Loving the KAVU brand, we are coming across the protagonists who inspire and make this great family burn.
Mark Matthews is an living legend in the world of hardcore trail riders, and a creative force within the unique facet of mountain bike trail builders. Mark is not your traditional pro mountain biker. He's literally carved, dug and sculpted out a unique place within the mountain bike industry, pairing his skills on two wheels with stories and jaw dropping shots of big mountain adventures. It's obvious that Mark has built his career around what he loves to do most. Two of the most prominent focus points within the KAVU ethos are "hard work" and "creativity". Clearly Mark has both coming from every pore.
In 2002, he committed to mountain biking from BMX, and ever since, he's been an industry leader in both innovative riding, and in making some of the most progressive free-riding trails (complete with massive air potential) that the world has seen. He's competed in top events like Red Bull Rampage, and is a talented, all-round shredder. But most importantly... he's a leader as a human being, spreading positive KAVU stoke and vibes, and encouraging riders of all ages to do exactly what makes them happy. We're proud to have Marky Mark on our team, and even more proud to share what makes him uniquely him.
He wanted to become a professional hockey player as a child, until all the other kids got much older... thank goodness I discovered cycling!!
Mark didn't attend post-secondary school right after high school, but he felt pressure to get a higher education in something. After a couple of years of just focusing on mountain biking and having fun, he decided to pursue a degree in Sports and Fitness Leadership. It was essentially a mix of business and sports, and it was very relevant to what he's doing now. But the biggest value she got from the program was creating some epic friendships! He made some of his closest friends on that program.
Becoming a professional athlete has truly been a journey! It took him until he was 25, after a decade spent chasing it, bouncing between random jobs and living with other professionals he could learn from. It finally came with consistency and growth. Being part of the KAVU team has been a truly organic journey!
He got in touch with John Rathwell, who introduced him to KAVU. John and Mark connected through a mutual friend who thought Mark was a good fit for John's "Searching for Sero" project, which shared stories of people finding happiness through outdoor adventure. He was one of those people he wanted to highlight. They immediately hit it off and started exchanging more ideas.
It took Mark this long to ride full time because he needed to discover his greatest strength: creating content and telling stories that were authentic to him, in addition to his mountain biking skills. The rise of social media and YouTube have given him the perfect outlet for this.
The things he is most passionate about are mountain biking, snowboarding, Onewheeling, exploring with friends! No cameras, no content, just pure fun.
Outside of sports he loves to paint..... he would like to do it more often! Love that creative outlet.
This is his sixth year with KAVU and he can't believe it; it flew by and there are so many great memories. But his favorite thing is the first time he met the crew and other athletes in person! The Montana team summit in 2019...it was an amazing time and gathering in a beautiful place! A variety of different athletes all in one place, but they all have the same atmosphere and values as KAVU. It was a lot of fun and made him feel extremely proud to be associated with the brand. He even went skydiving for the first time!
The vibrancy emanating from KAVU as a brand is contagious, radiating positivity and matching the vibe of its connections with others and the outdoors. It's hard to articulate, but the people and products associated with the brand resonate with a sense of alignment and authenticity that just feels "right."
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