Two Atlanta women are making bank taking matters into their own hands and freeing vehicles from the dreaded boot. Dubbed the Boot Girls, this duo, Boot Baby and Boot Sheisty, sport balaclavas and charge just $50 for their "legally dubious" services, undercutting parking enforcement companies that charge $75 or more for boot removal. The sought-after entrepreneurs now average about 40 boot removals per day using keys that cost them $50 each.
The Boot Girls are popular online, with a following of over 85,000 on Instagram and TikTok. Their business ventures, however, have stirred controversy and criticism, as Georgia law only allows booting where local governments expressly authorize the practice. Despite the legal challenges, the Boot Girls continue to gain popularity and provide their services to Atlanta residents.
Business is also good for the guy who sells the boot keys, per NPR:
Since the Boot Girls spiked in popularity roughly two weeks ago, [Christian] Verrette has sold more than 1,200 keys, he says, which translates to $60,000, or about $50 per key.
While "it is not illegal to own a boot key," the Atlanta Police wrote, the use of a boot key to modify, tamper or disengage a booting device from a vehicle could result in a variety of charges, such as criminal trespass, theft of services, theft by taking or second-degree property damage.
