Adding another good cause on to her CV, as well as being a legendary skater and pioneer of the women’s scene, Mimi Knoop is also the creative director of ‘I Ride, I Recycle’. The first ever skateboard deck recycling movement that aims to put broken decks to good use, we love to see our old boards turned into something new, so here she tells us more…

How did you come to be a part of the I Ride I Recycle Project? And what’s it all about?

I first met the guys from IRIR and Art of Board at an industry conference a few years back. They had their skate tiles laid out on a table and the color immediately caught my eye.. So I walked over and said hello! That’s how it all began. I now act as creative director for the brand, and help with design and consulting.

Looks like a well thought out project- with both environmental aspects and charitable, plus incentives for all to get involved- who started/thought it all up?

I Ride I Recycle and Art of Board was born on the east coast in Pennsylvania by Rich Moorhead. Rich started making tiles in his garage from used boards and over time the concept and company grew to what it is today!

You send intact boards to ‘Just One Board‘, why is it a good thing for communities to skate and receive these boards?

Providing skateboards to kids that aren’t as fortunate is a way to introduce them to skateboarding when they otherwise may not have had the opportunity. Skating is a great confidence builder, and empowers them to live more hopeful, positive futures. We are also coincidentally helping keep wood waste out of landfills. It’s a win-win!

What other things are the broken boards used for?

The possibilities are basically endless.. When we aren’t giving used boards back to the community for reuse, we have been focusing on creating tile surfacing and home goods with used/broken boards. We’ve created tile pieces for big companies like Google, Hyundai, HGTV, and Monster- and we have worked with smaller companies within our industry too like McGill’s skateshop, Bull Taco, Etnies, and Birdhouse. For the future, we are also working on designing apparel and accessories to add to our line of Art of Board products.

How many boards do you break a year?

Well, being a bowl/vert skater I don’t break too many boards. But I do go through about 1 or 2 a month (12- 25 boards per year).

How can readers in the US get involved?

They can get involved and learn more about us on our website(s):

irideirecycle.com
artofboard.com

Do you know of any plans for it to come to Europe?

Right now we are only in the US and Australia, but hopefully we can connect with shops/skaters in Europe in the near future as well. We wouldn’t want to miss out on the great skate community there!

Quite right! Mimi will let us know when it’s coming this way, but for now check out their cause.