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The Hawk Tuah Girl phenomenon continues to develop in fascinating ways, as the young woman’s brand manager has revealed that she’s sold over $65,000 worth of merch since going viral earlier in June.
Jason Poteete, the Tennessee brand manager advising Hawk Tuah Girl — real name Hailey Welch — says that her client has received interest “from everyone from large-scale media networks to the WWE,” according to a report from Rolling Stone.
“A day or two after the video started going viral, Poteete reached out to a stunned Welch to figure out a way to monetize her brand.”
They’ve begun selling Presidential election-themed “Hawk Tuah ’24” hats with the Tennessee-based apparel company Fathead Threads for $32.78 a pop, with a $50 hat signed by Welch also being sold.
Poteete estimates that the shop has so far sold a little more than 2,000 hats; though he declined to share exactly how much the company has grossed on her merch, he says it’s “pretty easy to do the math.”
A quick calculation of said math — 2000 hats multiplied by $32.78/hat — equals $65,560, and these numbers are already outdated at the time of this writing, meaning more have been sold since that information was provided.
Poteete adds, however, that Welch is “overwhelmed” by the sudden and massive viral fame. He certainly isn’t making that up, either, as Welch declined to speak to Rolling Stone for the report.
“She’s probably one of the most well-known people in the world at this point,” he said. “But I don’t know if she’s embraced it.”
In recent days, there have been conflicting reports on what level of fame Welch is actually acquiring. On June 26, the New York Post‘s Page Six reported that Welch had signed with powerhouse Hollywood agency UTA.
Just a few hours later, however, TMZ refuted Page Six‘s reporting, saying that sources have told them no such deal exists.