LIKE A LOT of people, Mark McHale was just going about his business when the Celtic Tiger shuffled off its mortal coil in 2008 leaving the small business owner wondering what he would do next.
While some people had no choice but to emigrate, McHale decided to re-skill and, despite working in construction since he was 17, the chance viewing of a YouTube video would set him on the path to a new career.
“I had worked in construction from the time I was 17-18 and in the four or five years leading up in the crash I had my own business,” McHale told TheScore.ie.
“I didn’t see the crash coming because the level I was working at shielded me a little bit so when it did come along, it all fell to bits. Guys who I would normally have worked with just had nothing.
“But about three years ago I saw a video on YouTube and it changed everything.
“There were guys riding on this contraption they called a ‘slider’ and the more I watched these guys tearing around on them in New Zealand and Australia, the more I realised they were very basic models designed for kids.”
What McHale was watching were drift trikes, essentially tricycles that have slick rear wheels – normally made from PVC -that are designed to drift by intentionally losing tractions on the rear wheels as they go around corners and work like this:
Drift Trikes form part of a group of sports known as ‘downhill gravity sports’ that includes everything from in-line skating to luge and skateboards and are so called because they use only the force of gravity and human strength to propel them.
McHale spotted an opportunity.
With most existing trikes designed for kids, why not design custom built trikes for adults? Re-Stress was born.
“With Re-Stress, everything will be handmade from scratch. The product has been in development for three years and we’ve gone through various different designs, materials, etc.
“The best thing about our trikes is that everything will be fully customised and everyone from the age of 15 up can use them.”
While McHale is one of those lucky individuals who seems to be able to turn his hand to anything he wants, he admits he turned to the experts when it came to ensuring the three different designs he came up with would work.
He also sought outside help when it came to getting the business off the ground and is full of praise for the Back to Work Enterprise Scheme that has helped him put together the Re-Stress business plan.
“It is great knowing that you’ve support and backing from the government. Without that I don’t think I could have entertained the idea. Without having a business plan in place, I couldn’t go to market and without the scheme I wouldn’t have been able to put together a business plan.
“After a two day course as part of the scheme, I started to put together the business plan. I submitted it to them for review and they decided if it was viable or not.”
When it comes to raising money for Re-Stress, McHale says that having the backing of the scheme means he could then approach other financial institutions and micro-financing boards.
To promote the business, McHale and the Re-Stress team rider - Lee Byrne from Kilkenny – travelled up and down the country demonstrating the product and the response was overwhelmingly positive.
“I think we hit a nerve with that Red Bull generation but the great thing about drift trikes is that it strikes a chord with more people than that. The kid who had a BMX or skateboard when they were younger are really into trikes as adults.
McHale says safety is paramount and nobody is allowed on one of his products without at least a helmet though elbow and pads are also advised.
With a full website launching in January, McHale as proven that, sometimes, it can be positive when your career goes downhill.
