That was approx 12 years ago and I’ve never stopped doing all those things since. Once everything sunk in, I spent the next several weeks researching ramp design, building prototypes, creating a logo,ready books and articles on starting a business, and so on. I could impact the lives of so many more kids around the country and eventually around the world by providing safe and and fun skate obstacles for peoples’ homes. My mind started racing with the possibilities. I was ten times more excited about building ramps in comparison to my original idea of giving skate instruction. I grew up making my own ramps and having a lot of fun in the process so I figured why not start a business built around spreading that energy while still accomplishing my original goal that I wrote down a few weeks prior: teach kids how to skate. At this point in time (2010), there were countless skateboard deck, clothing, and footwear companies but no one had really catered towards building or selling skate ramps on a commercial scale. There were a few plastic ones that were absolute garbage and then only one other company making kit-form, wooden ramps. I did a quick search online and noticed virtually no one was selling skate ramps online. It was at the moment that it all clicked and figured out what I wanted to do. After making the quarter pipe, I had a few people ask me where I bought it. In the midst of all this soul searching, my girlfriend at the time had a nephew who was turning 10 and had just gotten into skateboarding so I decided to make him a ramp (quarter pipe) for his birthday. After diving deeper into the concept, I realized that I didn’t have a knack nor desire/ personality traits necessary to work with kids. My idea was to have a trailers and/or box trucks that were filled with ramps and worked with schools and Cities’ Parks and Rec Departments. I wrote out a pages and pages of information that I deemed my first draft of an informal business plan. All said and done I decided I was going to create a company that gave skateboarding lessons to children. Some of it was potential careers I could pursue, products I could make, services I could offer, or just things I considered fun and/or interesting. It was at this time that I decided I needed to pursue something I actually cared about so I wrote down pretty much anything that popped into my head. My quality of life was miserable and I found the work I was doing very far from fulfilling. I had just finished up a Masters Program at San Diego State University and got a job at a Transportation Planning consulting firm where I was working long hours and commuting 4-5 hours round trip each day. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business? Cory, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Cory below. We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Cory Keen.
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