Ryder Royal didn’t overthink it: he wanted money for his dirt bikes, so he started cleaning trash cans.
He lives in Youngsville, Louisiana, and started knocking on doors with some friends after seeing other kids make money online doing the same work. At first, he cleaned just 10 or 15 cans. Then his mom, Angelina, posted about the business on social media, and what should have been a source of pride turned into a problem.
His classmates made fun of him. His mother said the bullying went as far as a Snapchat group chat, where they made fun of Ryder and even made comments about his younger siblings. He stopped sharing updates. The teasing had taken away his desire to show off his work.
But the community didn’t stay silent. Support grew until Ryder went viral, and several local businesses offered him sponsorships. Today, he services Youngsville’s cans on Wednesdays and those in the Lafayette area on Tuesdays, and he now cleans more than 30 a day.
He realized something it takes many people years to understand: he has to be himself. And now, he says, he wants to do even more.