Very few people start running a business at the age of ten, but Roman Buonfiglio was determined to turn his passion into profit. 
Fingerboarding, a hobby where participants “ride” a miniature skateboard on their fingers, is the sole focus of Nail Shredder PFB (Professional Fingerboards), which will launch its first public product drop this summer.
Turning a Hobby Into a Business

Roman’s love for fingerboarding stems from online fingerboard content creators like Mike Schneider and Jake PFB, a YouTuber whose fingerboarding business inspired Roman to start one as well. After attending one of Mike Schneider’s events a few months ago—decked out with stair sets and concrete pools—Roman was completely hooked. He decided to price his fingerboards at around $40, a middle ground that ensures both affordability and quality. 

To aid with the logistics of running his business, Roman turns to an artificial intelligence agent set up with his father, Paul Buonfiglio. “The AI does all the organizing while he gets to do the more

creative side,” says Bianca, Roman’s mother. Roman focuses on assembling his fingerboards using parts like wheels and decks bought in bulk, as well as creating unique graphics. This current design, which “reminds [Roman] of a retro style,” features a skeleton–a design choice likely to be on future fingerboards as well–with a blue, black, and pink color scheme. 

While Roman’s designs are on the back, there are other ways to customize fingerboards, especially with grip tape. In fingerboarding, grip tape is a sheet of foam applied to the deck. Roman includes the grip tape separately so riders can customize it to their preference. For Roman, he plans on drawing a smiley face on his.
Built on Creativity and Persistence

When asked what advice he’d give to his younger self, Roman says, “It’s hard and you might want to quit sometimes, but don’t give up.” He draws upon his own experience of fingerboarding and how even though the progress might have seemed slow at times, his persistence allowed him to grow the venture into something he is proud of.

However, while running a business is rewarding, it can also be time-consuming. Roman notes that if he’d started Nail Shredder PFB at the beginning of the school year, it would’ve been harder to get everything set up, as he had football every night. However, with his schedule clearing up, Roman dedicates the majority of his free time to his work.