Five years after going viral, hockey stick flags help build son’s future

The father-son project has sold hundreds of handcrafted flags to help build a special fund for long-term support.

Five years after their handcrafted hockey stick flags went viral, a father and son in London continue to build a fund to support the son’s future, one flag at a time. Jason Smith, 54, and his son Jakob, 24, have sold hundreds of flags since their story took off in 2021, shipping them to nearly every Canadian province and several U.S. states. Jason said one hangs in a cottage in Sweden, while another is on its way to France.

The money raised goes into a special fund for Jakob’s future. Jason said he and his wife created the fund to help ensure Jakob has financial support and care long after they are gone. He estimates the project has raised about $30,000.

“The response was just amazing from everybody who wanted a flag to support what we’re doing with Jake,” Jason said. They began crafting hockey stick flags nearly a decade ago, making about half a dozen each year. That changed almost overnight when a friend from public school shared their story and a request for donated sticks on Facebook, Jason said.

The response was immediate. “I went from three hockey sticks to probably 5,000 hockey sticks in my garage almost overnight, which was incredible,” he said. Five years later, interest in the flags hasn’t waned, but Jason said finding wooden hockey sticks remains a challenge.

“It’s not 1985 anymore, so nobody uses wooden sticks,” he said. “When that big influx happened, we had an abundance, but we’re going through them. As long as we have wooden sticks, we can keep going, but it is starting to be an issue.”

With Jason handling the sawing, Jakob assembles the flags by gluing and drilling the hockey stick pieces onto pine boards. They typically work on a few flags at a time over several days, spending anywhere from 30 minutes to several hours in the workshop, depending on what Jakob wants to do. Since going viral, Jason estimates they make as many as 200 flags a year, with some people waiting years to receive one.

A recent Facebook post showing Jakob holding one of their newest hockey stick flags for Canada Day attracted more than 500,000 views, introducing another wave of supporters. Despite the attention, Jason said the project’s purpose has always been spending time with Jakob. “We’re not mass producing these by any means.

It’s a project with Jakey and I, and we make as many as we make,” he said. For Jason, every flag is another step toward helping ensure Jakob is supported in the future. “With special-needs kids, you have to think about looking after them 20 years after you’re gone,” Jason said.

“Anything that we can do for Jake’s future, we’re gonna do.” ayoung@postmedia.com