Teen skate entrepreneur on the grind

TORQUAY local River Lawson is one of several up-and-coming young skateboarders in the region gaining a name in the sport, but unlike many of his peers, the teenager also runs a skate company.

Registered as a business in July 2021 – a month after his 11th birthday – the Bomb Skate Company now has five team riders sporting an expanding product range of hoodies, tees, caps, socks and grip tape.

Like skateboarding, River says he’s “learnt it’s very difficult and you just need to work hard” to be successful in running a business, but he has got big ambitions for both pursuits.

He will soon travel to Mackay in Queensland for his first interstate competition, where he will enter the 12 and Under Etnies AM Series for street skating, a direct pathway to the Rumble Tour; Australia’s premier skateboard league.

While he wants to do well in the competition, it will also be an opportunity to get his brand out to a wider audience and a step closer to his ambition of “being as big as Nike and Adidas”.

Many of the Bomb Skate Co riders, aged between 8-12, are already placing well in competitions around the state, helped in part by the support of being in a team.

“The brand makes them all feel they’re on the same team, with their hoodies, tee shirts, grip tape,” River’s father Alistair Lawson, who takes turns with other parents driving the skaters to various parks and competitions throughout Victoria, said.

Addis O’Loughlin is fast earning a reputation as someone to watch.

At the age of 10, he is already getting large airs out of the monster concrete bowl in Torquay North.

Josh Coughlin is similarly shredding – the 11-year-old is skating bowls and ramps with the confidence of riders many years his senior and is earning top three placings in competitions as a result.

“We’re trying to have fun and get our names out there… it’s so much better,” River said of riding with his mates in their matching Bomb gear.

“I’ll try to stick with it for as long as I can.”