A while back we had a batch of caps made. Black, with the Chunky Guys logo embroidered in white. Simple, tasteful, the kind of thing you'd actually want to wear rather than shove in a drawer. We sold a few, gave a few to friends, and that was that. No big launch, no marketing campaign. Just a quiet run that disappeared into the world.
Then a photo surfaced from Manchester. Our friend Dale Fox, caught on camera wearing one out and about. We put out a post about it on Bluesky because, honestly, how do you not? A Chunky Guys cap, spotted in the wild, on someone people might actually recognise. It felt like a moment.
Rumour mill spinning: Rising star @dalefox.bsky.social seen stepping out in Chunky Guys gear. No comment from his team, but consider our caps officially elevated.
The thing is, there aren't many of these caps out there. We're talking about a genuinely tiny number of people who own one. It was never meant to be exclusive, it just ended up that way because the run was small and we never got around to doing more. But the handful that are out there have taken on a life of their own. Someone reached out recently just to tell us they had one, like they were checking in as a member of some unofficial club.
Which got us thinking: maybe it's time to do this properly.
Opening the shop
We're putting together a Chunky Guys store. Starting with the obvious stuff: caps, t-shirts, the things you'd expect. But we want to do it right. Not cheap logo-slapped tat that falls apart after two washes, but things you'd genuinely choose to wear. Things that feel like they belong to the community rather than just advertising it.
We're still working out the details (suppliers, materials, designs) so don't expect it overnight. But it's happening.
Why bother?
Partly because people have asked. Partly because a brand that only exists on screens feels incomplete. There's something about wearing a thing in the real world that changes how a community feels. It stops being just an app on your phone and becomes something you can spot across a bar, or nod at in a crowd, or use as an excuse to start a conversation with a stranger.
But also, honestly: running a platform costs money. Servers, development, infrastructure, none of it is free, and we're not funded by venture capital or propped up by ads. A store isn't going to make anyone rich, but if buying a t-shirt helps keep the lights on while also giving you something decent to wear, that feels like a fair exchange.
Now for the fun bit
Caps and t-shirts are the starting point. But we want to know what else you'd actually buy. Hoodies? Mugs? Stickers? Those are the obvious answers, and yes, we're probably going to do most of them.
Here's what we're more interested in though: what's the most ridiculous thing you've never seen anyone brand and sell? The thing that has absolutely no business having a logo on it, but would be genuinely brilliant if it did.
We've been throwing ideas around and it got out of hand quite quickly. A Chunky Guys chopping board. A Chunky Guys shower curtain. A Chunky Guys doormat, so guests know exactly what kind of household they're walking into. Someone suggested an ironing board cover, which feels deeply unhinged but also weirdly practical. A branded umbrella nearly made it onto the list before we remembered we're supposed to be a community app, not a golf resort.
The point is: once you start thinking about it, you can't stop. And we want to know where your head goes. A deckchair? A dog lead? An oven mitt? A set of coasters that quietly out you to anyone who comes round for a cup of tea?
We're not promising to make all of them. We're not promising to make any of them, depending on how cursed the suggestions get. But we want to hear them. The stranger the better, the more absurd the more likely we are to seriously consider it, and if enough people ask for the same ridiculous thing, who knows.
Tell us. What should we put the Chunky Guys logo on that nobody in their right mind would expect?