Country music star Easton Corbin
Country music star Easton Corbin provides product picks and models Rural Cloth fashions.
Photo courtesy of Rural Cloth

For years, Brandon Bates worked the Professional Bull Riders circuit as an announcer before founding Rural Cloth—a hat and clothing outfitter that caters to a rural crowd.

“We design, source and ship everything ourselves,” proclaims the company’s website. “There are no department store middlemen or unnecessary layers. Every thread and stitch is placed with American craftsmanship in mind because the heartland deserves a brand that’s tailored to the rural lifestyle.”

Brandon and his wife live in Utah, but he draws his rural connection from the Oklahoma farm his maternal grandfather started when his mother was a kid.

“We still have this multi-generational family farm and ranch,” Brandon says. “My parents still live there. My aunts and uncles still live there, and I visit there quite a bit.”

Brandon says he had a comfortable life as a PBR announcer, but he wanted more.

“We were born with the single largest winning lottery ticket in the history of humankind, and we all have it if we have citizenship in America,” Brandon says. “What we choose to do with that lottery ticket is totally up to us.”

His focus has been on developing high-end retro ’80s-style jackets and vests. His biggest hits have been in the T-shirt and hat market.

“We created this fun little concept called ‘America, We Grow Beer.’ We thought it was fun,” Brandon says. “It was more of a celebratory thing for the American farmer. It has taken off like a rocket.”