Meet John Miller

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful John Miller a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi John, great to have you with us today and excited to have you share your wisdom with our readers. Over the years, after speaking with countless do-ers, makers, builders, entrepreneurs, artists and more we’ve noticed that the ability to take risks is central to almost all stories of triumph and so we’re really interested in hearing about your journey with risk and how you developed your risk-taking ability.

Risk is a four letter word. In many cases, risk carries the same negative connotations as some of the more well known four-letter words. The higher the risk in something, the greater the likelihood of failure. But what is failure? Who decides what failure is?
Some one who is risk-averse can generally be thought of as precise, methodical, and diligent. Why are they this way? Because they want to minimize the likelihood of failure. People often associate precision, methodology, and diligence with calm analytical stoicism, and success. However, at the root of risk-aversion is another four letter word, fear. Oftentimes those who seem the most stable, methodical, and precise, are those who can be the most fearful of failure. Risk-aversion can also be in conflict with ideology. Those who tend to take risks also tend to be more based in ideology, inaccurate, disorganized, and they tend to gravitate towards a DIY approach to things.
All that being said, I am a very ideological person. When I feel like something is the right thing to do, I will tend to ignore the practicality and try to force a solution. Maybe some of it is genetic, however alot of it is learned. As I grew up, I watched my Dad start businesses and grow them and in many cases have them fall flat on their face.

My parents also adopted 6 kids they saw on a television news program when I was 10 years old to save them from being split up into different foster homes. There was nothing that said it was safe, practical, or even the right thing to do for our family. However, my parents believed in the ideology that they needed to follow a calling and power greater than themselves to do what they perceived as the right thing to do. They were believers in independence and personal happiness and that the process of creating independence by doing the right thing rather than that which will always provide security is where true happiness comes from. Happiness is not a goal post to be arrived at or conquered, and it is not a safe space. The process of creating independence assumes a force to become independent from. Risk is the price of creating independence, and therefore happiness. Following the personal ideology of “doing the right thing”, my parents could never settle with just collecting a paycheck at a company and turning a blind eye to those in need.
I am not sure my parents ever consciously set out to be rebellious or risky. It just ended up being that way by their urge to faithfully follow their ideology. Now that my Father has passed away and my Mom is living out her golden years, I am able to reflect on their life and realize that no matter what happened, everything turned out to be ok. Everything falls into a specific purpose no matter how it may be perceived at the time of the risk. They never compromised who they were. Yes, it got messy and ugly, and at times they got caught up in vices, anger, arrogance, and broken trust. However, they always worked through it and took the risks needed to maintain their independence to be able to do the right thing.
I suppose now this is translating into my inability to be able to work at a corporate job and be happy and safe. It has translated into me throwing away all security and dumping all my resources and energy into building a skate school and shop, and in the process to have a fulfilling life of independence of doing something I enjoy while helping others to grow within themselves. In the process of taking the risk to follow my vision of my business, I have gone broke, racked up credit card debt, not had any vacations, had a failed marriage, and suffered from bouts of depression. However, I have found a new sense of peace within myself and formed a solid sense of identity. I have been rewarded with community, friends, and a great relationship with my kids, who spend almost everyday with me. I am also in the best shape of my life as I became a personal trainer and coach at Elevate Fitness in the process to make ends meet and ended up finding a vibrant new career and skillset that complements my skateboarding business and my goals. The process of my risk-taking, and the failures involved, has also brought immense independence and happiness.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

I am a coach. I started out with an idea to create a skateboarding facility with a shop that would operate in a similar fashion to a boxing or CrossFIT gym. I did not sit down and create a business plan, or meticulously calculate a roadmap of financing and growth. I had an idea, searched around for spaces and put down the last of the money I had on the rent and deposit. The rest I assumed would just figure itself out. It was a very “burn the ships on the beach, we’re not going home” type of approach. It’s not like I had lots of funding and resources to back out once I got started anyway.
Once I got started with the location and.got the permit process started, I announced my intent to the public. The skateboarding community was extremely excited and wanted to volunteer in whatever way they could to help. There is no other indoor skateboarding facility in Central Texas. Opening an indoor facility just does not make fiscal sense for anyone who is business-minded. This is where I let my tolerance for risk and my strong sense of ideology take over. I believe in community and if it is the right thing for the community, then it will come to fruition. With the limited space we were able to afford, the space does not exactly look like the “indoor skatepark” that many people had assumed was opening, but it is no less exciting, as it is now a skateboarding training facility with everything needed to teach beginners and intermediate skaters how skate and get better. We have created a place for any skateboarding coach to come and teach their students in a comfortable place for a small and reasonable facility fee. This allows coaches to help skaters hone their craft in a safe place and not get constantly interrupted by all the variables at a public skatepark. It is also a fully stocked skateshop, as well as a Third Space for the community of skateboarders to gather. We are having events and special workshops as well. Last May we hosted and ran a skateboarding workshop for the visually impaired in partnership with Region 13 and Ability Skateboarding. We also have movie nights where we invite skaters and anyone interested to skate inside and in the parking lot with food, booths, prizes and skate movies. We have classes for kids and adults and we also provide a space and coaches for birthday parties. We are also starting workshop and lessons for quad skaters. The place has truly become a haven for all things skating in a short time!

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

1) Bold moves, 2) Being ok looking janky and DIY. 3) Creating community.
I see so many people get caught up in analysis paralysis where they try to create so much certainty through research that they leave no room for improvisation and never end up pulling the trigger on an idea. I have also seen people try to go too big at the start. It’s ok to be small and dorky. People think they have to compete with well-funded companies like these corporate funded places like Urban Air, or that you have to start out like that. I’m not throwing any shade at those companies. But you don’t have to start that way. Someone with a cool trampoline in their yard could start out by charging people to come jump on it in order to pay for costs. Then as more people like it, the money and resources can be created by the unique experience of the place.
I have a couple of ramps in a tiny little spot. My ramps are janky, and my equipment is pretty worn and tired, however, I provide a safe, fun place to skate. I don’t allow anyone to “cool guy” anyone in my business, so everyone feels welcome. My value proposition is that I try to make sure everyone leaves fulfilled and a better skater than when they got there. I don’t need corporate funding, a huge facility or some flawless business plan to get it done. Create the welcoming community and the rest will take care of itself.

What is the number one obstacle or challenge you are currently facing and what are you doing to try to resolve or overcome this challenge?

My vision for the business was to create a place for the community to skate, shop and learn. Overhead is very expensive and I have lots of personal bills to pay as well. The biggest obstacle so far has just been being able to pay rent and payroll. I want to create a good balance between having a Third Space for the community, where anyone can come and have a hangout/refuge/training facility/neutral place that is centered around skateboarding. However, having the constraints of such a small place with such a high rent and overhead is super challenging. I need to have lots of classes, private one-on-one training sessions, paid events (eg: birthday parties), and sell lots of product in the skate shop to keep the place open. This forces me to close the place to skaters wanting to come hang and skate for open skate during those times. This takes away from the feeling that the space is “for the community” and that the space is only for those willing to pay the higher cost of lessons and new gear. I would love to be able to afford to get into a bigger space where I can have the room to have lessons, AND have a place for people to congregate. I was told that if I can prove my concept and successfully pay rent on time and do well, then the landlord would consider moving me into a bigger unit. I have been able to successfully create a program where kids and adults are learning skateboarding in a safe and methodical way. Word is spreading and demand has been growing. We should be able to pay our overhead soon if we stay on this trajectory. However, this is happening at the cost of being an open and inclusive community to everyone, not just to those who can pay. I am working hard towards being able to afford a larger space to mitigate this compromise. We will get there with the help of the community.

Contact Info:

Image Credits

AzulOx Visuals
Porchlight Studios

Suggest a Story: BoldJourney is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems,
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
Leadership Development
Where does your self-discipline come from?

One of the most essential skills for unlocking our potential is self-discipline. We asked some

Productivity
Working hard in 2025: Keeping Work Ethic Alive

While the media might often make it seem like hard work is dead and that

Resilience
The Power of Persistence: Overcoming Haters and Doubters

Having hates is an inevitable part of any bold journey – everyone who has made