Richard P. "Rick" Alden (born July 4, 1964 in

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

) is the founder and former CEO of Skullcandy, Inc., Device Step-In Snowboard Bindings, Stance Socks, and co-founder of Plus550 LLC.

Education and career

While studying at the

University of Colorado Boulder The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder, CU, or Colorado) is a public research university in Boulder, Colorado. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a state, it is the flagship university of the University of Colorado syst ...

, Alden co-founded his first company with Jim Gardner in 1986—National Snowboard Inc (NSI), an events and marketing company producing

consumer A consumer is a person or a group who intends to order, or uses purchased goods, products, or services primarily for personal, social, family, household and similar needs, who is not directly related to entrepreneurial or business activities. T ...

amateur An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...

, and pro-snowboarding events nationwide. When NSI moved to Denver, Rick transferred to the

University of Colorado Denver The University of Colorado Denver (CU Denver) is a Public university, public research university in Denver, Colorado. It is part of the University of Colorado system. History University of Colorado System Anschutz Medical Campus The University ...

, where he received his

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

. Alden launched his second venture in 1995, designing and patenting the first step-in snowboard boot and binding system. This venture was co-founded with snowboard industry veteran Brett Conrad, and launched under the brand name, Device Manufacturing.

Skullcandy

In 2003, Alden formed Skullcandy designing products that offered consumer audio solutions conducive to an active lifestyle. The first Skullcandy product – the Skullcandy Portable LINK – was introduced at the 2003

Consumer Electronic Show CES (; formerly an initialism for Consumer Electronics Show) is an annual trade show organized by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA). Held in January at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Winchester, Nevada, United States, the event typi ...

(CES) in

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

, where it won its first Design and Innovation Award. A few weeks later, the brand was launched to the action sports industry at the SnowSports Industries America Snow Show. In 2008, Skullcandy debuted 2XL to the marketplace at all retail stores. From on ear headphones (Shakedown, Phase, Barrel), earbuds (Spoke, Whip, Offset), and even Bluetooth speakers (Ringer), 2XL products come in a wide variety of colors, which is similar to all Skullcandy products like the Uprock, Ink'd 2, and even Jib. While

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

of Skullcandy, Alden was issued a patent for technology that integrates mobile phones and music players, known as LINK. Alden holds a design patent for the Orvis Batternkill Large Arbor Fly Fishing Reel.

Awards and recognition

In 2008, Alden was featured as #31 in (#1 in Consumer Electronics Category) Inc Magazine's Inc 5000 Award for Skullcandy's three-year (2004–2007) growth. In December 2009, Rick was named " Entrepreneur's Entrepreneur of the Year"Entrepreneur
and appeared on the cover of the January 2010 issue.

Personal life

Alden resides in Park City, Utah.

References

External links

Utah Pulse Magazine Spotlights Rick Alden

Rick Alden as featured in Rocky Mountain Voices
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alden, Rick 1964 births Living people University of Colorado alumni Businesspeople from Baltimore Businesspeople from Utah People from Park City, Utah