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MTB rider Eliot Jackson

A pickup truck is parked with a Thule truck bike rack and Eliot is standing looking in the distance.

Eliot Jackson

MTB rider and builder of communities

From his days competing at the highest levels of mountain biking to his non-profit organization, Grow Cycling Foundation, Eliot has always given 100% – and more.

Eliot Jackson securing his helmet with a pickup truck and a Thule truck bike rack with a bike in the back.

Fast facts

Born: 1990, California
Sport: Downhill MTB
Passion: Riding MTB trails, commentating for Red Bull and advocating for greater inclusion in the sport he loves
Future plans: To keep shredding and establish Grow Cycling Foundation, which promotes diversity in mountain biking

Eliot Jackson is walking beside a pickup truck with a Thule BedRider bike rack and bikes.

Eliot's journey to the top of his sport was no different from countless other kids of his generation in California.

Eliot spent his early career hanging out with friends and ripping up the local motocross tracks, competing in races (winning five national championships with Kawasaki) before becoming obsessed with the burgeoning mountain bike scene.

Yet, when Eliot had claimed his place in the Elite Downhill MTB circuit he looked around and something struck him – he didn’t see a lot of people like him, people of color; not on the riders’ roster, nor on the marketing side of the industry nor in its management positions.

After over a decade at the top of the downhill MTB scene, Eliot Jackson is now devoting his attention to creating sustainable, inclusive community building and career development for marginalized groups through cycling.

The result is Grow Cycling Foundation, a non-profit organization promoting inclusion and diversity in the community.

“If more people of color get excited about cycling but go out their front door and they don’t have a place to ride then nothing moves forward. There’s a decision you have to make: you can either say people in the cities are not near mountains so they don’t deserve to ride a mountain bike. Or you could say let’s build a pump track and empower that community to create their own culture around it.”

While still relatively young the foundation is already in full swing, with plans to build a pump track in Los Angeles, and a desire to hold the Pump Track World Championships.