Rising Stars: Meet Jason Seagle of Atlanta

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jason Seagle.

Hi Jason, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I (Jason) am an Atlanta native and moved to Bozeman, Montana, for college in the early-1990s, where I soon discovered the original Secondwind consignment shop that opened in 1988. Secondwind quickly became my favorite Montana shop, and I always thought that it seemed like a great business model, especially for a gear junkie, like myself. Little did I know that almost 25 years later I would bring it to my hometown!

A few years ago, my wife, Amanda, and I traveled to Bozeman to visit friends and, of course, stopped into Secondwind. Brad, the shop owner, noticed that Amanda was wearing a backpack with our travel cat, Marlene, inside of it and struck up a conversation with her about Marlene, our connection to Bozeman, and mutual friends. Ultimately, this led to a discussion about Atlanta as a potential market and opening a location here. I drove back out to Bozeman a few months later to spend several weeks learning the ropes about everything outdoor gear consignment. This is where it all started!

Initially, we were going to start by opening a brick-and-mortar shop. However, it was 2021, COVID was ramping up again, and we were nervous about what that meant for the retail market. We were excited about getting started and brainstormed alternative ways to do it. This led us to the idea of buying a 20 ft cargo trailer and selling at farmer’s markets and in outdoor spaces provided by local retailers. We are grateful to the intown farmer’s markets and businesses that were open to this unique model for selling gear and apparel, like the Grant Park, Oakhurst, and Morningside farmer’s markets and Parkgrounds Cafe, Sceptre Brewing, and Lady Bird, and more. They played an instrumental role in our origin and growth.

Over the next two years, we developed a strong Atlanta community of consignors and shoppers, and we were rapidly outgrowing the cargo trailer. We opened our storefront in Poncy-Highland in August of 2024 in a historic building that contains a diverse, supportive collection of businesses. Since opening the storefront, our community of customers has steadily grown and expanded. We have been impressed by the quality of the merchandise that consignors bring to us, which allows us to provide great resources and value to the larger community.

This link provides further information about our story:

https://www.secondwindgearshop.com/locally-owned

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
We’re on the road traveling to Montana right now so a bit limited on time. Below are a few bullet points that we’re happy to expand if needed!

-Covid and concern starting with a brick and mortar location with expensive five year lease.

-Cargo Trailer as a work around and excellent way to test the model and get our name out there.

-Three transmissions going out in a year in my old suburban (covered under warranty thankfully)

-Length of time finding the right location to open a brick and mortar

-Learning how to adapt the Bozeman Secondwind model to the Atlanta market.

-The most surprising thing has been learning that Atlanta is a ski town! Tons of demand here for ski and snowboard equipment.

In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
Consumers want quality outdoor gear and clothing that will last. Well-made apparel and gear can be quite expensive, and this is a barrier for many. As a consignment shop, we offer top brands at a discounted price, so enable more access to it. Secondhand/consignment shops are thriving, especially as cost-of-living increases, and we anticipate that our industry will continue to grow. Further, demand for quality secondhand inventory that’s more affordable is booming as people realize the environmental impacts of always buying new. We love keeping good gear going strong while bringing good value to our customers and consignors.

On more of a personal level, we plan to expand our presence in Atlanta by opening additional locations around the metro area. In addition to offering quality merchandise, we want to diversify our model to offer more opportunities for community engagement and being a valued resource for Atlanta and everything outdoor. We have lots of fun ideas in the works!

Pricing:

• Way more affordable than retail!
• We have a discount system where the price drops automatically based on how long an item has been on the floor
• We offer solid cash out value and even better store credit to our consignors

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.secondwindgearshop.com
• Instagram: @secondwindgearshop