Years in Tampa Bay
My whole life – 6 1/2 years. The 1/2 is very important.
Hustle (job)
Founder and ideas guy.
What do you do?
Kids Saving Oceans makes hats, t-shirts and stickers from recycled ocean plastics and cotton scraps. Our gear is for grown-ups and kids. For every sale, we donate money to a group that is working to protect our oceans.
Why do you do it?
We need to take better care of the earth. I love the water and Florida but people don’t always do a good job of taking care of it. I want there to be oceans and rivers for me and my family to go to when I grow up.
What was your Catalyst? (How did you get started?)
I was watching Shark Week last year and it made me sad. My mom works on oceans and it’s important for us to protect our oceans while we still can.
What’s a common misconception or unknown aspect of what you do?
Kids Saving Oceans is more than a place to buy stuff. We also want to help kids learn how they can make a difference. Right now I’m working on a plan to take to my school so we use way less plastic. Plastic is everywhere and it never goes away.
What’s the most challenging part of your Hustle?
I’m a kid. The business is just me and my mom and we do our best but it’s hard. We are learning a lot as we go. We want to make lots of new designs and products but it’s harder than we thought it would be.
What’s the most valuable piece of business advice/insight that’s helped you?
My mom always tells me to have fun and to always do what I think is the right thing.