My Mom kept telling me, “Ricky, goto college, learn a trade, get some knowledge and do something.” It wasn’t that I didn’t want to goto school, I just never felt it was the right path for me.

At 17, I started working as a professional web designer and worked my way through the ranks for the next couple of years when all of a sudden I found myself stuck in a cubicle for 9 hours a day. I had no creative freedom and the only thing getting me through each day was the coffee machine in the break room. Sure, the salary was good, but was this how I wanted to spend the rest of my days? Hell no.

I started jotting ideas down on the back of napkins and quietly researched my way out. The idea didn’t have a name but this is how LGNDS was born. It was in that cubicle that I started making phone calls and placing orders. On November 13th, 2010, at the age of 20, I opened LGNDS Skate, BMX & Apparel on Salem’s Pickering Wharf.

Looking back, I didn’t know what the hell I was doing but I took it day by day and built a steady following in the Boston area and beyond. In June 2011 I relocated the business in to Tucson, AZ in a merge with another shop and brand. We built a great following there but for personal reasons I had to ship back to Boston and leave the shop behind.

The LGNDS brand is back where it started and the lack of a physical shop is hardly looking like an obstacle. With a growing list of retailers and our best releases yet to come there are no signs of slowing down.

I believe in the streets and the DIY subculture that keeps the world moving. I believe in the blue collar grind and I believe in no days off – ever. The LGNDS brand focuses on clean and functional products that reflect these ideals. We all create our own legend.

- Ricky, November 2011