By Annissa Burcham

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On July 29, Senior Reyn Aubrey launched the third company of his high-school career, Hoverboard Hawaii, which sells Segway-like devices. Using capital from his first company, Cool Minifigures, he researched different hoverboard models and contacted manufacturers for the majority of the summer.

“It was just something I thought was super, super cool and I thought a lot of people in Hawaii would really, really like it and I wanted to bring it to them, bring them the best quality, so we wouldn’t have to deal with them breaking, and all of that kind of stuff. So just bring the best one, free shipping, everything,” said Aubrey. 

Aubrey started Hoverboard Hawaii after seeing YouTubers in the UK riding the devices. He ordered one for himself, and seeing how interested people from Hawaii were in this device, decided to create a startup selling hoverboards. “I was riding it around, and everyone was asking me about it, ‘Where can I get one?’ and that kind of stuff and so I saw it as an opportunity to bring it to Hawaii and show a lot of people this really cool thing and talk to and meet cool people, stuff like that.”       

In order to find the highest quality hoverboards, Aubrey made calls to Chinese manufacturers and did research on different models. Hoverboards are $595, available in multiple colors. “We have had five (hoverboard) sales I think, and we have eight more hoverboards coming in soon,” Aubrey said.

His first sale went to college student Brycen Wong.  “I already knew that I was going to use this, I was going to use this a lot. Right now I am at UH Manoa, you can bet I am not walking to class anymore,” said Wong. Wong works with Aubrey with the promotion of his company, as he hands out cards and uses the hoverboard for daily transportation. Aubrey’s mother, Marcia Mager, has also used a hoverboard. “I guess I was able to ride it around and try to spin it around and go backwards and do the whole thing,” Mager said. 

Mager assists her son by wholeheartedly supporting his current passion, whatever it may be. “I mean, he decided that this was the company he wanted to form. He sort of just researched and discovered the hoverboard,” Mager said.

Both Mager and her husband are also self-employed entrepreneurs, which is one reason that Aubrey initially became interested in business. “I have also had some business entrepreneurial experience as well. I have done public relations and PR, so you know, he grew up in that kind of environment,” said Mager.

Aubrey added, “Both my parents are entrepreneurs, or entrepreneurial type people; my dad has his own business. But it was more that, like, I thought the system was really broken and going to a good college to get a stable job to earn benefits to put into a 401k and everything, I really didn’t like that model, and I really wanted to work for myself and do something that was really interesting and new, and like make my own decisions, and that kind of thing.” 

Aubrey plans on targeting not only the Hawaiian islands, but also the U.S. and the U.K. in the near future, along with meeting the new people that business sends his way.