CTO

When I was younger, I thought it would be cool to ride a motorcycle like my dad. I remember getting my license at around 21, then going right out to test drive a bike, a 1994 Kawasaki Ninja 250. When I pulled back into the driveway from the test ride, I accidentally tipped the bike over, and to make matters worse, the seller was a police officer in full uniform. Luckily, that’s where that story ended. My first bike ended up being a Honda Rebel 250 just like the one I learned on at the MSF course.

After about 6 months of riding the Rebel, I got bored and wanted more speed, so I picked up a 2002 Kawasaki ZX6E sport touring bike. I remember test riding it and it felt like a rocket ship, but it kept shutting off, and it turned out it had no oil. Considering how lucky I got that it didn't blow up on me, I went ahead and bought it and gave it a better home, and I ended up daily driving it over 40,000 miles during the next 3 years.

Keeping that bike going afforded me the chance to learn how to work on bikes in general, and before long I got into buying and selling them. More than 60 bikes later, it took me owning a Sur Ron to no longer have to power wheelie and finally be able to reach the balance point. Sur Rons are so light and easy to ride wherever you take them – they can be reliable commuters, urban supermotos, and weekend dirt racers all at once. I even rode one in the 2022 Red Bull TKO Hard Enduro. It’s like my favorite bikes all combined into one.

| Photo by Roots Rocks and Mud

As GritShift’s CTO and business advisor, having been at the helm of numerous startups throughout the last decade, I’m no stranger to making things work. At the end of the day, if our name isn’t getting out there, we can't keep doing what we love, and neither can the enthusiasts who trust our products to withstand whatever they throw at their e-bikes.