We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Gage Speas . We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Gage below.

Hi Gage , thanks for joining us today. Risking taking is a huge part of most people’s story but too often society overlooks those risks and only focuses on where you are today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – it could be a big risk or a small one – but walk us through the backstory.

I had a full time job at a hat shop, here in Nashville. I was working there off and on for three years. I absolutely loved the work. I was making hats for a lot of people from all over the world. I had the best equipment at my disposal. The environment wasn’t the greatest. I’d find myself waking up in the middle of the night stressing if I shut the lights off or something. It was really taking a toll on me. So in June of 2019, I quit. I went to a friends barber shop and had a beer. My buddy told me it was time to do my own thing. I kind of laughed at the idea. Then I was driving home and called my fiancé and told her I had quit, and had a complete melt down. I was freaking out because my daughter was just born a few months prior. So there I was, no job and a mouth to feed. I called a mentor of mine and he told me it was time to start Daisy May Hat Co. I went home and started a Go Fund Me for $3,000. (Keep in mind, I had no idea what I was doing. I’m a high school drop out, with no GED. On paper, I’m the last dude who should be running a business.) In a week I hit $5,000, I figured that’s enough so I shut the Go Fund Me down. Then, I hit the ground running. I haven’t had a boss in 3.5 years. I’m blown away everyday that I get to wake up and make hats for a living.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My name is Gage Speas. I own Daisy May Hat Co. I make custom hats from scratch. Before I got into hat making, I toured full time in a metal band. I started touring when I was 17, my band had gotten signed to a label. I immediately dropped out of high school and hit the road. Then that band broke up, so I spent some time just working for some bands. Then I got in another band when I was 20, then spent the next 8 years living in a van with 5 other dudes. It was a real good time. I always had a love for hats growing up. I used to ride bulls in high school, so my buddies and I would shape our hats over tea kettles and stuff. I wandered into a hat shop one day, the owner said they liked my hat. I asked for a job, got the job, then was an apprentice for the next 3 years. I’ve been making hats for 6.5 years now. I literally have my dream job, I feel like the luckiest dude alive.

I think what sets me apart from other hat companies is, we actually make our hats. We take a 100% beaver felt hat body, steam it, put it over a block, sand the whole thing down, shape it, and tack on the trim. Everything is done by hand. A lot of companies call themselves custom hat companies, but they just take a hat that’s already made and glue tacky shit all over it. And they’ll over charge people. But people think they’re getting this custom product, but they’re getting ripped off. It’s a bummer.

I think I’m most proud of the community we’ve built around Daisy May Hat Co. I try to lift up a lot of my friends that are doing their own thing. Whether it’s a collaboration with Bowen Boots or a Saturday brunch pop up with Coffee, Baby. We have this really rad shop, and we utilize all of it. We’re always doing something in the parking lot. People are always just swinging by and hanging out. It’s a lot of fun. More importantly, we’re educating people about hats. I may not make the hat you’re looking for, but we can certainly point you in the right direction so you don’t get ripped off.

Alright – let’s talk about marketing or sales – do you have any fun stories about a risk you’ve taken or something else exciting on the sales and marketing side?

It’s not so much a sale like, I was against other people. Well, I guess in a sense I was. Any ways, I get this random call from a number I don’t know. I normally don’t answer those calls, but I did this time. It’s a stylist and she wants a custom hat box for one of her clients. I don’t make hat boxes at all. I ask who it’s for and she says, “Post Malone” and I go, “Oh hell yeah, I’ll make the last hat box you’re ever going to buy!” I had no idea what I was doing, I just knew I couldn’t let this opportunity go to waste. I called a few of my friends to see if they can help me out, they all said yes. I designed this hat box with Tyler from Simpleton Goods. He constructs the entire thing, and wraps it with gator leather and lines it with velvet. Then Tory from Gunstone Creations fabricated and forged this amazing handle. It had a barbwire epoxy inlay, with hand forged mounts, it’s seriously the craziest thing I’ve ever seen. Then my buddy Matt from Mental Case Inc, put the whole thing together. It took 4 dudes in 3 different states to make it happen. I was just so blown away by these guys helping me. It was kind of emotional seeing the whole thing come to fruition. Plus I made the sickest cowboy hat to go along with it. It was a pretty rad moment in my career. I just kind of put myself out there, committed to something I’d never done before, and it turned out to be one of the coolest things I’ve ever been a part of. I think sometimes in business you have to do that. It causes you to grow. It’s good to get uncomfortable sometimes.

Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?

It’s kind of funny story. I met my business partner at a bar. We were at a birthday party for a mutual friend. I was sitting outside having a cigarette, he came and sat down at the table. We start chatting, I told him I was a hat maker. He asked me what my dream job was, I told him I’d like to own my own hat company one day. He told me whenever I was ready to do that, I should call him. I kind of laughed it off and we just continued to talk and exchanged numbers before the end of the night. Fast forward a few weeks later, I had the worst day ever at my job. I called him that night, I told him I want to start my own company. I had to write up a bunch of stuff for the business. I didn’t even own a computer at the time. He had to lend me his old one. I still laugh when I think about it. It was such a wild time in my life. I’m so grateful for it. Jared is still my mentor and guide today. He literally changed my life. I never thought I’d have my own business. We’ve partnered up with two other really great dudes and have a solid team.

Contact Info:

• Website: daisymayhats.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/daisymayhatco/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBtGVyXAggQtm-wAEWPSPOw
• Other: info@daisymayhats.com

Image Credits
David Leonard took the picture of me. All the pics of hats are taken by DMHC