Hammer Concepts & Designs: The American Dream, Built One Problem at a Time

When Brian Hamm retires from the Army this January, he will end a distinguished career as a MH-47 Chinook helicopter pilot, instructor, and warrant officer. As the sun sets on his Army helicopter pilot career, it will rise on an entrepreneurial career. What he won’t be ending is the mission-driven mindset that shaped every part of his life—because that same attitude is now powering one of the fastest-growing manufacturing companies in drag racing: Hammer Concepts & Designs.

Founded in 2020 in a garage, Hammer Concepts & Designs has become a symbol of what is still possible when grit, humility, craftsmanship, and faith intersect. Today, the company is known for some of the highest-quality parts in the industry—rear ends so beautiful customers joke they belong in a museum, and precision-engineered components built with the kind of care you simply can’t mass-produce.

But the story is deeper than the products. It’s about a family, a community, and a leader who sees business not as a way to get ahead, but as a way to lift others up.

Humble Beginnings in a Garage

Brian didn’t begin as a business owner—he began as a problem solver. A racer once asked him to design a bracket, and that one request turned into dozens. Then hundreds.

Advertisements

With a background in architectural engineering and a natural talent for mechanical problem-solving, Brian found purpose in designing parts that made race cars function better, look cleaner, and that are easier to work on. “At the end of the day, my passion is solving problems through design,” he says.

In 2020, he and his wife Brandi launched the business from their garage. Orders trickled in—one per week, sometimes two—while Brian worked on parts before and after flying helicopters for the U.S. Army.

Their kitchen table became a packing center. Their kids joined in. The house filled with parts and boxes… until finally, it couldn’t anymore. HOA restrictions, growth, and demand pushed them to move, then grow again, and now they are building their own commercial facility.

This spring, Hammer Concepts & Designs will bring laser cutting, powder coating, and press brake capabilities in-house, with CNC machining next on the list. Their growth isn’t just about efficiency—it’s about creating jobs, opportunity, and local impact.

Brandi: The Quiet Foundation Behind the Dream

Every business has a backbone, but Brian is quick to tell you his isn’t steel. It’s his wife, Brandy.

While Brian juggled deployments, flight schedules, and design work late into the night, Brandi held the family, the home, and the dream together. Four kids. A household transformed by boxes and parts. A husband balancing Army life, fatherhood, and a growing company. Through it all, she never wavered.

“Brandi is the real hero here,” Brian emphasizes. “She’s the glue that keeps this family and this company together.”

She wasn’t just supportive—she was involved. Packing orders. Managing chaos. Encouraging Brian when times were tough. Saying “keep going” when it would have been easier to say “slow down.”

Her belief gave Brian room to chase his passion.

It’s the sort of behind-the-scenes strength that rarely gets celebrated but makes everything possible. And Brian will tell you plainly: without her, Hammer Concepts & Designs simply wouldn’t exist.

Building a Team the Military Way

Brian’s special operations aviation background plays a large role in how he leads. Years of leading no fail missions, flight assessments, instruction, and leadership shaped his philosophy on people:

“I can train a skill,” he says, “but I can’t train personality.”

Most of his employees are in their twenties. What he looks for is humility, dependability, and integrity. Skill comes next. And once they’re in, he invests in them as though they’ll be with him forever.

• Full benefits package

• Christmas bonuses

• Career paths, not just jobs

• Internal promotion

• Daily appreciation and real mentorship

• Bible studies and personal development

He says studies during COVID showed the top reasons people leave a job:

1. Lack of appreciation

2. Lack of challenge

So he built his company in direct response to that.

“We’re career-minded. We grow people. We challenge them. We show appreciation. And I invest in these guys as if they’re staying for life.”

The results speak for themselves. Customers constantly praise Brian on how professional, talented, and well mannered his employees are. Brian gives the credit back to the team.

A Passion for the Racer in the Garage

Ironically, Brian doesn’t race.

“If I’m racing, I’m not serving my customers,” he explains. “Racing isn’t my identity. Designing great products, solving challenging problems, and helping racers live their dream—that’s what I love.”

He grew up around racing—his uncle was a dirt track racer—and he built an ’88 Mustang hatchback in his early twenties. But his real passion turned out to be enabling racers, not competing with them.

That’s why Hammer Concepts & Designs focuses heavily on customer service.

“You’d be amazed how far you can go just by doing what you say you’ll do, when you say you’ll do it, and remaining professional.”

In the drag racing community—a group he describes as loyal but discerning—your word is everything. Break it, and people remember. Honor it, and they’ll build with you for life.

A Company Built on Faith, Family, and Friendship

Hammer Concepts & Designs was built on relationships—friendships, partnerships, and community.

Brian believes in collaborating with competitors, supporting racers, and building up the industry rather than carving out territory.

As he often says:
“We’re all helping people chase the same dream.”

Their soon-to-launch commercial facility will allow Hammer Concepts to expand sponsorships, support more racers, and grow their involvement in the sport they love, and support their local community in Tennessee

A New Chapter, Same Values

As Brian steps into retirement from the Army, he’s not slowing down—he’s stepping into a new mission. Pushing all chips in on the drag racing community. A passionate group that Brian loves and appreciates!

The mission of building great parts.
The mission of developing young men.
The mission of serving a passionate racing community.
The mission of supporting the dreamer in his garage.

But as he tells it, none of this story belongs to him alone.

It belongs to Brandi, the quiet foundation behind the dream.
It belongs to his employees, the young men he’s building into leaders.
It belongs to customers whose loyalty has fueled the company’s growth.
It belongs to a community that believes in craftsmanship, service, and integrity.

And it belongs to anyone who believes the American Dream is still alive.

Hammer Concepts & Designs is proof that it is.