Inside Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney’s career-saving donation to Wrexham trainer shop as owner & lifelong fan insists he ‘couldn’t have carried on’ without £3,500 donation

Store owner Stephen Tapp's Wrexham Trainer Revival store was ransacked by thieves overnight on October 28. With £8,000 ($10,200) of stock taken, Tapp faced a financial loss that looked certain to send his business into the abyss. That was before a crowdfunding page, set up by an American couple that had visited the town, began to quickly raise funds.

The target was reached when a generous donation of £3,500 ($4,460) from 'Rob and Ryan' — Wrexham co-owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney — helped the campaign reach it's target, allowing Tapp to reopen just a week later.

“I was ready to pack it all in,” Tapp told The Athletic. “The shop had been ransacked and I went home that night to tell my wife that was it. I’d have to close, sell what was left on eBay and look for another job. I was devastated.”

As the fundraiser gathered momentum, organiser Kirsten Webb told Tapp to take a look at the most recent pledge. "Only then did I see what Rob and Ryan had done. I had to pick myself up off the floor.”

Since the burglary, Wrexham Trainer Revival has gone from strength to strength with Reds stars Jacob Mendy and Elliot Lee among visitors at the store in the city's Lord Street. As well as rare trainers the shop stocks a range of artwork, t-shirts and a line of memorabilia dedicated to the city's promotion-chasing football team.

Tales of the generosity of Reynolds and McElhenney in supporting local causes have not been uncommon since their takeover of the club. Surprise donations to charity events and emotional and financial support to members of the playing squad going through tough times have regularly made the news in north Wales.