Teen’s home-made invention goes viral

Growing up, Ajee Sam’s greatest joy would be to tear apart his toys to understand what made them work.

Now, at age 19, Sam’s love for tinkering with toys has made him an Internet sensation, after a video of a bicycle he modified with an engine went viral on Facebook.

Sam, in an interview with SEARCHLIGHT on Monday, stated that he always loved tinkering with the toys he got as a child.{{more}}

“Soon as I got it, I carry it home, I open it up…to know how it work, how to make it faster; one of the most important things was how to make it go faster,” the youngster declared.

He noted that many times he would not be able to reassemble his toys, but being persistent and through research, he would eventually understand how to put them together again.

Sam is a recent graduate of the Division of Arts, Science and General Studies of the St Vincent and the Grenadines Community College (SVGCC), where he wrote Physics, Mathematics and Environmental Science at CAPE. He plans to attend university to study mechanical engineering in the upcoming year.

The young man explained that being fed up of pedalling his bike, he decided to modify it.

“I wanted a new way of commuting, so I said what about if I put an engine on the bicycle.”

The youngster noted that after much research, he was able to find a way to carry out his project.

“The engine spins on the wheel, so when the engine spins, the tire spins in the forward direction. So, that propels me forward.”

He stated that the first engine which he used caused some problems, which led him to change it.

The Layou resident noted that since his video went viral, he has become a sort of celebrity, as people have been meeting him on the road and congratulating him on his project.

“It feels very good; it has put me on the map and also St Vincent and the Grenadines on the map. From the video I have to tell you…people have been messaging me, telling congratulations and they like my idea…,” Sam noted.

“Even some people are telling me they had the idea for a long time and they didn’t have the motivation until they saw me doing it. Now people are sending me pictures saying ‘oh I have started, I want you to tell me if this good’…stuff like that.”

Sam noted that he has even had offers from investors to help him mass produce the bicycle.

“This convertible car was coming and the guy dead full stop…and reverse and said: ‘oh, I saw you on Facebook, I want to help you take this idea further out of Vincy,’” he disclosed.

He said that he believes that there should be science fairs for the rural areas, so that person who may not want to make the long commute to Kingstown can display their engineering talents.

“You build something amazing…and then you come and you showcase and you win a prize,” said Sam, a former student of the Thomas Saunders Secondary School.

His mother, Hazel-Ann Frederick, noted that she is proud of her son and always knew that he had a love for ‘fixing things’.

“He always liked to build; you have anything in the house to fix, he going fix it.”

She noted that many a time she would buy toy cars for her son, only to come home and meet the car completely torn apart.

Frederick stated that she is proud, as a mother, with the response her son has been getting from his video.

“Well, I feel so good about it. Since he is a child he always know what he want to do.” (CM)