Jahmal Williams is a regular-footed professional skateboarder, skate company owner, and artist from Boston, Massachusetts. [1] [2] [3]
Williams was raised by his mother in Boston, Massachusetts with four other siblings. [4] As a young kid in the early-to-mid 1980s, Williams was into breakdancing and graffiti writing. [1] In an effort to stay out of trouble, Williams got into freestyle BMX biking. [1] He brought his bike to the local skatepark and had it stolen. [1] This lead Williams to buy a skateboard in the summer of 1988. [4] His mother bought him a Thrasher magazine issue with Tony Alva on the cover, further encouraging his interest in skating. [3]
In 1998, Williams received a scholarship to attend the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. [5] There he studied drawing, sculpture, and painting for four years. [5]
Williams first sponsor was Beacon Hill Skateshop. [6] T.V. skateboards came to Whitman, Massachusetts on a tour. Williams befriended the team and ended up going on tour with them. [6] T.V. team was Mike Vallely, Ed Templeton, Steve Berra, Ethan Fowler, Jerry Fowler, and Williams. [6] Williams went pro for T.V. [7]
After T.V. folded Williams joined Ed Templeton's new company, Toy Machine. [8] [6] After riding for Toy Machine for a number of years, Mike Vallely connected Williams to Powell. [4] Williams rode for Powell for a number of years until he parted ways with the company. [1]
| Skate Video Parts & Appearances [9] | Year |
|---|---|
| The Fat Juicy Video | 1991 |
| 3D Innovations | 1991 |
| Toy Machine Live! | 1994 |
| Eastern Exposure | 1996 |
| adidas Commercial | 1998 |
| INFMS | 2000 |
| DNA Continuum | 2002 |
| Static 3 | 2007 |
| Hopps Commercial 1 | 2009 |
| MIA Skate Shop Welcome to MIA | 2010 |
| Ride Channel Skate New York with Hopps | 2012 |
| Orchard Stone Soup | 2014 |
| Static 4 | 2014 |
| Hopps The “Saturday” Project | 2016 |
| Welcome to Dial Tone MFG | 2018 |
| The Converse CONS X Hopps Collection | 2018 |
In 2007, Williams founded Hopps Skateboards. [4]