GH Sports Celebrates First Year in New Location

gareth 4 Story and photo by Gareth Kelly

There are many ways to grow our businesses, develop our business, or take our business to the next level and generate more revenue. For many business owners becoming a huge brand with millions in revenue, hundreds of employees and a great reputation is a goal. Some will make it. Some will not. Sometimes a company will make it then realize life at the top is not all its cracked up to be.
Many years ago Greg Hind a former Olympic water polo athlete started and built a “great” company, Hind Sports. With more than 500 employees and operations in three states, Hind realized he wanted to spend more time with his family in his beloved San Luis Obispo, so he walked away from the company selling it to Saucony. gareth's
Hind passed away in 2012 but his vision still lives on in the smaller company he and his wife started in the mid 1990s, GH Sports. Celebrating their one-year anniversary at their new location at 3765 South Higuera Street, suite 100, GH Sports is a leader in swimming, running and triathlon apparel.
“This has almost been a homecoming for us,” said General Manager, Garret Long. “This is where Hind sports used to be located. For years we were about 70 yards down the street, hidden away where no one could find us. The new location has been great. We are more visible from the road and have more people just stopping by.”
Supplying swim wear to the women’s Cal Poly water polo team along with many high school swim teams from around the local area, GH Sports continues their long standing tradition of quality locally manufactured apparel.
Gareth's 2 “Our seamstress has been here since the original Hind sports,” Long said. “We have a smaller operation these days but we still make some of our swim wear in house. We really hope to continue building relationships with not only local teams but hopefully further afield around the state.”
GH Sports also sells numerous running shoes, cycling equipment, fins, snorkels and a vast assortment of t-shirts, jackets and shorts. They also have an in-house gait checking system—the gate of one’s feet, not the one at the end of one’s driveway.
“We like to help our customers find the best shoes to fit them,” said Long. “With our gait check system we can identify problem areas in your feet and find you the best shoe to help. You simply step barefoot onto our plate, which gives us an imprint of your foot, and then go for a quick jog on our treadmill, which we video. With this we can then look at any areas of concern and suggest the best shoes be it for running or hiking.”
So next time you drive down South Higuera and happen to notice a large collection of shoe boxes outside a large building pull on in. You will find a friendly attentive staff and will, of course, be shopping local. GH Sports is open Monday through Friday from 10am to 5.30p.m. and 10am to 5p.m. on Saturdays. They are located at 3765 S.Higuera Street, Suite 100 in SLO or on the web at www.ghsports.com