With El Barbas Hats, a growing presence in music and an upcoming MANSORY collaboration, Alex is turning personal ambition into a brand with international reach.
Before the cars, the collaborations and the hats, there were businesses that didn’t work.
That is the part of Alex’s story worth knowing first. The entrepreneur behind El Barbas Hats, known as Barbas, has built an identity around a lifestyle people aspire to: distinctive streetwear, extraordinary cars and the freedom to create something of his own. Behind that image is a less glamorous history of trying, failing and starting again.
Originally from Sinaloa and raised in Guadalajara, Alex came to success through persistence. Today, the business he built with his brother is reaching customers across Mexico and the United States, creating relationships in music and preparing for a collaboration with MANSORY that brings one of his earliest passions into his professional world.
The ambition has always extended beyond selling hats. He wants to build something recognized around the world.
A Brand That Can Stand on Its Own
Launched in 2024, El Barbas Hats grew out of the brothers’ shared interests in fashion, music and the way a single accessory can define an outfit.
For them, a hat carries real weight in a wardrobe. It establishes the mood, finishes the look and signals something about the person wearing it. Building a company around that idea meant paying attention to the details customers would see and feel: materials, patches, construction and the samples that come before a finished release.
According to the team, Alex and his brother remain closely involved in that process. A product has to meet their own standards before it reaches a customer, regardless of its potential to sell.
That personal involvement has helped give the brand a clear identity. Social media offers followers a view into the work and setbacks alongside the finished collections, creating a connection that extends beyond a transaction.
But one of the most meaningful signs of progress has been watching the product travel beyond Alex’s own following. Early customers often bought because they knew him. Now, the team sees people wearing El Barbas Hats without knowing who founded it.
For a business built around a recognizable personality, that is a significant achievement: the brand is developing recognition of its own.
Where Music Meets Personal Style
Music has been part of the Barbas identity from the beginning.
A collaboration with Natanael Cano became a defining milestone for the company, bringing its connection to Mexican music culture into sharper focus. The relationship makes sense within the world the brothers already inhabit, where the artists someone listens to, the clothes they choose and the cars they admire all contribute to a personal point of view.
Alex is now building a business within music itself.
After beginning development in 2025, his record-label venture formally launched in 2026, with Alex serving as founder and CEO. Its early direction draws from regional Mexican music and Mexican rap, with ambitions extending into broader Latin music and reggaeton.
Among its early releases is Omar Camacho’s “¿Dónde Estás?” The venture also includes work with producers, including It’s Wicked Outside, as the team develops its next releases.
For Alex, the opportunity is to help emerging talent gain access to the relationships and resources he has worked to build. Fashion introduced him to artists; music is becoming another place where he can create opportunities.
The Next Move: MANSORY
Cars have a personal significance in Alex’s story. Long before they became part of his public image, they were childhood aspirations—objects he and his brother saw on screens and imagined one day owning.
One particularly memorable pursuit involved a Lamborghini SVJ 63 Edition they discovered through a Dubai showroom. Acquiring it became a goal, eventually leading to arrangements to bring the vehicle to the United States.
That enthusiasm gives the upcoming MANSORY collaboration a natural place in the Barbas story.
The partnership brings El Barbas Hats into conversation with the world of highly personalized luxury automobiles, connecting two audiences with an appreciation for distinctive design and recognizable style. For people who follow cars as closely as fashion, the crossover has an immediate appeal.
With further launch details still to come, the collaboration represents an ambitious next step for a Mexican-founded brand pursuing international recognition.
Built in Mexico, Reaching Further
The United States is already an important part of that growth. According to the team, it now accounts for the majority of the company’s Shopify sales, with Los Angeles, Phoenix, Chicago, Houston and New York among its strongest markets.
Planned pop-ups would bring the brand closer to the communities supporting it, while further fashion collaborations and music releases offer new ways to expand its reach.
Through that growth, the founders describe a business that still operates with a hands-on mentality. Alex and his brother continue to work closely on the product, protecting the personal investment that helped establish it.
That may be the most compelling part of what Barbas is building. The ambition is getting bigger, but the work remains personal.
The cars capture attention. The hats carry the name. Behind both is an entrepreneur who kept going long enough to turn an idea into something other people wanted to be part of—and who now has his sights set much further ahead.
Written in partnership with Tom White
