We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jeffrey Brockman a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Jeffrey, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Alright, so you had your idea and then what happened? Can you walk us through the story of how you went from just an idea to executing on the idea

I retired from a career in the U.S. Air Force in 2013 and started working for a local government organization in Tampa, Florida. In the summer of 2020 someone asked me what type of veteran I was. This question caught me off guard – no one had ever asked me this particular question. I replied, “well, I guess I’m somewhat of a hippie veteran.” The idea stuck with me and I decided to have a custom patch made to place on a shoulder bag I carry.

I wore the shoulder bag with the Hippie Veteran patch for about a year. During that timeframe many people inquired about Hippie Veteran, “what’s Hippie Veteran?” One afternoon in July 2021 someone said, “you should do something with Hippie Veteran.” I thought about it and decided to start a clothing company. I conducted an internet and business search to see if the name was taken – it was not! That night I registered Hippie Veteran Clothing Co. as a business then told my wife and business partner, Candace, we were starting a clothing company. She replied, “ok!”

Jeffrey, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I served 17 years in the Air Force as a heavy equipment operator (Dirt Boyz) in multiple Civil Engineering Squadrons. During that time I took a break and served 3 years as a leadership school instructor. Throughout my career I traveled the world and gained a perspective I am very grateful for. My military and veteran communities are near and dear to me. The first charity shirt Hippie Veteran created was a R.E.D. shirt (remember everyone deployed). We donated $10 from each shirt to My Warriors Place – a non-profit veterans retreat in Ruskin, FL.

When we started Hippie Veteran Clothing Company the goal was to get our feet wet for one year and – if all went well – expand the idea into a non-profit to assist veterans with mental health awareness and suicide prevention programs. We have teamed with our good friend Dr. Joy Snook, a mental health doctor, to create Hippie Veteran Foundation. We are hoping for and official launch party in September.

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?

My wife and I live in Tarpon Springs, FL – home to the historic Sponge Docks. The Sponge Docks are located about 30 minutes north of Clearwater and is a tourist attraction unlike any other. I often walk through the Sponge Docks where I scope out the local vinyl shop. I noticed a new store that had just opened – Flip Flops Shop. I was wearing an original Hippie Veteran shirt at the time. The owner asked me about my shirt and it started a long conversation that ended in our first big transaction. She bought over $1k in merchandise – shirts, hats, can coolers, stickers, etc. I was ecstatic! Now I had to teach myself how to create an official invoice. Till this day, Flip Flops Shop in the Sponge Dock Exchange is the only store I allow to carry our brand in this area of Tarpon Springs. Our relationship led to being placed in another Flip Flop Shop in the Florida panhandle.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

The most effective strategy for growing the Hippie Veteran clientele is hitting the streets – festivals, arts and craft fairs, pop-up events. Since our business is sold online at HippieVeteranClothing.com it is necessary to provide potential customs with tangible items. these events allow us do just that.

We also have two Hippie Veteran brand ambassadors – one in Hawaii and Georgia – shout out to Brandon and Clair! We provide them with new merchandise so they can promote it. We think it’s a sweet gig!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.HippieVeteranClothing.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hippie_veteran_clothing_co/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HippieVeteranClothingCo