West Pubnico teen behind hockey tricks account and clothing company
André d'Entremont is the brains behind Anything Hockey
Like many 13 year olds, André d'Entremont loves hockey and social media, but unlike most teens, he's parlayed those passions into building a popular hockey tricks social media account and clothing company.
Since he created his Anything Hockey Instagram account last year, André has posted around 200 videos showcasing his puck handling and shooting skills, generating hundreds of thousands of views from his more than growing 5,000-plus followers.
"I never thought I was going to get this far," he said.
The West Pubnico teen got the idea for the account from watching other people posting hockey trick videos and decided to do the same.
"I started practicing and got better and better and started recording them and posting them," said André.
He comes up with the tricks himself and also gets ideas from what he sees from other posters.
When he's not in school or playing hockey for his Yarmouth Mariners hockey team, the Grade 7 student can be found practicing his tricks.
"Any spare time, he has the hockey stick and the puck on the go," said his mother Gisele d'Entremont.
Last summer, André came up with the idea of selling T-shirts using the Anything Hockey name.
'Are you the Anything Hockey guy?'
The T-shirts are printed in Yarmouth and the hope is to also eventually sell them in stores. For now, the T-shirts are available from the company's website. André hopes to sell additional clothing items down the road, such as hats, sweaters and pants.
The whole experience has got him thinking about entrepreneurship as a career option, which is different from his previous goal.
"I really wanted to be an NHL player, but I don't think that's going to happen," he said.
While André's videos are set off ice, his skills definitely translate on ice. At the recent Joe Lamontagne Memorial Tournament in Cole Harbour, he won the Sidney Crosby Shootout for his division.
André is even starting to get some recognition for his exploits. At another hockey tournament two weeks ago, he was recognized.
"Are you the Anything Hockey guy?" he was asked by some teens there.