Jonathan Strauss (BSSPM ’04)
Founder, SkateBird Miami & Skateboard Solutions
Growing up in Miami, Florida, Jonathan Strauss (BSSPM ’04) explains that he was “groomed to be a Miami Hurricane, doomed to be a Florida Gator.” But, as fate would have it, the University of Florida laid the groundwork for his career as an entrepreneur, innovator and sport management professional.
As the son of a professional swimmer, Strauss developed an affinity for swimming and earned a spot on the University of Florida Men’s Swimming & Diving Team. A sports enthusiast inspired by the 1996 sports comedy-drama, “Jerry Maguire,” Strauss studied sport management at the UF College of Health & Human Performance, setting his sights on representing athletes. However, through his coursework and interactions with all types of athletes at UF, Strauss gravitated toward sport administration instead.
“In SPM [sport management], the specialized learning was very valuable,” Strauss said. “The world needs these fine-tuned educations because you learn faster and learn it [the industry] better. I think it’s [SPM] phenomenal for any student who wants to get into the sport management field.”
After graduating from UF, Strauss was set to begin an internship with the Miami Dolphins until his parents received news that the City of Miami granted them year-round usage rights to a sporting venue that would go on to host non-traditional lifestyle and action sports, including Swim Miami, an international open water swim event, and Board Up Miami, South Florida’s only action sports festival since 2006. With this news, Strauss turned down his internship, founding Board Up Productions, LLC, a sports event-marketing agency, to help organize and promote these sporting events.
From Swim to Skate
In 2010, Strauss began to look for opportunities beyond swimming and leaned into another favorite pastime: skateboarding, which he had grown fond of during his time at UF.
“The two most accessible things you can do in Miami are skate and swim,” Strauss said.
Adrenalina, once an outdoor retailer in South Florida that has since closed its doors and a previous client of Board Up Productions, reached out about developing a skating event that embraced longboarding, a type of skateboard that is long with larger wheels to support steady riding. Strauss helped create the Adrenalina Skateboard Marathon, an international longboard racing event with competitions in New York, Florida, Texas and Puerto Rico. After helping to develop the model for these competitions, Strauss had an itch to go further in the skating landscape, founding the International Distance Skateboard Association, the world governing body of distance skateboarding.
Building a reputation as a skate event organizer, Strauss was called on to help create a skate park facility that would host competitions.
“I had no experience in the architecture world, but I love the sport and creating community,” Strauss said.
Supported by an architect, artist, private developer and passionate skaters, Strauss spearheaded the Velosolutions Brooklyn Pump Track in Williamsburg, New York, which became home to Skateboard Supercross, SBSX. His company, SBSX, has since built over 60 community-driven skateboard parks for multigenerational skating, skate education and social gatherings. Many of these parks are publicly funded, and Strauss credits his understanding of government-supported projects to his post-college experience organizing sporting events in Miami with his parents.
“My mission is to create opportunities for skateboarders,” Strauss said. Skating also took him overseas to China, where he facilitated the building of the Georgia School Ningbo Zhicheng Pumptrack Skatepark, an international school that offers competitive skateboarding as an extracurricular.
SkateBird Miami
His latest endeavor, SkateBird Miami, is a privately funded venture that has revolutionized skating venues in the area by centering his venue around skating, street art, food and community.
Strauss is determined to continue educating developers and local governments on the positive economic impact of modern-day skate parks, which include increasing real estate value, reinvigorating neighborhoods and driving revenue.
“SkateBird has all the bells and whistles of what a public skate park should have,” Strauss said. The venue now serves as a case study for the development of future skate parks, demonstrating how skating fosters community, culture and belonging.
With that, the father of three also sees venues like SkateBird and the other SBSX community-driven skateboard parks as vital outlets for youth to be present and in the moment. “To me, I’m helping kids find their center and their flow,” Strauss said. “Whenever they feel agitated or anxious, getting on a skateboard takes it away.”