Former President Esmail Mawjee Leads Group that Acquires Active Ride Shop
Esmail Mawjee, SES file photo
Temecula, CA – Sept. 28, 2022 – Active Ride Shop announced that today the company has been purchased by The Phoenix Project, Inc, a group led by former Active President, Esmail Mawjee. Together with his team, Mawjee successfully turned Active around from bankruptcy in 2009 to profitability and sold the company to private equity firm Tengram Equity Partners in 2014.
Mawjee takes on the role of CEO at Active Ride Shop alongside former Active alumni Ryan Ciucki as CFO, Philip Myers as President, and Keith Beckley who continues as VP of Retail. The new team plans to continue operating Active’s three Inland Empire retail stores located in Rancho Cucamonga, Redlands and Temecula. It also plans to relaunch the e-commerce business, which is currently under construction
Today’s sale is a result of an auction of the company’s assets by its lender GemCap Solutions, LLC from previous owner Bedford Ventures, Inc. GemCap, which served as the financial lender to Bedford, has sold the assets to the highest bidder, The Phoenix Project, Inc.
“I am truly humbled and honored to have this opportunity to return to Active after many years. I am proud to be a part of an amazing team of dedicated people that takes pride in serving the needs of our local communities. Even with a smaller retail footprint, the Active brand continues to remain strongly relevant to our customer. I look forward to re-establishing our relationships with our Industry brand partners and, like before, to work with honesty, integrity, transparency, and discipline to grow our businesses together again,” said Mawjee.
Established in 1989, for three decades Active Ride Shop has been known for its involvement in Southern California’s skateboard and snowboard communities. The company sponsored the most elite skateboarders and snowboarders and grew beyond its Southern California roots through its e-commerce business.
