CREDIT: PROVIDED BY GARRETT WILLIAMSON
London Lightning player Garrett Williamson, is sharing his story from athlete to entrepreneur and how he employs Fanshawe students as interns at his new mattress manufacturing company

London Lightning player, Garrett Williamson, has diversified his career and moved into mattress manufacturing.

With a family history in manufacturing high end mattresses, Williamson saw how difficult and expensive it was to deliver mattresses.

He and his brother came up with a unique idea that changes the way mattresses are produced and sold.

“As a professional athlete I knew my career had a shelf life. I couldn't play forever and I wanted to be prepared for when that day came,” Williamson said.

Their company, Allure Sleep, offers a premium gel infused mattress that can be compressed and vacuum sealed to make delivery more efficient. The new packaging method allows the mattress to fit in a box the size of a bag of golf clubs while still keeping the same level of quality in the product. They are able to deliver mattresses around the world with less hassle and a lower cost.

Allure Sleep is an E-commerce company making them able to provide affordable products compared to what is found in a traditional retail store.

“Our goal is to simplify the bed buying process and enhance our customers' lives with high quality sleep products,” Williamson said.

Some of the key features of an Allure Sleep mattress include a CoolLux cover so the customer can remain at an optimal body temperature, antibacterial components to reduce the growth of microorganisms and memory foam that allows for more air flow. The memory foam also helps reduce pressure points and keep the proper spinal alignment.

“As an athlete, I know the importance of a good night sleep on the body and mind,” Williamson said.

This mattress helps to reduce tossing and turning throughout the night and allows the customer to remain in REM sleep all night.

Williamson's time is spent between basketball and running the company, so he employs Fanshawe students as interns to assist in accomplishing tasks.

“My interns work directly with me and they are eager to learn. They are able to give me a perspective of the younger demographic,” Williamson said.

The interns are exchange students at Fanshawe so Williamson is able to learn from their experience coming to Canada as immigrants and share his stories moving here from Philadelphia.

When asked for his advice for young entrepreneurs, Williamson had positives to share.

“Be fearless and relentless in the pursuit of your dreams. Be different, treat people with respect and stick to your word. Make the most of every opportunity and the biggest thing is you can't be afraid to go for it,” Williamson said.

In the future, Allure Sleep plans to add accessories to have a full product line of high end sleep products.

To learn more about Allure Sleep visit alluresleep.com and follow Allure Sleep on Facebook and Instagram.