Viral Wisconsin hat maker meets WWE Superstar Hulk Hogan, gives him a Hulk Hogan-shaped hat

Abra Richardson, Appleton Post-Crescent

APPLETON — Wisconsin's Jeff Kahlow is known far and wide for his eccentric hats, even going viral at a Green Bay Packers game last year when he gifted one to Olympic gymnast Simone Biles.

On Wednesday, Kahlow, of Fond du Lac, gifted WWE superstar Hulk Hogan a custom hat of his own while Hogan was holding a meet-and-greet in Appleton to promote his new beer brand.

According to Kahlow, Walmart supported him with presenting the hat and was thrilled to help make it happen.

“When you're my age, you went through that whole era of wrestling,” Khalow said. “Everybody knows Hulk Hogan, he would be really fun [to make] because he's got a certain image.”

Hulk Hogan, whose real name is Terry Bollea, poses while wearing a hat bearing his likeness, made by Jeff Kahlow, of Fond du Lac, during an appearance at the Appleton Walmart on Aug. 7, 2024.
Hulk Hogan, whose real name is Terry Bollea, poses while wearing a hat bearing his likeness, made by Jeff Kahlow, of Fond du Lac, during an appearance at the Appleton Walmart on Aug. 7, 2024.

After getting the green light from Walmart, he went to work. From about 9 p.m. to 2 a.m., Kahlow did what he's best at: he carved some foam.

“It's a block of polyurethane foam and I'll just sketch the image onto it, then I'll just carve it out with a foam saw,” Kahlow said. “Then I'll take a scissors, and I'll just kind of shape, shape what it is, I seal it with some white paint and I airbrush paint the color on there, then I plastered on a hat.”

The popular cheese hats people wear could be inspired by Kahlow’s designs, he says, after he designed some cheese-head hats with mice in them for his friends going to a Brewer’s game back in 1988. They got on the television and three years later, he noticed the hats everywhere.

Jeff Kahlow, of Fond du Lac, works on a foam hat in the shape of Hulk Hogan, ahead of Hogan's Aug. 7 visit to the Fond du Lac and Appleton areas.
Jeff Kahlow, of Fond du Lac, works on a foam hat in the shape of Hulk Hogan, ahead of Hogan's Aug. 7 visit to the Fond du Lac and Appleton areas.

“I definitely like to say that I was the originator, the first one of making cheese heads,” Kahlow said.

Kahlow is sort of a celebrity in his own right, known for his “Frozen Tundra Man” persona, where he wears a thick costume decorated in icicles during the football season. Besides gifting the hat to Hogan, Kahlow also gave him a signed print of Frozen Tundra Man. As a thank you, he received some of the new beer Hogan was promoting ‘Real American Beer.”

People can find his designs on his website, bighatsguy.com, where he highlights his designs, and the many celebrities who have worn his art.

Contact Abra Richardson at arichardson@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: WWE Superstar Hulk Hogan gifted hat from Frozen Tundra Man Jeff Kahlow

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