Estimated read time: 1-2 minutes
PLEASANT GROVE — When two Utah County neighbors got together — an optimist and a realist — they built something that hadn't been marketed before: a longboard made of acrylic.
"It's a softer ride, and we can make any shape, any size," said Russ Warner, CEO of Ghost Longboards.
Each board is custom-made, allowing people to get creative with their designs, as well as the board parts. Brightly colored trucks and wheels, LED inlays, crazy shapes — it's all part of the package.
Ghost Longboards officially began selling the unique boards in 2020, years after Warner saw one Brent Johnson had made for his son. The duo soon found phenomenal success when a teen customer posted a TikTok video that went viral. Sales went from 10 a month to 600 in one day.
Warner thought, "This is the coolest thing in the world."
Johnson, Ghost Longboards' president, wasn't so sure. How could they fill so many orders? He already had a full-time job. Then the next day, they received another 600 orders. Warner asked him, "What do you think about quitting your job?"
Soon, the partners went all-in.
"It was really scary because I've never been an entrepreneur," Johnson said. Today, Warner handles the business side of things, while Johnson focuses on the creative.
See the story of how Ghost Longboards came to be, and what their favorite designs are, in our Beyond Business video.
