Blog by People Of Southport
I’m here for the future. For my children. I’ll always be here in Southport in one way or another.”
Lewis Nickson is a Southport man through and through.
He’s sat in the Lord Street gardens watching the installation of new floral planters, enjoying the unusually warm Spring sunshine.
He’s the second contributor to the People Of Southport campaign and proud to be the first Sandgrounder in the project.
“I grew up on the Janes Brook Council estate with my mum and brother. At the age of 11 our father passed away from alcoholism – he was and will always be a beautiful man. A genuinely good person. It meant life was tough and my mum worked three jobs for our family. I was that kid who walked around with long hair and in someone else’s shoes because we couldn’t afford much. We came from nothing – we were properly below the breadline.”
Lewis, now an incredibly successful businessman with his own rapidly growing company that he founded with his little brother Rob, is now a world away from the man of his youth.
“I was a ‘naughty’ kid. I got kicked out of school at 15 and twice more in college. I gave up on the education system but it was down to my amazing mum to fight for me to go back and do my exams.
“So I started my career of being unemployed at 17” Lewis says with a wry chuckle. He eventually found his way into sales at the age of 21 – the first hint of a passion and skill previously hidden showing through as he rose quickly through the ranks of the hyper local sales world.
After some bad luck, several job changes and company restructures Lewis became a Director of Sales – a big break – and there he saw the true meaning of looking out for others. A depleted and downcast team was transformed after Lewis voluntarily gave up six months worth of bonuses to ensure his colleagues made money.
“We all worked hard. We had trust and we had loyalty. We were together.”
Away from work however Lewis was facing down a dark path. An upsetting cocktail of a heart wrenching and financially exhausting family court journey to see his son, Billy, plus the onset of the COVID pandemic and lockdowns, were taking its toll on Lewis.
One night in the early hours he rose from bed and got dressed. Unsure of where he was going, there was one certainty. “I was in a dark place. My intention that night was clear – I wasn’t coming home.”
It was 2.30am. A time Lewis will never forget for the rest of his life. His phone in those twilight minutes buzzed and illuminated, showing a text from his brother Rob, who was at the time a New Zealand resident.
“It was out of the blue and we hadn’t spoken for months. It just said ‘I’m proud of you, you’re an inspiration – don’t give up,’ and in that moment everything changed. I took my clothes off, got back into bed and told my partner everything the next day. I was honest. That text saved me.”
Buoyed by his brother’s serendipitous intervention Lewis formed a local mental health group called LadProbs.
“I didn’t know what it would be but I knew we needed a space for men to be able to talk openly. All I had was £80 I had saved for Billy throughout the family court battle but I took that and invested it.
“I started working for a company to help people move away from Universal Credit and find paid work. One day, I was tasked with helping an incredible young man called Joseph to find a job. He has autism but he was and still is one of the most intelligent people I have ever met. His dad, Paul, explained that the people before me had failed to find him a job, which is where I made it my goal. I helped him get a job at Matalan. He’s still there to this day years after and he loves it. He has been amazing for them, and they have taken care of him.
“His dad was a former VP at Sony Ericsson and he was so grateful. He saw something in me and said “If you ever start a business, call me.”
The seed was well and truly planted.
Eventually Lewis, a natural for helping others, found himself taking on a support worker position. “It was the best job I ever had, but also the worst-paid.”
“My brother Rob had called me from New Zealand – he wanted to start a business doing golf bunker work. We called it “Bunker Up.” But when we looked into setting up in NZ, we found out we’d need a million-dollar investment. So we pivoted.”
“We rebranded to “Poly UP,” kept the colours and spirit of Bunker UP but we still had no money. That was until The Prince’s Trust gave us a lifeline in the form of a £5,000 grant and £4,000 loan.
“We launched in 2023 with our equipment and no business so we did free jobs to build a portfolio. It wasn’t until April 2024 we got our first paid job. By May, we were subcontracting.
“We built a relationship with suppliers and eventually landed a major job at Manchester University’s robotics lab — a £50,000 project. That led to more and more and we’re doing amazingly!
“Now we have two offices — one in Southport, one in Liverpool. I’m the youngest board member of the British & Irish Trade Alliance Liverpool region. We’ve got new sports and safety services and we’re building football pitches and playgrounds.
“I love this town. I used to hate it but I was young and coming from a low-income family, blamed the local authorities and education system for our downfalls. Now, I see the people, the businesses, the potential. I’d love to do more – I’d love to volunteer at schools and support local charities.
“Southport isn’t perfect, but it’s improving. I go to all the economic forums and local networking groups. There’s serious investment happening — the Cove, the Enterprise Arcade, food scene — it’s growing.
“If we focus only on the past we’ll never move forward. I’m here for the future. For my children. For others. I’ll always be here in some way.
“I’m passionate about helping young people get into business, it was and still is the best thing I’ve ever done. I’ve learnt more in the last two years in business, than I have my entire life.
“There’s something about running your own business that I can’t explain, it’s not the money. I feel different, I wake up with a purpose, I don’t suffer with mental health anymore and I can think logically whereas before, I would just react with emotion.
“Business is important, and Southport is a great place to start one – the support we have received is truly remarkable, and I will be forever grateful for the opportunity to represent this town.”
- Southport People celebrates the wonderful, kind, caring and welcoming people of Southport in the North West Of England. #SouthportTogether
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