An entrepreneur from Eltham sells vintage boots to professional football stars such as Ainsely Maitland-Niles and Declan Rice.
Will Amis, from Eltham, launched his boots business in Lewisham called Classix Collection in August 2021.
The 18-year-old said his hobby of searching and collecting classic boots while growing up then became a full-time job.
He said that he wanted to get into the football selling business rather than continue with education.
Will explained: “I always went to school and tried my best.
“I wasn’t the most talented, so I decided to give myself another option.
“My parents were massively supportive when I decided to get into the football selling business.
“My dad is the one who got me into football as I wore his first-ever pair of boots.
“Because of him, I realised I liked classic boots, and then from there I started my own collection.
“I started posting photos of classics on Instagram and it took off from there.”
Will sold his first pair of football boots when he was 15 years old.
In 2018 he decided to turn his hobby into a full-time business opportunity.
After appearing on Channel 4’s How to Get Rich programme, Will said his turnover in under a year is more than £200,000.
Will said: “The first professional footballer I’ve sold to was Lyle Taylor and my first Premier League client was Declan Rice.
“Since then, the whole business has just grown.
"I’ve sold to other players such as Maitland Nyles, John Terry, Marcelo Flores, Rodrigo De Paul.”
Will revealed that the most expensive pair of boots he has sold were the Nike Mercurial 1998 for £8,000.
He was also approached by a sports company called Number 10 in Abu Dhabi last year.
He now sells to the company which then are sold to players across the globe.
He said he now wants to grow his business but has made no future plans.
Will explained: “I take every day as it comes so I don’t make any future plans.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow.
“I’ll keep what I keep doing. See how it lasts.”
Will advises other children to try their best in school but to explore different ways if “things don’t work out.”
He said: “Try your best in education, if it doesn’t work out there’s always other paths to take.
“Just try your best and that’s all you can do.
“If one thing doesn’t work, don’t give up and keep going then try the next thing.”
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