A Somerset teenage is now reaping what he had sown seven years ago. Ryan Brook, 16, started planting Christmas trees when he was only 9-years-old and after seven years, he has already grown roughly 1,500 of them. Now he's selling them to fund his college fees.
"I was always tired of my mom dragging me round supermarkets looking for the right tree," Ryan Brook said to Somerset Live. He added, "and when my dad gave me a sapling I was inspired to grow my own."
Ryan Brook, 16, who went to Whitstone School at Shepton Mallet, got inspired to plant Christmas trees at the age of 9 after experiencing his mom's long and exhausting searches in the stores each year for a perfect Christmas tree. His one seedling seven years ago is today a green field of around 1,500 trees at Dean, close to Shepton.
Now he's selling each Christmas tree for £20, and any profit he will gain will go to paying his university fees. "Any profit I make will go towards paying my school fees," The Telegraph has learned. This 2016, the teen hopes to gain more profits, beating the figure of the last year when he earned roughly £2,000 for selling 100 Christmas trees to relatives and friends.
Passionate about what he's doing; Brook commits his weekends to maintaining and planting more Christmas trees in the field of his father at Dean, Somerset. He said he would spend lots of his time in the field all through the year just to ensure the trees are in excellent condition for the holiday season.
When the Christmas season finally arrives, his family started rallying around to help him with his business. His dad would help him cut down the Christmas trees because he can't use a chainsaw yet as he's too young, while his mom and sister would distribute flyers, promoting and advertising the teen's Christmas trees.
So what's Brook's secret to his success? Brook said: "It's all about persistence. It does take a long time before you see any progress but when you do it's worth it."
