About Us
Who’s behind it all?
Terry Friedlander
Founder & Creative Head of State
Terry Friedlander, another old hippie from the ‘60s, is known to his peers as the “Survivor” (having nothing to do with the reality TV show). Terry grew up in California and graduated from Beverly Hills High School in 1960 without honors. He attended several colleges based upon his ability to shoot three-point basketball shots when there was no three-point shot. The distractions at UC Santa Barbara, hoop practice, and a part-time job made it difficult for Terry to awaken in time to attend very many classes. Nonetheless, he did graduate from the University of Redlands (his fifth college) in four years which, during that era, was a near-record performance. A major in history with a minor in physical education led to a high school teaching and coaching career in the Los Angeles area. Deviating from the norm and the expectations of the community led to a vocational and relocation change to the state of Washington where he was the athletic director of the Jewish Community Center for four years.
The good news was that Seattle during the ‘70s and ‘80s was inspirational to Terry’s desire to pursue his entrepreneurial dreams. The dream came to light on one of the many grey, rainy days in Seattle. The idea was to create a retail store for professional sports team merchandise. With suggestions and tips from numerous friends, Terry modeled it after a store called “The Locker Room” based in Washington, D.C. For experience, Terry spent five weeks in D.C. following the owner around while taking copious notes and pictures. This period of self-employment is commonly known as instant poverty.
Starting with practically zero dollars, Terry found a financial partner and a location for the new retail store on one of the busiest corners in the Pacific Northwest. The Seattle version of “The Locker Room” opened in 1976 on the day that the Seattle Seahawks NFL team played their first game. Happily, the store was filled with Seahawks merchandise and business was good from the start.
Sixteen years to the day later, Terry signed the papers and sold the company (which had grown to 10 stores). Alas, at this moment Terry’s identity also went missing.
However, Terry’s restless brain and love for the outdoors soon led to a move to Ketchum, Idaho. piclits.com emerged one cold, Idaho night near the turn of the century, from a combination of refrigerator poetry, an interesting article in USA Today, some Sun Valley Pale Ale, and a roaring fireplace.
Go figure.