On Tuesday, people watching ESPN's First Take may have noticed a unique hat Snoop Dogg wore on the show.
Snoop was wearing a 'Snoop Dogg Hockey Club' hat and because we're such big hockey fans, the hat immediately caught our attention.
A quick Google search led us to PUCK HCKY, a premium hockey lifestyle apparel brand located in Detroit, but we still had more questions we wanted answered.
We know Snoop is a huge hockey fan, if you didn't know that, here's the proof:
So, we know Snoop's a huge hockey fan, but we wanted to know more about the hat and PUCK HCKY, so we reached out and talked to the company's CEO, Matt Marini.
MM: One of our associates, his name is Tom, he's been in the music business forever, he had connections with Snoop's people and we just prepared a bunch of designs just off the top of our heads just to send them over to see what he'd think and he loved it. What's funny is Snoop's camp said actually said this is a perfect fit, like they thought instantly Snoop wears jerseys all the time. He's worn hockey jerseys for 20 years, so they saw it, too, which really made us feel good. Snoop really critiques the stuff, tells us what he wants and we make it and it's very cool. The guy's so busy, insane schedule that he keeps and yet his people are very responsive to us, they help us with promotions and things and it's been a really cool ride with Snoop and we're just starting.
LC: How was meeting Snoop for the first time?
MM: He was here in Detroit the other night, did a show and we got to go to the show and met him after and he's totally approachable, coolest guy and treated Amy and I as his business partners. He didn't treat like some fans, he came up and was talking about the clothes, telling us what he wants us to make him next and I had a couple of ideas to bounce off him. It was an amazing experience and I just can't believe what a personable, approachable, nice guy he is. It was very cool and he's into it and obviously that's the most important thing for our brand.
LC: Is there a design that has any particular meaning for him, like the Snoop Dogg Hockey Club, for example, or is that just something you guys came up with and he really loved?
MM: Actually, we based that on the other sports teams that he's into and him being based in California, I just went back and that 'LBC' is based on the San Francisco Giants logo and colour scheme. Instantly that design in particular has just been a big hit with everybody and it's so funny because it comes out and it has "Snoop Dogg Hockey Club" on it and people wonder what the hell is Snoop Dogg Hockey Club. When we wear the stuff around, you can hear people when you walk by them and they'll see it and you can hear them talk to their buddy and say, "Did that say Snoop Dogg Hockey Club?" It stirs up some interest as well.
LC: What's it like seeing him wear the hat on all of these big shows like First Take or just out in public?
MM: When he wore the hat on Jimmy Kimmel Live the first time and then on First Take, the feeling is kind of hard to explain, we just go crazy. We literally just go nuts. Your heart races like a thousand beats-per-minute and you're like no way is he wearing that on ESPN right now. We made that hat and he's wearing it on ESPN. It's so funny and it's a feeling you really can't describe. You're excited and you're so proud for the brand and it's like wow, people are getting it, people are getting what we're trying to do here and it's just an incredible feeling to see it.
LC: Is there a particular design from Snoop's collection that you like the most?
MM: My favourite, I really like the simplistic the Snoop Dogg script. It is such a sharp design on the blue and white, the Tampa Bay Lightning jersey. That is such a great, simple, clean design and it's just beautiful to see it in person. A lot of people really like the 'Crown S' design. When people see that in person, they're just like "Wow, this is gorgeous." I think those two stick out for me.
LC: So obviously you guys are going to continue working with Snoop and have future designs with him?
MM: Absolutely, now that we've met him in person and actually had a chance to pick his brain a little bit, we've got some really, really cool stuff on the drawing board now. The collection's going to get better and better.
LC: Is there any artist in particular that you have at the top of your list that you hope to collaborate with in the future?
MM: For me personally, if I could get the Deftones, that would be the pinnacle for me personally. I want to work with the Deftones, I'm putting it out there right now.
LC: What about a hockey player?
MM: I think a couple of the younger guys. If we would could get somebody like P.K. Subban with his personality would be insane, but I don't think he's within our grasp, so if there's a younger version of P.K. Subban coming up in the league with a big personality and that's a fashion-conscious guy. Brent Burns would be insane. That would be so fun, so I would say he's at the very top of our list. Whether that's attainable or not is another question, but hey, we got Snoop so you never know, but Brent Burns would be classic because you imagine making a silhouette patch out of that beard of his. Oh man it would be insane.
LC: Is there any story from working with Snoop that sticks out in your mind?
MM: It's pretty funny that you ask that, because of his hair, he has a stylist that modifies our hats for him to wear them so it fits over his hair. It's very cool that we're actually making him some custom things so he can wear them and he's comfortable in them. He really likes the pinstripe hats that we made for him. There's like three or four different colours of a pinstripe hat we make for him and now he wants us to actually make custom pinstripe jerseys so we're going to be doing that.
Snoop Dogg isn't the only star Matt and PUCK HCKY have worked with, though.
The brand has collaborated with a number of bands (Monster Truck, 36 Crazyfists to name a couple) and NHL players (Tomas Tatar, Marian Hossa, Calvin Pickard to name a few) and clearly they're just getting started.
As Matt told us, Tatar was his first big "get" and he pitched him the idea after recognizing him at bank one day and introducing himself.
If you haven't checked out PUCK HCKY's site, make sure to do so now by clicking here!
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(H/T: PUCK HCKY)
