About Hometown Hero

Hometown Hero was started in 2015 by two friends, Lukas Gilkey and Lewis Hamer in Austin, TX. With their last few bucks, they started a business selling products to local shops. And when Texas legalized hemp, they moved onto craft-quality CBD, Delta-8, and Select Spectrum products. But before they made a cent in profit, before becoming a cannabusiness, their mission has always been to support veterans. 

As a USCG veteran, Lukas saw the effects of trauma on his friends from other branches. He knew that for many veterans, a charity or nonprofit might be their only lifeline. That's why a portion of proceeds from every product sold gets donated to a veterans charity. It has been that way from the beginning, and it will always be that way for us. 

So why do we sell hemp products? It all goes back to helping veterans. The relieving properties of cannabis are no secret in the veterans' community. The problem? Cannabis is still widely banned...except for hemp. And we saw another opportunity to help veterans both near and far. 

We don’t just enjoy hemp. We fight for it. In spring 2021, Delta-8’s legality in Texas came under attack in two separate bills, HB 2593 and HB 3948. But we didn’t sit on the sidelines. We knew how much of a difference hemp-derived cannabinoids can make. So we led the effort to fight prohibition in one of the most restrictive states...and we won. 

To this day, Lukas and Lewis are still part of Hometown Hero. You may have seen Lukas, our CEO, in the New York Times or on Bloomberg. Lewis, our Vice President, can be spotted in many of our videos, giving the lowdown on new products. But no matter what changes, we will always offer quality, handcrafted products and will always push to increase our donations to veterans nonprofits every year.