Second Gear Sports at 6529 California Ave. SW has a wide variety of gently used sports equipment, and new clothing for sale. The owners Mark and Ellen Bremen want to take the recycling ethic to sports gear like bikes, boards, and other gear and let it serve its purpose for someone rather than being stashed away or thrown away.
UPDATE 9/6/13
After a few permits caused a delay, Second Gear Sports held a soft open on Friday Sept. 6. They will be open 10am to 6pm daily and are looking for gear to take on consignment and already have some new and used items for sale. Skates, running apparel, soccer cleats, golf clubs, outerwear, and Revolushon brand socks (the only Seattle retailer) and will be the first to carry Russell Wilson socks next week.
Original Post
Mark and Ellen Bremen are into recycling. But not just for the stuff they use at home. They're launching Second Gear Sports, at 6529 California Ave. SW in one half of the former Aaron's Cycle shop. The other half will be occupied by Jackson-Hewitt tax preparers, moving from 35th and Roxbury. They hope open on Saturday pending permits but in any case it will be soon.
For the Bremen's this is a chance to put their beliefs into action and serve the community too.
"We'll have bikes, skis, snowboards, some outdoor books on everything from hiking to cycling, plus brand names like Eddie Bauer, REI and some Osprey backpacks, K2 skis, and new running shoes. We plan on carrying a lot of local items. We've got local nutrition bars and some from a physician in Everett who has created these. They are gluten free and good for diabetics. I hope to be adding some beverages like Vitamin water in the near future too," Bremen said.
If you have gently used gear, they will take it on consignment, with some limits, specifically 90 days. They can't take things like treadmills or weight benches unfortunately due to liability reasons. That also includes archery items and paintball gear. "Anything that can be used as a weapon, we won't sell on consignment," Bremen explained.
They will accept bicycles, skis, snowboards and other gear of that type.
They are working on their website right now, www.secondgearsports.com (which for now links to their facebook page).
They plan on being open 10am to 6pm Sun-Thurs and 9 to 7 Friday and Saturday, though these hours may change going forward.
The Bremen's have some business relationships with West Seattle Cyclery and West Seattle Runner and "will be working with them to try and cross promote events."
Even though it's only about 1200 square feet of display space, Bremen said he hopes to host a monthly informational meeting on topics like "How to hike Mt. Rainier or Camping 101."
Their environmental interests extend to using low VOC paint and other reusable materials in outfitting the store. It all ties into the Second Gear theme.
Bremen said he has a background in the medical device industry and knows marketing and business management. Those are skill sets that will serve him well as Second Gear Sports shifts into high gear.
