Your Cart is Empty
You are €99,00 away from free shipping!
Founder & CEO, Buffalo Jackson
A lifelong believer that the best things in life are built to last.
Xan Hood is the Founder and CEO of Buffalo Jackson, a heritage leather goods and outerwear brand he started in 2009 in Colorado, now based in Matthews, NC.
He leads product development personally — working directly with manufacturing partners, local and global, on everything from leather selection and hardware to stitching, construction, and long-term durability.
Xan is focused on building a lifestyle business — one that allows for real work-life balance without losing your soul in a demanding industry. He loves mentoring fellow entrepreneurs, encouraging them to take the slow path rather than sell out to debt and outside investors.
Beyond the brand, Xan has been active in Washington, D.C. on small business and tariff policy, working with Shopify and the National Retail Federation and consulted directly by policymakers on small business issues — including a meeting with President Trump when Buffalo Jackson was highlighted during Small Business Week at the White House. (In a very on-brand moment, Xan also helped clear up the age-old bison-versus-buffalo mix-up along the way with a question the President asked.)
Buffalo Jackson has been featured on Fox, CNBC, NPR, and CNN, including national coverage of Xan's small business advocacy work.
Before Buffalo Jackson, Xan co-founded Training Ground, a Christian wilderness leadership program in Colorado Springs teaching young men hard work, character, and practical skills — helping shape boys into good men through the discipline and honesty the outdoors demands. He continued to serve on their board a decade after leaving to start Buffalo Jackson. That same conviction, that character is built rather than given, is baked into how Buffalo Jackson designs and builds its gear.
He's the author of two books, Untamed and Sweat, Blood & Tears. Focused on helping young men find their place, and identity, as they wrestle through life.
Off the clock, Xan is a father of four. He spends his summers traveling — often by adventure van when he can make the time — and chasing the outdoors life the brand is built around: fly fishing, bass fishing, and mountain biking with his family. He counts Theodore Roosevelt as something of a philosophical patron saint for the brand — the same rugged-but-refined sensibility runs through everything Buffalo Jackson makes.
Looking ahead, Xan's own dream is to step back into that same work with men — through serving the church, and through the kind of space, time, and honest conversation that a tech-driven world makes harder to find — helping men build the deeper friendships that community was always meant to provide. And finding that in nature and in God's creation.
He writes about masculinity, character, full-grain leather, craftsmanship, and heritage apparel from firsthand experience — running a brand, developing new styles, and testing gear built to outlast its owner. You can find his writing on the Insight blog.
Over the years, Xan has been directly involved in:
Full-Grain Leather Buffalo Leather Leather Grading Leather Jackets Shearling Briefcases Waxed Canvas Leather Care Heritage Apparel Product Design Craftsmanship Travel Gear Leather Sourcing
"We don't build products to last until next season. We build products that should still be carried ten years from now."
Quality isn't about adding features. It's about making the right decisions before a product is ever made — the hide, the hardware, the stitch, the cut. Every one of those decisions reflects that.
Authorized Buffalo Jackson Retailers: How to Know You're Buying the Real Thing
Insight · July 13, 2026How to Soften a Leather Bag Without Damaging It
Field Notes · May 21, 2026How to Tell if a Leather Jacket Is Real or Fake (and Why That's the Wrong Question)
Insight · May 15, 2026Which Buffalo Jackson Leather Bag Should You Buy? The 5 Best-Sellers, Compared
Insight · May 11, 2026Are Leather Jackets Still in Style for Men in 2026?
Fit Guide · April 27, 2026Leather Jacket Sizing Guide for Men: Why You Should Probably Size Up
InsightHow to Spot Fake Leather: 4 Simple Steps
Insight · FlagshipFull Grain Leather vs. Top Grain Leather: What's the Difference?
Fox & Friends CNBC CNN Money Axios Small Business Week — The White House
See the full list of coverage, TV placements, and editorial mentions on the Buffalo Jackson Press page →
Why did you start Buffalo Jackson?
Growing up, I felt a missing connection to my Southern roots — and then spent my twenties chasing wilderness experiences out West that pulled at something just as deep. Buffalo Jackson came out of that mix: Southern grit and Western rugged spirit, built into gear that could carry both.
How do you choose leather?
We do our best to find higher-end leather — cow, sheepskin, buffalo, bison, or water buffalo — and it's often a mix of the design and finding the right leather for that specific piece. Sometimes a bag needs a lightweight option, other times it's really about long-term wear and tear.
What makes buffalo leather different?
Buffalo leather is sometimes water buffalo, and other times American bison — the buffalo we know. They have different consistencies: bison often has fiber strength that's second to none, and it flexes and wears right into the bag over time. Our water buffalo can have a tougher feel to it, which helps it hold its shape.
Where are your products made?
Our leather bags and jackets are produced in factories we've worked with for years — some for over a decade — so we get the same consistency, quality, and craftsmanship every time. A bag often changes over its life, with small tweaks and updates that keep improving it; we don't make a style and sell it for one season, we keep it in the catalog for years. All of our factories sit in some of the highest-producing leather regions in the world — for us, India and Mexico have become the areas that deliver the quality we want in our jackets and bags.
How do you test new products?
These products are meant to last forever, so testing them really does take years to confirm the wear and tear. We love producing those first samples — beating them up, learning from them — but part of the plan from the start is designing something that stays in the Buffalo Jackson lineup for the long haul. Many of our products are going on 10+ years now, and because of that, our craftsmen and our team know these pieces in and out, which helps us maintain and keep building a better product over time.
What makes a quality leather jacket?
It's amazing how many leather jackets are cheaply made and won't last more than a few years. Some people are fine with fashion that's throwaway — we're not. We want something that ages well, lasts a long time, and doesn't wear out or fall out of style. I've always bought things I wanted to wear for life, and when you find something you like, it becomes part of you for years. So when it comes to design, I bring that into it too — looking for crafted products, designs, and hardware choices that age well and get better with time, the way leather should.
What is the vision for the brand for the future?
We've avoided growing too big. Leather isn't something you can mass produce — it's handcrafted, and every hide is unique because it comes from an animal, not something you roll off a sheet and rubber-stamp into mass quantities. That's why we keep our collections and our brand to a size we can actually manage. The goal was never to get big — it's to fit within our lifestyle, our ability to run the business well, and not get overwhelmed to the point of burning out. At the core of what we do, it's small scale, handcrafted, and a small team — and honestly, that's the pride we take in it. A very dedicated team that loves what they do.
The brand is focused on men — why is that?
Our roots start in a program I co-founded with a good friend, one that still exists today, helping young men find their place spiritually, emotionally, and physically. The loss of good, honest masculinity has really impacted our culture, and so much of what we do at Buffalo Jackson is about holding onto that grit and character. Leather and bags often reflect a deeper place a man is looking for in himself, and the long history of leather goes hand in hand with that tradition. We want to be a company of honor — a place built on deep-rooted, time-tested values where men would be proud to call this their brand, a reflection of who they are and who they want to be.
LinkedIn · Buffalo Jackson · Press · Email
