Brownie’s Pro & Sport Hobbies: Celebrating 25 Years with the Chamber
By Michael Anderson, the Staten Island Chamber of Commerce
On any given day, most people would rather enjoy personal hobbies than go face the daily grind of their jobs. For John Brown, hobbies are his job.
John is the owner of Brownie’s Pro & Sport Hobbies, which was originally operated by his father, George W. Brown Jr. His father worked full time for Proctor and Gamble and raised six children with his wife, Mary Lou, but he always made sure to keep up his passion.
“He found model-building to be something he enjoyed immensely. He started building models at the age of 6 years old,” said John, about his father, who passed away in 2018. “He was always heavy into competition whenever there was a chance for him to go someplace. This hobby opens up the world for people. If they can afford it, people travel all over the world to compete.
“He was always working down the basement repairing things for guys and having model-building sessions. It was something he always wanted to do,” added Brown.
George’s passion became a business when George opened the hobby shop at 122 Bennett Street in Port Richmond in 1971. He ultimately relocated next door 10 years later to its larger and current space at 124 Bennett Street.
“Pretty much of all us – except for one of my sisters – was into hobbies. It was something we all grew up with. Our family vacations were geared around attending model and competition events,” said Brown.
While Brown’s siblings went off to college, he stayed local and devoted more time to the family business.
“I went to college on Staten Island, so between going to school and doing any homework, all my spare time was pretty much spent at the hobby shop grooming myself – not intentionally – to take over,” he said. “About 30 years ago is when I started working full time at the hobby shop. The intention was for my mom and dad to have some leisure time and enjoy their ‘golden years,’ but my dad loved the place so much, he didn’t want to leave. He was there probably until the week before he died.”
George’s hobby paid off. In the summer of 2021, Brownie’s Pro & Sport Hobbies celebrated its 50th year in business.
“The biggest change is that many companies are now doing pre-made or pre-fab – or what we call ‘ready to go’ – vehicles to drive or fly. Back in the day, you had to assemble them. You had to learn about something. You either assembled it yourself, or you paid someone to do it for you,” said Brown.
“This becomes a lifestyle. More so than a fly-by-night entertainment. This is something that once it gets under your skin, you can’t get rid of it. Typically, we’ll get the kids when they’re younger, we lose them in the middle when they discover girls, and then we get them back,” he added.
As a second-generation business, Brown said he loves seeing long-time customers returning with their children.
“One of the best things is when we get generations coming in. And we’re finding that more and more young women are getting involved with the hobby more so now than ever before,” said the owner.
One of Brownie’s favorite hobbies? Being involved in the Staten Island Chamber of Commerce. This year, Brownie’s Pro & Sport Hobbies is celebrating its 25th anniversary with the organization in 2021.
“I like reading the Chamber emails to see which businesses are opening up or joining,” he said. “The Chamber also does a good job of providing information to all businesses on Staten Island, so even if we can’t leave our stores, we can keep updated on critical and important business news.”
