Creative space: Gnarly Neighbours is opening new doors for young people in Seymour. Photo: Supplied
Gnarly Neighbours has new secrets to unveil in April.
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The group has just teased a new space at Crawford St in Seymour on its Facebook page.
Gnarly Neighbours “skateboard dude” and founder Jayden Sheridan spoke to The Telegraph about the new facility.
“We’re looking mid-April ... I think we’ll be doing a grand opening,” he said.
“There’s going to be a bit of teasing on social media.
“We’re going to have some quirky stuff in here and some stuff that was never seen before in this kind of space.
“It’s very exciting.”
Mr Sheridan said he wanted to bring a piece of Melbourne to Seymour, after spending part of his life in the big city, chasing his dreams.
“We’re going to really have like an aspect of like street art ... kind of that trendy Melbourne vibe,” he said.
“We’re gonna have really good coffee, then we’re just going to have that old school kind of retro vibe at the same time, which is really, really exciting.
“There might be some boujee toasties!”
New opportunities: Being a barista at Gnarly Neighbours is one of the pathways on offer for kids who want to join its employment program. Photo: Supplied
Mr Sheridan said his heart was in Seymour, which was why he wanted to build a space for people, young or old, to express themselves openly.
To open the space, he’s collaborated with people from all over Australia and the world to bring the dream space to life.
“I think it’s meant to have happened the way,” Mr Sheridan said.
“I think Seymour has been screaming out for this for so long, and I have manifested it for a long time, but now it’s kind of surreal how easily everything’s fallen into place.
“We’ve had past relationships from my old hobbies or careers.
“We’ve had amazing ... outreach from the community to do sponsorships. People paying rent and stuff like that.”
With the new space, Mr Sheridan intends to open opportunities for young people to get work experiences and a head start in their careers.
“Youth can learn while working with us through hospitality, barista, retail, and production and graphic design,” he said.
“At the end of their two-month employment and learning new skills, they will make their own resume with Gnarly Neighbours as their first reference, and a whole new skill set they learned to give a pathway into future employment.”
Gnarly Neighbours can help around 58 young people a year by employing them for two months.
“It’s going to change the trajectory for their whole life,” Mr Sheridan said.
“We’ve kind of done it all as a community.
“It’s so amazing!”
Mr Sheridan said he felt emotional imagining the new space coming to life because this was an opportunity to open up hobbies for the youth and build lasting friendships and bonds.
“It is surreal,” he said.
“My sense of purpose is just giving.
“Our kids should have choices, and they should have opportunities, and when they get bored of those opportunities, and they’re throwing something over their shoulder, I just want the next positive thing to be in front of them.”
He said he never got any opportunities as a kid and didn’t want that happening to more young people.
Opening the creative mind: The New Gnarly Neighbours space is made to let young people express themselves in their own way. Photo: Supplied
“I think that teaching workshops and programs ... gives opportunity and opens the mind to creativity and a can-do attitude,” Mr Sheridan said.
“I think that’s the most important thing.
“That just fills my heart with so much joy and keeps me doing well.”
To learn more about Gnarly Neighbours’ new space, follow it on TikTok at @Gnarly.Neighbours.
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