In mid-August 2020, Villopoto found himself reevaluating his role as a Brand Ambassador. Villopoto said he could have signed with a few different gear companies but saw a bigger opportunity when it came to Canvas.
“I could have gone to another gear company for a paycheck, yes, but I see a bigger future with Canvas,” said Villopoto. “I wanted the opportunity to have a bigger piece of the pie and be a bigger part of not only a company but in the moto industry. And I think in a short amount of time Canvas is going to be a household name.”
Canvas MX was created and founded by Michael Leib, former Supercross racer, in 2015 when he saw a lack of support from gear companies and non-endemic sponsors which later caught the interest of Chuck Carothers, former X Games Gold Medalist, who joined Leib in 2016.
Leib said Canvas does not operate under the normal regulations that other gear companies have to. The pants and jerseys are made in the USA, using completely customizable dye sublimation, and manufacturing takes only 2-3 weeks.
“Canvas’s unique business model that can allow Ryan to have a lot of input into what other traditional gear companies can’t offer and were looking forward to raising the bar together,” Leib said.
Villopoto said he has spent ten plus years of his professional career with big named companies in the moto industry but saw there was a huge delay to changes that could be made when it came to the production of products.
“Over the ten years of my pro career I have been in a position to provide my professional input and opinion in regards to make, fit, size, and design of gear to make it better,” said Villopoto. “But in a lot of cases that input never sees the light of day because of the regulations, red tape, and what not that most gear companies have to go through. With Canvas that is not the case, they have the freedom to make changes day to day and see those changes become reality.”
“We’re looking forward to Ryan coming on board. Ryan has expressed a lot of interest in being a part of this project rather than just a brand ambassador and we are looking forward to doing some big things in the coming months,” Leib said.
Villopoto will debut his first “RV2” custom kit called the Contour, Friday, December 4 as he practices for the Monster Energy Master of the Pit race at Switchback MX in Butler, Pennsylvania. The race will broadcast live December 5 on FITE TV.
Villopoto and the Canvas Team agree that this sponsorship will take Canvas to the next level. The Canvas Team said there are only big things to come from the custom gear company and changes will be seen as early as March.
12/4/2020 11:30am
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