Bump into Josh Kissner out on the trails and one thing is certain: you’ll never find him without his backpack, laden with test parts and tools. That makes more sense when you learn that Josh is product manager at Santa Cruz and plays a significant role in the development of their bikes. We joined him for a ride in Squamish to chat about Santa Cruz, his role in the company and the future of the sport.
It’s a sunny day in August when we meet Josh for a ride on his home trails in Squamish. At first glance he looks like a regular mountain biker – unsurprising given the region we’re in – and really, that is all he is. But when you learn what his job involves and you also realise there’s a lot more going on. He helps shape key developments in the bikes we ride and he does it all in the name of fun for us. For Josh, every ride is about testing and improving the experience, hence the backpack with spare parts for on-the-fly experiments or part swaps.
Josh and Santa Cruz go back a long way. When he first started as a bike mechanic for the brand 16 years ago, it had only 25 employees. His role evolved over time and he went into technical support for the marketing before spending the past decade in product management. A year ago he moved from California to Squamish for a variety of reasons, including his wife’s Canadian heritage and, of course, the many, many great trails here.
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