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Jahmal Williams facts for kids

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Jahmal Williams is a regular-footed professional skateboarder, skate company owner, and artist from Boston, Massachusetts.

Early life and education

Williams was raised by his mother in Boston, Massachusetts with four other siblings. As a young kid in the early-to-mid 1980s, Williams was into breakdancing and graffiti writing. In an effort to stay out of trouble, Williams got into freestyle BMX biking. He brought his bike to the local skatepark and had it stolen. This lead Williams to buy a skateboard in the summer of 1988. His mother bought him a Thrasher magazine issue with Tony Alva on the cover, further encouraging his interest in skating.

In 1998, Williams received a scholarship to attend the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. There he studied drawing, sculpture, and painting for four years.

Skateboarding

Williams first sponsor was Beacon Hill Skateshop. T.V. skateboards came to Whitman, Massachusetts on a tour. Williams befriended the team and ended up going on tour with them. T.V. team was Mike Vallely, Ed Templeton, Steve Berra, Ethan Fowler, Jerry Fowler, and Williams. Williams went pro for T.V.

After T.V. folded Williams joined Ed Templeton's new company, Toy Machine. After riding for Toy Machine for a number of years, Mike Vallely connected Williams to Powell. Williams rode for Powell for a number of years until he parted ways with the company.

Skate Video Parts & Appearances 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

Hopps Skateboards

In 2007, Williams founded Hopps Skateboards.

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