The world of skateboarding is about to change – big time. Thanks to some innovative engineering and smart marketing, VibeRide has introduced the world’s first braking system for skateboards. 

The brake adds an element of control and safety to the skateboard, never before seen in the sport. Founded by young, local skaters, VibeRide is taking the industry by storm. 

Charlie Cannon (23), Carson Macdonald (22) and Chris Goodhue (27), were students at the University of Utah who came up with the idea to create a longboard brake and spent several years doing research and development before acquiring the design and patent of Brakeboard, an earlier braking system.

Once the patent was acquired, the team began the process of changing, updating and perfecting the design and VibeRide recently launched the finished product. 

“It’s like a mini disc brake system. In fact, the only place we could get the ceramic discs was an actual car factory,” Cannon said. “You put pressure down [on the brake] and the pressure gets equally distributed across these two disc brakes. The disc brakes close and then wears down that actual ceramic disc rather than wearing down your wheel.”

Before brakes, Cannon said he was always wearing the soles off his shoes, trying to stop his board on the steep hills near the university. But the skate brake is a life-changing (and shoe saving) device that can be installed on any board, or skaters can buy a board with the system already included.

Cannon, a former Sandy resident, is no stranger to success. During COVID, he founded EXO Drones, making millions of dollars before selling the company. Using the proceeds from the sale, he co-founded VibeRide with Macdonald, Goodhue and Australian partner Alex Beveridge, and they’re all riding a mega ramp of success. 

The braking system was a hit at this year’s Outdoor Retail Expo and the company made more than $50,000 in sales in the first couple of months. 

On the VibeRide TikTok channel @viberide.co, videos demonstrate the efficiency and ease of the brake, and the brand is quickly gaining fans. Cannon was recently invited to make a YouTube video with Braille Skateboarding, a platform with nearly 6 million followers. 

“We all love making videos and we make pretty fun videos,” Cannon said. “We have these crazy video ideas. We can put the brakes on anything. We’re gonna turn some wild objects into skateboards, like an old flat screen television, and two-by-fours.”

They consider this product a great fit for Utah, with all the hills and canyon roads. Cannon believes the skateboard brake is perfect for the unique landscape in the state and will give skaters access to new rides and adventures. For more information, visit VibeRide.com. 

“For us here, it truly changes the way we get to skateboard and longboard and go down these hills and streets and sidewalks and campuses that we never could before,” Cannon said. “It’s so fun. We’re gonna make a whole video series in places like Little Cottonwood and Emigration Canyon just to show people how game-changing this really is.” λ