Dave Price got a chance to interview Matt Kelly, the founder and sole owner of Predator Designs. Matt gives his thoughts on downhill skateboarding, what got him motivated to create the DH6 and talks about his skateboarding backround growing up in Vancouver, BC.
Matt showing his whitewater game face in 1986. Check the early version of a Predator helmet he is rocking.
-Why risk something on a niche of skateboarding that most main-stream sport industry people would write off?
I think it all started with you, Dan from Colabo and Dan Matsuda who all contacted me saying our full face kayak helmet was kind of what downhill skaters would want. So, from there Dan Pape at first and you and I worked out the details to get the first batch out to riders. They went well so we made the improvements needed for the 2011 production we are waiting on now. It is a small sport, but all the big guys are ignoring it, so it seemed like a good idea for a small company like mine to take a shot at. In the end, you have to enjoy learning about a sport, reading about it, doing it. I have been lucky to hook up with Joe Lehm from Timeship Racing who is into promoting the sport and you for the insider knowledge of the sport and technical feedback.
-From your perspective as an outsider to longboarding, where do you see longboarding going in the next year, 5 years, 10 years?
There is a lot of growth potential in places like Asia, Eastern Europe and South America. There is a lot of concrete out there to be ridden. Continue reading
