Johnny Schillereff

Johnny Schillereff Speaking Topics

• Leadership

  Johnny Schillereff’s leadership journey is deeply tied to his role as the founder and longtime CEO of Element Skateboards, one of the most influential brands in action sports. Building Element from a grassroots idea into a globally recognized company, Johnny demonstrated visionary leadership that blended creativity, business acumen, and cultural relevance. He led through authenticity, embedding values of inclusivity, sustainability, and community into the brand’s DNA while navigating the challenges of scaling a purpose-driven business. His leadership was not confined to managing operations; it was about inspiring teams, cultivating talent, and setting a standard for integrity in a competitive industry. By staying true to a mission larger than profit—empowering youth through skateboarding—Johnny set a blueprint for modern leaders seeking to balance cultural impact with commercial success. His tenure at Element showcases how authentic leadership can transform industries, nurture communities, and leave a lasting global legacy.

• Living a Creative and Efficient Life

  Living a creative and efficient life is at the heart of Johnny Schillereff’s philosophy and leadership style. Throughout his career, he has shown that creativity and efficiency are not opposing forces but complementary disciplines. Creativity fuels innovation, inspires culture, and opens new possibilities, while efficiency ensures that ideas are executed with clarity, purpose, and sustainability. By blending the two, Johnny built Element Skateboards into a global brand without losing sight of its mission or authenticity.

  For Johnny, living creatively means embracing curiosity, risk-taking, and design-thinking in everyday life and business. Living efficiently means learning how to channel that energy into systems, habits, and priorities that maximize impact. His story illustrates how leaders, creators, and entrepreneurs can find harmony between vision and execution—crafting lives that are both inspired and purposeful. This balance becomes not just a business strategy, but a personal blueprint for resilience, growth, and meaningful contribution.

• Tipping Points

  • Discovering Innocent Passion Johnny Schillereff describes how his childhood love of skateboarding became an “innocent passion”—a pure driver of creativity and purpose. Recognizing that passion early became a tipping point that guided his life and career.

  • Turning Struggles into Purpose Facing challenges in youth, Johnny reframed obstacles as opportunities. This shift in perspective—choosing to grow from hardship rather than be defined by it—marked a pivotal turning point in his leadership journey.

  • Building Element with Authenticity The creation of Element Skateboards was itself a tipping point: transforming skateboarding into more than a sport, but a culture with values of unity, sustainability, and community. Staying authentic in a commercial world became central to his success.

  • The Power of Storytelling Johnny emphasizes how storytelling was a tipping point for connecting with global audiences. By weaving values into Element’s identity, he turned a brand into a movement.

  • Choosing Leadership Through Service Ultimately, Johnny’s biggest tipping point was realizing leadership is not about power, but service—uplifting others, inspiring the next generation, and using creativity as a tool for change.

• Personal Brand

  Johnny Schillereff has spent his career at the forefront of building powerful personal brands, both for himself and for some of the most influential athletes in action sports. As the founder of Element Skateboards, he helped transform skaters from raw talent into globally recognized cultural icons by shaping their stories, cultivating authentic images, and aligning them with meaningful brand partnerships. His approach to personal branding was never about surface-level promotion—it was about uncovering the authentic voice and values of each individual and translating that into a narrative that resonated with fans worldwide.

  Through decades of work with professional skateboarders, global brands, and creative communities, Johnny has developed a blueprint for building a personal brand that is both culturally relevant and enduring. His philosophy blends creativity, consistency, and purpose, demonstrating how athletes and entrepreneurs alike can define their identity, stand out in crowded industries, and create opportunities that extend far beyond their field.

• Finding the Right Team

  Finding the right team has been one of the cornerstones of Johnny Schillereff’s success as a leader and entrepreneur. When building Element Skateboards, Johnny understood that a strong vision could only be realized by surrounding himself with the right people—athletes, creatives, and business minds who shared the same passion and values. For him, it was never about assembling the most talented individuals on paper, but about creating a culture of trust, authenticity, and collaboration where each person’s strengths could shine.

  Johnny’s experience shows that finding the right team is less about recruitment and more about alignment. The right team members don’t just contribute skills—they elevate the mission, challenge each other to grow, and hold one another accountable to shared values. This approach has allowed Johnny to build not only global brands but also long-lasting communities rooted in loyalty and purpose. His story illustrates that the right team can transform a vision into a movement and turn challenges into opportunities for growth.