Built from something real
Back 40 wasn't built overnight.
It started long before I ever made my first hat.
Growing up, my grandfather — James E. McKeel, "Papa Fuzzy" — always had a hat on. Every day it was a different one. He would get excited to show me when he got a new one, and before long, I too became obsessed with buying hats, just like him.
Just about every picture I have of him, he is wearing a hat — except one. The family photo. One of his rare moments without one on.
He was a hard worker — a baker for most of his life — up before the sun came up, putting on his white work hat and heading out the door. Then he would come home, change hats, and give everything he had to his grandchildren.
Being his first, I felt that first hand.
Back 40 comes from that same place. This brand is about more than headwear — it's about building something with meaning. Something honest. Something that reflects the people, places, and stories that matter most.
Every hat, every patch, and every design carries that mindset.
More than a hat. A story worth wearing.