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Meet Brandyn Hernandez of The Hip Pops in El Segundo

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Brandyn Hernandez.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Brandyn. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
The Hip Pops got started because for me as a dad, I’m first and foremost ALL about my family, however, there’s a common misconception that once you have kids, we must resort to wearing “dad shoes” (before they were trendy) and lose ALL of our swagger. I believe that our “fresh” still exists and can stay intact, even with kids! We don’t have to compromise our cool, under ANY circumstances. I have three kids ranging from a toddler to a full-blown rambunctious kindergartener, to a preteen. I’m in my late 30’s and have been married for almost 15 years, and still carve out time to maintain who I’ve always been – a Hip Hop Connoisseur, Sneaker Head, Husband & Father!

Just like many people, I’ve had a great career, a bank manager for ten years, district manager in the fitness industry, commercial leasing Sales Director for some very notable companies. However, I wasn’t fulfilled with any title, or any amount of money I made with any of those companies, something was always lacking. It turns out, I’m much better at working for myself, and not necessarily for financial gain, but working with a purpose to represent the underrepresented. Funny as it may sound, dads don’t get the just dues, it’s always about the mom, and rightfully so, for a very long time, dads haven’t stepped up to the plate. But there is a new evolution of the evolved and involved dad who’s not only is present but actively sharing in the responsibility of parenthood. WE ARE THE NEW BREED of dads who take pride in being active participants, we are here to change the narrative.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It definitely hasn’t been a smooth ride. Any successful entrepreneurs will tell you it’s ALWAYS hard, if it’s too easy, then you haven’t pushed your limits. The truth is that I wear many different hats, as an entrepreneur and I think the hardest thing for me is find the time, I feel like there aren’t enough hours in the day to get everything I want to be accomplished! I pride myself on being present and involved in my family life, so balance business needs but also my family gets very challenging, but I do my best to maintain a healthy balance of both.

The Hip Pops – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from others?
“The Hip Pops” came about when I noticed all the cool kid’s stuff was marketed to the moms. If I saw one more ad with a mom in high heels pushing a stroller through an “urban” city backdrop, I’d lose my mind! As an evolved and involved dad, I want to indulge in cool stuff too, and I feel like we dads are underrepresented in the parenting category. I don’t feel as though what’s out there portrays us accurately. So, I decided to curate a little corner of the internet and give you content and products that I think depicts us Hip Pops the right way! A virtual man-cave where us dads can be men, and develop a community with the most important commonality – our kids and commitment to cool.

From that mindset, we’ve been able to do some community outreach, use our Podcast aka “The PopsCast” as a platform for dads to be featured where we talk about men’s fashion and music but most importantly share the stories of dads who don’t have necessarily have a platform to share and be vulnerable in a safe space that will reach thousands of people. We have also started Pops Production Company as well to help the underrepresented to kick start their dreams via the form of content creation, videography, photography, brand development, and podcasting, etc. The Hip Pops is relatively in its infant stage as a business, but we have more extensions of the brand releasing soon that is rooted in building the dad community.

What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
The proudest moment of my career thus far has been so many dads & moms expressing their appreciation for the brand. I get so many messages and emails from people showing love and support and continuing to push the agenda forward. Also, when recording for The PopsCast, I get to hear so many touching stories from first-time dads, 5th-time dads, entrepreneur dads, celebrity dads, regular dads, single dads, young dads, dads who have lost a child, divorced dads, I mean the list can go on. I sometimes pinch myself when I think that this is a platform that I created where men who traditionally aren’t the best at expressing themselves, now have a place they can talk about their experiences and feelings about it in a non-judgemental and safe space. Those are the things that I’m most proud of about my company.

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