Trotting to Greatness

By Akeel Lovell


TROTT-ING TO GREATNESS

Young entrepreneur Jared Trotman has been making some big steps in the local footwear industry, and for it was only a matter of time.

The 23-year-old has been making a name for himself for the past year following his release of a range of slides branded with the broken trident under his nickname “ Trottz”.

“Looking at the market in Barbados you would find they only have specific products like shirts and hoodies. What I wanted was to have something you could year throughout the entire year and not only at independence but still represents Barbados,” he said.

Trotman said he always had a love for shoes, so he wasn’t surprised when the lightbulb moment came to produce slides.

“I wanted to own a business, I was not quite sure what exactly that was going to be, however, I prayed about it, ask God for guidance, I know I needed some slippers, the plan was to  go buy some slides in town or when I go overseas, but I  got the idea about one, two [in the morning] like boom, slides,” the Trottz owner said.

Being his own boss was important to Trotman but he had to now work out the logistics, luckily, he coincidentally has been studying for the business and didn’t even know. Trotman has an associate degree in Accounts and Bachelors in Marketing, two majors that go hand in hand to help take off his business.



 “I started my business in 2018, September 20, it’s was around my birthday is September 15^th

When I first started this, I had to source capital, finding a manufacturer.” Said Trotman.

Trotman first got people to recognize slides when he started wearing them school, what he decried to be market test, about a year before he actually launched. He had initially had “1966” engraved on the top of the slides however he later replaced that with the broken trident.

The trident he said symbolizes his freedom to be his own boss.

“For me, it means being free. The whole idea of being a free and free to make my own decisions, being free to accept all the liabilities, being removed from the area, making myself my own boss, I think that that's what the trident means to me… me being able to make my own with decisions and lay down a foundation for future generations”, said the young CEO.

Major challenge.

Starting a new business is no easy task, especially when your young, the beginning is usually riddled with issues.

“One of my major challenges was finding a trustworthy manufacturer because I was going out on a limp investing so much money that I didn’t want to lose."

Another challenge for him was the sizing of slide, noting that different slides are cut differently to the prescribed size chart, “he said.

Support

Trotman slides has been selling like hotcakes since they were released, and getting cosigned by local celebrities such as Marcus Myers and Sean Sealy.

However, he said his main support came from God, his parents and close friends.

The truth is I going to try something I didn’t know If it would work, I knew it had the potential to take off but not at the magnitude.

Memorable moment

My most memorable moment would have to this time I had to drop shows to [ Shannon] and she was like My God! I can’t believe I finally have the shoes my gosh, this is want I been telling everybody about” this reaction was overwhelming.

“I didn’t expect it, I didn’t expect people to see it like that and hold it as their own,” he said as he reflected on that moment.

Also of note “I have a friend who is ill and the shoes actually provides comfort with her feet.”

Trottz slides aren’t just sold through his social media they are also available where he works, at Harrisons’ Cave’s gift shop and Friction Clothing.

His big plan is to within the next 5 years do more apparel such as shirts and hats and reach the international market.