He’s seen a lot more Yankee appearances in Brazil of late, which he put down to the growing American influence fueled by the internet. “With YouTube, people don’t just listen to the music. They see the video, they see how the artists dress,” he said. “People want to feel like they belong. So brands play this role, and the Yankees cap is part of that.”
In 2009, Jay-Z rapped: “I made the Yankees hat more famous than a Yankees can.” But while he and other artists may have helped fuel the trend, Brazilian celebrities are now carrying the torch. Among them are funkeiros, artists who play Brazilian funk, a crude derivative of hip-hop, and social media influencers.
Gabriel Máximo, an actor, was smoking a cigarette on a street corner in Rio recently, during a break from filming a new TV series in which his character, a famous social media influencer, wears a baseball cap. the yankees. Máximo said he owns about 15 Yankees hats, which he wears in many of the photos he posts for his 51,000 Instagram followers.
“All my friends buy New Era,” he said. “They buy the Yankees.”
“It fits my head,” he added. “I have big hair.” (She does it.)
While New Era’s business is booming in Brazil, the Yankees don’t benefit much; the 30 MLB teams split the revenue from most official apparel sales. But most of the Yankees caps sold in Brazil (Regen estimates nine out of 10) are knockoffs anyway.
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