CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — One young man is looking to grind his way up the business world. He is only 16 years old. Kai Chavis is not your average junior in high school. The motivated businessman and CEO of Slumber Skate Co. took a gamble on his skate clothing store.
"It started as an idea and I didn’t really know if I wanted to commit to it because I knew it was going to cost a lot of money," Chavis said.
With support from his family and friends, Chavis took a leap of faith and rolled the dice.
"So my dad always told me if you have something you love just go for it. So that’s what I did. I took all the money in my bank and I emptied it. And that's just something I really wanted to do, so I committed to it," he said.
His gamble paid off. Chavis is now selling different clothing items in his online store.
"We offer three different kinds of t-shirt designs — we offer sweatshirts, hoodies, two different kinds of hats, two different kinds of beanies and we’re just starting to make decks now," Chavis said.
Chavis, originally from Okinawa, Japan, said he has felt love from the Corpus Christi community in just a short year.
"They’re the biggest supporters I have right now. They’re the ones that believe in me so much. And I can’t thank Corpus enough for it. Because they’re just so supportive of me. And they’re always there for me. And they’re always supporting my brand," Chavis said.
Chavis said he couldn’t do it without his supporting cast.
"I have a skate team with me, and they help me so much with spreading my brand, spreading the word. Without them, I don’t know where I would be, honestly," Chavis said.
Chavis said he is looking to build a brick-and-mortar skate shop in Corpus Christi eventually.
Slumber Skate Co. will host a free public skate competition that includes live music, prizes, and more on Saturday, Nov. 4 from 4-7 p.m. at Cole Park.
For the latest local news updates, click here, or download the KRIS 6 News App.
