THE SYMBOL OF THE MOVEMENT: THE STORY BEHIND MOON GRAVITY RACING
This last week, while my partner was going through the collection of items that had accumulated in her car, she found something that brought us both a little bit of unexpected joy: an original Moon Gravity Racing sticker.
The simple MGR logo you see all over our website today was the product of weeks of late-night thought. Amanda and I would spend the back half of our evenings with a notebook, sketching out different designs until one finally seemed to come out of the universe—more like it was discovered than created. After teaching myself how to use vector graphics software, the logo jumped off the page and into its digital form.
Using a secondhand craft cutter in my garage—which I originally bought just to cut the heat-transfer names for my jerseys—I created the first round of die-cut stickers. By hand, each color of vinyl was painstakingly aligned. Many of the first articles had to be scrapped after being misaligned or contaminated by the debris in the garage, but to me, those simple stickers represented the real start of Moon Gravity Racing. Having a logo come to life felt like there was a symbol to rally behind. The movement of MGR had taken its first real breath.
More Than Market Share
Moon Gravity Racing wasn’t started to be just another company in the vast sea of manufacturers trying to claim a piece of the market. The idea for MGR is much more personal than that. It’s been almost a decade since I got between the tape for the first time, starting the journey that eventually brought me here.
My first real exposure to the "electric" nature of downhill was a Pro GRT race in Port Angeles, Washington. I showed up early one morning, alone, to what would become one of my favorite race venues. Driving up the dirt road to Dry Hill, I actually thought I was in the wrong place. There was no indication anyone else was in the woods that day—until I rounded a corner to the utility pole clear-cut that serves as the parking lot. A sea of pro tents and fully kitted riders filled the space. Music was thumping from the finish corral, and I immediately felt out-classed.
My only thought was: “What did I get myself into?”
I assembled my kit, zipped on my season-long #315 race plate, and headed straight toward the box-truck-powered shuttle line. Out of naive youthful pride, I was too afraid to ask for help, so I just kept a keen eye on the loading process. Racers would pack the trucks like sardines, alternating leaning on the left and right sides with legs straddling their front tires.
I happened to be in line with Brian Still and Dante Ruiz, two local builders who graciously towed me into the track and later invited me to their pits for a warm fire and a cold beer. I was addicted. Nothing makes me feel more alive than a race run—rolling up to the gate, waiting for the beeps, and getting your one shot to hang it all out there.
The Racer’s Ethos
Checking my roots today, I have 38 results logged. I’ve come home with everything from trophies to hospital gowns. Victory or defeat, when the weekend was done, I always had my eyes on the next race (or at least the next one I was healthy enough for). I broke into the Pro category in 2022, racing as far south as Costa Rica and as north as Whitefish, Montana.
When I decided to start Moon Gravity Racing, it was never about turning a profit; it was about being more involved in this sport we love and enabling riders to give their all from the beeps at the top to the final push at the bottom. Our products are designed to amplify the racer—to bring out that passionate, competitive side in all of us so we can show up on the day and see where we truly stack up.
The "Plate Disaster" and Doing the Right Thing
We officially registered the business in 2025 and quickly found our debut product: the MGR Dual-Crown Race Plate Placard. As a racer, I was tired of budgeting 20 extra minutes in the morning just to ensure my plate was routed cleanly around the cables. I made one for myself, and the amount of interest from other riders was too much to ignore. We launched at the Northwest Cup and quickly sold out of our stock.
Then, at Round Three, disaster struck.
Due to the nature of events, not all plates are made the same. The material and size can vary wildly. We built the first faceplate specifically for the Northwest Cup. Because of a printer miscommunication at the series, the plates we had tailored our design to were suddenly half an inch smaller in both directions. It made it nearly impossible to adapt our current design to the new size.
This wasn’t about money; it was about doing the right thing for the racers who put their trust in us. We wanted to send everyone a new plate that day, but manufacturing time made that impossible. Instead, we snapped into action and designed a bracket we could produce quickly in significant quantities. We validated the design at our facility and overnighted them to contacts in Montana who graciously handed them out at the race.
But we weren't done. First, we verified that the plates were going to remain the same smaller size moving forward. Once we knew the standard had shifted, we purchased new material at the expense of every revenue dollar we had made to replace every single affected plate. The deal was simple: bring us your plate, get a new one in return. That offer stands for the lifetime of the company. MGR was founded by a racer to provide for racers, and as long as we’re still around, that is what we will strive to do.
Looking to the Future
We’ve had a crazy first year of injuries, setbacks, and growth. But just like racing, you don’t stay down when you crash. You listen to the crowd and give it everything you’ve got to stand back up again.
We have some new things cooking that we are very excited to share. Look for the MGR banner at nearly every Northwest Cup this season. Come over and chat, ask for advice, or share your stories. We love this community, and we can’t wait to see you between the tape.
