Missing in Action!!!

My name is Cheryl. I’m a very happy mum of one in London… although I wasn’t the day my son Finlay got his scooter taken from the park.

You see, I don’t need to tell any mums or dads how rotten it is to see your child upset (though I just have!) and this one day, Finlay was truly heartbroken. Why? Because his beloved mini micro scooter had gone missing in the playground. It’s easily done, kids love scooting and there are so many of them at school, so many of which look the same. Unless one really gets down to the nitty gritty of individual scratches or marks caused as a result of a very exciting scooter adventure, some could be identical, so they are very easily confused. And that is exactly what happened, someone had mistakenly taken home Finlay’s scooter, and my boy was in floods!

Scoot Lock in action!

Scoot Lock in action!


Now that’s a problem easily fixed one could think, come in the next day, and retrieve the muddled up scooter, but what about next time at the park, or in the school yard I wondered, or a classmate’s birthday party. What then? And what if next time, it hadn’t been mistaken, but was instead stolen? Finn’s tears had got me thinking, and once I get my mind thinking on a problem, it’s hard for me to stop. There had to be something out there, a specifically designed lock I thought, one that attaches to the scooter stem so it can’t be forgotten or left behind. One expressly for scooters (be they child or adult), lightweight but uncomplicated. Safe, secure, and easy enough for a child to understand. Child’s play I thought! I was wrong.

Other locks were too heavy

I looked long and hard, but all the other locks were too heavy, or they required a key that would be easily lost (I don’t know about you, but Finn misplaces everything – sometimes I find it hard to fathom where he left his school bag, let only a teeny little key!) or or all variety of other locks that may have looked great but didn’t attach to the scooter stem so could be easily left at home by accident. There simply wasn’t anything out there that I felt met our scootering needs.

prototype1

Scoot Lock version 1.0


That’s when Scoot Lock was born. One afternoon I sat down at the kitchen bench and using Finn’s modelling clay, I got to work on a prototype. An idea I thought would work for little ‘uns and big ‘uns alike. One for scooters, bikes AND buggies to fit all the family’s needs. So I found a fantastic team of designers  in Bristol who helped me and my idea, and soon Finn and I were jetting off to Taiwan on a scooting adventure that changed our lives.

Simple and Affordable

After working through several prototypes and different designs, as well as several trips to Taiwan nurturing Finlay’s burgeoning love of South East Asian food, (he’s a dab hand with the chopsticks now…. but not when he first started!) we came up with Scoot Lock, a simple and affordable combination lock that gives peace of mind to parents. It attaches to the scooter stem and goes wherever the scooter goes once fitted, meaning it doesn’t get lost or left at home. We also added a long adjustable, toughened steel cable so the scooter can be attached to a railing, a post, a tree – just about anything – so no more worries about lost scooters again.

Finn vs chopsticks – Taipei

Finn vs chopsticks – Taipei


Finn loves his Scoot Lock, not only does it teach him responsibility for his possessions but it also means that now when we walk home from school together, we can have that time to concentrate on the day, I can find out the latest goings on at school & hear what he learned that day, instead of dealing with the fallout of a missing scooter. And for me, that’s what’s most valuable of all.
cheryl-and-finn-blog-1

Finn & Me