120 Years of Wigwam Socks: Sock Science & Outdoor Adventure

HOWARD FOX
0:06

Hello everyone. This is Howard Fox and welcome back for another episode of the Outdoor Adventure Series. Today's episode is sponsored by Travel Wisconsin, who along with Destination Madison are hosts of the 2026 Outdoor Writers Association of America's annual conference, which will be in Madison this year. Matt Brucker is our guest today. Matt is the Director of Global Sales for Wigwam Socks, a heritage brand of fine quality socks that has been based in Sheboygan, Wisconsin for over 120 years. Matt, welcome to the Outdoor Adventure Series.

MATT BRUCKER
0:44

Thanks for having me, Howard. Glad to be here and looking forward to talking about socks like always.

HOWARD FOX
0:49

Fantastic. And I have to say, as I was researching for the episode and I was looking at your products, it brought back some very pleasant memories. 'Cause I think, and I hopefully we'll see this when we visit the website, though, I grew up with, like, all we had were iconic white socks with a red, I remember a red stripe, like around the calf. And I was thinking, that's these guys. And so you, you brought back a memory, a long ago memory, but thank you for that.

MATT BRUCKER
1:19

That's great.

HOWARD FOX
1:19

So I would love to, I'd love to hear a little bit more about some background of Wigwam. It used to be known as, or maybe officially known as Wigwam Mills, but this evolution of the company, 120 years, that's a long time to be in business. And so tell us a little bit about the history of Wigwam, and also we'll get into your role with the company as well.

MATT BRUCKER
1:46

Sure thing. When a company's been around for as long as Wigwam, starting the first facility in 1905, there's no logical reason to change your name. You just kind of roll with the times. When the company first started making socks in Wisconsin, it was actually a hand-knit hosiery company, and socks were completely knit by hand. And then you fast forward through the generations and Industrial Revolution, more automation machinery coming from Italy and other parts of the world. And so Wigwam continued to evolve to maintain relevancy in the industry and with consumers. And that experience you shared about the white athletic sock, whether it was completely white or had one stripe or two stripes, that's the bread and butter of what Wigwam's done for 10, 20, 30, 40-plus years. But we have blossomed into so much more than just athletic.

MATT BRUCKER
2:45

We have athletic, we have work socks, we have outdoor socks, we have socks for people with diabetes and swelling in the legs. And so we continue to evolve. And in doing that, we want to simplify. And so there's not a lot of mills left in the country, whether you're making socks or fabric or paper. for that matter. So transitioning into Wiggle On sock company just allows us to attract eyeballs and attention from a younger audience who isn't as— not open-minded, but isn't aware that products are still made here in the USA. And that's obviously incredibly important to us. We're going on the 4th generation family owning the company in Sheboygan, Wisconsin.

MATT BRUCKER
3:32

And we have multiple generations of families that have been able to work and purchase products from us. And we just want to continue to be that iconic brand where people can go back and continue to find the sock that they've been wearing or their father or grandmother's been wearing, but also they can find something new as we continue to evolve and use new materials and new methods of manufacturing. We can present something to them that they may have never seen in the industry before.

HOWARD FOX
4:03

Excellent. I'm curious. So back when I was a kid, and I know I'm not going to state my age, but let's just say it's been a little while.

MATT BRUCKER
4:11

We can take a good guess.

HOWARD FOX
4:12

Yeah. Thank you for that. You know, I was thinking, I mean, I grew up with, I mean, everything was cotton socks when I was growing up. Then this thing called polyester came into being.

MATT BRUCKER
4:26

There is.

HOWARD FOX
4:28

And I know wool has always been around. It's been— and then the newer, other scientifically grown materials, but then there's also some new material. Material's been around like the alpaca, which we're gonna talk about a little bit. And by the way, when I saw Woolworth's and you mentioned alpaca before we start, click record, you had me because I just love wool. There's just something about it.

MATT BRUCKER
4:52

And so not alone. A lot of people are right there with you, Howard.

HOWARD FOX
4:56

Yeah. And so as they— as the socks changed and the consumers changed, how do you— I mean, how are you staying ahead of the curve? Because, I mean, you're certainly adapting. 120 years, you have learned to adapt and thrive even in the tough economy. You're also committed to the US manufacturing, which is great. A lot of people Appreciate that. It means great jobs still here in the US, but what have been some of the challenges of adapting as technology changes?

MATT BRUCKER
5:34

Man, technology in particular, it's just continuous improvement. And the interesting thing about what we do, the core of our business is knitting socks. That's what we do. Everything else Beyond that is simply a choice of which direction we want the company to go. But at the core, we knit socks, which means we have access to essentially the same equipment and the same materials as all of our competitors. But we get to choose the recipe and how to execute the recipe. So not much different than a Michelin-star chef in a restaurant. They have the same ingredients that we can buy at the grocery store.

MATT BRUCKER
6:17

But they have a Michelin star, so their food's pretty darn good.

HOWARD FOX
6:21

Right.

MATT BRUCKER
6:22

They don't make a Michelin star for sock factories, but if they did, I think Wigwam would have at least a couple because we have an internal saying, no fiber left behind. And that simply means we don't discriminate at all against fibers, whether they're natural or synthetic. And that's the 2 buckets you can move everything into. Cotton, Wool of any variety are natural fibers. And then you have the synthetics and we refer to them as premium synthetics because we look for a blend, or if we can't find a blend, we make it internally. And so it becomes proprietary, like our Ultimax technology, for example. It's a combination of fibers that produce the end result when knitted into a textile, whether it's sock or any other apparel. And so what we're looking to do is provide customers where they can make the choice.

MATT BRUCKER
7:16

Do they want the premium cotton? Do they want the form of synthetics? Is it a blend? And then by staying in touch with our industry, with our suppliers and the supply chain of yarns in general, we can expose ourselves to new things. There's always little, little companies that are having these little incubator projects and they're working on a new synthetic, or they're working on spinning the yarn in a different way to make it more durable or softer. And there's companies involved in recycling and upcycling where they're taking natural fibers. And if there's no metal hardware on your apparel, it can literally be chopped up and made into new yarn to be knit again. So, it's the ocean. of opportunities when it comes to materials. You just have to find a lane and a partner to work with. And so we've got manufacturers of raw materials that we've been working with for decades.

MATT BRUCKER
8:15

And as they continue to evolve, we can evolve with them. And then with alpaca, as you mentioned, there's not really a large established supply chain for alpaca wool. Like it pales in comparison to merino wool because merino wool is used in apparel from head to toe. And has been for years. So you almost have to be a catalyst in the industry and create a pull effect for the demand rather than a push. So that, that kind of translates into Wigwam being the one going to the suppliers and saying, hey, we'd really like more opportunities to use alpaca because in sock knitting, in hosiery on, on our machinery, it's a specific window of yarn that we can use, which is quite different than what they use for apparel. And so you have to keep that in mind. And oftentimes it can take months.

MATT BRUCKER
9:08

You could, you could be looking at 18 months or more of development time to have something available. So that kind of gives you an idea of how far in the future we're looking as a company so that we can continually evolve.

HOWARD FOX
9:21

Okay. 2 questions that come to mind as you were just sharing this message. One is the green aspect of the business. I mean, you are manufacturing, you develop materials or you source the development of materials through your research. The materials arrive at the manufacturing plant in Sheboygan. All the machinery that's there, it's using You know, energy to run the machinery. You've got the production of each individual unit. How has the necessity of caring about our environment impacted, again, how Wigwam continues to thrive and be a part of the community?

MATT BRUCKER
10:15

It's really at the core of almost every decision. If we, If we boil down our pivotal milestone decisions, we can always relate it to sustainability. And for our leadership team and how we look at it, sustainable is really in 2 parts, the environment and the business itself. We've been around for 121 years, technically in 2026, and we have every intention of being around another 120 years. for the 5th, the 6th, the 7th, 8th generation of family to help guide us into the next chunk of time. But to your question about the environment specifically, when you peel back the layers of Wigwam's supply chain, we knit socks in the US with US labor that's local for the most part. We can talk more about that when it comes to finding Specialized modalities in the, in the factory. We buy our packaging locally.

MATT BRUCKER
11:20

We utilize local resources for any type of outsourcing, whether it's additional treatments to yarn, or sometimes you take 2 yarns and you twist them together. And then we also consolidate. So 90% of the work that goes into making our socks happens under one roof in Sheboygan. And then you peel back another layer and you look at the supply chain. Where are the raw materials coming from? So a lot of the yarns that we use can be bought domestically, not just bought domestically, but they're manufactured domestically. So that's kind of where we can reduce the carbon footprint from an environmental perspective. Like we're trying to keep everything as close to home as possible. And then Back to what we talked about earlier, the philosophy of the company, making sure that we're competitive in the entire industry of what can you do with materials and how can you make socks so that the retailers and consumers that are buying our products don't have to look at brands from across the world.

MATT BRUCKER
12:25

We have the materials and the technology to knit any sock that they need in their sock drawer. And so that creates sustainability on both sides. We have a future as a profitable company, which is very green. And then also we're looking at leaving the smallest footprint with our supply chain.

HOWARD FOX
12:45

Given the evolution of the company, and here we are in 2026, how has the headcount of the company kind of evolved? Because you are a fixture in the community in Sheboygan. You've got the history, you produce a great product. And I would imagine people feel very personal, protective of the brand because, hey, it's Sheboygan and you have a huge impact in the community. So I'm curious about how the eclectiveness of the workforce that's still there working to produce the product, whether it's on the shop floor, In operations and design and marketing and sales, HR, things like that? How has the workforce evolved?

MATT BRUCKER
13:39

Well, it's probably evolving today, and I'll have to check in with the team to see what those changes are. But from what I would say—

HOWARD FOX
13:47

That's why you had to reschedule the meeting. I know that.

MATT BRUCKER
13:49

Yeah, yeah. Among other things. But yeah, in Sheboygan County, We employ 65 to 80 people on an annualized basis. There's ebbs and flows to the business based on the seasonality and when we ramp up production or we ramp up outbound shipping, particularly in the holiday season. We have a lot more going out the door than we have coming in to produce. But I can't remember if I mentioned it earlier, but even today at the company currently working, we have multiple generations of employees. And so there is definitely a sense of pride carried behind people who work there and also buy our products off the shelf. So within Sheboygan County, we work with our local community government and the state to ensure that we are continuing to help drive unemployment down because our employment is consistent.

MATT BRUCKER
14:44

And so you'll have people that have tenure at our company for 25 years or more.

HOWARD FOX
14:48

Right.

MATT BRUCKER
14:48

And so it's, it's a very reliable business for not just the family that owns it, but also the employees that work there. And so that just creates an environment of people showing up to work because they want to be there. And so they bring their best selves, which allows us to produce the best products and create the best experience. And then beyond that, the evolution of the US manufacturing industry across the board has meant that for specialized positions, you may have to look outside your local community. And so over the last 40 years, and certainly for the next 40 years, we're going to have to continue to work with our local organizations to look at where we can find expertise in the world. And so even currently today, we're working with an organization to help create a pathway for visas for families to move here from Europe or Central America, where they've had a long career in circular knitting using sock machines, because you can't find it here. We don't have training programs on a national scale. We don't have factories employing thousands of people in the US.

MATT BRUCKER
16:03

So that expertise is incredibly unique. And so we may have to look outside our own county or our own state to find that. But also what that does is allow us to work with grant programs and other opportunities to, to help foster the growth and diversity of Sheboygan and the rest of the state of Wisconsin.

HOWARD FOX
16:23

Okay. A question I want to go to is the variety of the socks that you're producing and their use. And it's probably a good segue maybe to go to the website. I'd love if you could Absolutely. Take us on a tour because again, this is the Outdoor Adventure Series. We've got outdoor journalists that are going to be at the conference in Madison actually next month. But the various uses of the product, who buys the product and how are those products designed for that particular use case, whether it's athletic, walking, running. So I'd love to take us on a— if you could take us on a tour of the website.

HOWARD FOX
17:06

And maybe talk a little bit about what goes into designing and marketing to a particular type of athlete or outdoor adventure seeker. Okay. All right. So let me—

MATT BRUCKER
17:19

So when you, when you pull up the site at first, and we'll wait for you to do that, this is one of those interesting things. You know, we've been talking about how we stay relevant and how we evolve and e-commerce and, and, and shopping online is something that absolutely evolves on a daily basis. And what we have to take into account is the overall mix of our consumers. And we have consumers in every demographic you could imagine. And so over the years, particularly I'd say in the last 3 to 4 years, we've tried to update and upgrade our online shopping experience in a very specific way so that it allows our existing heritage customers to continue to shop in a comfortable, reliable, consistent manner. But then also we can attract newer customers, which oftentimes are younger generations and they want to shop in a different way. You know, they might want more video to explain what products do. They might want to know more about the backstory of the supply chain.

MATT BRUCKER
18:26

They also might want to have a conversation with your website. Which is quite different. We have these AI tools all around us with the different web browsers we use, the different websites. And so we have to be looking at that as well. And we're not quite live on the site yet, but very shortly we'll, we will be launching our own internally created and curated, we'll call it a conversation tool where customers can engage with all of the content that Wigwam has to offer. In order to find the perfect sock for the activity that they're pursuing. So right here today, when you're on the site, it just so happens that we do have a back-to-school sale going on. So if you're listening to this podcast before the 31st of July, be sure to take part in that.

MATT BRUCKER
19:16

From a navigation standpoint, we keep it simple, Howard, and a lot of websites are structured this way. We've got a main navigation bar, you can shop for Men, women, kids. Within those categories, you can shop by end use. So if you hover over men or women and you click, it'll drop down the menu and you can look for socks to wear every day, socks for running, socks for hunting and fishing, work socks, tactical uniform if you've got particular uniform dress codes you need to adhere to. And then if wigwam and if you know the socks you've worn in the past, you could search by name. We have customers that come back to shop so frequently they memorize our style numbers.

HOWARD FOX
20:02

Wow.

MATT BRUCKER
20:02

And it's just a 4-digit alphanumeric designator we use internally, but they'll remember it. And when they call us, they'll say, I want the S1221 and I need 6 pairs in size large black. And I'll call you again in 12 months to buy more. And so that's great. And so that consistency we have to, we have to maintain. But for the purpose of this demonstration and our conversation, why don't you just click on hiking? Because we were talking about that and you were sharing your love of wool. So within here, this is going to be essentially every sock that we internally have designated as a good choice for people going hiking in the outdoors.

HOWARD FOX
20:45

Okay.

MATT BRUCKER
20:46

So these are, these are some of our best sellers and our heavy hitters, the 40 Below, the Merino Comfort Hiker. These are socks that have been in the line for decades.

HOWARD FOX
20:57

Right.

MATT BRUCKER
20:57

And it's kind of that saying, if it, if it's not broke, don't fix it. Right. We've been knitting these styles the same way and there's no need to change. We might update the color, But the sock itself, kind of view it as the chassis, like a vehicle. We don't need to change that. We can just reskin it, put a new body on it. And that's where the different materials come in. So as you continue to scroll down here, like Cool Lite Hiker, the Bravoura, these start to get into the performance synthetics because there's good use cases to wear these socks when hiking in the outdoors.

MATT BRUCKER
21:36

Maybe you're in a really humid environment or a hot environment, something where you want a little more of a compression fit to hug your foot. If you're in a really cold environment, you need something that has a lot of loft, just like a down jacket or a sleeping bag or a down comforter. And so that's where the bigger, thicker Merino wool socks come into play. You might even be super old school and 40 years ago, Socks for hiking were sold as a quote unquote system. And so you had a liner that you wore and then you put a thicker sock over the top of that.

HOWARD FOX
22:12

Right.

MATT BRUCKER
22:12

Now we have evolved a long ways from that, that technique, that system. And a lot of that was by necessity because the wools being used back then were very rough and very coarse. Now we predominantly use Merino wool, at a level at the end of the spectrum where it's considered very premium.

HOWARD FOX
22:36

Okay. I had a friend who just came back. He and his wife were hiking the Camino in Spain. Really? And, or I hear people hiking the Appalachian Trail or the Pacific Crest Trail and the nightmares of the blister. It's just, and I don't know if that's a combination of the The type of sock and the shoe, or just— I imagine it's more of the shoe, but I mean, I just think certain models of socks are definitely designed for that particular use case.

MATT BRUCKER
23:11

Without question. What I would say is outside of using cotton, you are going to be less prone to blisters wearing anything that's considered a premium material. Blisters are created in an environment where there's friction and moisture. So, those are the 2 controllables.

HOWARD FOX
23:34

Right.

MATT BRUCKER
23:34

So, as you pointed out, the shoe definitely plays into it. The shoe has to fit properly so that you don't create unnecessary friction with the movement of the heel or the toe box or the instep. There's different lacing techniques you can use in hiking boots and running shoes to further reduce friction. And then, it comes down to basic science and moisture management. Your feet are going to sweat.

HOWARD FOX
23:59

Right.

MATT BRUCKER
24:00

There's not a sock in the world that has some little secret micro machine that absorbs moisture and makes it completely disappear. So, it comes down to moisture movement. Which we translate into moisture management. Your feet are going to sweat. You need to pull the sweat off the skin and help move it up and out of the footwear so that the air can help it evaporate. So that's, that's what it comes down to. And knowing more about your activity, how much you're going to sweat, are you going to sweat continuously? And is it going to come in spurts and your socks might have a chance to dry in between?

HOWARD FOX
24:42

Right.

MATT BRUCKER
24:42

that can play into the strategy you deploy to make sure you remain blister-free. And so for those people hiking those epic trails from that run from the Canada border to the Mexico border, all those thru-hikers, they, they take care of their feet because that's their livelihood on the trail when they're, when they're putting 25 miles or more every day. And so you'll see a lot of thru-hikers on these trails as they come through town, they're wearing a pair of socks. in their boots, they've got a pair of socks clipped to the backpack so the sun and the air can keep them dry, and they'll switch it out throughout the day. And the drier you can keep your feet, the happier they're going to be.

HOWARD FOX
25:24

Very good. As I was navigating, I was just thinking of the varieties and the colors and design. This one will fit very nicely in the desert where I'm at. What Is you— is there also differences, I mean, between the sexes, male versus female, other than obviously the, maybe the colors or the size? But is there anything technology-wise or design-wise that's different? I'm just curious about that.

MATT BRUCKER
25:57

So the short answer is yes. The long answer is It comes back to that recipe and how we execute the recipe. So, we'll typically use the same materials, but you can take into account a lot of kind of science-based differences. And women in particular might have colder feet just based on genetics, or older men, older women, age can have an effect on your ability to control body heat. So, Based on that, you might want a warmer sock even in a warm environment. Or you mentioned size, absolutely size. And so we look at industry-wide and nationwide trends in sizing.

HOWARD FOX
26:44

Mm-hmm.

MATT BRUCKER
26:44

There's a lot of different industry organizations that have been tracking this for, for decades. And in the sock industry specifically, we have where your socks are sized based on ranges. There's a lot of stretch yarn and spandex or Lycra in socks because you have to stretch it onto the foot. And so you want it to expand, get it on the foot, and then contract to stay on the foot and stay in place. So by using those industry standards and making sure that we keep our manufacturing tolerance as narrow as possible means that that sock, when you buy it for your shoe size, is going to fit the same way Every time you buy it.

HOWARD FOX
27:24

Okay.

MATT BRUCKER
27:24

And so we don't we don't meddle with that recipe because we know it works.

HOWARD FOX
27:28

Gotcha.

MATT BRUCKER
27:29

And beyond that, there's there's other really really really specific things you could do. But a lot of those those choices we make on behalf of the customer, and we just do it because it's the right thing to do in the manufacturing process. And we don't necessarily create a marketing story out of it. It just it continually allows us to to know that we're making the best. Product possible.

HOWARD FOX
27:51

Okay. So I'm curious too, the, now as I'm here on this website, you've got your various technologies and the, let me just kind of break that up here. How are these, I mean, again, the evolution of technology, new materials, how are these, are there particular use cases around like this, was it Synchronet? versus Ultimax versus Ingenious or any new product? Is there a specific use case of why this decision was made to produce this type of product?

MATT BRUCKER
28:32

Without question, there was a business decision between, between and around every single one of these.

HOWARD FOX
28:39

Okay.

MATT BRUCKER
28:39

So the 3 you just mentioned are proprietary technologies either a material technology or a knitting technology or technique. And that's why you see the registered trademarks there. So Synchronit, Ultimax, and Ingenious are methods of manufacturing using materials that is specific to Wigwam.

HOWARD FOX
29:01

Okay.

MATT BRUCKER
29:02

Synchronit was created many years ago in an effort to reduce friction, as we discussed earlier, and move moisture. So This is a process using the same machine that all of our competitors use. We just have some machine mechanics that were having fun with the machine one day, trying different things, and they created a method to knit a sock that has more compression than it should have, but it doesn't feel like a compression sock.

HOWARD FOX
29:35

Right.

MATT BRUCKER
29:35

So you pull it on your foot and it feels like you just put on another layer of skin.

HOWARD FOX
29:41

Mm-hmm.

MATT BRUCKER
29:41

And it hugs your foot all day long, no matter what activity. So that's Synchronit in a nutshell. Ultimax is more of a fiber story. So we were looking for a way to blend yarns and those 2 mad scientist terminologies right there. We got to put our lab coat on. You got hydrophilic, hydrophobic. So any of you out there that were biology or chemistry students or are students, Now, you'll know what that means. In our world, it simply means you either like water or you don't like water.

MATT BRUCKER
30:16

So, you're either going to attract it or repel it. And so, by using those yarns in combination, what it does is allow us to pull the moisture off your foot and then move it up the sock and away from the body faster.

HOWARD FOX
30:30

Okay.

MATT BRUCKER
30:30

And when Ultimax was created, we couldn't find that yarn. And so, We decided to create it internally. And so we've been using it for many years and you'll find it across the line in all of our different categories.

HOWARD FOX
30:41

Okay.

MATT BRUCKER
30:43

Ingenious. So there's, there's really no better way to describe this as simply a genius idea. Again, we had some developers and some mechanics and they were playing with the machines and they worked out a technique to knit liner inside the sock. And again, in the wide world of socks, there's a number of different companies that do something similar, but oftentimes it'll end up being 2 different layers of socks that move independently. Our ingenious socks are one layer, but 2 completely different materials, completely different materials. One that touches your body, To pull all the moisture off and quickly transfer it to the other material on the outside so that it can then evaporate. So going back to my comment earlier about 40, 50 years ago, customers used this system and they bought the liner and then they wore a thicker sock over the top.

HOWARD FOX
31:47

Right.

MATT BRUCKER
31:48

And we still do that. We still sell our Gobi liners, we call 'em, in a number of different materials if customers want to use that system. But if they want a single pair of socks where that liner effect and feeling is built in, that's where InGenius comes in.

HOWARD FOX
32:04

Very nice.

MATT BRUCKER
32:04

As you'll see here, we've got them knit in mid-trims for everyday use, for technical use. We've got ski socks that are over the calf with that technology. And as we continue to build out a roadmap for products that we're going to launch in 2027 and beyond, We'll continue to look at opportunities where it makes sense to use Ingenious, Ultimax, and Synchronic.

HOWARD FOX
32:28

Okay. Very good. Something jumped out at me. I have to look at this. So when I grew up, the word tube socks came to mind. So I just—

MATT BRUCKER
32:39

I know where you're going.

HOWARD FOX
32:40

Yep. I recognize these. There's no stripe there, but I do recognize them. Okay.

MATT BRUCKER
32:46

Yep.

HOWARD FOX
32:47

The other thing I noticed here, so you've got There's kind of, I always like the history about the family, the story. You've got an outlet store. Yeah. I even remember that color. Yeah.

MATT BRUCKER
32:59

This is, this is the meat and potatoes of who the company is, where we came from and, and where we're going. And the continual evolvement of the Wigwam brand story has a lot to do with what our customers are asking for. And just so happens that, uh, in the, in the last, I'd say 5 to 6 years, and we're certainly hoping and projecting in the next 5 to 6 years, customers will continue to be looking for products that are built with a quality-first mindset.

HOWARD FOX
33:36

Mm-hmm.

MATT BRUCKER
33:37

And seeing as we operate our factory, we control our supply chain, we influence the evolution of our supply chain. We can continue our commitment to make socks that are currently in the line and produce new socks that our customers have never seen. But it all comes back to maintaining that quality standard. So when they find a sock that they love, they know they're gonna continue to find it. And within the community, you mentioned the outlet store. That's a local opportunity right in Sheboygan. You can stop by, you can peek through the windows, see the factory floor in action, and you can talk to some of the most wonderful ladies in Sheboygan County. And they know, they know more about socks than I do.

MATT BRUCKER
34:26

And, um, throughout the year, the hours will certainly vary, but we, we tend to focus on having the store open where, where customers can shop with us on the weekends, and then we run extended hours as we get into the holiday season. And then right down there on that previous page, there's that career link. So I definitely encourage anyone in Wisconsin or outside Wisconsin that wants to keep an eye on opportunities in the industry, keep us in mind, put a bookmark or tag it. We don't currently have any open positions.

HOWARD FOX
35:01

Perfect.

MATT BRUCKER
35:01

We just did a round of hiring. But check back with us in a month as we, as we look to ramp up for the holiday season and build a plan for 2027. And then probably worth mentioning is Find a Store.

HOWARD FOX
35:14

Yeah.

MATT BRUCKER
35:15

That is a great link. You can find it up top, you can find it in most of our navigation panes. This is a technology that we implemented into our system. And this essentially allows you to put in an address, or if you've got your cookies and your tracking set, it'll automatically load it. Uh, like in this instance, and this will tell you local retailers that carry our product in store.

HOWARD FOX
35:39

Right.

MATT BRUCKER
35:39

Um, and so depending on how they participate with the system, you might even be able to search down to a product and know exactly what you can, what you can buy and where.

HOWARD FOX
35:49

By the way, kudos to one of the teams, Wigwam, because when I first, when I first did my research thinking we're going to have our call on Monday, I can't go anywhere on Instagram and on Facebook without seeing Wigwam, Wigwam, Wigwam. So whoever did it, great job, guys.

MATT BRUCKER
36:09

Yeah. Yeah. Thank you. I'll pass that along to the team. We've got a great group of people that help us produce all of our marketing and our strategies, and we certainly try to be respectful in the way that we— always respectful in the way that we market. And so the timing And the frequency, we give customers a lot of options to opt out or to kind of self-select what they want to see. But at the end of the day, all we do is make great socks and we want to scream it from the rooftops and tell everyone. So we're going to use all the tools available to get that message out.

HOWARD FOX
36:46

I love it. I love it. Before we head back, I do want to talk about alpaca, but maybe we'll, we'll Unless it's something on this, on the website, or we'll just talk face to face. Nope.

MATT BRUCKER
36:56

Nope. Can't, can't find it yet. So this is, this is a sneak peek behind the curtain just for, just for you and I to talk about. But we, we mentioned it earlier as we look to evolve our supply chain and also listening to our customers, what they're asking for. And so in the next couple of weeks, we are way beyond excited to launch our first alpaca collection. And so we'll have a handful of styles, a handful of colors. And these are some of the softest, warmest, coziest socks you're ever going to wear. But they're built on the chassis that we have refined and been using for decades.

MATT BRUCKER
37:38

And so you're going to get that same durability, consistency, and wearability that you expect from Wigwam. And we're just going to have a a little bit of fun with the materials. So people, people that out there looking specifically for alpaca, or maybe they've never worn wool in general, they're going to be able to find it from Wigwam. So we'll have merino wool, we'll have alpaca wool, and in the future we might be knitting socks out of something else.

HOWARD FOX
38:04

We'll find out. I love it. Well, I'm definitely going to take advantage of the alpaca because like I say, I love, I just love wool. Quick question, I never really got into your background and your career, so How long have you been with Wigwam?

MATT BRUCKER
38:18

So I have officially been with Wigwam several years. I think I'm coming up on 2 and a half, 3 years now on an official employee level. But although I've made certain attempts to leave the sock industry, I always get drawn back.

HOWARD FOX
38:33

So it can pull you back in.

MATT BRUCKER
38:35

It just pulls me back in. It's magnetic. And a lot of it has to do with the people. If I want to really boil it down. I think some of the best people work in the sock industry and not just on the manufacturing side, but on the retail side. And I just missed the people. And once you become a true sock nerd and you know how it's made, how it could be made, you, you, you tend to look at things differently.

HOWARD FOX
39:01

Right.

MATT BRUCKER
39:01

And I just, I really enjoy all aspects of the job, the industry, and, and certainly the company. To come full circle, I've been buying and selling stocks over 20 years. I grew up in the Pacific Northwest and spent a lot of time in the outdoors, and that kind of instilled in me a love of companies that promote outdoor activities or just being outdoors in general. I think we don't spend enough time outside.

HOWARD FOX
39:31

True.

MATT BRUCKER
39:32

And any opportunity and activity that gets you outside more, You're gonna, I'm gonna, I'm a champion for that. So the sock industry going from retail to manufacturing got me in a position where I could tell that story on a broader scale. So with Wigwam, we have opportunities to tell that story around the world. But if you go back 20 years, I was buying socks for the retailer I was working with from the parents of the brother and sister that own and operate Wigwam today. So I've known the brand my entire career, known the family for a long time, and when the opportunity came about for me to work directly with them, I really didn't hesitate.

HOWARD FOX
40:15

I love it. I love it. I'll tell you what, open invitation. If you're going to be coming to Las Vegas to a show, I'll meet up with you. We'll have our hiking boots, our socks, and we'll do an episode out on the trail somewhere.

MATT BRUCKER
40:28

But I'll make a note and I will definitely take you up on that.

HOWARD FOX
40:32

There you go. What's your favorite, what's your go-to sport for yourself, your family, and just to unwind? What's your go-to?

MATT BRUCKER
40:41

That's a loaded question. I've got a teenage daughter who's into a lot of different sports. We're very much a family full of animals, dogs, cats, chickens. My wife and daughter ride horses. So We have a lot of reasons to be outside, but I would ultimately say our go-to activity is just walking outside anywhere. And that could translate into a hike that's higher mileage. It could be a trail run, but just spending time outside with our family, with other families, with friends. And we like to explore new places.

MATT BRUCKER
41:15

So that's why your invitation to go hiking in Vegas, if I come through Vegas, you're going to hear from me. You can count on that.

HOWARD FOX
41:21

So it was good.

MATT BRUCKER
41:22

We just love spending time outside together and bringing new people to the outdoors experience. So letting my daughter invite friends on the hikes we go to, or for myself, because I travel for work to visit retailers or for trade shows, connecting with other industry friends and colleagues to go try a new activity outdoors or just spend time walking on a nature trail. either in the city if you're urbanearing or on the true mountainside. I really don't hesitate for those opportunities. I look forward to them.

HOWARD FOX
41:55

Excellent. Excellent. Well, I really appreciate you taking the time, Matt, for spending really your morning. Hopefully, I know you're not drinking a cup of coffee like normally I would. I'm like almost out of my coffee, but getting out—

MATT BRUCKER
42:08

Probably time to get a refill.

HOWARD FOX
42:10

Yeah, there you go. Besides the website at wigwam.com, where else Can our listeners look to learn more about Wigwam Socks?

MATT BRUCKER
42:22

You can, you can easily find us on the major social media networks, Facebook, Instagram. We don't have a lot of activity on X, but potentially in the future that could be something we kind of reenergize. We've got a lot through our, on the YouTube. So if you want information about the technologies, we've, we've done a lot of different podcast type recordings like this that give you a view behind the curtain and a lot, a deeper level information about specific products. So certainly look there and then join our email list. That's, that's probably the quickest and the easiest because that's where we come to you with information. And one of the beautiful things about our strategy with email is not every email is asking the customers to buy something.

HOWARD FOX
43:07

Right.

MATT BRUCKER
43:07

We know that you've joined the list because you want to hear about us. We know that you can buy socks from us. You know, you can buy socks from us. So we're not going to ask that every time. So a lot of it is an email about a new program, a new product, just the information, why we did it, how it was made, activities. We do informational emails around foot care and the best products. And sometimes we do collaborations with other outdoor companies. So the email might be a mix of information.

MATT BRUCKER
43:39

about other products, whether it be footwear or other outdoor things.

HOWARD FOX
43:42

Sounds good. Well, I am really excited. I mean, you, again, just having this conversation with you brought back, and doing the research for this episode brought back memories. But while I remember the tube sock, I'm excited. Again, there's the— as I was navigating through the website while you were sharing today, I was looking at Okay, that big thick one, that'll be nice during the winter. And I, because I like to sit outside, I don't care what the, what the temperature is, but the, uh, definitely gonna— looking forward to, to the alpaca, uh, socks. But really, thank you so much, and I think you shared a lot of great information. And I know folks who are in the outdoor space are just going to love to kind of hear about, you know, your wigwam point of view and what you've shared and We're going to provide all those backlinks in our show notes, and the video will be up on our website.

HOWARD FOX
44:36

So hopefully we'll get you some new customers, some converts, and people who are as excited about socks as you are. And really, the great people at Wigwam, you've been around for 121 years, you're obviously doing something really right. And I do have to share, I have a friend of mine, I came from Chicago before I moved to Vegas, I would go sailing out on Lake Michigan. One of my best friends from sailing was from Sheboygan, so Dave Nelson. So he's an attorney in Chicago now, but I know his family's still up there. So, hey Dave, I just did an episode with the folks from Wigwam and I'm going to hear everything he has to say. So, but again, great episode and thanks for spending time with us today.

MATT BRUCKER
45:19

Howard, I appreciate the invitation. I'm glad we found the time to do this and we will, we will welcome new customers anywhere in the world. All we're trying to do is make great socks so you can pursue your favorite activities.

HOWARD FOX
45:31

I love it. I love it. Listen, stay on the line. We're going to do a quick close and you and I can have a final chat. Okay?

MATT BRUCKER
45:37

You bet. Thanks, Howard.

HOWARD FOX
45:38

All right. Okay, folks, this has been a great episode here talking about socks. I mean, who knew? I mean, just Wigwam and it just, like I had shared with Matt, brought back a lot of memories, but, and I don't know about you, but wool is, is, it's up there, one of my favorite things, uh, to wear. And really some great materials, some great technology, really products that are designed for whatever your activity is— hiking, biking, snowshoeing, or, or probably even kayaking and canoeing. But wherever it is, there's, there's a great from Wigwam for you. Now remember, folks, do go out to their website to learn more. About the Wigwam story and the various products that they have based on, and also you get to select based on your outdoor desire. They most certainly have a product for you.

HOWARD FOX
46:33

Now, and you can also find them on Facebook and Instagram, and we'll provide links to them as well as to the YouTube and to the X site. As for us, you can find this episode on our website, outdooradventureseries.com. We're also on Facebook and LinkedIn on our Outdoor Adventure Series pages. The video of this episode will be up on our YouTube channel. Just search for Outdoor Adventure Series. Okay, folks, wherever you are, whatever you're doing, go out there and have a fantastic day. And we look forward to having you join us on a future episode of the Outdoor Adventure Series podcast. Take care now.

HOWARD FOX
47:13

3, 2, 1. I also want to thank the great folks from Travel Wisconsin who introduced us to Matt and gave us and really helped facilitate this opportunity to have this interview with the folks from Wigwam and just kind of get to know this wonderful organization. Also want to thank Destination Madison. Both Destination Madison and Travel Wisconsin are going to be hosting the 2026 Outdoor Writers Association of America's annual conference. So this is kind of a great way to get excited about the conference, which is just coming up, and through interviews, uh, like this. Okay folks, wherever you are, whatever you're doing, go out there and have a fantastic day, and we look forward to having you join us on a future episode of the Outdoor Adventure Series podcast. Take care now.