Outdoor Retailer - Summer 2019 - 29

and can do photography, but it's nice to have
my brother's perspective on things. He hasn't
been embedded in the outdoor industry, so he
has a better idea if something is a reasonable fit
for the average person."
Before opening the store, the brothers also
had conversations with Egyptian shopkeepers about how they conduct business and
how they strengthened community in their
neighborhoods. They heard three important things: Cultivate what you can, pivot if
you need to, and love what you've built. There
is one more piece of advice: On the business
side of the room sits a sewing machine, one of
three, with the words "don't fuck it up" written
on its body in black sharpie.
The Spindle ATL, located in the Old Fourth
Ward, opened in 2014. It moved to its current location, two blocks away from the old
address, in 2017. The brothers have been in
and out of this neighborhood since they were
kids. Ezz and Sharif grew up 20 minutes away
in the Peachtree Corners section of Norcross,
Georgia. The minute Ezz turned 16 and got his
driver's license, they made their way to the music venues in the city, searching for the scene,
meeting people and making friends. After college they moved to the city, and Sharif rode
through the area on his bike, undaunted by its
reputation for high incidences of drug activity, and subsequently, crime. "This area was
kind of rough back in the day," he says. "Back
then when I rode through this area at night, I
would ride without my front light on, so people
couldn't see me until I was already past them."
At the time, the area was fostering artists.
The pairbrothers went to art shows and music
venues not far from where The Spindle now
sits. They hung out in the bars and later worked
in them, and friends from back in the days now
come into the shop. Ezz met the woman who
would become his wife, Erin, not far from here,
and she works at a salon up the street.
When it came time to open up shop, this
neighborhood felt like a good fit. Their adult
roots were now here so they made the place
look like home. Stickers dot the glass door that
divides the spaces, and logos for Westerville
Bike Shop, Loose Nuts Cycles, and Earl's Bike
Shop all make appearances. Sitting off to one
side, prominently visible to anyone who pushes on the door handle, is a circle that says, "You
are welcome here. Hate is not." Toward the
bottom, there's a picture of a heart with a sewing needle in it and the words passion, craft,
and quality written underneath.

SIBLING SWEAT EQUITY
Sharif (left) mans the
kitchen; Ezz (right) crafts
gear in the workshop

Ten years ago SHARIF GAVE HIS OLDER BROTHER A GLOSSY
BLACK TREK ROAD BIKE rigged to be a single speed for his
birthday. Ezz found cycling FASTER THAN DRIVING ATLANTA'S
OFTEN GRIDLOCKED STREETS and started commuting by bike.
Ezz and Sharif think about those three attributes daily. There are plants everywhere-the
jade pothos that holds open the dividing door is
so happy with the light that comes through the
floor-to-ceiling windows that it gleefully spills
from its pot, leaves soaking up the sun, even
though the brothers occasionally try to wrangle
it in and keep it contained with a series of stakes
and twine. Things get to grow here. As the years
go by the brothers have grown too.

he Hassans now consider themselves part of the maker culture-
people who work with their hands
to create something useful and
beautiful. Their space has an industrial kitchen
in the back, and Sharif gets to create menus that
fuel their customers while they're out for a ride.
He also plans a number of the shop's events.
Every six weeks the store offers The Spindle
Speakers Series where local cyclists talk about
their experiences in the community. Previous
topics have included how to best fuel for a ride,
more about the world of cyclocross, and how to
take on an endurance ride. The store also hosts
yoga for cyclists, twilight rides, and bikepacking trips for those curious about different as-

pects of cycling but unsure where to start.
As Egyptian Americans in the South, the
Hassan's identity gives them perspective and
empathy, which has allowed them to connect
with their neighbors. Their experiences back in
Egypt offered the ability to reconcile commerce
and human decency with their ambitions. For
Sharrrif and Ezz, money is a tool-it matters
what you do with it. And their intention is to
make a living and enhance the neighborhood,
not strike it rich.
Ezz has also added a new skill to his resume.
His official shop card says "bag wizard." He
learned the trade from a friend who worked
at Loose Nuts Cycles making messenger bags
and wallets. When his buddy left the industry
to start his own pen case company, Ezz started
tinkering with the leftover patterns, making
pieces for himself. "I didn't have much of an interest in making backpacks or messenger bags
for the simple reason that I thought there were
other companies that did that," he explained. "I
didn't want to make something I wasnt 100 percent confident in, or don't really want to make.
I wanted to make bags that got used, that could
handle whatever you threw at them."
But, people started to stop Ezz on the street to

Summer 2019 / OUTDOOR RETAILER 29

Outdoor Retailer - Summer 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Outdoor Retailer - Summer 2019