Introducing: BABYMAKER CLUB
It all started with a hat…well, a lot of hats. Over the years I’ve developed a passion for finding and wearing unique trucker hats. And by unique I don’t just mean stylish or cool, but unique in that they fit my rather large head in a normal way.
As an entrepreneur who tilts far more towards the “visionary” type rather than the integrator, I had a dream of creating my own trucker hats a few years back. And finally, over this past year, this dream has become a reality: enter Babymaker Club.
As a dad of three daughters six and under, I wanted to make a hat for fellow dads. Being a dad is one the greatest honors a man could ask for. But it also comes with a ton of responsibility, challenges, and unknowns. And sometimes, putting on a hat is the quickest way to flip your mood. It makes you feel like you again.
I wanted to create something adventurous, funny, and bold that reminded me of the joy in being a dad — or, as we like to say around here, a BABYMAKER (more on that later)!
So about a year ago, I started playing with the idea of making truckers for dads — not just about fatherhood, but something dads would actually want to wear, use, and laugh about.
I finalized the logo. Chose the blanks. Tweaked the designs. And finally, two weeks ago, I held the first run of hats in my hands.
But leading up to this moment, I realized I didn’t just want to launch another hat-for-dads brand into the cyberspace world. There are thousands out there already. I wanted something more.
As a father of three, more often than not, I feel like a failure. Sometimes that feeling comes from comparison, sure — but more often, it comes from something deeper: the haunting reality of choosing me over them.
The pull of self is strong. And it’s sneaky. It convinces me that the email, the scroll, the task, or the comfort is more important than getting on the floor with my daughters.
And when I sit with that too long, it hurts.
I don’t feel like I’m failing because I didn’t plan some elaborate adventure or teach them to play Mozart. I feel it when I let selfishness win. When I don’t give them all of me. When I forget that the little human in front of me is not a 35-year-old with a to-do list — she’s 2. Or 4. Or 6. And she notices when I’m there but not there. Physically in the same room, but mentally thousands of miles away.
Babymaker Club is more than a hat. It’s a movement of dads who understand that their calling as such is one of the greatest honors in life. And it’s a daily reminder that the most important thing we can give our children is also the most finite: our time.
That’s the heart behind BMC.
Acknowledge the imperfections and flaws you wrestle with as a dad and let them go. Embrace the tough stuff. Put on a piece of joy and get after it! Fully present. Fully aware. Fully Dad.
Want to grab a hat in time for Father's Day? Click the link below to grab one before they're gone!
—Pete