Marketing and supply chain management junior Greg Rudolph shows off his LED lights that can be placed on the bottom of skateboards. The lights are available for purchase at Boardblazers.com. (Photo by Vince Dwyer)Skateboarders are now visible at night with customizable LED lighting systems developed by an ASU student.
Marketing and supply chain management junior Greg Rudolph invented the small, lightweight, water-resistant LEDs to run on battery power at the bottom of skateboards.
The product comes in eight colors, including red, white, blue, orange and pink.
Board Blazers attach to the underside of the skateboard or scooter with a specialized double-sided adhesive pad. They sell online at Amazon for $12.99 for a set of four of one color.
The idea for Board Blazers came to Rudolph in January when he noticed another student had taped Christmas lights to the bottom of a skateboard.
“From a distance, the effect looked cool,” Rudolph said. “I thought I could refine the design.”
After researching skateboard lights and similar products, Rudolph realized he stumbled upon a product that had not received much market exposure.
“No one else was doing something similar,” Rudolph said. “It was original because it was fully customizable. I didn’t anticipate creating my own business.”
Rudolph developed a prototype and found a China-based manufacturer after further research.
He sent the manufacturer a similar product and asked them to make several adaptations.
He showcased the product this summer at the U.S. Open of Surfing in Huntington Beach, Calif.
This opportunity helped Rudolph network with various skate shops in California that have now picked up his product.
Board Blazers is a product of Grenada Innovations, a company Rudolph created to manage Board Blazers and any future endeavors.
Rudolph said he has spent several thousand of his own savings to develop Board Blazers.
“It was definitely a risk, but it has paid off,” Rudolph said.
He said he was making money back on his investment within six months.
Board Blazers customer Duncan Hull, a secondary education sophomore, said he has enjoyed the lights.
“They were really easy to put on,” Hull said. “I get tons of compliments when I board around campus at night.”
Film and media studies freshman Jareem Hoff said the product sounded interesting, but he is not sure if he would be willing to buy it.
“The lights sound cool, and it is awesome that an ASU student made it,” Hoff said. “It would be better if I had a longboard though, because I’d be scared to break the lights while doing tricks on my skateboard.”
Reach the reporter at ppineda@asu.edu or follow her on Twitter @paulinapineda22
