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Aviate: My New Favorite Travel Apparel Brand

ByDW
The image shows a collection of baseball caps displayed on a surface. Each cap has a three-letter abbreviation on the front, likely representing different cities or airports. The caps in the foreground have the abbreviations "HNL" and "SEA," while the caps in the background have abbreviations such as "STL," "MOB," "ECP," and "NYC." The caps are in various colors, including black, white, navy blue, and teal.

In the interest of full disclosure, AYP earned compensation for this post. Though I worked with Aviate on the content, all opinions expressed are my own.

Whether flying in the front, or flying in the back, I keep it casual and comfortable.

Denim, sneaks, t-shirt, and of course, my weathered Tampa Bay Rays baseball cap. Gotta rep’ my TPA, both home and away!

If you travel with any sort of frequency, you have a go-to travel outfit, and I seriously hope it looks nothing like this…

A shirtless man with tattoos on his arms and back is standing in front of a table outdoors. He is wearing khaki shorts and sandals. Across the table, a person in a blue shirt is sitting and appears to be interacting with the shirtless man. The setting seems to be under a covered area with greenery in the background.
I don’t like passenger shaming… but this guy deserves it…

My wife gives me a hard time and calls the outfit my “travel uniform,” but I am pretty sure she is just jealous that I have found the perfect travel outfit while she still searches aimlessly…

I have never considered changing up my outfit. That is until I came across a certain Instagram account belonging to the aviation friendly hat & clothing company…

Aviate – the Original Airport Code Brand

Attention All AvGeeks! – ShopAviate.com 

I may not track aircraft registration identifiers but I certainly have other aviation geek tendencies! One of them being my obsession with airports and anything airport code related.

There are other companies who have dabbled in the aviation-themed clothing space…

The image shows a product page from Sporty's Pilot Shop website. The product is a "Tom Cat T-Shirt" priced at $19.99. The t-shirt features an image of a cat wearing aviator sunglasses and a pilot's uniform. The page includes options for selecting the size of the t-shirt, adding it to the cart, and gift wrapping. There are also customer reviews and a section for asking questions about the product. The website's header includes navigation links and a shopping cart icon.
I am actually considering puurrrchasing this myself…

But Aviate is the first brand that seems to have taken off. They have found that a simple airport code is all you need to represent your city – and satisfy your inner AvGeek – while looking stylish and fresh. And lucky for you…

Aviate is offering AYP readers 20% off when using the code AYP17

How do you like them APL’s!?

While Aviate may not have an APL hat for you (APL is the code for Nampula, Mozambique) they have pretty much every other airport code hat you could ever want!

I had the chance to catch up with Aviate’s Community Relations & Event Manager, Randall Porter, to see what they were all about…

The image shows a sign with the text "PLAY HARD" at the top, an illustration of an airplane in the middle, and the word "AVIATE" in large letters below the airplane. Underneath "AVIATE," the text "TRAVEL OFTEN" is written. There is a green cap with the letters "BHM" on it placed on the top left corner of the sign. The background appears to be a wooden surface.
Play Hard. Travel Often. I love it!

DW: To start, how about an introduction?

Randall Porter (RP): Sure! You have myself (Randall), and I am the Community Relations & Event Manager at Aviate. In addition to myself, the Aviate team consists of Ben Lancaster, the Owner and Founder, Maddy Perry, our Creative Director, Jordan Hovater, as our Digital Marketing Coordinator, and Jennifer Frudaker, the Head of Retail/Wholesale.

DW: Great! So now for a little background – How did Aviate get started?

RP: It all started in 2015, with the airport code idea and 100 hats. They sold out in days, and the company hasn’t stopped growing since.

We now have over 100 different airport code hats in over 500 retail stores and the attention of celebrities like Connie Britton, Zac Brown, Kenny Chesney, and Carrie Underwood, to name a few…

DW: So, Aviate is taking off – aviation pun intended! But, what made you choose airport codes?

RP: The airport codes all started with BHM – with the idea of pride & community in our hometown of Birmingham, Alabama. The codes are noticeable and always a point of conversation.

The image shows a collection of baseball caps displayed on a surface. Each cap has a three-letter abbreviation on the front, representing different locations. The caps in the foreground have "HNL" and "SEA" written on them. Other caps in the background have abbreviations such as "STL" and "ECP." The caps are in various colors, including black, white, and teal.
Honolulu, Seattle, St. Louis, and even Northwest Florida Beaches Airport!

While the company was founded with the airport code hats, we are expanding product offerings to include other apparel like t-shirts, sweatshirts, and socks. And eventually even luggage and travel accessories.

Our goal is to be your go-to lifestyle travel brand. When you think about an upcoming trip, we want you to immediately think Aviate and to check out the latest in travel apparel and accessories.

Our products are for everyone, because they represent more than just an airport. They represent a community. They are about pride. Pride in where you come from, and pride in where you are going in the future.

DW: Interesting you say that, since it’s the exact reason I typically wear my Tampa Bay Rays baseball hat everywhere I travel…

RP: We have pride in our community, and we know others do too and want to show it. We really are trying to build a community – and it’s why we don’t just sell BHM hats, but rather get involved in BHM. The Make a Wish Foundation, Ronald McDonald House – we recognize the importance of community and doing what we can to make a difference in it.

Community is universal.

DW: Awesome. I love the community aspect and agree on its importance. Props to you guys for walking the walk. Switching gears a bit, I take it you guys like to travel?

RP: Play hard. Travel often. We work hard at what we do, but we love to have fun while doing it and travel is a great way to mix the two.

We travel around the country, working to expanding the brand and spread the motto – Play Hard. Travel Often – and always enjoy the adventure!

DW: With all that travel, you must have your travel outfits down to a T! What does the go-to travel outfit for the Aviate team look like?

RP: Well a piece of our Aviate gear is a staple! Whether it’s a hat, a shirt, or a sweatshirt – one of our favorite places to wear our product is in the airports that inspired them.

Whether we dress it down in sweats, dress it up with some slacks and a shirt, or take it to the ever-popular athleisure – it’s all about comfort… and about reppin’ your city!

DW: Since you guys are based out of Birmingham, I think I know the answer, but of the hundreds of codes – what is Aviate’s favorite airport code?

RP: Well since we are in Birmingham, you’re right that BHM is an easy favorite. Another one of our favorites is Pensacola… PNS… it always gives us a little chuckle… we can’t help it!

To be honest, we really do love all of our hats and all of our airport codes – each code represents a hometown and a community, and community really is all what we are about!

A green baseball cap with the letters "BHM" in white is placed on top of a folded gray garment. The garment has a small black logo on it. In the background, there are some tags and a red object partially visible. A group of five people are standing closely together, smiling and laughing. They appear to be friends or family. They are standing in front of a wall with a large wooden propeller mounted on it. The person in the center is wearing a black cap. The overall mood of the image is joyful and warm.

DW: Ok, great answer… but how about Aviate’s favorite airline?

RP: The BHM-friendly, Southwest Airlines! Southwest has a good network out of Birmingham, but more importantly, our founder Ben loves the drink coupons that come in the mail!

DW: It seems Ben and I are a lot alike in regards to SW drink coupons… Southwest Airlines, you say? Does the Aviate crew leverage the Personal and Business Southwest Credit Cards for all that Southwest travel? Oh, and have any of you guys ever heard of a little something called the Companion Pass – aka the best travel deal/perk in all of travel!?

RP: As a matter of fact, we are all getting the Southwest personal credit card very soon. Aviate allows us to book personal travel on our own credit cards to earn the points/miles, so this card will provide us quite a nice boost in Rapid Rewards! And as far as the Southwest Companion Pass goes, I have heard of it but never gave it much thought. Maybe this is something we should really look into given our frequent Southwest travel and new Southwest credit card sign-up bonuses!

Final Thought

My “travel uniform” needed an update! An aviation-themed hat (or two) is just the change I am looking for!

For all the mild, moderate and full-blown obsessive AvGeeks out there, and for any and all who are proud of where they came from and/or where they are going – maybe Aviate is just what the doctor (or in this case, pilot) ordered!

And remember…

Use the promo code AYP17 for 20% off of your order

Happy Travels!

DW

The image shows a simple white line drawing of a paper airplane on a blue circular background.

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