"It's the 10 year anniversary, fool!"
—Jim Fenton

Jim Fenton grew up in Kelowna, BC and traveled down a personal path similar to a scenic tour on the Coquihalla Highway before arriving to his current home: the Momentum Wheel Co.

"I lived in Whistler for a bunch and chased the snowboard dream-that quickly fizzled out and I moved down to Vancouver in about 2000 and started working at Westbeach. The sales manager brought me over to customer service and he ended up leaving, so I kind of assumed his role and ended up doing more marketing type stuff for them. I also went to UBC and got a Marketing Diploma, then I got the job with Momentum at Ultimate," Jim explains, summing up his industry path during a scenic ferry ride from the Mainland over to Vancouver Island for a skate trip.

2008 is Momentum's 10th anniversary year, and last year their first full-length video, Un Momentum Por Favor, was released for free both online and on DVD hardcopy. The Canadian wheel brand is going strong with their Pro roster consisting of Rick McCrank, Brandon Biebel, Chris Haslam, Corey Sheppard, and Ted DeGros. The Am camp's not looking too shabby either with Morgan Smith, Nathan Lacoste, Magnus Hanson, Scott Decenzo, Travis Stenger, and Mike Barker holding it down. After a rubbery chicken strip meal on the BC ferry, Jim Fenton participates in my Momentum interrogation over the Strait of Georgia.

When did Momentum start, and who started it?
The company was originally started in '98 by Jody Morris and Sam Gabay. Then Kelly Jablonski and Kevin Harris came aboard as backers and provided distribution through Ultimate. Rick McCrank is involved as well.

When did you get involved with Momentum and what's your role?
I started with Ultimate 5 years ago and my title with Momentum is Brand Manager, but I handle basically everything, like overseeing getting the wheels made, and coordinating the ads and graphics with Andrew Pommier. Rick McCrank and Jody Morris help with the team riders and handle picking the Pros, while I work with most of the Am team. This summer I also coordinated our first trip to Japan with Chris Haslam, Corey Sheppard, Ted DeGros, myself, and Magnus Hanson. We hooked up with the Japan Momentum team, and there's some killers over there—we've got Jiro, Hiro, Toeda, Haruki, and Kenya on our Japan team. Jiro and Haruki have spent some time skating in Vancouver.

The Momentum in Japan 2008 tour video.

What is the design approach and theme of the brand? How are the concepts achieved?
Andrew Pommier is our creative director, so I mostly work with him, and he helps channel other artists towards the brand. A lot of the company's artistic influence comes from Andrew—you can see it in the ads and wheel graphics. We have other artist friends doing graphics as well. Lori D does Rick's wheel, and Corey Sheppard does some graphics for us. If other guys on the team have ideas, we try and work with that. We did a Japan wheel recently and all those riders were involved—we're really open to people who want to work with us. Stefan Marx is a German artist and he did a recent series of wheels. Kelly Litzenberger [editor / art director of Concrete Skateboarding] also throws in a wheel or two.

How is the brand being received around the world? Where is it most popular?

Our biggest distributor is Japan; they buy a lot of wheels and they almost rival our Canadian market. Big Wing is our Japanese distributor, and they've done a great job marketing the brand there. We also distribute to Russia, the UK, Germany, Switzerland, and Sweden. The US has been picking up momentum [insert cheeky laugh here]. We've been around for 10 years now and despite the ups and downs in the industry, we're growing.

Briefly explain Momentum's brand involvement in Electronic Arts' Skate. What team riders appear in the game and how is the brand placed?
Haslam is in the game and he's our main Pro, so I got a call from EA asking to send his wheel graphics. There's also team wheel graphics, T-Shirts, and hats in the game. I get so many emails on the Momentum site from kids who found the brand through the video game.

For more updates and product info from Momentum's spherical enterprise, hit their site.

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More Open House columns: Kitsch Skateboards