Ron Holden

Los Angeles

Name: Ron Holden

Pronouns: He/Him

Location: Los Angeles

What Ron Rides: Super Professional Apex 1

Instagram Handle: @ronholdenjr

Meet Ron:

I was born and raised in Los Angeles, as a kid I moved around a lot which gave me an opportunity to have a wide range of experiences with various communities. I grew up playing sports through college, and worked as an EMT for about 2 years. Shortly after that stint was blessed with an opportunity to work at a creative agency which pushed me to tap into my creative passions. Photography is what I am most known for, however, I have worked in an array of creative and artistic environments. In 2019, I moved to Chicago to act as Creative Director, social media and content for a pretty large mortgage company. Never stepping foot in the city before I moved there and never working in the finance industry it was my biggest personal challenge to say the least. Looking back now I can say it was a pivotal moment in my life and arguably the reason I was blessed with this opportunity to write a bio about myself for a bicycle company.

When the pandemic landed on world's doorsteps I moved back to Los Angeles and continued to work remotely. With the stress of work, Covid-19, family health and the tipping point of Racial Injustice in America I turned to cycling as my outlet. It became the bright light of my day and a form of active meditation. The last time I rode my bike on a regular basis was back in college for commuting purposes. As we continued to see people of color being killed at the hands of police in this country and my very own run in with my employer on the Black Lives Matter movement, I decided that I had to do something for my community… our community. Ride For Black Lives, a peaceful ride with a peaceful message of love and unity was born. Our first ride was June 8, 2020. We didn't expect much at all and that Monday morning at 8am as we prepared for our first group ride we were met by over 250 riders, most of which I had never met before; ready to ride 25 miles to spread the positive message with us, and the rest was history. Now here we are in 2022, still riding as much as we can, participating in our community and keeping our message alive.

What’s the cycling achievement you’re most proud of, to date?

Hands down, the birth of Ride For Black Lives and its positivity it brings to the community.

What are your plans/hopes/dreams for 2022?

There are too many. The biggest hope and dream is to be able to continue to bring a positive impact to our communities. That was the goal that sparked RFBL. Often we see movements and messages fall off just because of how difficult it is to maintain anything. We plan on executing a few Ride For Black Lives rides across the USA, and maybe even outside the country. I hope that our community and communities like ours can continue to spark change for good within our society as we continue to navigate the fluid landscape that is systemic racism and social injustice on a global level. 

What are some of your favorite off-the-bike activities?

My favorite off-the-bike activities include photography, my morning espresso, road trips and audio books.

As part of our Brand Advocate program, All-City will be donating $1,000 to an organization of your choice. Where will your donation be going, and why did you choose them?

I would like to split my donation evenly between LA Bike Academy and Our Own.
 

LA Bike academy because they are and have been doing work that I believe in with youth and the next generation of cycling. We have seen some of the youth that started riding with RFBL become a part of their program and its amazing to see.
 

Our Own is another group doing too much for our youth and community to list. They do it with love and truly care about the impact. We have activated together and will continue to do so.