I STARTED in the Great Outdoors in 1998 and went away for a few years to train as an optician, but I came back because I missed it. I feel now I'm in a good position to weather the downturn - people will always need footwear or glasses.
I live on a farm past Blessington and most mornings I am at work by around 7.30am, so I can get ordering and paperwork out of the way, as well as a look at the newspapers.
The shop opens at 10am and everyone works five days out of seven. I don't miss weekends at all because my first job was as a ski instructor, where you worked every day you could, knowing there'd be no work in summer.
We do footwear for everyone from road runners to high-altitude mountaineers. We have a reputation for being the place to go if you've got feet that are hard to fit because we specialise in custom insoles and orthotics.
The size on the box tells you only how long the boot is, it tells you nothing about width or volume - or what if you've a narrow heel and a wide forefoot? That's why the average sale takes around half-an-hour but it can take up to an hour-and-a-half to get right.
Last year at a marathon I met a man who sat beside me past the finishing line with blood-soaked socks. He just thought it was a price you have to pay for marathon running, but someone had obviously sold him the wrong shoe. I was able to sort him out.
The vast majority of customers are a pleasure to deal with, but you do get the occasional one who is under the impression that because you work in retail they don't need to be nice to you.
My boss decides where to go for lunch and he's very fickle, so it could be any pub or cafe in the area. A few of us will all go together and have a laugh.
In the afternoon we get suppliers coming in. We're already on to next winter's gear, because we order six months in advance. We do a lot of staff training too, so for example we might have the rep from Gore in to tell us about advances in raingear.
You'd be amazed by how much technology is involved. But typically customers don't care - they just want waterproof, breathable gear that is featherweight and folds to nothing and, of course, they don't want to pay more than €50 for it. To sell you need to know where the compromise is.
I finish up at about 6pm and go home. In my downtime I run, cycle and hillwalk. Long ago I decided my option was to work for a living or get paid to play, and what I'm doing now still feels like the latter.
Neil Smith is a footwear specialist with the Great Outdoors, Chatham St, Dublin 2
In conversation with Sandra O'Connell