As part of our new series focusing on young people from the Isle of Wight doing great things (see the first with Luke Chandler), we popped over to Wootton earlier this week to have a chat with Blake Nash from Island Extreme (podcast below).
You might remember Blake from a feature we ran about his pop-up shop a couple of years ago at Wight Trash in Ryde, when he was testing the waters to see whether there was demand for his products.
New deal with Halfords
He’s an ambitious lad, keen to succeed in doing something that he loves, and Blake’s business has gone from strength to strength since we last met him.
Part of the reason we hooked up this week was to hear more about the great news that his very own designed scooter wheels, aka Juicy Wheels Co, are now being stocked by nationwide chain, Halfords.
Even though Blake already has his wheels in lots of different stockists around the country, to have the recognition from Halfords is massive news.
Boat-builder by day
As well as his shop in Wootton and online sales, Blake still has a full-time job working as a boat builder in East Cowes.
Dedicated to the end, he’s running the scooter business during his spare time, with the ambition for it to become his full-time career in the future.
Knowing what the audience wants
Talking about the latest designs of his wheels, doughnut and watermelon, Blake explains that it’s taken 3-4 years to get to this point, but that because he’s been a scooter rider for eight years, he knows what the audience wants.
Blake: “You’ve just got keep going”
Blake had some good advice for anyone in the same position as him.
“Just got to remember the good times – there’ll always be bad days. If you have no-one in the shop all day, be on the laptop looking for the next best thing to design or sell and you’ve just got keep going.”
Top three tips
We asked Blake to share this three top tips to young people.
- Find what it is you want to do and what makes you happy to do for rest of life
- Work out the best way to start that, if a product the cheapest and easier product you can make, keep it small – Need investment, need to be sure market there build audience
- Be passionate and don’t give up
Listen to podcast
Listen to Blake tell us more about his business, Juicy Wheels Co, and how the deal with Halfords came about.
You can stay in touch with what Blake’s up to via the Island Extreme Instagram (@islandextreme) or through the Island Extreme Facebook Page.
Get in touch
If you know of a young person who has achieved positive things in their life and deserve some recognition, get in touch with us.
