Team Bass Boy has been a work in progress for many years. In 1996 with
the help, guidance and full support of one of the finest gentleman I
have ever known, the late Skip Gerdes of Skippy's bait and tackle I
opened a shop with my partner Scott. The Bait Well was located in Long
Beach on West Beach St. We were the first shop in that area.
Unfortunately for me I had a family that needed my regular salary and
benefits and it just became too much to handle trying to run a shop and
work 40 plus hours as an electrician and coach my sons little league
baseball, football, hockey, basketball etc., etc. But I had gotten a
sniff of something that I truly loved and I knew one day I would get
back into it.
During that time and for years to follow I tooled around with a few
characters I dreamed up and thought they would look good on hats and
clothing and various items.If I could get back into the business I would
use those characters for a logo maybe, a company name or just in basic
marketing. Having a brother that is a graphic artist was a huge help and
well you couldn't beat the price. He took some of my raw and I mean raw
drawings and transformed my visions into reality. We settled on Bass Boy
as our main theme and made up prototypes for hats and t-shirts and had
him trade marked and copyrighted. All the while the bait and tackle idea
still stoked my flames.
I was born and raised and still live in East Rockaway so I would pass
the old Skippy's on a daily basis and wondered on many occasions what
was going on with the place. I tried on several occasions to get some
information or a phone number but came up empty. Than one afternoon, on
a shopping expedition with my wife Lisa we noticed some activity in the
store as we passed. I figured I would go by there later and see if I
could get some information, I was a little hesitant for some reason but
Lisa would have none of that and ordered me to stop the truck and get my
butt in there immediately.
As luck would have it the people in the store were the parents of the
owner. I got his phone number, set up a meeting only to find out that
he was as enthusiastic about re-opening a shop here as I was. Sure a
landlord is always excited about renting his property but I could sense
he was genuine and sincere. Soon enough the renovations began and are
still in progress.
One last note and this is truly from my heart. I could not possibly
open this store every day without thinking about Skippy. I know he's
looking over my shoulder, If I could be half the man he was than I'll
have been somebody. Thanks my friend!
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