Teenager opens own skate shop

HE started by selling grip tape, a skateboarding essential, to people using the new mini-ramp in Probus park after spotting a gap in the market.

Now entrepreneurial teenager David Webb has opened his first shop in the village.

The 18-year-old dreamt of opening a market stall as a child and then decided he wanted to open a bike shop.

The former Roseland Community College pupil said: "When they did up the local park and built a mini-ramp I got into skateboarding.

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"People started coming to Probus to skate so there's a market there. Skate stuff is cheaper to buy than bike stuff and so it began – I started selling grip tape and it grew."

He started online in October, using his wage from the village's Nisa store to buy stock to sell on www.skate247.co.uk

"Trade's been slowly picking up," said David. "But I was always keen to have a shop and now I'm 18 I can get a lease on a building, so now I can run the business a bit better.

"I try and offer the best customer service I can provide and try to stock all the top to middle-end stuff to make sure everything is good quality and minimise returns.

Open

"I just try and do everything the best I can."

The shop on Tregony Road, formerly A and D Community Care, opened its doors for the first time on Saturday, with a little financial help from his parents to get all of the shop fittings.

He has his own Skate 24/7 stickers and branded grip tape, which helps skaters to grip to the skateboard. He plans to eventually have a bigger range of stock in the shop than online.

David said: "My parents are pretty impressed. I always went on about it as a child so they knew this was coming."

Neighbour Christian Schulze, who helped David when he was setting up his website, said: "It goes without saying that there are many people who think our younger generation are lazy layabouts relying on the bank of Mum and Dad to get by and not thinking of their own future. David is an exception.

"He is showing a clear example of entrepreneurship at such an early age off his own back."

David plans to open the shop between 10am and 4pm most days.