EDDIE WEARN
MINT’S Q&A WITH SHEDNINE MASTERMIND By Billy Dixon through. The digital age is now, it’s exciting.
Eddie Wearne, the Owner and operator of ShedNine Core Store has been running his local Surf, Skate, Snow shop tucked away in a quiet strip of shops near the Rye Ocean Beach for going on Ten years. Bricks and Mortar retail vs the Internet in the modern world is no easy challenge. Eddie is a hardworking, community supportI’ve man always busy helping promote and support local youth, musicians sports clubs, his shop team and running events. Somehow, Eddie still seems to find more surfing time than most people could dream of.
Even going on forty years of age next year, deep down I still feel like I’m a seventeen year old running around in a broken, fifty-year-old body. I wake up and think about going surfing, skateboarding or snowboarding. That is never gonna change. It’s been a natural progression and a dream come true to be able to help others build their profiles, particularly helping the young groms getting their first sponsors. Thats the catch, nowadays with online shopping, its kind of like driving the wrong way down a one way street. You might find some items cheaper on ebay, but are they gonna sponsor your kid, or the kid next door for skateboarding? Are they gonna give prizes to the local surf comp, or footy club, or Lions Club raffle, or clothes to the Friday Club for the hungry or whatever charity it is knocking on the door on any given day of the week? No, they’re not.
MINT: Can you enlighten us on how you find the balance between working and surfing and tell us about the upcoming Indifference gig at Baha? We are familiar of ShedNine as the store and label but what do “FTW” and “Vagrant” Stand for? WEARNE: Yeah for sure. I generally work seven days, sixty to seventy hours per week instore at Shednine. Thats retail, you know – to make it work, you really have gotta be there.
You cant doorknock eBay and ask for some giveaways for the girl scout raffle or for the basketball team. Are they going to raise funds for suicide prevention or for a dying man to fly overseas, to visit his wife for the last time? No, they’re not. People need to support small businesses over the big chains, shop local and think global. Period.
During daylight savings, I get to surf most days either dawn or dusk and for that I am blessed. Without that, I would have given up years ago. We are the closest surf store to the ocean, so we really rely on distinct markets, the hard core surfers, the locals, the tourists and holiday makers. Like many coastal businesses, we are generally busy during school holidays and mostly fairly quiet in between, although a good run of quality surf or snow and a bit of luck can bring in good business on any given day. Some days I’ll sit in the shop from nine am till seven pm and sell nothing. Those are the days where I need to keep busy, to maintain a positI’ve mindset. So yeah, I’m always tapping away at other interests and side projects.
In a perfect world, there would be no darkness – only joy. Unfortunately, the world is not perfect and the reality is that there is huge pressure on the next generation just to survive. The cost of living has risen, unemployment, homelessness, mental health issues, drug and alchohol abuse, addiction, theft, violence, crime and suicide are at an all-time high. Anyone willing to open up has tales of losing friends to suicide. The numbers are rising and show no sign of slowing down.
My main passion is unearthing and promoting the wave of local talent, whether its in the form of the athletes we sponsor, musicians, photographers, film makers, artists or whomever. There is a huge pool of talent on the Peninsula, and plenty that, on a global scale, goes relatively unnoticed.
Many people can’t even afford their rent, let alone fees to take their rubbish to the tip. The streets are a dumping ground. The world is choking by our vicious cycle of pollution and abuse. Australia is no longer the land of the free. Melbourne is one of the most expensive cities to live in in the world.
I foresee change. The time is now, the kids of the Peninsula are surfing, skating, snowboarding, bodyboarding and riding dirtbikes and pushing their skill level higher than ever before. I’m proud and stoked to be a part of that, a member of the both the local Peninsula Surf Riders Club and the
Australia still is the the lucky country, the Peninsula is so beautiful with her seasons and changes, but as locals we need to work together to support each other and look after each other more, so that the next generation can learn from us. It really is one of the best places to live in the world. We
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Peninsula Bodyboarders Club and a friend of The Moss Skate Crew. These groups do so much to inspire the Groms coming up. I have personally driven
over a thousand people, to the snow and back safely over the past decade. It is a lot of work but I’m stoked to be involved. Theres a pile of talented musicians, artists, photographers and filmmakers, coming
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