Like any other Texan, Buc-ee’s holds a special place in my heart, right alongside The Alamo and Selena.
Whenever me and my family had to leave the Rio Grande Valley and make the 4-hour trip to San Antonio or the 6-hour drive to Houston, we always stopped at Buc-ee’s.
For those of you who’ve never heard of Buc-ee’s, imagine a flat, quiet Texas landscape with nothing but mesquite trees, brown bushes, and cacti as far as the eye can see. And smack dab in the middle of it all, there’s a massive, Walmart-sized building with 60 gas pumps, incredibly clean restrooms, every snack and knickknack you could imagine, and a bronze statue of a beaver welcoming you to come inside and take a load off. After hours stuck in a car with your family in the Texas heat, this was a safe haven.
Like most Texans, Buc-ee’s is a nostalgic and special place for me. It’s not just a gas station—it’s a part of home.
I say all this to give you some context as to why so many southern folks love this strange, smiling beaver.
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When I left Texas for a job in Ohio, I started to miss home. I wanted something that represented the South but also tied in my military background since I had just left the Marines two years prior. Around that time, I had made the Tactical Wahoo design and noticed that other people were making Buc-ee’s parody designs, like the beaver wearing quad nods. I thought that was cool and wanted a T-shirt for myself. Unfortunately, all the sites selling them were either sold out or unavailable.
So, just like with Tactical Wahoo, I decided to make my own version and print a T-shirt rather than paying $200 to a reseller on Ebay.
Friends back home in Texas saw it and asked if I could sell them a T-shirt or patch. And that’s where it all started.
Now, as we approach the end of 2024, I’ve decided that in 2025 I will no longer create new variants of this mascot or other parodies. I’ll continue selling the merchandise I have in stock until it sells out or becomes unavailable.
Thank you to everyone who has supported my shenanigans along the way—it’s been a wild ride and I hope you stay with me in my future endeavors.
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