Gruv Gear started as a personal project for Jay Baldemor. He was running a web design & development company in the mid-2000s by day, and most nights he was a gigging musician, playing in various LA and Orange County clubs and bars. He wanted to find a way to make life easier lugging around awkward and heavy gear from place to place, so he started looking for cart solutions for his rig. What he discovered was there was nothing quite like what he needed -- Office supply stores offered light-duty carts to move boxes, and the heavy-duty carts that could handle his rig were simply too heavy and bulky to cram into a car already filled with amps and speakers. In early 2007, Jay decided it was time to design his own, and the Gruv Gear name was born.
He got the help of Peter Espartero, a friend he knew from church who happened to be an Industrial Designer. They connected with another friend who was an engineer, and the three guys went to work on the project after-hours. After about two years of R&D, the first product was ready for prototyping. This compact, convertible "transformer" of a cart was the called the V-Cart Solo, and had the perfect mix of foldability, maneuverability, and weight handling. With the help of Jay's wife Janeth (a registered nurse), Peter, and a few close friends and family members, they marched proudly into their first NAMM Show in 2010 with just a handful of USA-made prototypes. To their surprise, the product and branding was so well-received that they got multiple offers of distribution from around the world!
Fast forward 7 years and several product categories later, Gruv Gear's growing line of products is now distributed in over 50 countries, shipped from warehouses in California, Shanghai, Germany and Canada, and continues to revolutionize the musician and jetsetter's lifestyle with innovative bags, carts and accessories. To date, over 250 world-class performers, producers, photographers and million-mile travelers endorse and trust Gruv Gear with their everyday carry and tech essentials. Jay didn't know back in 2007 that this project was going to turn into a business, let alone the well-loved global brand that it has become.
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