There’s a common thought that’s shared by many that says, “If it’s too good to be true, then it probably is.” But there’s always exceptions to many things in life, including the aforementioned shared sentiment.
That’s where Bell Lap Track and Field enters the picture.
The small business is run by three brothers, and their sole purpose is to assist athletes financially to help them reach their full potential in the sport.
The story of the company began when older brothers Brant and Reid Basting sought to help out their younger brother Bryce during his professional running career. He signed a small deal with a major brand, but only made $12,000 after his first year of running as a professional, as well as working part-time at a running store. He ended up walking away from the sport because it wasn’t sustainable.
One Christmas, the brothers were hanging out together when Bryce mentioned that he needed to do something with all of the gear that he had from his time as a professional runner. The brothers then put the gear on eBay, but then decided to create an Instagram account to sell the gear. On Tuesdays and Fridays, the brothers would take pictures of the gear, post the price of the gear that they were selling with the picture, which led to buyers sending them direct messages on the app wanting to purchase the products.
From there, the brothers knew that they needed to expand to an online website after being flooded with DMs from potential buyers, which they did.
“Those who are lucky enough to get sponsored get a lot of gear,” Brant Basting said. “What we do is we ask the pros, if you have any extra gear that you’re not using, send it our way, and we’ll photograph it, put it on the website, sell it, ship it out to the buyers and give you all the money back outside of the shipping charges.
“It sounds too good to be true, but this is just our way of giving back to the running community because it’s a sport we love, and we think that they’re underpaid, and this is a way that we can help get them a couple of extra dollars in their pocket for something that they were going to donate to Goodwill, give away, or sit there in their closet.”
Brant admits that at the end of the year, the brothers realize that they lose money in order to make this happen. In addition to shipping charges, they’ll charge a 3% percent credit card fee. Brant said that they just “chalk it up to the game,” when it comes to losing money, and knowing the impact that the business has on the athletes that they work with keeps the brothers encouraged.
“You get a text message from one of the pro’s that says I was able to pay rent this month, or my car broke down and if it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t be able to [ay to get it fixed,” he said. “Those are the ones – you get those texts or you get those calls, or whatever it is. It’s really cool when they write out a thank you on the back of a bib and send it to you. Those are the things that you’re just like, I feel like I’m making a difference.
There are times that you’re photographing stuff until 1 a.m. in the morning trying to get it on the website, and you’re like what am I doing this for? We all have those thoughts, all of my brothers and I. Then you get that phone call or text message and you say, ‘That’s what it’s for.'”
Everyone doesn’t automatically get on board with the company at first. The professional athletes are a bit more cautious, but Brant says that the skepticism goes away after the athletes start working with the company.
“That’s one of the toughest things,” he said. “(The pros) are a little skeptical at first, until we send them that first Venmo payment. Then they’re all good from there.”
One of the professional athletes that they’ve been able to work with is Erik Sowinski, who is one of the athletes that’s sponsored by the company. He says that he’s enjoyed the opportunity to work with BLTF over the years.
“It’s been amazing,” Sowinski said. “Being able to collaborate on things and bounce ideas off of each other has been a unique experience. The guys at BLTF have put out some awesome content and apparel which I’m sure a lot of people have seen and I’m excited to see what’s in the works down the road.”
Sowinski believes that the unwavering support that the company has given him and other athletes regardless of his performance, in addition to the genuineness that’s displayed by the Basting brothers limits the stress that he feels when he races.
“Knowing that you’re going to have support no matter the outcome of a certain race or season takes the stress away from so many aspects of the sport,” Sowinski said. “These guys want to see you succeed and are willing to give you the shirt off of their back to make that happen. I can’t stress enough how great of an experience it has been working with and being supported by BLTF.”
Brant admitted that he didn’t think that the conversation that the three brothers had in December would equate to the success that the company is having. Just last year alone, the company sold gear to customers in 25 different countries and 48 states. He hopes that in the future, the company can sell merchandise at meets and do more custom design work for athletes.
While these are goals that the company continues to work towards, the overall mission will never change.
“I want our brand to increase the money that athletes get for the better,” Basting said. “I think all the track athletes are underpaid, track and field. You can’t tell me someone making the Olympics and only making $30k or less, some of them are unsponsored, is good for the sport. I hope that everything that we’re doing increases the amount that the pros get.”
