Tegan Riding has a secret entrepreneurial streak!
Photo Credit: Naomi Woodley
The life of a footballer doesn’t just stop at the match. Whilst the Canberra United squad are at the pinnacle of the club game in this country, the economic reality is that they don’t earn enough to last forever. And one-day, inevitably, their career will come to a close. Some players are already planning for life outside football and United forward Tegan Riding is one of them.
It’s in Riding’s life outside of ‘The Beautiful Game’ where she becomes an entrepreneur with fellow teammate and housemate, Jenna McCormick. The business savvy duo have set up their own streetwear clothing label called Four Zero that’s a “big hobby” and has been running for roughly 12 months.
“We do t-shirts and we have a new range of hats and singlets coming out,” Riding confirmed. ”It’s a bit of a passion and we’ve pursued it, it’s been going for about twelve months now so it’s something we love.”
Four Zero started when the pair was driving home from training one day and the lively conversation of ideas were tossed back-and-forth like a one touch drill with a football. “We both were discussing how we’d like to pursue clothing brands and we worked out what we wanted,” Riding remembered. “We started off just designing our own products, heat pressing logos on, but now we just design it and our supplier does it for us,.” The products are available online from Instagram and Facebook with the exception of one cafe in Brisbane that stocks Four Zero clothing.
The pair haven’t given out products to teammates to wear and be brand ambassadors just yet, but that’s something that is clearly in the mix. “It’s something that we have thought about but haven’t yet broached with the players,” Riding added.
Season 8 f the Westfield W-League is Riding’s third at the top level having joined Canberra in 2014 after a debut season in Adelaide with the Lady Reds whom United clinically saw off at McKellar Park last weekend. Riding has been used as an impact substitute mostly this season but you get the feeling that, just like he clothing label, there’s more to come from the speedy forward.
Only speaking highly of Canberra United Riding puts it all back on the environment in the ACT. “It’s much different to Adelaide – the squad was a lot younger,” Riding commented. “All the girls in Canberra understand what we’re all going through, it’s more family like – Capital football and Canberra United really look after us girls with off the field stuff as well.”
Riding grew up playing competitive sports – such as triathlons and was also a competitive swimmer when she was younger. She clearly knows the skills and assets other than “good touches on the ball, ability to hold up and read the play” that she needs to bring to the Westfield W-League. “I think the commitment to swimming – training twice a day plus the gym definitely carries over to our professional football environment where we’re training twice a week and its high intensity work.” There’s no doubt that Riding’s drive and determination will pay dividends on, and off the park.
For more information about Tegan Riding and Jenna McCormick’s clothing label go to: Fourzerothreads.tictail.com or www.facebook.com/Fourzero-threads-1585544738395523/
