The ‘Hawk Tuah’ girl is making some money out of her internet stardom
The ‘Hawk Tuah’ girl who went viral this month has already managed to sell more than €60,000 in merch thanks to her internet fame.
If your first question is now ‘who and/or what is a Hawk Tuah’, then allow us to explain.
On June 11, Hailey Welch became the latest main character on the internet after she appeared in a video from content creators Tim & Dee TV.
They were asking people on the street questions about matters related to the bedroom, and including asking women what for their “move in bed [that] makes a man go crazy every time.”
It was in response to this that Hailey said: “You gotta give ’em that ‘hawk tuah’ and spit on that thang.”
‘Hawk Tuah’ girl has sold more than €60,000 worth of merch after going viral
Since the clip was shared on TikTok, it has gone insanely viral, and Welch has shot to internet stardom.
The next logical step on the viral hype train is, obviously, to cash in and merch was thus created. Whilst Tom & Dee’s official store has started selling Hawk Tuah products, Rolling Stone reports that there is only one official Hawk Tuah Girl-licensed Hawk Tuah merch vendor.
This is Fathead Threads, a family-owned business from Tennessee, run by Jason Poteete. He has known Welch for years, and a couple of days after she went viral he reached out to her to figure out a way to monetise her brand.
Poteete explained that Welch “hasn’t gotten a dime” from the video itself – which has been viewed millions of times – so he wanted her to get some sort of financial reward for her fame.
“Nobody was asking permission for her to do nothing, neither,” he explained. “I just wanted her to get some profit off of this deal.”
He suggested to her that she trademark the Hawk Tuah phrase and Welch, who is represented by an agent, has apparently been in touch with a lawyer about doing this.
Poteete said Welch has been “overwhelmed” by her viral fame, adding the he isn’t sure if “she’s embraced it.”
But it sounds like she’s earning some decent coin from the whole thing now. Fathead Threads are exclusively selling “Hawk Tuah ’24” hats for $32.78 each, and Poteete reckons his shop has sold just over 2,000 so far.
Whilst he didn’t clarify how much gross profit that has led to exactly, Rolling Stones reports this comes to $65,000 in sales “at the very least,” which works out at about €60,000.
Poteete said he hopes Welch settles into her newfound fame, and that he thinks “she’ll do fine in the end.”
He also said the video is a pretty accurate representation of what she’s like in real life, saying she has a “bubbly personality” and can be “somewhat risque.”
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