Jahmal Williams is a

regular-footed In human biology, footedness is the natural preference of one's left or right foot for various purposes. It is the foot equivalent of handedness. While purposes vary, such as applying the greatest force in a certain foot to complete the action of ...

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 Thrashers are a New World group of passerine birds related to mockingbirds and New World catbirds. Like these, they are in the family Mimidae. There are 15 species in one large and 4 monotypic genera. These do not form a clade but are a phe ...

magazine issue with

Tony Alva Anthony Frank Alva (born September 2, 1957) is an American skateboarder, entrepreneur, and musician. He was a pioneer of vertical skateboarding and one was of the original members of the Zephyr Competition Skateboarding Team, also known as th ...

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 The School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University (Museum School, SMFA at Tufts, or SMFA; formerly the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston) is a dedicated art school within Tufts University, a private research university in Massa ...

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 Whitman is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 15,121 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is located approximately south of Boston on the western edge of the ...

on a tour. Williams befriended the team and ended up going on tour with them. T.V. team was

Mike Vallely Mike Vallely ( ; born 1970), also known as Mike V, is an American professional skateboarder and musician. From 2013 to 2025, he was the lead vocalist of the hardcore punk band Black Flag. Vallely was the second-longest-serving member of the ban ...

Ed Templeton Ed Templeton (born July 28, 1972) is an American professional skateboarder, contemporary artist, and photographer. He is the founder of the skateboard company, Toy Machine, a company that he continues to own and manage. He is based in Huntingt ...

Steve Berra Steve Berra (born May 10, 1973) is an American professional skateboarder and director, and is also the cofounder/co-owner of the skateboarding website The Berrics. Early life Berra grew up in both Nebraska and Missouri and he explained in 2007 ...

, 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 Toy Machine is a skateboarding company, housed under the Tum Yeto distribution company, started by Ed Templeton in 1993. History Prior to inception, Templeton was unable to decide on either "Toy Skateboards" or "Machine Skateboards" for a comp ...

. 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.

Hopps Skateboards

In 2007, Williams founded Hopps Skateboards.

References

External links

HOPPS SKATEBOARDSFive Favorite Parts with Jahmal Williams - Quartersnacks
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Jahmal American skateboarders Living people African-American skateboarders School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts alumni Sportspeople from Boston Artist skateboarders Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century African-American businesspeople 21st-century African-American people