Leethan Grandison, Gleaner Writer

Gordon Swaby at the computer console. - contributed

Seventeen-year-old Gordon O'Brien Swaby, a computer fanatic who describes himself as "a little beyond the average teenager," has grown up always wanting to be the best in whatever he does.

Born November 18, 1990, to Olivene and Lloyd Swaby at the Hargreaves Memorial Hospital in Manchester, this youngster's enthusiasm for Internet content has given him a professional career.

What began at 13 as "messing around with computers" has evolved into what he said was the development of an avid passion for web building which has been carefully constructed and started off with dial-up Internet.

"Unlike most persons, I have never attended a class for web design or any other name that they might give it," Swaby told The Gleaner on a recent visit to the newspaper's North Street, central Kingston, offices. "However it was through the Internet with the help of a friend (whom I met online and have never met personally) that I was able to begin the steps in learning to build a website beginning with ROM sites.

First pay cheque

"At 14 years old, I received my first pay cheque for $14,000," Swaby said. "That was the beginning of what was to come." Swaby indicated that he wanted to take his new- found skills further, and "in January 2005 at 15 years old, I started my own website, Advance-gamers.com, the largest gaming website in the Caribbean".

In seeking to justify this claim he said: "for one, there's no other gaming site that is Caribbean-oriented and owned by a Caribbean individual. It is the only one in the Caribbean and, being around for three years, I think I take the grabs."

In 2005, he also designed and completed a website for a rotary club that rewarded him with cash, and a trophy.

He said that, from there on, things have been looking up as he was approached by someone else in 2007 to do a real-estate website and completed his own blog in 2006. The blog is Gordonswaby.com, where he expresses his views on Jamaica - politics, sports, religion and current affairs.

The 17-year-old completes his secondary studies this year at Holmwood Technical High, Manchester.

Visit Gordon's websites: www.advance-gamers.com and www.gordonswaby.com.