Photo by Sara BehunekJeff Veale's first job in retail was at a surf shop on the coast of Texas. Now, he co-owns Fast Forward.
For Jeff Veale and the two other co-owners of skate shop Fast Forward, which opened in August at the Gateway Shopping Center on Capital of Texas Hwy., the notion of second chances is a familiar one.
Gerry Anderson and Brandon Batton, two skateboard enthusiasts, opened the first Fast Forward in 1984 in Irving, Texas. Within about 20 years, the company had grown to 22 stores around Texas and had caught the eye of Zumiez, a well-known skate and snowboard national apparel chain.
In 2006, Batton and Anderson sold the shop to Zumiez, but after the three-year noncompete clause of the contract was up, the duo recruited Veale, who served as a store manager for them for five years starting in 2001, bought the name Fast Forward back from Zumiez and reopened Fast Forward in San Antonio.
"When Zumiez bought it, it changed from what we were. They have a big footprint in Texas, so we had to be sure this is what we wanted to do because we can't compete with Goliath. We're just a couple of guys," Veale said.
