, you know, holding companies. One is called the CLC College Licensing Company, and they have hundreds of universities that they take care of their licensing program. And then Exemplar is another one that I have Boston College uh as one of my universities. But um, those are two of the uh licenses I have now. I'm working on more, uh having great conversations with, you know, the NBA and others, and uh, you know, trying to over time uh keep acquiring uh licenses to be put on my bags.

Scott Woolley 8:13

Right. But besides sports, you also have like state parks, you have music. I mean, you have so many other categories, correct?

Bret Hedican 8:21

Yeah, you know, I I think the one category, and you mentioned national parks and destinations. Uh we've got destinations from all around the world. Um, it's been fun to kind of give my kids destinations that they've traveled to, Scotland and Ireland and places. You know, my daughter was in a play over at the French Festival in Scotland. It was neat to present her with a patch of Scotland that she had been there. But uh, we also carry these miniature flags, um, which are really fun, where you, you know, the more countries you've been to, uh, you can put these little miniature flags on your bag and and you know represent all the places that you've gone to and had experiences in.

TIffany Woolley 8:57

Okay, so now you've had this fishing trip and you've been collecting all these patches and this little idea and this business is born. What was your first steps?

Bret Hedican 9:10

Man, I you know, that's I know you guys are entrepreneurial and you know the steps. And Scott, somebody like you, you have that blueprint on in your brain, but for me, it was okay. I kind of looked at it as like a little bit in in my hockey career, where you just got to start putting one foot in front of the other. Okay, what's the first thing I need to do? Well, first thing I have to think about is how I'm gonna create these bags and where I'm gonna manufacture them, and then how am I gonna create patches? Where am I gonna go manufacture that? And you start kind of reaching out to people you know and you know, um, different manufacturing companies that you can kind of track down. And that's kind of where the journey started to see, okay, is this possible for me to start doing this? And then once that starts to happen and you start to think about man, I think I can do this, I think I can manufacture product, then it's you know, logo, it's it's all these other things that are gonna come about. And then there's this one moment that you know you start getting all your product in, and you're still scared on whether or not you're gonna launch this darn thing. And you get people around you to say, Brett, you got to go for it. Now's the time. And uh, and that was the day that you know I had somebody inspire me to say, just hit the switch, let's turn the website on and go for it, and we'll we'll kind of make it happen. And and uh, but it's a it took a couple years to get to that point, Tiff. Um and as you know, um, it takes time to manufacture product, so it doesn't happen overnight, but um eventually launched it in you know end of uh 2023, I guess.

Licenses, Categories, And Craft

TIffany Woolley 10:42

So how do people be is it mainly website driven? Is that where people go to purchase, or are you available in stores? Are there pop-up shops? What's the sales drive?

Bret Hedican 10:56

Yeah, so currently we are um online. So at headygear.com, that's my website. Um, we also sell on Amazon, we sell on Target, we sell on Walmart, um, we've sold on Timu. Um so we're on a lot of those platforms. We're also in uh college bookstores. Um we've we you know we've we've got uh about 25 college university licenses at this point, and we're working um on more of the bookstores currently as we speak. We've we probably are in eight stores right now in college bookstores and working on more. Um we do have some retail locations as well, Tiff. So these are areas that we continue to try to grow. Um love to be able to be in more locations, and that's uh kind of my goal here in 2026.

Scott Woolley 11:40

But it's a great inspirational story in what you're talking about, you know, coming from a world of sports your your whole life, you know, and and training for that, and then waking up one day saying, I'm gonna start creating this this line of bags, and you know, then launching that business. And and like you said, you know, continually pushing forward, even though you don't really know where and how to get it all done.

Bret Hedican 12:06

Yeah, I I I think I can lean on some of the things that I did in my hockey career, Scott. And you know, there was lots of moments that I had where you fail and you you have to go back to the drawing board and you have to think, okay, if I didn't win the Stanley Cup this year or I had a difficult season, you know, the only place you need to look is in the mirror. Yep. And you need to kind of start to think, okay, where are the areas that I am weak? And you have to give yourself honest feedback. And sometimes that honest feedback isn't fun. And as you know, um, you know, it's hard to kind of look at your own warts and your own things that you have within your own game or your own personality or whatever those things are and try to address them. And as I did that with my hockey career, and I wasn't afraid of doing that, and I had enough humility. And so for me, humility means that you don't have all the answers. And so that's where I kind of was able to do that throughout my career and go back to the drawing board. And over time in my hockey career, you start putting yourself in good situations to win. And eventually, as you mentioned earlier, we won in in Carolina in 2006. But when I raised the cup over my head, it was like, holy cow! And and and literally the cup is over my head, and I'm thinking to myself, I was right. I was right to keep going, I was right to try to keep trying to get better, I was right to not give up on myself and leaning to others that gain support from friends and family and make those calls sometimes to have people pick me up. Uh, I was right to just not ever stop trying to get better. And so, you know, with that knowledge of going through that journey, Scott, I think that's kind of what I've tried to apply to business, knowing that I don't have all the answers and that I can keep going back to the drawing board and looking at myself and ways and reaching out to people to make me a better businessman.

TIffany Woolley 14:08

So obviously, being an Olympian and also having, you know, the hockey career that you had, there's a lot of routine and a lot of repetition and a lot of hard work and perseverance. How do you balance that now in your entrepreneurial role?

Bret Hedican 14:28

Well, it's yeah, your time is is valuable and you have to respect uh your sleep. Um you know, you have to know that you do have to um spend time every day. You know, I do a lot of work on on for the hockey team too, and that's really a priority as well. And so managing my time, you know, my spare time knowing that I can spend on the business. And then surrounding my my team, my my business team has been fun to kind of reach out to to people to help me with with uh all the little nuances of my business, TIFF, that can take care of things that, you know, are things that aren't my strength. Right. And they can take it, take it over.

TIffany Woolley 15:09

Delegate.

Building Operations And Sales Channels

Bret Hedican 15:10

Um, yeah, delegate and making sure that people are are doing uh the things that you want them to do. And and then, you know, really supporting your team, you know, being positive with your team and making sure that they know you're here for them when when they need you.

Scott Woolley 15:22

So when you started this and you can't and you had the idea of doing this, I look at it from a perspective as is that you jumped into a lot of things that you probably didn't have experience in, manufacturing, creating a website, figuring out how to, like you said, come up with these and find these patches, the licensing to the patches, the pricing and putting the pricing all together, and then the ship. I mean, there's so many aspects that you had to learn. I mean, was that overwhelming? Did was that you know, did you take one at a time? Did any of that deter you from wanting to go forward with this?

Bret Hedican 16:01

Yeah, it's you're right. When you when you start to piece it all together and all the things that you have to accomplish, man, there's a lot there, right? And and Scott, you know, I mean, being an entrepreneur and Tiff, you know being an entrepreneur and your own business um as well. Um there's a lot to tackle. Um, but if I were to look back at where I ended my career, and if I would have given up because of all of the things I would have had to learn to do what we did in 2006 and win a cup, um, would I have kept going had I known how difficult it was gonna be?

TIffany Woolley 16:37

Right.

Bret Hedican 16:37

You know, and I think, you know, learning that lesson um and knowing that you don't have all the answers and that you're gonna have a lot of things that you have to learn um is something that I did learn through my hockey career and and and playing through some tough moments and and again going back to the drawing board so many different times. But Scott, it's it has been intimidating at times. And and Tiff to answer your question as far as time and how do you manage it, there has been moments where you get a little overwhelmed. Um, and then I just try to breathe, you know, just try to slow down, uh, try to enjoy life a little bit, knowing that sometimes it's it's you have to let your hands off the wheel and you're gonna trust the people around you um and let them do what they do. And then also um, you know, believe that everything's gonna work out if you keep your head pointed in the right direction and doing the right things. And I think sometimes doing the right things is just being positive, uh with yourself and people around you.

TIffany Woolley 17:36

So as you've dive dove into this new, you know, entrepreneurial part of with Heady Gear, what is the most satisfying part for you? Is it like seeing the new patches? Is it seeing the branding come together? What where does the most gratification come?

Bret Hedican 17:54

Well, I was in a airport in San Jose. Um and I saw this young kid with one of my bags.

TIffany Woolley 18:01

That's huge.

unknown 18:02

Yeah.

Bret Hedican 18:03

And I saw the patches on it, and he was so proud. I went over and introduced myself to him. I said, How do you like your backpack? And he didn't know who I was at the time yet. And uh he goes, Oh, he just was so positive about the backpack and he loves it. And I said, Well, I'm I'm heady, I'm I'm the guy that started the company. He goes, Oh, and next thing you know, we took a photo and so forth. But you know, I think my goal is to know that uh, you know, if I anywhere you go around the world someday and you see a backpack with patches on it, I want people to say, Oh, that's a heady pack. Yeah, you know, that's a heavy backpack. That's one of those ones that you can put patches on it, and uh, so that's gratifying for me is seeing my backpack out in the wild. I get photos all the time, Tiff, of people, you know, Mount Fuji, they climb Mount Fuji and they had my backpack with them and took a photo.

TIffany Woolley 18:52

Crazy.

Bret Hedican 18:53

Yeah, and and just special places that people and gathering moments in their life and that they send me photos from all around the world uh is has been really gratifying.

Scott Woolley 19:02

So, do you have a Mount Fuji patch?

Bret Hedican 19:05

I am working on a Mount Fuji patch, uh Scott. I I think that's uh exciting for me to think about all the places and the patches I still yet to accomplish and get them in the store. But um, you know, we we will continue to grow, uh hopefully as uh as I continue to truck along here.

Scott Woolley 19:23

I mean it's limitless, but the how many it really is limitless.

TIffany Woolley 19:27

I mean, and you could even have upload images, people to the site and you know, create them and all that good stuff.

Athlete Mindset Applied To Business

Bret Hedican 19:35

Yeah, well, we and we create custom patches for people. Um, and teams. We worked with lots of different teams that call us and say, you know, we really love to make a five-year, 10-year, 15, 20, 25-year employee patches. So that's five patches right there. We want to do a team logo, we want to inspire. We have a a saying that we want to utilize and lean into this year for the year. Can we create a patch for that? And so we'll put this whole program together for companies. And uh, you know, I think when I look at my backpack, there's a couple of patches. Well, they're all of them mean something to me, but there's a couple that really are the ones that set me on a course in my life that um that it taught me what a team looks like. Um, there's the the patch from 1994 Stanley Cup Finals patch. Uh we lost, lost in game seven. Uh it's a it's kind of a painful moment because you when you don't win, you get all the way to the end in game seven and you lose. But what I felt in those moments of 1994 and that patch and what it means, um, it was one of the greatest teams I'd ever felt from the inside. And the support that every guy gave one another, there was a reason why we had success. And when I see that patch, it reminds me of that feeling, you know, that feeling and what teamwork looks like. And so um, you know, that's why I like doing custom patches for for people and teams, and and why we're capable of doing some really fun things to inspire people to keep doing amazing things.

TIffany Woolley 21:14

So, how many backpacks do you offer now or bag styles?

Bret Hedican 21:19

We offer six back. Oh, yeah, sorry, Tiff. We offer uh six backpacks, and I'm working on two new ones. Um I'll grab them.

TIffany Woolley 21:27

Um this is uh Oh, that's a good I see where you're going with that.

Bret Hedican 21:33

So this is uh kind of a fanny pack that we've just recently worked on. Um and these will be coming out uh fairly soon.

TIffany Woolley 21:41

Yeah.

Bret Hedican 21:42

And then we also we also did like a crossbody like this that comes in on the body and comes this way. So uh another bag that we're working on. So total it'll be uh it'll be eight bags um when those are in stock. So do you see more?

Scott Woolley 22:00

Coming more styles, more types of bags.

Bret Hedican 22:02

Yeah. I I I hope so, Scott. I I think that's the area that I need to improve. Um, styles that are will really resonate with with the people today. And I think we're doing a decent job. I know that's an area that I want to continue to improve upon. And um, you know, business development is something that I want to, you know, get the right people on board, my team, uh, to help me continue to grow and and in the uh in the bag area for sure.

Scott Woolley 22:26

Yeah. So there's another title you can put to your name, designer. Well, yeah, you're a designer because you're you're designing bags, you're designing patches, you know, you've designed this new business, you know, so there's a creative side to it, not just the business side to it, you know, that you've you've dove into. And it's extremely creative what you have put together here. I mean, the design behind it all, the idea behind it all, you know, and it's letting people really design their life, you know, taking what you know, the design of their life and put it onto something they get they're gonna carry with them and show off it's showing off the design of their life.

Bret Hedican 23:09

Well, it's it is when when you carry one of my backpacks or bags uh around uh even an airport or travel around the world, you're gonna get stopped. People are gonna come and ask you what you know what the patches mean. And um, there's definitely it it's a story that just continues to open, you know, that every person's got their own story, everybody's got their own journey. And uh, I think when we're on that journey, it's uh the the moments that we've learned on on how to do something, and or uh a moment that never that changed your life forever when you traveled to a certain destination uh that you never will forget. That and you'll and life will never be the same afterwards, right? These are yeah, these are things that we stand for. But um it's uh you're right, Scott. It's a designer could be added to the title, but um, you know, I think uh again, the humility of not knowing all the answers and trying to continue to get better is is one of the things I continue to lean on.

Scott Woolley 24:02

Yeah.

Time, Team, And Delegation

TIffany Woolley 24:04

So do you still carry that first heady backpack or in your fishing crew, do they still have the same one or have they evolved? And then do you just move the patches?

Bret Hedican 24:15

They they a lot of them have kept the very first backpack that I created, but they all have one of my heady packs too. So they they they they utilize both for sure. Um uh yeah, they they have been uh I think they've because they fell in love with that very first one that I ever created for them. Um it's it's been hard to separate from that.

Scott Woolley 24:34

So, question have you thought about a duffel bag? Or, you know, I I think about this because we before we started this podcast, we were talking about music and our and our girls and so forth. Excuse me.

TIffany Woolley 24:47

Well, even yeah, the bags for music equipment.

Scott Woolley 24:50

Yeah, a guitar bag. I mean, I just think of our kids with their guitar bags going out.

Bret Hedican 24:56

Well, I've already created samples for a duffel bag, I've already created samples for an electric and acoustic guitar. Oh, you are having a game.

TIffany Woolley 25:04

All right, good.

Bret Hedican 25:04

Yeah, I've already got those ready to go, and uh they're they're really cool. Um, you know, I think once we start maybe Sweetwater or Guitar Center or somebody like that, that I could, you know, create a relationship with that we could do patches that could go on there. I mean, you think about all the rock concerts that people go to, and I and I really feel like, you know, my company, we've always kind of referenced it as we're a cross between a letter jacket and a guitar case, right? Right? We're somewhere in between there where you know, these different moments uh of of guitar uh you know, rock bands that you've either seen or you know, backstage passes that you have that are on your your guitar case to uh the letter jacket that you had accomplishments. So we're I think we're somewhere in between there, Scott. But yeah, I do have samples for all of those things and you know hopefully we can uh we can start manufacturing those someday when we get the right relationships built.

TIffany Woolley 25:59

So as the heady gear continues to grow, who who is the best at putting your message out there? I mean, obviously your story is great, but is it social media? Is it aligning yourself with you know cross-promotion? We kind of talk about that a lot here too, just how you know social media is such a huge way of getting the brand awareness out there.

Product Line: Packs To Crossbodies

Bret Hedican 26:25

Yeah, we're we've uh we've done a lot of work in that social media uh arena, Tiff. I'd I'd say, you know, Instagram, Facebook, um, Google ads. Um we've uh we've also tried to work with Amazon as well. Um, working with the National Hockey League and even some of the universities, we worked with uh influencers in college. I know the the whole college environment now with uh the NIL and working with college athletes in general um is a new landscape that people are learning. But you know, for all the bookstores uh that we're in in some of the campuses, we've tried to find, you know, five to eight athletes within a campus to be able to support their journey, give them a brand ambassador type of thing. Yes, exactly. Brand ambassadors that we've worked with uh within some of these universities have been really fun. Not only for them to carry my bag and and to utilize uh the patches and be able to represent the university, but also to kind of start to learn who these athletes are and and and follow them a little bit on their journey and as we follow them on social media. So that's been a really fun thing for me too. Being an athlete and a student athlete and what it takes to be able to keep all those things together. It's almost like what you had referenced before, Tiff, and asking me the question as far as time. You know, I almost feel like student athletes are um are so focused because they have to be. They can't be out doing all a lot of other things, you know, partying all those other things because they got they got to study, they've got to get to class, they've got to work out, they've got to get the practice. And before you know it, you you become this really regimen and uh person that can get a lot of things done. So we love student athletes and the way they uh are committed to their sport.

TIffany Woolley 28:06

So that's really who you guys align with primarily right now.

Bret Hedican 28:12

Yeah, I'd say that's who we're aligning with right now. But I I think I'd love to lean into you more, Tiff, you're full of speaking aligned too. You know, I think you're you guys are so good at this stuff, and you know, why I I I love talking to you guys, uh, even not on the podcast. I mean, I love talking to you guys in general to find out what are some of the things you guys are doing to help your guys' business grow. And I'm always willing to learn.

TIffany Woolley 28:36

So, do you go to any conferences that you know that are about entrepreneurship that you found helpful?

Bret Hedican 28:45

Yes. Um we have I have been working with uh somebody here in San Diego, um, you know, helping me just become uh use AI a lot better. You know, I think when you're a small company, um, you know, teaching your people how to use AI is something that I think is is extremely important. Um because you can make yourself bigger than you are. You can you can add 10 employees by just using AI.

TIffany Woolley 29:14

Isn't that the truth? Jeez.

Bret Hedican 29:15

Yes, it's it's been phenomenal to kind of learn how I can utilize that more deeply. Um yeah, we we do do some conferences as well. I I know we we just were in the uh sports um uh uh licensing show and tailgating show in Vegas. Um CamX is coming up and and we're gonna also go, that's for the college bookstores. So I know my team is uh is ready to do those um expos. But overall, uh, you know, it's again, I think learning how to continue to grow and be bigger than we are right now as as a company and knowing that uh at one point we're we're gonna just you know, you hope you just take off.

TIffany Woolley 29:55

So where do you like what is your goal set for the future? I mean, do you see a brick and mortar or like what would be the you know, the next like pinnacle?

Bret Hedican 30:07

Yeah, brick and mortar would be terrific. I think if if you walked into a you know Target, let's say or Walmart um during school before, you know, back to school time, and you you have an opportunity to buy a backpack that's plain, or you have an opportunity to buy a backpack that's a heady, yeah, and you've got the opportunity to embellish it with different patches and different inspiring quotes or whatever that might look like, um, that would be something that I could see moving forward. I'd love to be able to be in a in a sporting goods store where you walk in there and you, you know, you want to have the Minnesota Timberwolves, you want to have the Minnesota Wild, and then you want to have the Minnesota Vikings and the Minnesota Twins all on your backpack. Kids just don't want one logo on their backpack anymore. They want multiple logos. Absolutely. Yeah, I see us in both of those arenas, Tiff. I would love to be in the city.

TIffany Woolley 30:58

So exciting. Yeah, that's that's really where it's the target concept for back to school is really cool. What about Olympic crossover too, with with the Olympics coming to California and your backyard and your history there?

Music, Duffels, And Future Designs

Bret Hedican 31:17

I would absolutely love to be involved with the Olympic uh team, uh, particularly the United States team and and or the you know uh Olympic committee in general. Um I I think that connection with you know the country, with uh your teammates, you know, your number. Um, you know, there's so many things that we can do, inspiring things that they can remind themselves that is on their bag, you know, leadership uh patches that you can put on your bag. Um there's there's just so many things we could do, but that would be a terrific bridge over, uh Tiffany, you know, to be able to do that, uh you know, connect connect that dot with the Olympic committee.

Scott Woolley 31:57

Let's let's go back to the beginning when you first started this for a minute. Did when you came up with this idea and you started talking to friends and and people and so forth to help or to get information, did you face any skepticism?

Bret Hedican 32:12

Um, you know, one of my good buddies, Greg Gardner, who's had some success like you, Scott, in business. Um I I was skeptical on my of myself, right? I was thinking, okay, how am I gonna do this? And reaching out to Greg, I'm like, Greg, you want to help me? And he's like, Nope. Nope, you've got this. And I think I asked him once, and then I asked him one more time, and he says, Nope, you got this. And I think hearing that no twice was enough for me to kind of get punched in the nose and to know that okay, sometimes you just gotta believe in yourself. And I think that's been one of the things I've had to do through this process is know that you're, you know, you you've got to be able to believe and invest in you.

TIffany Woolley 33:07

Well, that's something that you clearly have known for since you were young. I mean, to keep up, you know, the the intensity that you had to maintain to in your youth to become as successful in hockey, you know, that's definitely something you live by.

Bret Hedican 33:27

Yeah, there was many moments. Um, one that comes to mind is uh freshman in college. I was recruited uh to be a forward uh in college, but I was I never played forward the position in my life. I was always defenseman. And so as a as a freshman, uh being in the position that I never played before, I was in and out of the lineup. And I wasn't, and the nights I wasn't playing on a weekend, I was up in the corner of the building hitting the play button on the cassette player to be able to play music on the intercom during the game. And so literally, you go from that as a freshman to walking in the coach's office after the season saying, Listen, coach, I know you recruited me as a forward, but I've never played the position in my life. Give me a chance at defense. And he says, you know, we'll come back next year as a defenseman, we'll see how it goes. I think, you know, years later, he I asked him about that. And he said, Yeah, I thought I was gonna cut you off the team, your sophomore year. But I came back, made the team as a defenseman, had a really good, solid sophomore year. And that's when I took off my junior year as a defenseman, and I guess the rest is history. But there was moments like that throughout my career that I had to continue to believe in myself, even when the kind of the chips were against me, and there were moments where I could have quit, uh quit on myself, but I didn't. And I think learning those lessons early uh in life have now helped me uh as well uh as being an entrepreneur.

TIffany Woolley 34:56

I love that. So where do you think that growing up in St. Paul was it, St. Paul, Minnesota?

Bret Hedican 35:04

Yep, that's it, Tiff.

TIffany Woolley 35:06

So do you think that those were the you know, the values instilled back then?

Marketing, NIL, And Ambassadors

Bret Hedican 35:12

I think watching my parents, you know, both work a couple of jobs, you know, as me for as a kid. My dad had a job, but he was also a volunteer fireman. So I'd grew up with in the middle of the night, you'd hear this, you know, this alarm going off, which was his pager that would wake him up where he'd have to get up and get down to the fire department uh downtown North St. Paul, and he'd have to go fight a fire. He was also a paramedic for a while. My mom had a couple of jobs uh that she had as well. And so them working as hard as they did through my youth, I just watched them give me the opportunities that I I was afforded to to have because of their hard work. Right. And and so I think, you know, watching them do that is is instilled a lot of work ethic in myself. I hope. I hope I can be as hardworking as they were, you know, when when I was growing up. And and I really always appreciate my parents for for what they did for me to give me the opportunity when and the things I was able to do.

Scott Woolley 36:16

So so you you currently probably you have what hundreds of patches, thousands? Do you know how many you have at this moment? Yeah, we we've got about 900 patches. 900. So that's probably going to continue to keep growing. Exponentially, I would think. Yeah. Is there one patch right now that you have that kind of sticks out for you that you know, then and then all the rest? Is there one that's more meaningful to you?

Bret Hedican 36:40

Yeah, you know, there's there's this one uh that Trip Tracy from uh the Carolina Hurricanes, he's the color commentator who does uh the commentary for the canes. And he he created a patch called Dig In. And uh I've got that on my bag. Um and I guess for me, dig in just means again, that you you get to these moments that you wanna just you don't have the answer and you and you want to give up, or you you doubt yourself. And you know, you just some days you just gotta say, look, I just I'm just gonna dig in. I'm gonna take one step today, and I'm gonna take one step after I take that step, and then I'm gonna keep moving forward. And with that process, uh it it reminds me some days just to know that you know, this could be a day that you're just gonna have to dig in.

TIffany Woolley 37:29

That's a great one, actually. I love that. So for the patches and in the designing process of all these patches, is there a certain size that you seem to stay within, or is there something that could be too small, too big?

Bret Hedican 37:43

Yeah, I I try to use that three-inch uh basic barometer, you know, Tiff, just to be able to know that if it's anywhere around that three inch, let's say it's lengthwise, it might be a little bit longer, and then maybe width, it might be a little bit more narrow. So uh, but overall, the three inch is really, I think, a sweet spot for us.

Scott Woolley 38:01

And typically on on the on the bags you have, how many patches can you fit on a bag?

Bret Hedican 38:08

Uh 15, sometimes more. Uh depends how big they are. Um, some uh for some of my bags, you probably wouldn't be able to get that many, maybe like eight to ten. Um, but a lot of the the backpacks I have uh the loop velcro panels all on the front and then also on both sides. So you can you can do patches on on all three of the four sides, uh Scott. So it gives you an opportunity to really embellish and be able to customize and personalize the backpack and the bag.

Scott Woolley 38:39

Have you been able to kind of quantify or or or notice or see people who have been buying patches, how many they're typically buying if they're really into the bag and changing?

Bret Hedican 38:52

Yeah, a lot of times we'll get a purchase of a backpack, and a lot of times they'll get two to three, you know, patches to start.

TIffany Woolley 38:59

Yeah, that's why I wonder too.

AI, Expos, And Scaling Smart

Bret Hedican 39:01

Yeah, and I I think moving forward, Scott, we're gonna be doing that a lot more as far as packaging backpacks with two patches to start, uh, where you get get those included in the sale of the backpack or the bag. Um, I I think anytime you can just get get a customer kind of going in that direction, uh, it'll bring them back for for more. And uh that's that's what we'll be focusing on 2026.

Scott Woolley 39:24

And where do you see most people picking patches? Is is there a particular category that people seem to be more interested in displaying?

Bret Hedican 39:33

Um, I think the licensed patches are the ones that are really most popular, the college, the collegiate and the NHL, um and the the miniature flags, I think are the the ones that really sell the most of. I think right behind that is the national parks. Um we we've we've worked with a great partner from Canada that we get some of our national park uh patches from, which has been exciting. And and then you know, maybe the destination and and and music patches are the are the ones that are really behind those. But um really the license patches are are probably the most popular.

Scott Woolley 40:05

So when you say when you said uh flags is what you said?

Bret Hedican 40:10

Miniature, yeah, I've got the miniature.

Scott Woolley 40:11

So are these the flags of the countries?

Bret Hedican 40:14

Yeah, yeah. Country flags, state and state flags too, Scott. Okay.

TIffany Woolley 40:19

Well, like they are all part of making the notations on the bag of who's the beholder, basically. All the things people identify with.

Scott Woolley 40:27

So the current bag that you're carrying what's on your bag? What's on my bag? Yeah, that you're currently currently carrying. Can I go grab it? Yeah, yeah, grab it. Because that'd be interesting. See how much hockey related it might be. Or is it destination? Okay.

TIffany Woolley 40:46

Oh, there and then.

Scott Woolley 40:47

We were just saying while you were getting it, is it more hockey related? Is it more destillation destination related?

Bret Hedican 40:55

Okay, so um this is my current bag. And uh there you see my digging.

TIffany Woolley 41:02

I love that one.

Bret Hedican 41:03

The Stanley Canuck and this is my 1994 pass that I referenced earlier. Yep. That I keep on my bag. And then on this side, you know, clearly I have the uh USA Canada. Love Canada's. I lived there for for the Canucks for a while. Um Olympic, my Olympic patch, and then here's my St. Cloud, my Stanley Cup, the NHL, and then also the 2006 cuff team. But on the front, these are special too. So um, about seven years ago, I started doing some martial arts in Kung Fu uh in Alamo, California. And so this is their logo that I created these patches for them. Um, this is the 50-inch musky patch that is only awarded to somebody that uh catches the catches the fish. That's right. Uh obviously the Kung Fu. I created these patches for our fishing trip last year. Um, the guys I awarded every after every night, I I gave a guy a patch, and this was the patch I gave. So uh we call it Life 360, our group up there that fishes, because you know, we we have the five days a year that we spend fishing together, and then we can't wait when it ends for the 360 days to go by to then.

TIffany Woolley 42:19

So that's so cute.

Bret Hedican 42:20

That's what life 360 means. Um, and then these are just uh uh flags that all mean something to me, uh up on top. So there's uh there's my heady pack.

TIffany Woolley 42:30

There's your heady pack. I love it. So you have two daughters. What do their heady packs resemble?

Bret Hedican 42:40

Um, you know, music, uh, you know, dance, uh school, um, you know, their college logo, they've they've got one of those on their bags as well. So they've just been chipping away at adding adding little memories and some of the miniature flags that they've been able to uh hit some of the countries over the last couple of years as well.

Scott Woolley 42:59

So you've got patches basically for any age group.

Retail Vision And Multi-Logo Culture

Bret Hedican 43:03

Yes. Yeah, what's been fun, Scott, is people say, you know, who's your customer? Man, I if I could pinpoint our customer to one segment or or age group, I I don't think I can. I think we've we've had companies, we've had businesses, we've had teams from all different uh types of uh walks of uh life, if you will. Um, students from college to to grade students, you know, you know, sixth graders to even younger. Um so I'm I'm really excited about you know, really the the breadth of customer that we do have. Um and I I don't know if I could really pinpoint it yet.

Scott Woolley 43:41

So what's the typical price point for bags? What's from like a high and a low?

Bret Hedican 43:48

Our uh base camp model is 45 to 50 dollars. Uh-huh. Um, and then we go uh we have uh several bags around that $70 mark, and then uh our top of the line bag is what we call or summit and that's uh 119. Yeah so that's so we have a great range great pricing compared to bags that you know you you it's competitive pricing for sure definitely and then and then typically what is this the the patches cost an individual yeah like the um the miniature flags are around the the $7 mark Scott and then um our license patches go from you know $14 $13 in that range to sometimes $15 for some of the NHL uh license patches um our destinations and um national parks are around 11 or 12 so we're you know you can you can get a lot of great moments on your bag um you know that uh to get you started for sure that keep you in range. So an individual or a company or a team that like would like to have their own patch made, what's the time frame for that patch to be made and they could have it well the one thing I recommend with people when they send uh the our team a design is you know to have the logo um it have edges around like a some sort of uh shape and in a beginning from that point yeah once I have a uh you know my team has a a shape or the size of the patch that we can agree on it's sent to the factory uh my team then produces a a sample and then within probably four days we give the the customer um the sample to approve once it is approved it takes about three weeks to really get the patch manufactured and then uh be able to ship it to the customer and all the patches are embroidered yes all of the patches are embroidered and all of the patches come with the velcro sewn in the back of the patch so it can be just applied to our loop velcro bags immediately so it's not just no iron or no no uh sewing on the the the patch onto the bag it just it just is placed on the bag and then you're able to you know pull it off and remove it and put it somewhere else on the bag if you wanted to but uh yeah our patches are made to be applied right to the backpack and bag immediately right so the the consumer can move the patches around whatever they want however they want they could change them every day if they wanted that's right that's what's fun and you can trade them you know you can trade them with a friend so you can pack a patch that you like uh or that you want from a friend and they've got one of yours that they want and you can just pull it off and you can trade with a friend and and put it on your bag immediately. But yeah you can move them anytime you want Scott that's what's exciting.

Olympic Dreams And Purpose

Scott Woolley 46:33

Yeah I could see down the road you having commemorative special patches with a limited edition where you're only making say 500 of a particular patch and those 500 people the only 500 people in the world that have it if you want to get it well then you got to try to put it in an auction or see if you can buy it from someone.

Bret Hedican 46:53

That's right. Yeah we did that for the first time um we were at the World Junior Championships this last uh uh just about a month ago and we were able to do a collector's edition world junior patch and it turned out great I think people really responded well to it and uh we we uh our team sold a lot of that patch which is exciting to see and now they can go to the website they can they can put their name their email address and uh register the patch because each one had its own serial number so that's so cool yeah this is something we're just starting to kind of get more into uh our team and um hoping Scott that we'll do a lot more of it in the future for sure. How often do people come to you to request a new patch design I would think that we we have people Tiff sending us uh notes a lot saying hey would really love uh a Sanrio patch we really want you know and and you know we by all means we'd love to be able to make some of these patches but these a lot of the ones that people are requesting are ones that require a license. Oh okay so that's where we have to manage um you know the the opportunity to get the license to then acquire that to then be able to make the patch uh with Velcro so we we as we continue to grow as a company we'll continue to acquire more licenses and have more you know licensed brands on our website that we're able to sell.

TIffany Woolley 48:15

And then when you coordinate by having a licensed brand do you have to give them payment like a fee?

Bret Hedican 48:23

Yes all of the you know licenses that we acquire they come with an advance.

TIffany Woolley 48:29

Yeah.

Bret Hedican 48:29

Pardon me royalties yeah well there's there's there's two things you you have to pay an advance first to be able to acquire the license. Yep um and and that advance then is every time you sell a patch it kind of works against the royalty. And at some point you'll pay the royalty all the way back that you've already advanced them and then you'll have to pay a percentage of every sale after that moment. So interesting it's yeah it's their way that the the brand with the license that say the NHL or the CLC in in every college and university is different. Sometimes you have a a smaller fee for a smaller school and a larger fee for a uh a more popular school that you have to pay in advance yearly and then you you know you hopefully make all that money back and then some uh within every advance that you have to pay out for uh a licensed patch. But yeah there's there's fees to that Scott and that's why um and then the relationship that you have to acquire the license as well.

Resilience Stories From Hockey

Scott Woolley 49:28

Well that's like a whole business in itself from what you're doing when you're getting into licensing that's a whole nother art of negotiating and a whole nother art of business that you've incorporated into what you've put together that actually makes it a little bit more difficult than your average business and just manufacturing and then going and selling a product. So there's a lot to say what you've gotten yourself into and have accomplished.

Bret Hedican 49:56

Yeah huge growth opportunity as well yeah yeah well you're right Scott and and Tip it's been uh that's a huge learning curve when it comes to licensing and to be able to navigate those waters to be able to contact the right people um to be able to acquire the licenses um it is a whole separate business that you have to be able to be ready for um for sure.

Scott Woolley 50:20

So well it's it's also is whoever that licensee is it's them having the credibility or their believing in you that you're going to handle their license properly. So there's a lot you know of a of a relationship that needs to be built of trust.

Bret Hedican 50:39

That is you're absolutely right I mean you you must know a little bit about licensing Scott I'm sure you do and and that whole part of working with the brand to be able to them to trust your company to be able to build it in a way where not only represents uh their brand the right way but then also that you'll produce enough sales for them to make it worthwhile for them to give you the license to be able to sell the patch. So a lot to that uh relationship that has to go on and a lot of trust as well.

Scott Woolley 51:09

Yeah.

TIffany Woolley 51:10

So with hockey being such a huge part of your life and a huge obviously focal for your career do you ever see this becoming a full-time effort I do I do someday see this as being a full-time effort and uh something that I would love to see uh this business take that next step and I I yeah Tiffy that's that's the goal.

Scott Woolley 51:37

And where would you base out of have you thought of that or is there a certain area that leans you know pulls weight more than another you've spent a good part of your life in Minnesota then you've spent a a a long time in Northern California now you're I say a short period of time in Southern California but then you've also North Carolina Florida you know Canada you know places that you live because of Korea is there a place that would be the destination that you'd love to kind of end up at have you thought about that I I haven't even kind of crossed that bridge yet but I'm I'm enjoying San Diego right now.

Bret Hedican 52:20

I think I love this area. I'm downtown here and uh it's just been a great place to live. Um I think right now this will be home base for a while and still obviously I love being back in Minnesota and in the summers as well but for the most part I think I think this San Diego will be my my home base for now. But it doesn't really matter with that business way you could be correct no there's no no reason why I have to stay in in uh California here or you know where I've got to be I can be anywhere at this point. But yeah the hockey part and the passion there Tiffany is still something that's inside me and and still wanting to give back there. But uh there there hopefully is going to be a moment where it'll be uh you know to see if really see if this business can turn out to be something you've got to go all in.

Scott Woolley 53:06

So when you say that this business can turn out to be something quite frankly I look at it and hear you and what I've seen you do do with it over the last few years is it's become something.

Family Roots And Work Ethic

Bret Hedican 53:16

It is something I mean at what point do you are you going to say okay now I've really got to where I want to be with this is there something in your mind where you think that or I think there's so much growth here available still and I think there's such a big runway to continue to see where this company can go. Um I I don't know when that moment will be of man I can look back at and say wow I I think uh this is exactly where I had imagined it I I I think going back to Tiff's question earlier and where we can see this in in different stores and different brick and mortars is really that goal of mine someday where people really want to have a backpack that has more meaning to it than just a plain backpack and and having it in stores uh where the where you can do that um that'll be a moment for me when when those things are happening and we're starting to see you know backpacks walking around in the wild right all over the place that uh that have patches and on them that that that tell a story.

Scott Woolley 54:18

So for people listening or watching to this podcast where do they go purchase their first heady I would say headygear.com would be the best spot to to come.

Bret Hedican 54:29

So it's just h-e-di like yeti except for an H gear.com and uh you'll see the website it it's a it's a great website and you'll be able to you know find your backpack find your patch um kind of get your story started uh it's probably the best place to start Scott okay well Brad always a pleasure to talk with you and spend time together and it's been fun to watch this grow and evolve and you know look forward to going to Target one day and creating our backpack or singing in Target yeah I would love that too well Tiff and Scott I I really appreciate your guys' time I I miss you guys I I can't wait to see you down in Florida sometime soon.

Scott Woolley 55:16

Well we hope it's real soon thank you tell your daughters I miss playing guitar with them the same goes I'll say back to you. Yes exactly you're you're part of the inspiration that got them going when you you know the two or three times you came and played with them they really like loved that kind of camaraderie of playing with someone else and they have referred back to the videos that I took back then numerous times.

Bret Hedican 55:48

Wow yeah yeah I always looked forward to coming into Florida when I was with doing the vlog I know I know that was fun and then being able to come over to your house and being able to play guitar and and we were all we'd play guitar and your daughter would play the drums and then your other daughter played the piano and then we'd have everything going uh at the same time and and playing music but it it's it's fun to see how far they've all come since then and uh and the music that they're creating and I can't wait to see where it ends up going for them.

Scott Woolley 56:18

Well thanks for spending the time with us on the iDesign lab.

Bret Hedican 56:22

Well thank you for having me Scott and Tiffany it's always great to talk to you.

Favorite Patches And Meanings

Voice Over 56:26

Thank you. Bye bye bye bye bye bye iDesign Labs Podcast is an SW group production in association with the five star and TW interiors. To learn more about iDesign Lab or TW interiors please visit TWinteriors.com