Jon Julio is a figure who needs no introduction among inline skating enthusiasts. His dedication and motivation to action are known all over the world, and his career in the field has been going on since the mid-1990s. Julio, not only did not let go, but also actively developed his skills and gained business experience, being involved in many projects related to aggressive inline skating. In this blog entry, we take a closer look at his remarkable career, accomplishments and the impact he has had on the global skate scene with his brand Themskates.
Jon Julio paved the way to his first sponsorships by winning the historic NISS competition in 1996. Since then, he has steadily established partnerships with virtually every major equipment manufacturer, such as Roces, Cozmo and Usd. At a time of rapid growth in the skate industry, more and more new brands were created, with Julio's name also appearing on products from Dyna Wheels, Runners Project, Skatepile, 50/50, England Clothing and Ucon. Julio, skilfully weaved between sponsors, but at some point he reached a point where he was devoting all his time to promoting other companies not following the same path.
Therefore, in 2003, he decided to start his own: Valo Brand. Even then, you could see that a lot of emphasis was placed on the form of promotion. Jon looked for inspiration outside the skating world and used solutions in line with the latest technological trends. The final touches on Valo's third team video were made by Adobe studios, while Valo4life was the first skate video production distributed via iTunes. Undoubtedly, this lent prestige and set the project apart from the competition.
After 15 years in business, however, Valo Brand ceases to exist. Surprising to everyone, the situation simply turns out to be the impetus for the launch of Jon's current venture, Themskates, this time a 100% owned company specializing in the production of inline skates and accessories for aggressive skating. Jon Julio's decision to start Themskates company was very organic.
Jon had a wealth of experience gained from years of working for major brands. He learned a lot of lessons from it, and based on that he decided to create something in line with his vision of aggressive skating. He was willing to take risks and bet everything to build something that was both innovative and distinctive in the market. Since the release of the first product, his design has gained recognition and has been very well-received by the rollerblading community. The successful launch of the new skate model had a noticeable impact on the small renaissance of inline skating, particularly evident in the US.
Jon and his completely transparent policy, based on constant contact with the brand's fans, gave the impression that the users themselves were finally able to have a real impact on the process of creating the final product. Moreover, the sales success of the first Themskates model certainly motivated the stagnant competition and somewhat awakened the local market. After 2018, the situation of aggressive inline skating on the other side of the ocean began to improve significantly overall.
Many once respected figures began to return to rollerblading. We mean both the return of active skaters like Demetriois George, Dominic Sagona and Louie Zamora, as well as increasingly bold attempts to follow in Jon's footsteps and try their hand at the rollerblading business by creating new companies (Standard, Faction, Chroma, Chris Edwards' Birth Legacy, Charles Dunkle, Rachard Johnson and his OTAD Wheels).
Themskates is a good example of how an innovative company should work in practice. Julio gained the trust of customers at the very beginning by selling a pre-order of the first skate model, which allowed him to produce subsequent batches. By the time the first skate reached customers, the company was already working on an improved version. This led to the introduction of the 909 model, created this time completely from scratch, in cooperation with well-known skate equipment engineer Kyle Sola. Soon after it became the brand's flagship model.
Blading Cup & Themskates Store
An integral part of Jon Julio's promotional activities is the Blading Cup. Organized for years, the event is held in his home town of Santa Ana. For the past decade, it has been the largest skate competition in the US, bringing together the best riders from around the world. Originally held once a year, it now has a summer edition as well as a fall edition, thanks to the city's support.
The Blading Cup has already become a permanent fixture on the calendar of must-attend trips of the year and is consistently growing in form. In addition to the competition of skaters, the Blading Cup is also a chance to check out all the new products at a trade show specially prepared for the occasion. Themskates being the organizer thus seeks to unite and bring together the entire skate community, while motivating others to do more seriously. New series of competitions in the United States such as the Boshi Pope and Frank Morales Invitational are probably actions inspired by the success of Jon Julio's events.
We can't forget the Themskates front store, which is a sort of hub for skaters in LA, and a constant way to keep awareness of the rollerblading phenomenon in their local area. A friendly place where we can check the fit, buy or just chat about rollerblades with an expert is certainly another piece of the whole puzzle of Jon Julio's brand success. If you've sometimes wondered where the idea for products like Them coffee, Them porcelain mugs, or Them lighters came from, this is where the answer lies. Themskates store is located in a specific neighbourhood of Santa Anta, among many other local boutiques with their own products. An international skaters' rally is certainly an unusual event in such a place, and the regular crowds that come here for the occasion solidly drive local businesses, encouraging Julio to engage friendly local entrepreneurs.
As a result of the aforementioned activities, the Themskates brand has started to become more and more visible in a relatively short period of time, drawing attention from entirely new circles. In 2022, the Blading Cup also hosted an increasingly active roller skate community for the first time, and over time, more and more exclusive companies expressed interest in selling their products in the Themskates store, appreciating its dynamic development. It was in this way that the Themskates brand was recognized by Braindead, a producer of broadly defined street wear, bringing together a collective of creative artists from around the world. Recognizable for its unique style, drawing inspiration from post punk, underground comics or the spirit of the subculture as a whole Brain Dead saw great potential in the somewhat niche occupation of aggressive inline skating.
Braindead, WKND & Clarks
The main result of the collaboration between Themskates and Braindead was two unique skate models, one of which deserves the special attention. The second Braindead x Themskates 909 were officially the first complete set of inline skates offered with Wizard frames. Enjoying increasing popularity, the innovative Wizard frame fit perfectly with Braindead's original design and, despite the high price, were met with an excellent reception. This was another very good move on Jon's part, who now not only was able to take pride in the fact that we could find dedicated Intuition liners in Themskates (considered absolutely unrivalled), but also expanded his offer with a ready-made model for Wizard skating — a fresh and rapidly developing trend in skating.
So in a nutshell, Themskates has pulled together a range of appreciated solutions, offering users exactly what they expected. While we may have encountered offers from stores offering custom setups with the aforementioned products before, it was none other than Themskates who officially delivered such a product to the market.
Other heavily echoed Themskates projects in the community were collaborations with shoe manufacturer Clarks and skateboard company (!) WKND. The former resulted in limited models of Themskates x Clarks rollerblades in a stylish blue color, along with corresponding models of Wallabee shoes and a professionally produced promotional video in Clarks' characteristic style. The second, however, is a much more widely organized campaign that has made noise even in the skateboarding community! WKND Skateboards is recognized by the skateboarding community as a leader in the resurgence of underground skateboarding thanks to its peculiar style and comical film productions that reflect the ideas of skater and filmmaker Grant Yansura.
Using his creative energy, Yansura and his crew team up with Jon Julio and Themskates team to produce their first skates, which may mark the end of an era and create a solid foundation for future generations, where there are no divisions or limitations! While in the topic of video commercials the competition has been stuck in a standstill for years, the video skit Alan Gelfand High shot in cooperation with the WKND team as part of the promotional campaign left everyone far behind.... Which other producer would manage to embrace a spread with his pro rider in the current issue of Thrasher?
In summary, Themskates is a company entirely created by skaters for skaters. A slogan as old as the world, yet one that still perfectly defines the actions of Jon Julio and the Themskates team. Existing on the market for only 5 years, built on hard work and its own vision of aggressive inline skating, it has been consistently growing on many levels. Offering its riders decent compensation for pro products, Themskates has set a new policy standard for professional inline skaters and, as we can see, has motivated other manufacturers to follow similar practices. By expanding its product line to include models of urban skates with big wheels, it skilfully creates awareness about our passion, popularizing inline skating in previously inaccessible circles.
Observing the activities of Themskates, it can be concluded that the recipe for success is simply excellent knowledge of market needs and skilful management of the supply. Quick, concrete response and no fear of trying to go beyond the existing framework. We are looking forward to the brand's next moves in the 2023 season, where the main course will certainly be two additional shell sizes increasing their total number to 6 different lengths, as well as providing the extended availability of individual components of the skates themselves. As a result, we may soon get the option to create our own unique setup of Themskates inline skates from scratch!
