I don’t think my parents really got it until I started going to conventions and they saw how popular my slimes were

I was 14 when I got into following slimers such as Karina Garcia on YouTube. I was watching her videos all the time. For fun, I made an Instagram called Slimeglitterz where I started learning how to make it for myself from YouTube tutorials. I loved it: it just felt good.

You make slime by mixing together PVA glue, borax solution and sometimes glycerin to make it stretchy. At first I couldn’t find borax so I was making it with contact-lens solution, baking soda, PVA glue from Poundland and body lotion (now I use online wholesalers who also supply schools). I was just trying lots of things and experimenting. My slimes were bad at first – just, like, jiggly. Jiggly is bad. You want it to be thick.

When I started, two years ago, I had about 500 followers. Then, in May 2017, I had my first viral video, which got more than 300,000 views overnight. I think it was just the colours and shapes I was making, and the way I was handling it. There’s a specific style that is eye-catching. You can always tell people who aren’t used to touching slime: they poke it. Slime wasn’t particularly big at my school, but there’s a big online community who “get” it. I think people like seeing something pushed into something else and making a new texture. It’s soothing and helps with anxiety. A mum emailed me the other week saying that her son had just lost his father, and my products helped keep them calm.

I have my own slime room at my parents’ house. I sell my slimes on a Saturday at 6pm and sell out in 20 minutes

Now I have 760,000 followers and I’m the biggest UK slime shop. I have my own slime room at my parents’ house where I make everything, film it and ship it for my store. I sell my slime on a Saturday at 6pm. Always the same time. I make hundreds of individual slimes a week, which are 8oz each for about £10, and they sell out in about 20 minutes.

Slimers have a huge international community where everyone connects. People buy from Saudi Arabia, China, Dubai and we get a lot of snow packet orders from Russia and Ukraine. Snow packets are instant snow – one of the key ingredients for a certain type of slime. My most viewed video is one with instant snow, which has about 3m views. It’s just me pouring water into instant snow, and it’s mesmerising.

There are loads of different kinds of slime: butter slime, icy slime (which is velvety), cloud slime, which uses instant snow and has a coldish feel. I also add fragrances, jelly cubes which are like sponges, and chunks of foam called croutons, because texture is just as important as smell and look. My bestseller is a thick slime called grape soda pop. I tend not to use much glitter any more; I’ve passed that phase of my life.

I don’t think my parents really got it until I started to going to conventions and they saw how popular my slimes were. They were supportive, though.

Last May I was invited to my first convention, Slime Bash in Connecticut, where there were about 1,000 attendees. Mum and I took as much as we could carry, about 100 slimes, and we sold out in an hour. Now there’s at least one every month – I’ve even been invited to Brazil. People think all slimers do the same thing, but people want to buy in to your personality and follow you as a person. The Americans love my accent.

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I’m 16 now, and I came out of regular school last July, mainly because I was travelling a lot and it just didn’t work with my timetable. I’m online schooled now and I think I’m more focused on my business and my GCSEs. I’m lucky my parents never pressured me to have a “normal” career.

It’s annoying when people think young people just spend time on their phones. There are people who do stupid things online, but it’s also a whole new marketplace of business and careers. That said, I find the whole “slimepreneur” phrase quite cringey.

People think it’s much easier than it actually is. It’s trial and error. There were points when I had 60p in my bank account, where I wasn’t keeping track of things, and it would have been helpful to have learned about business when I was in school. I get a lot of fan letters – although some parents come up to me and say stuff about slime getting stuck in their carpets and upholstery. Sorry!

• As told to Kieran Yates.

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