Man Goes To Bass Pro Shops. Then He Spots The Hats: ‘I Think Someone Is Getting Fired’

Along with all its outdoor equipment, Bass Pro Shops is known for its bright and quirky fashion items, which include T-shirts and caps. But one of its caps has, inadvertently, gone a little bit too far.

With in-store aquariums and themed hotel rooms, Bass Pro Shops very much pushes the boundaries over in its stores. During a shopping trip, Brady Schnell (@brady.schnell), who was wearing a Bass Pro cap himself, shook his head at the camera.

He then switched the camera over as he held up a Bass Pro-emblazoned hat. The lettering on the hat spells out ‘A– PRO,’ with the ‘B’ mostly occluded on the side of the hat.

On the on-screen text, Schnell added, “I think someone is getting fired.” The TikTok has garnered 816,300 views.

BroBible reached out to Schnell and Bass Pro Shops via email.

‘Marketing Genius’

Commenters were amused.

“That’s literally the reason I got my bf this hat a few years back,” one wrote.

“Just bought it online before they take them down,” a second said.

“Apparel/accessory designer here, there is no what this wasn’t done deliberately,” a third speculated. “And I think that is fantastic.”

A fourth agreed, “The font could’ve been 1 size smaller and all fit. This was def intentional.”

“Nah, you know a guy on the team giggled the whole time he was making those,” a fifth predicted. “It was probably intentional all the way down.”

“Fired?” a sixth asked. “Marketing genius. I want one.”

Bass Pro Shops Hats Have Become A Trend

Over the past six years, Bass Pro hats have gone from being a legitimate fishing cap to a post-ironic fashion item across Gen Zers.

Arguably, it was influencer Kurtis Connor who started the Bass Pro trend back in March 2020. As reported by KnowYourMeme, Connor said in a viral X post: “Ayo someone got me a Bass Pro Shops hat because I made fun of people who wear them and now I can’t stop unironically wearing them check.”

From there, interest behind the hat really picked up steam. Fashion YouTuber Keezy TV said in an August 2020 video that the hats had become trendy, with the hat appearing all over TikTok. By 2022, the Wall Street Journal had picked up on the popularity of the hat and wrote about it.

The #bassprohat TikTok hashtag is full of people sharing their views on the fashion item. Still, with its unintentional new look, it seems likely that the buzz around the hats will only increase further. So, as these commenters have said, this move was either a mistake that ultimately turned out well or very clever marketing.