What started as a small side hustle in high school has officially made it to the Forty Acres.
I’m Ryan Daly — a senior at the University of Texas and the founder of Ryan’s Woodworking. Just five years ago, I started making handmade wooden boot jacks in my garage. At the time, it was just me, a band saw, and a pile of scrap wood. Today, I’m proud to say those same boot jacks — now fully licensed and branded with the iconic Texas Longhorn — are officially being sold at the University Co-op, both in-store and online.
This didn’t happen overnight. For years I’ve been grinding behind the scenes, figuring out how to scale production, get licensed, and build a product that’s not only useful but deeply personal for students, alumni, and proud Texans alike. Boot jacks are a classic piece of Texas culture, and I wanted to design one that captured that tradition while tying it to the school that’s given me so much.
Thanks to connections I built here at UT and a lot of back-and-forth with the licensing teams, I finally got the green light. And earlier this spring, I signed a deal with the Co-op to bring our custom Texas Longhorn boot jacks to their shelves. Seeing them in the store for the first time was surreal — it felt like everything came full circle.
But this is just the beginning. This product marks our first official collegiate license, and we’re not stopping at Texas. The goal is to expand to every major school in Texas and across the SEC — bringing high-quality, handcrafted graduation gifts and custom items that actually mean something. Whether it’s a boot jack, a cutting board, or a glass set, we want every product to tell a story — and be built to last.
To everyone who supported me along the way: thank you. And to the Longhorn family — y’all can now grab your very own boot jack at https://www.universitycoop.com/Texas-Longhorns-Boot-Jack
Hook ’em.
– Ryan Daly