How Gympie Country Trucker Caps Brett Hanly built his empire

Within half a decade, his caps have become a staple fashion piece in rodeos, agricultural shows and country festivals all over Australia. Meet the sparky who started it all.

Within half a decade, Country Trucker Caps have become a fashion statement selling out at rodeos, ag shows and country festivals all over Australia.

Those young and old, rural and regional residents, tradies, miners, farmers, cowgirls and cowboys have all snapped up the wares.

Brett “Knuckles’ Hanly, with his “missus” Bridie Hanly, run after their little toddler between the shelves of Gympie’s Country Trucker Caps shopfront, while their sales are mostly online, they display a selection of individual trucker caps, with colours and designs that have wide appeal.

Five years ago, trying to find a hat big enough to fit his head, Mr Hanly connected with a friend in China, and it all “snowballed” from there.

“We just wanted money for an extra carton of piss on the weekend, for a holiday, as a side gig,” he said.

“We reached out to a lot of companies and people, and they gave us a chance and a go and it just snowballed into this enormous business.”

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Brett "Knuckles" Hanly with Vincent and Luke Gordon who drove all the way up from Tassie to buy a hat from the store in Mary St, Gympie. Picture: Christine Schindler

In 2020, they started a TikTok account and went from handwriting addresses to dealing with 100 orders a day.

Soon they had to make the decision to quit jobs they both loved, Mrs Hanly as a teacher at Kandanga, and Mr Hanly as a FIFO electrician, to keep up with the sales.

“To date we’ve made more than five million hats,” Mr Hanly said.

Mr Hanly has an infectious personality, but with an authenticity and realness that bears no glitz and glam of celebrity status, that has seen his content go viral multiple times.

“Two people have his signature tattooed on their foreheads,” Mrs Hanly said.

It is this authenticity that has propelled the brand onto heads all over Australia and the world, and Mr Hanly is proud to support community sports and schools with the product and contribute to fundraisers and raffle prizes all over Australia.

Internationally, they once had an order to Lichtenstein and often ship to Canada and the United States.

Brett "Knuckles" Hanly with Vincent and Luke Gordon who drove all the way up from Tassie to buy a hat from the store in Mary St, Gympie. Picture: Christine Schindler

In August 2023, passionate about bringing yarns from the country out in the open, Mr Hanly launched his podcast Proper True Yarns, which covers stories of drunken shenanigans, to battles with chronic illness, dealing with grief and mental health issues.

In the first week of their release, they sat in Australia’s top 10 podcasts, he said.

During the interview with The Gympie Times, a family travelling though Gympie came in to browse the caps.

Mr Hanly greeted them, had a yarn and a photo with them and gave each of them a VIP cap, one that cannot be bought, only given or found.

“We drove all the way up from Tassie to buy a hat here,” said the mother.

One of her sons had been given a cap as a gift at Christmas, and she was soon “educated” over the fashion piece and they scheduled in a Gympie stop in their travels.

For the Hanlys it is not just about having a successful business, but also going beyond that and connecting with customers.

“If we can do a video, or tell a yarn, or have something someone can relate to and have a laugh with, well, yeah, that’s it,” Mr Hanly said.

Originally published as How Gympie Country Trucker Caps Brett Hanly built his empire