Boy behind Caine’s Arcade Closes Shop to Pursue New Dream

This is definitely the most adorable thing you will see all day!

You may or may not already be familiar with the story of Caine Monroy, a 9 year old boy who became an internet sensation after someone made a short film about his homemade cardboard arcade he built outside his dad's auto part store. Before the story hit the internet, Caine had only had one customer at the arcade he ran every weekend. After his story hit sites like Reddit and Facebook, it soon caught on like wildfire, and Caine's Arcade became a must see destination in LA. And it wasn't just LA that was inspired. In first 2 months after Caine's story was shared, over 100 Schools in 9 Countries created cardboard arcades inspired by the film.

In fact, the buzz behind the video propelled a website dedicated not only to creating Caine a scholarship fund, but also an "Imagination Foundation" focused on fostering creativity in children. Caine has also been given some pretty cool opportunities thanks to the success of his arcade, from meeting celebrities, to being the youngest speaker at University of Southern California's Marshall School of Business and Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. He has even gone to DC to meet with the Secretary of Education!

Caine's Arcade closed for business in LA with one last official day of play in August, however it will live on with a traveling partnership with Tom's shoes. And it's legacy lives on with the annual "Global Cardboard Challenge". The Imagination Foundation’s 1st annual Global Cardboard Challenge had over 270 Events in 40 Countries.

So what's this new business that Caine is pursing? He's opening his own bike shop! He got the idea after giving his own bike a makeover with paint and new gears. Check out the shop's official Facebook Page here.

Caine's Arcade may be closed, but it's legacy definitely lives on. I love that in a day and age when most kids are glued to their computers and video games, this kid created a whole world with cardboard and creativity. The world needs more kids like Caine.

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