[paulcole]

My brother was stealing property (boats, go-karts, ATVs) and selling it to (mostly) legitimate businesses (run by adults) by the time he was 12. By the time he was 15ish he had a landscaping business with residential and commercial customers.

Things are different when it’s real rural.

Sure you can’t get a bank loan without an adult involved, but cash is cash. And if you need something for your business and a kid brings it to you, who’s going to look a gift horse in the mouth?

[effingwewt]

Yea, we grew up pretty rural and we sold rabbits, goats, even horses as kids.

We also traded them for equipment like ATVs, guns, or whatever we needed.

OP has never left the city and so just assumes his life is all life.

Even his statement 'do we' just assumes we all believe as he does.

Cole also probably did what many young business owners do and put it in his parent's names.

Much of this is common place for country folk coming up, this kid just took it to extremes in all the best ways.

Finding lawyer's liens and trading work for property was brilliant- had OP paid attention he'd have had the answers to his doubts.

I know others said it was inspiration porn but I was just incredibly sad we lost such a bright star.

Edit- He-> Cole for clarity

[soared]

He sold rabbits to restaurants located in California, which excludes the local rural-only argument.

[krisoft]

I don’t see the insurmountable barriers in that.

This is speculation, but most likelly he found someone who knew how to do that. In effect he was selling his rabits locally to a middleman, who sold the rabit meat in California to restaurants. And when the story gets told this get to be abbreviated to “sold rabbits to restaurants in California”.

[effingwewt]

Your comment makes zero sense.

Too many people didn't read the article, or skimmed it.

No one was saying he was selling/trading only locally, even the article says he had a contractor delivering the rabbits for him.

Again- what he did was on a much bigger scale than we did coming up, but no less different thab happens every day.

OP made it sound like fantastical nonsense.

I'm explaining why it is not.

[towaway15463]

Through someone who was able to make the trip. Its in the article.