WE ARE
Since 2015, JMKRIDE has been dedicated to growing and supporting the sport of freeskating. While other freeskate-selling companies facelessly profit on the freeskate market, we at JMKRIDE reinvest our time and money in the freeskating community both in-person, through local events and meetups, as well as online by maintaining several social media pages and group forums in the United States and worldwide.
We see a bright future for freeskating just over the horizon. Don't miss out, and join us in ushering in the next revolution in human-powered skating. Roll with us.
MEET OUR FOUNDERS
Left to right, our cofounders Jon Gorden, Mattie Tyce, Marco Cardenas, and Kyoki Shimada at the 2015 Japan Freeskate Open
CEO JMKRIDE USA, Brand Manager, Founder / USA
Jon Gorden
Jon was devastated when the first freeskate company went out of business. Unable to accept the fate of freeskating, he and four other former employees took matters in their own hands, bringing with them crucial experience of what to do, and what not to do, in running a freeskate company.
Freeskates Pioneer,
Founder / USA
Mattie Tyce
Mattie was one of the first freeskaters ever. His background in skateboarding set him up to be a true pioneer of the sport, and scored him the credit for inventing much of the tricks considered fundamental to the sport today.
Adviser, Product development, Production Manager, Founder / Germany
Marco Cardenas
Marco hails from Germany but his reach is global. Marco came up as a rider and developed an international presence in the freeskates community. He spent time in the US as well as working with the largest freeskate distributor in China. Speaking 5 languages fluently, Marco has not only lead JMKRIDE production, he is able to bridge the language barriers for our global events.
Designer, Pro JMK Rider, Product development,
Founder / JAPAN
Kyoki Shimada
An architect by trade, Kyoki’s design skills and years of being a pro rider contributed heavily to the development of JMK’s unique features and quality. Kyoki was Japan’s largest freeskate distributor and has created a massive freeskate community in Japan.
Our Origin Story.
In 2015, the future of freeskating was uncertain...
After years of hope and uncertainty came to a disappointing end with the collapse of the original freeskate company, our founders could no longer sit back and watch the community they loved and help build disappear. When many of the original riders were abandoning the sport, our co-founders came together to keep the sport alive, and give the community something to rally around. After three years of collaborative design with some of the best freeskaters in the world, the freeskate was completely re-imagined with numerous improvements never-before-seen to the world, and our flagship freeskate was ready. JMKRIDE was born from the ashes.
MEET TEAM USA
CEO & Co-founder
Jon Gorden
Jon was devastated when the first freeskate company went out of business. Unable to accept the fate of freeskating, he and four other former employees took matters in their own hands, bringing with them crucial experience of what to do, and what not to do, in running a freeskate company.
Director of Sales
Chris Kenney
Chris joined the JMKRIDE team in April 2021. While he's new to our team, he's been around the Freeskates scene since the beginning as a close friend of CoFounders Mattie and Jon. Chris has over a decade of management experience in the restaurant industry and brings a wealth of business and management knowledge to our team. Chris is a real people person and is heading our sales and daily ops.
Social Media Manager & Videographer
Gabe Altier
Our man on the inside! Gabe, our youngest team member, lives and breaths all things social media. He brings experience and passion for creating engaging content across many platforms including YouTube, Instagram, and Tik Tok.
CTO & CMO
Jeff Milling
From Facebook to freeskating. Jeff's true passion for freeskating, and strong background in software development makes him our go-to for all things website, forums, and online marketing.
Pro Skater & Co-founder
Mattie Tyce
Mattie was one of the first freeskaters ever. His background in skateboarding set him up to be a true pioneer of the sport, and scored him the credit for inventing much of the tricks considered fundamental to the sport today.
Want to learn more?
Want to learn more?
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