How “Dave’s Freshly Used” Channels Florida History Through Sportswear

Every home game in The Swamp, the car is loaded. Inside: a polo shirt, the same design that Steve Spurrier donned on the sidelines 30 years ago, but it’s good as new. Thousands of dollars in items fill the trunk.

The GPS flicks on, and estimated time of arrival is five hours, accounting for a time-zone change. For anyone else, driving this far for a college football game would be preposterous. For Joshua Rittenour, it’s routine.

Rittenour, 31, is the owner of Dave’s Freshly Used, an online and pop-up business that sells vintage clothing, most being Florida gear. Rittenour graduated from the university in 2017 with an economics degree and started his business to pay for school. Rather than enter a job market that dominates the nightmares of most graduating college students, Rittenour realized that selling old Gators gear could be a full-time gig.

Growing up in Daytona Beach, Florida, Rittenour always loved the orange and blue. Years of watching the Gators grew an appreciation for the ethos of Florida, one that he teaches every day. 

“He doesn’t just sell you a shirt, he sells you history,” said Jeff Rittenour, Joshua’s father. “He could tell you about every shirt, what was going on at the time.”

To call the Rittenour household fashionable would be an understatement. Rittenour thrifted with his older brothers and learned to sow from his mom, who’s still his first call for clothing repairs. Once he got a car in 10th grade, shopping became his life. 

These days, across the street from Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Rittenour sets up more than six hours before kickoff in front of the Lutheran Campus Center to catch the game day traffic. Down the road at The Swamp Restaurant, a second stand, operated by two UF students, also features Rittenour’s carefully curated items. 

“Finding the stuff is the full-time job,” Rittenour said. “I’m constantly networking to find items.”

Contrary to popular belief, Rittenour doesn’t scour the racks of every Goodwill across the state. Not only would that take too long, but Rittenour says quality items don’t come from thrift stores, they come straight from the homes of fans. 

After a family gives up their prized Gator grails, the long journey from purchase to sale begins. Over a multi-day cleaning process, Rittenour brings the clothes back to life. For most people, clothing with holes, broken zippers, stains or defects are destined for the garbage, but Rittenour’s skills make this a profitable endeavor. Sometimes the items even appear brand new, especially the ones that Rittenour designs himself.

Rittenour has worked with Gators football and women’s basketball to release different designs that tell the history of the Gators. His first official collaboration with Florida was a “Helmet History Shirt” that includes every Gators football helmet since 1906. It’s an original, hand-painted design that printed in Gainesville. 

But it wasn’t easy. Breaking into the official Gators merchandise business was difficult, having to compete with major sports brands. That made his work feel special.

“One of my long-term goals was to work with the university in some capacity,” Rittenour said. The deal opened a door for Rittenour to lend his clothing to UF football for recruiting photoshoots, which eventually led to Rittenour designing an entire recruiting room decorated in Gators antiques.

The staple of the room was a Gators helmet telephone, used by coach Jon Sumrall hours after he first landed in Gainesville. In the first recruiting class under Sumrall, Brandon Spikes announced each recruit’s commitment in the room while wearing a shirt and hat from Rittenour’s collection. 

Even Tim Tebow has worn Rittenour’s products. On May 15, during Morgan Wallen’s “Still The Problem” tour, Tebow greeted Wallen in the tunnel of Ben Hill Griffin stadium and walked out to 70,000 cheering fans. On Tebow’s chest, a Florida alumni logo designed by Rittenour broadcast to the crowd and social media. When Florida hosted Miami in 2024, Tebow wore a vintage “Swamped” T-shirt from Rittenour’s inventory. 

In the era of fast fashion and clothing only made for one or two wears, Rittenour has captured a market that misses the quality and uniqueness of clothes from decades ago. 

“I first started buying from Dave’s because I was frustrated with the options at places like the bookstore, Alumni Hall and other sporting goods stores,” said Courtney Bristow, one of Rittenour’s most loyal customers. “It just felt like everything was the same.”

 The elder Rittenour put it simply: “They don’t make shirts like they used to.” Compared to the good ol’ days, he referenced a drop in quality, durability and even graphic design. That holds true for buyers, who pay premiums for restored items. 

The numbers: A new Jordan Gators polo shirt goes for $68 at the UF bookstore. On Rittenour’s site, Davesfreshlyused.com, a vintage Nike Gators polo shirt decorated in Gator scales lists for $85.

But for many, the past is worth the price. 

“My dad’s name was Dave. He graduated from UF in ’82, and he and my mom fostered my love for all things Gators,” Bristow said. “The pieces that Josh sells remind me of things I grew up seeing my dad and his friends wearing to games.”

Bristow described the clothes giving off a nostalgic, “fuzzy” feeling, bringing back memories of her childhood, when Florida won two national championships during the Urban Meyer era. 

“Sometimes I think that if I wear something from back in that era, it’ll bring back some of the magic we had, like it’s good luck,” she said.

Rittenour joined Bristow and her family in San Antonio for Florida men’s basketball’s Final Four run in 2025, staying with them during the weekend. From the trip, Bristow recalls the extraordinary amount of effort and care Rittenour dedicates to his business. After developing a friendship with Rittenour and witnessing his attention to detail, Bristow said she’s a customer for life. But outside of football season, one loyal customer isn’t enough.

“Anything that isn’t August through November is a struggle,” Rittenour said. Even during the national championship run for Florida basketball, nothing compared to the sales generated from football. Over the summer, when students move back home and Gainesville finally comes to a rest, business dries up. The verdict: “I have to do as much as I can in these three months just to survive the rest of the year but that’s the reality of a college town.”

Pop-ups die, sales drop and the business shifts to being completely online, Rittenour selling out of his home in Pensacola, where his wife is completing a nursing residency. Rittenour plans to move to Gainesville and eventually open his own store, but right now, before football season, the only thing he can do is stockpile clothes and get customers riled up for Gators football. 

After a nine-month layoff from college football and a five-hour drive back to Gainesville, Rittenour sets up his tent for the first game of the season. His parents stick around while he organizes his pants, jerseys, polos and shirts. None of them are going to the game, but they get to watch a lifelong passion carry on every Saturday.

Category: Feature Sports News, Gator Sports