This phenomenal story came to me via Barry Tuck, one of the nicest guys I've met through social media. It's about his friend Simon Nicholson, a former professional surfer, who Barry says is as talented as he is a great guy.

After retiring from surfing he married his teenage sweetheart Jess. She was a clothing designer and the pair partnered to launch three clothing brands – Blackhawk, Lily Bird and Army – which did really well in YDE. They also had two beautiful kids, Joel and Anna.

Tragically, Jess was diagnosed with a brain tumour just after she turned 30, and passed away after a brave fight. 

Joel, now six, loves art. He has a vivid imagination and draws all kinds of incredible figures – dinosaurs, monsters, superheroes and animals. Simon had an idea to encourage Joel’s creativity while showcasing it to to the world, and launched a range of T-shirts – kids and adults – on a platform called Teespring. 

Teespring is a bit like crowd-funding site Kickstarter – people preorder designs they like and if a particular design reaches the minimum required number of orders in the allocated timeframe, then the shirt goes into production (and the people who have preordered get charged). A few of Joel’s shirts have reached their minimum, but with a few days to go a few still haven’t. To purchase or to check out the T-shirts, head here: https://teespring.com/stores/joeldrewthis