NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — If you've ever been out to sled at Nashville's Sevier Park, you know that the people watching could be worth charging admission.
That's especially true when it comes to all of the creative, eccentric but not so effective ways to sled, even if you don't actually own a sled.
"This is our Mach 3 prototype actually," joked one Belmont student, who made his own sled out of an old cardboard boot box.
"We don’t have a sled, but you know, we have a pool float," said Megan Anderson, a young Nashvillian who came out to the hill to sled with her friends.
The spectacle caught the eye of a nine year old, Quinn DeVier, who approached his dad with an idea.
"We saw all these people with trash can lids, pizza boxes," said Quinn.
"'Hey we should buy some sleds next time in snows.' Well next time it really snowed, it was two years later, but here we are," added Chip DeVier, Quinn's father.
Sure enough, as soon as the snow started to fall in Nashville, Quinn and his Dad started putting out the inventory, propped up to the back of the family's Subaru in the parking lot of Sevier Park, and opened up for business.
"Thank you. You can pick your color," said Quinn.
It's a full service operation. They charge $20 and the sleds come in an assortment of colors. We saw them provide curbside pickup, even cashless options for customers.
"Fortunately most people are paying Venmo, keeps it easy," said Chip.
We noticed that Quinn takes more of a quiet approach when it comes to landing a sale.
"I guess the idea was they would sell themselves, and that’s largely true," Chip said with a laugh.
But it turns out, other than making some money, that was the real goal of this whole enterprise.
"Building my confidence up with talking to other people," explained Quinn.
"He’s naturally a pretty shy guy, but if it comes down to it, if he has to, he can come out of his shell," added his father.
By all benchmarks, both Quinn and his dad considered the sale a wild success. They were able to sell 13 of the 20 sleds in their inventory in just one day.
"It’s just a great idea. I just want to encourage that, that entrepreneurship," explained Chip.
Quinn says he hopes to keep the sled sales business going in the years to come — that is — if his parents will continue to let him store the inventory in their basement.
Get ready to get inspired - Tad found a second purpose later in life, turning his hobby into his full-time gig. He helps the planet, helps homeowners and finds fulfillment in a slower pace after being on the front-line during the pandemic.
-Rebecca Schleicher
