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Ryan Jaunzemis (born February 5, 1980, Inglewood, California), is an American dating coach, YouTuber, and professional rollerblader, [1] and is most known for being sponsored by Soap Shoes. [2]
Jaunzemis rose to prominence in 1997 after being signed onto the fledgling "grind shoe" company, Soap Shoes. He became known after being featured in sales commercials for Soap Shoes depicting Jaunzemis grinding down a 5-stair handrail, which went viral on the internet and America Online in 1998. He was described by Vice as being the "poster boy for the 90s fad". These commercials were also played in retail stores such as Journeys (company), Pacific Sunwear (now PacSun), Gadzooks (retailer), and many other national & local retailers throughout the country. He was also featured in Relate Video Productions' famous full-length Soap videos, "oNe" [3] & "tWo". [4] Jaunzemis toured with Soap Shoes on their 1997, ‘98, & ‘99 US demo tours. This earned Jaunzemis the title, "Best Soaper In The World" by the website, "SoapShoe.com".
In 1999 Jaunzemis was fired from Soap Shoes by then CEO, Chris Morris, after Jaunzemis mis-sent an expletive & insult filled E-mail; describing his personal issues with the company, and with the owner.[ citation needed ]
On December 31, 1999, Jaunzemis went to Times Square to celebrate the 3rd millennium.
Jaunzemis was the subject of a documentary, Soap Or Die [5] in 2016. [6] He was also a major character in the film, Lords of Soaptown, [7] [8]
Daewon Song is an American professional skateboarder. He is the co-founder and co-owner of Almost Skateboards and Thank You Skateboards, and continues to skate for the latter company. Song was named the 2006 "Skater of the Year" by Thrasher magazine, an award that is widely considered to be one of the most significant honors in skateboarding.
Geoffrey Joseph Rowley Jr. is an English professional skateboarder, former co-owner of Flip Skateboards and owner of the Civilware Service Corporation. He received Thrasher Magazine's "Skater of the Year" award in 2000.
Aaron Dontez Yates, better known by his stage name Tech N9ne, is an American rapper and singer. In 1999, he and business partner Travis O'Guin founded the record label Strange Music. He has sold over two million albums and has had his music featured in film, television, and video games. In 2009, he won the Left Field Woodie award at the mtvU Woodie Awards.
Etnies is a French-American footwear brand based in Lake Forest, California, United States, and is owned by Sole Technology, Inc. The company sponsors professional skateboarders and BMX riders, LAB more and releases signature shoe models.
Ryan Allen Sheckler is an American professional skateboarder and entrepreneur, and the star of the MTV-produced reality television series Life of Ryan, which ran from 2007 to 2009. He also starred in four seasons of the short-format video series Sheckler Sessions on Red Bull TV. Sheckler was listed in Fox Weekly's "15 Most Influential Skateboarders of All-Time" article.
Enjoi is a skateboarding company that specializes in producing skateboard decks as the brand's primary product. The company also manufactures skateboarding accessories and clothing. The company, distributed by Dwindle Distribution, has since been known for its humorous and satirical designs and has adopted a stylized panda as its logo. Enjoi was founded in 2000 by Marc Johnson and Rodney Mullen. Their headquarters is situated in Los Angeles, California.
Deluxe Distribution is an Ermico Enterprises, Inc.-owned American skateboarding company founded in 1986 with limited partner Brian Ware in San Francisco. Deluxe was formed to distribute the Beware Record label, and other small record labels popular with skateboarders, along with Thunder Trucks and Supercush Bushings. Deluxe distributes six skateboard brands and owns DLXSF, a retail outlet.
Paul Martin Rodriguez Jr., also known by his nickname P-Rod, is an American professional street skateboarder and actor. Rodriguez has won a total of eight medals at the X Games, four of them gold, with the most recent first-place victory occurring in Los Angeles, California in July 2012.
Soap was the brand name of shoes made for grinding, similar to aggressive inline skating. They were introduced by Chris Morris of Artemis Innovations Inc. with the brand name "Soap" in 1996. They have a plastic concavity in the sole, which allows the wearer to grind on objects such as pipes, handrails and stone ledges. The company and its product rapidly gained popularity through fan sites, a video game and live demonstrations. Soap fell to legal vulnerabilities and was sold twice, eventually bringing the brand to Heeling Sports Limited.
Globe International Ltd. is an Australian footwear, clothing, and skateboard hardware company. It was founded in 1985 by three Australian brothers. Globe International's core business is divided between proprietary brands, licensed brands, and distributed brands. The company's international offices are located in Melbourne, Los Angeles, Newport Beach and San Diego, U.S.; Hossegor, France; and Shenzhen, China. It is listed on the Australian Stock Exchange.
A varial flip is a type of skateboarding trick in which the skateboard rotates around its vertical axis, or its vertical axis and its horizontal axis simultaneously. The first flip trick, called a kickflip but originally known as a "magic flip", was invented by professional skateboarder Rodney Mullen.
Alien Workshop (AWS) is an independent American skateboarding company that was founded in 1990 by Chris Carter, Mike Hill, and Neil Blender in Dayton, Ohio. Following periods under the ownership of the Burton snowboard company and original team rider Rob Dyrdek in 2012, the company was acquired by Pacific Vector Holdings in October 2013. Alien Workshop produced skateboard decks, wheels, apparel, and other skateboard accessories prior to its closure in May 2014. In 2015, Alien Workshop was revived with an all-amateur team and distribution through Tum Yeto. They released a series of new skate decks and Bunker Down, the brand's sixth video. As of 2016, Alien Workshop, led by Mike Hill phased out working with Tum-Yeto and moved all operations back to the Mound Laboratories in Miamisburg, Ohio. After a tumultuous ownership history they have returned to operations as an independent company.
Baker Skateboards is an American skateboarding company founded in 2000 by professional skateboarder Andrew Reynolds. The company's main products are skateboard decks, soft goods, accessories, and wheels.
Eric Koston is an American professional skateboarder and company owner. He has been featured in the Tony Hawk's video game series and the Electronic Arts (EA) video games Skate 2 and Skate 3.
Stefan Janoski is an American professional skateboarder, artist, writer and musician of Macedonian descent, who is well known for his signature Nike SB shoe model, the "Nike Zoom Stefan Janoski". Among followers of professional skateboarding, Janoski is known for his "switch-stance" skills and casual style.
Ryan Higa, also known as nigahiga, is an American internet personality. Best known for his comedy videos on YouTube, Higa began making YouTube videos in 2006 and was one of the most popular creators on the platform in its early years. His main YouTube channel, nigahiga, was the most subscribed channel on YouTube for 677 consecutive days from 2009 to 2011, an achievement that has only been surpassed by PewDiePie and T-Series. Higa was the first person to reach the milestones of 2 million and 3 million subscribers on YouTube. Higa launched a podcast in 2018 called Off the Pill, which has featured YouTubers and celebrities such as KevJumba, Andrew Yang, and Jeremy Lin. In 2020, Higa started streaming on Twitch, where he reacts to his past videos and broadcasts video game content, most notably in Valorant.
Lucas Puig is a French professional skateboarder. Puig's skateboarding stance is regular and he is a member of the Palace Skateboards team.
Todrick Hall is an American singer, rapper, choreographer, and YouTuber. He gained national attention on the ninth season of the televised singing competition American Idol. Following this, he amassed a huge following on YouTube with viral videos including original songs, parodies, and skits. A documentary series about his video-making process titled Todrick aired on MTV in 2015.
DVS Shoes is an American footwear and clothing company that specialises in products for skateboarding, moto, bmx, mtb and snowboarding. The company defines itself as "... driven from the pursuit of building product that embodies the sports the company athletes breathe every day. With roots deeply embedded in skate, the company has the platform to develop truly technological products that bring the riders personalities to life."
William Jonathan Lenney, better known as WillNE, is an English YouTuber and internet personality based in Newcastle. Lenney's content is noted for both his videos focusing around internet culture and his practical jokes, such as getting a variety of YouTubers to collaboratively sing the song "All Star" without their knowledge, and fooling several media organisations into thinking he was a contestant on I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!. Lenney's style of content was described by Vice Media in 2018 as designed for "teenagers hyper-literate on internet culture." In January 2024, Lenney became a co-owner of Quadrant Esports, a content creation and apparel brand founded by Lando Norris.
