Nostalgia

[Setec Astronomy]

As I was sitting here this morning drinking my coffee and trying to wake up and browsing the forums, I got a little nostalgic. I joined Autopia in 2004 (the join date in my profile is from Autopia Forums). Back then there weren`t as many products, and not as many good ones.

I was thinking about how many good product choices there are today, but I was also thinking about how we today have these "super stores" with vast line cards, while back in the day (which to be fair, was a little more in the infancy of online shopping) there were a bunch of guys who had side businesses out of their basements, etc.

Remember Patrick and Scott and Danase and Rick and Rob, and probably some others I am forgetting...that guy Steve (was that his name?) that sold towels?

Rick (ADS) and Rob (now TowelPros) are still around, but the others are gone. Of course Corey was a late-comer to the "garage" business and successfully grew it up into a larger, full-time business.

Most of the "garage" businesses had a niche product that became not so niche as the internet expanded and it was easier to find things, and as some of the bigger stores kept taking on lines popularized by the little guys. I still remember when Patrick started selling Surf City and shortly thereafter WalMart or PepBoys started selling it...someone posted a link and Patrick said "well, there goes that product line..." or something like that. Patrick always seemed to ferret out these products that nobody knew about and once he made them popular AG would pick up the line.

Anybody know what happened to Patrick? I know he always wanted to move from CA to CO. I know Scott (I can`t even remember the name of his store...wait, it was SMP) moved to TX because his wife got transferred there, and then he gave up the store. I thought we saw Danase posting here some years ago.

Anyway...it was a simpler time back then...although a lot simpler today to get products that work well...lot more one-stop shopping and less trial-and-error.

PS Since I was asking about Patrick...what ever happened to SpoiledMan? I know they lived close to each other...another great guy. Sorry if I`m rambling, having a sleepy morning.

[Accumulator]

Heh heh, thanks for the trip down Memory Lane. I`m still using some of those YoSteve towels, and it was he who originally thought of using the Foamgun for car washes. I`m still wearing my Danase Detailing Products t-shirt when taking the dogs out too.

[Stokdgs]

Setec Astronomy --
Thank you for the trip back and history.. Loved it..
I started buying all my Microfiber from Rob/TowelPro`s, way, way, back when the only "upgrade" was Korean towels which I still have and they are still awesome..
He used to post a lot of things showing him actually doing them.. I liked that..
Believe he still might be there in that lovely, lovely, place called Santa Barbara, California..
One of my 2 Daughters went to school there at UCSB, and just about died when she graduated (cum laude), and had to finally leave that just perfect weather..

I also liked it when there were not so many things hitting the market every year, mid-year, and now, all the time..
Makes for more time to weed through the hype and hopefully find things that are really better because they ARE, and not because someone says they are...
Dan F

[RMD]

Speaking of nostalgia, I didn`t realize Rob from towel pros was on this forum. I heard about towel pros on the forums, may have even been this one, and made an order from him a couple years ago. There was an issue with the order so I called directly and Rob called me back right away. I realized from the site that he was in Santa Barbara, and asked him where his shop was, since I was born and raised there. (And Stokdgs, Go Gauchos! to your daughter who went to UCSB. I was class of `92). Rob and I were talking and he asked me which high school I went to in SB, and when I graduated. Turns out we were one year apart at the same school. Once he told me his last name, I instantly knew who he was and he remembered me as well. Was a cool trip down memory lane catching up and hearing about all the people we both know. He is a class act in terms of how he runs his business, and I buy from him whenever I need stuff he sells.

[Stokdgs]

Speaking of nostalgia, I didn`t realize Rob from towel pros was on this forum. I heard about towel pros on the forums, may have even been this one, and made an order from him a couple years ago. There was an issue with the order so I called directly and Rob called me back right away. I realized from the site that he was in Santa Barbara, and asked him where his shop was, since I was born and raised there. (And Stokdgs, Go Gauchos! to your daughter who went to UCSB. I was class of `92). Rob and I were talking and he asked me which high school I went to in SB, and when I graduated. Turns out we were one year apart at the same school. Once he told me his last name, I instantly knew who he was and he remembered me as well. Was a cool trip down memory lane catching up and hearing about all the people we both know. He is a class act in terms of how he runs his business, and I buy from him whenever I need stuff he sells.

RMD -
Thanks for your post and glad that you graduated from UCSB !

This kid was so smart and focused, that she graduated in 3 years.. Yes, she went to Summer school every year and was really prepared coming out of High School.. And then, a little later, she decided to completely change her life and put herself through Law School !!! That cost MORE than College...

One of the coolest things that happened to her while at UCSB in my opinion was when she and her roommate were at the Mexican food place - I forget the name - and there was a man there that Kara thought she "knew" for some reason, so she kept looking over at him.. His face looked very familiar to her..

He eventually figured that out, and asked her and her roommate to come over and share Dinner with him..

They talked for awhile and eventually she asked him his name, and he said - David Crosby - ( THAT David Crosby !!!)

Then it all came back to her - she remembered when she and her sister were little girls, I played all kinds of music for them every day, and they looked at the album covers.
Of course there were a couple albums of Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young, and she saw that pic of David Crosby with his wild hair and fu manchu mustache, and much, much, later, there he was, sitting down across from her...

David Crosby paid for their meal and they all went their way...
How lucky is that !!!!
Dan F

[Accumulator]

...One of the coolest things that happened to her...

Ah, that`s great, thanks for posting it! I just love the way all sorts of stuff comes up on various threads here

[mc2hill]

Rick (ADS) and Rob (now TowelPros) are still around, but the others are gone. Of course Corey was a late-comer to the "garage" business and successfully grew it up into a larger, full-time business.

Speaking of Corey, I was in his store last week found he has outgrown his current location (2nd or maybe 3rd) and is moving into a place 3 times the size!
He has a `garage` type area and hoped to have classes there, but it soon filled it up with product. Maybe he will room/time to have some classes in the new place!