He is conscious of the societal waywardness among some of the youth and he abhors it.
Firm in his belief that opportunities should be grasped, Jeremiah Cadogan intends, as a young man, to do just that and not be part of the “victim mentality” adopted by some.
It is because of that determination that he is building a future in go-karting after “lighting up” the track and field arena at the Lester Vaughan School and leaving an indelible mark.
So much so that he harboured aspirations of being a physiotherapist.
His specialties were rugby and track and field, the 100 and 200 metres in particular. However, he later settled on track and field.
During school sports, the raucous applause was the wind beneath his wings – and he did not disappoint. However, he could not transfer that school-level dominance to inter-school sports at the National Stadium.
Despite giving it his best shot, Jeremiah said the competition was stiff.
“I fought gallantly, thinking that I would get there [on the podium] eventually. In the end, I did not get there, but the thrill was there,” he told the DAILY NATION.
On leaving school, he applied to the Barbados Community College to pursue the associate degree in physiotherapy, but at 16 years old he was told it was for students 18 years and over.
Bachelor’s degree
He then switched his course of study and opted to do physical education, graduating with an associate degree. He went on to the University of the West Indies where he pursued a bachelor’s degree in the same discipline.
Not long after, the COVID-19 pandemic surfaced, causing Jeremiah to have lots of free time on his hands and he intended to use it wisely.
“I got involved in motor sports – specifically with the building of go-karts.”
Though the 24-year-old was never fully exposed to the gokarts with ball-bearing wheels and the wooden structure, he admitted seeing them for the first time at a St George go-kart competition and he was impressed.
His, however, are way more advanced and carry an engine of international specs, instead of the driver having to be pushed to generate movement. He recounted his first efforts at construction taking years and the process being tedious. The go-karting started at the community level in Arch Hall, St Thomas. Jeremiah recounted that growing up there were no playing fields or hard courts in the district, so games were restricted.
He acknowledged that residents of the community came together and were all a part of the spirit of building them and having fun.
He, however, wanted to make a definitive change in his community and take the karts to another level. “The ideas came from my mind, though I watched some videos from YouTube. I went forward with my own concept of the go-kart.” To take his project to the next level, after consulting with his mum Avril, he approached the Sandy Lane Charitable Trust with a proposal for sponsorship for the project. He mustered more than 100 signatures to solidify his position that it was a community project. He got the buy-in and it was the catalyst for the start of “furious karting”. Brimming with confidence, Jeremiah, who is now able to build a kart in one month, said when he held his first major community event six years ago, it ended disappointedly. “Everything went wrong with the karts and a tear came to my eye.”
In spite of this, his community rallied around him. So skilled has he become that a resilient Jeremiah has made a business out of go-karting, renting his four karts out for customers to enjoy in the Cost-U-Less car park.
He thanked the Sandy Lane Charitable Trust, Cost-U-Less, Future Barbados, William Robinson and Geoffrey Ullyett, among several others, for their support.
Looking to the future, he hopes to recreate an atmosphere of nostalgia and bring back the karting fun and food as he aims to spread his wings. (John Boyce)
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