Cody Demerais has set up his pop-up shop, I Am Limitless Gear, at Gateway Mall, selling clothing with his brand aimed at inspiring others.
Cody Demerais wanted to inspire and create something people could be proud of.
That was the thought behind I am Limitless Gear, the clothing brand the Prince Albert resident started in early 2017.
Demerais is from Prince Albert, and — aside from a year spent in Saskatoon for school — has lived the city his whole life.
He started with a T-shirt, and progressed from there, adding hoodies and hats, toques and other apparel.
“It’s just been evolving nonstop,” he said.
Demerais thought hard about his brand name and its design, two gears interlocked, just like the infinity sign.
“I love the concept of going that extra mile, being something somewhat different, just exceeding expectations. A gear is a strong symbol. Shifting gears means making motion happen. Shift gears, be limitless, is the mantra I came up with.”
The idea of creating a brand first came to Demerais through a project in elementary school. The teacher assigned the students to come up with a personal brand using hockey sticks, basketballs or their initials, anything that connected with them.
“I always thought it was a cool concept, having your own brand,” Demerais said.
“Something with your signature on it, something out there.”
Demerais wanted his brand to be inspirational.
“I want to motivate people to step outside their comfort zone, to not follow the same routine, and to do something that makes them uneasy.”
He took the message to heart.
Demerais, who is afraid of heights, wanted to face his fear. He also hadn’t been in an airplane before. So he went skydiving to “overcome those barriers,” he said.
This year, Demerais has set up a pop-up shop to sell his branded clothing at the Gateway Mall. The store is open until Dec. 23. Demerais is looking at this as an opportunity to test the waters and see what the interest is like in his budding company.
“The feedback from people giving me love and support on Facebook and Instagram has been exceptional,” he said. It’s been climbing nonstop. I’ve been very grateful.”
He doesn’t exactly know where the company will go from here, but he’s working on opening an online store as well and selling at trade fairs.
“I’m not stopping, I can promise you that,” he said.
“I talked in class. I was a troublemaker. I was always the one doing something I shouldn’t have been doing. I want this to be something that people are proud of. It’s a local boy trying to make moves in life and be happy. I really want to push this past expectations. A lot of people didn’t think of this brand going too far when it first started. But I’ve grown to 1,100 people on Facebook, 600 on Instagram. Those are decent numbers for just a clothing brand out of a guy’s idea.”
As the community support grows, Demerais wants to pay it forward. He spoke about the importance of buying local. His shop, for example, uses a screen printer in Saskatoon. Demerais has also donated a portion of his proceeds to kids in need.
“I worked for a school at the Margo Fournier for Eagle’s Nest, and we used to have unfortunate hockey pads – like duct tape pads. Last year I made a deal to partner with Source for Sports and donate some of my profits to buying them hockey pads to show the importance of supporting local,” he said.
“A lot of people gave me support in Prince Albert, support given back to the community. That’s the importance of supporting local.”
Demerais shop is open in the Gateway Mall in the former Propaganda storefront. For more information, visit https://www.limitlessgearclothing.com/
