When growing a brand, exposure is what it's all about, right?

And, Kelowna-based men's mental health clothing brand Friends of Felix,  just got exposure in a massive way on Tuesday, Nov. 12.

During a show a Omaha, Nebraska, Jelly Roll, whose currently one of the biggest country music stars in the world, and his entire band wore Friends of Felix hats on stage as they played in front of a sold-out crowd. 

News of the apparel being donned on stage came as quite a shock for Friends of Felix founders and owners Mahlon Read and Austin Penrose. 

"It was actually quite a bit of a surprise and it was something that was really cool to experience," said Read.

Since they started the company in 2022, Read and Penrose have had the goal of sparking the conversation around mental health, mostly in men. Additionally, Jelly Roll is a massive mental health advocate who has his own story of overcoming mental health and addiction issues.

Then about two months ago, Read and Penrose had a customer from South Dakota reach out, named Bobby Peacock. He wanted to commend them on their brand and the importance of it and told them he sells sneakers to celebrities. Peacock told Head and Penrose that he was selling a pair of sneakers to Jelly Roll and afterwards, Jelly Roll's manager commented on Peacock's hat, saying he liked it. It was a Friends of Felix hat. 

Peacock told Friends of Felix about the interaction and made an order he said he was giving to Jelly Roll and his crew, which finally came together on Tuesday night. 

During Jelly Roll's concert on Tuesday night, Read and Penrose found out that their hats were being worn on stage.

"It's such a cool feeling for us personally, it's something we're really grateful for," added Read, who said he did some digging online to find photographers who were at the concert so they could collect as many pictures as possible.

"Knowing that the core of our branding is about encouraging conversations around mental health, and having some like Jelly Roll, with the reach that he has wearing it, is doing exactly what he set out to do."

Jelly Roll is set to make two B.C. stops on his Beautifully Broken tour in 2025 - Mar. 6 in Victoria and Mar. 8 in Vancouver.