ActionGlow on the Go

Hitting the road with Traverse City’s startup brothers

Ask most twenty-somethings what their dream summer looks like, and chances are it’s not loading into a 40-foot bus with their brother for an extended cross-country work trip.

But Garret and Dakota Porter aren’t most brothers.

At just 13 and 16 years old, the Traverse City duo launched ActionGlow, an LED lighting system for snowboards and other action sports gear. In the decade since, and with the support of both of their parents—who they say spent their weekends driving the brothers to business meetings and helping them collect cans for startup money—they’ve been nominated for Forbes’ annual 30 Under 30 list and landed a $200,000 investment deal with Shark Tank’s Robert Herjavec.

That deal, which they recall as being an adrenaline-driven and “daunting” 45 minutes pitching under the intense stage lights on ABC’s long-running business reality show, has helped grow their company from a daydream they came up with on the slopes of Mt. Holiday into a multi-million-dollar business.

Now, they’re taking their brand on the road for some seriously old-school guerilla marketing. Up until now, the Porters have sold their product exclusively online, but they’re spending the rest of the year bringing their glowing gear straight to indie surf, skate, ski, and bike shops all over the U.S. on their LEDTheWay Grassroots Tour. And, they’re documenting the whole thing on social media so ActionGlow’s fans can come along for the ride.

On the Road and Fully Stoked

After a high-energy, community-backed kickoff at Mt. Holiday in April, the brothers hit the road (bringing along with their friend and employee, Jensen) and beelined west to pitch to Colorado’s most iconic board shops for the first leg of the tour.

The tour has been a long time coming, say Dakota and Garret. Catching up with Northern Express while on the road, they explain that they first purchased the bus—a worn-out 65-passenger rig—eight years ago for a grand total of $2,900.

With hands-on help from their dad, whose background is in construction, and corporate sponsors like Traverse City’s Britten, Inc., the brothers rolled up their sleeves to trick the bus out with luxe features like a full-sized fridge and shower (because no one loves to wallow in post-sesh funk, they say), floor-to-ceiling storage, and an exterior wrap mural that looks like it cruised straight out of Santa Monica’s 1970’s skate scene.

So far, say the Porters, the tour’s been a hit, both professionally and personally. They’ve networked with other action sports influencers and startup founders, dined on cuisine that can’t be found back home (rabbit meatloaf, anyone?), and sold to half a dozen shops with a near 100 percent success rate.

But one of their most surreal moments came when they stopped into Buzz’s Boards, a full-service bike, ski, and snowboard shop with a bit of a cult following in the action sports scene. There, they were introduced to the shop’s namesake and founder, Buzz Schleper.

“We obviously didn’t know what to expect or know how our grassroots approach would be received by him and the team,” says Garret. He and Dakota had just planned to stop in, ask permission to pitch ActionGlow, and hopefully strike a wholesale deal. So when they ended up getting a sit down with Buzz, shooting hours of footage with him, and receiving a “yes” following their pitch, they were nothing short of stoked.

“Wow, we finally did it,” recalls Garret of what was running through his head as they left Buzz’s with their first in-store retail partnership outside of Michigan.

Even a thousand miles away from the Mitten State, their home turf keeps showing up. “We’ve had double-digit encounters where someone either has ties to northern Michigan or spots my M22 sweatshirt and wants to chat,” says Garret. “A shop owner in Salt Lake even brought us to his office to show us a Traverse City poster on his wall. Turns out he was born there.”

The Tariff Tsunami

While their time on the road has fulfilled so many of their goals so far, the Porters admit that running ActionGlow from the bus has also been a juggle. For the first time, they’ve had to hand over control to partners and employees back home in Traverse City while simultaneously navigating a supply chain that’s both reliant on China and suffering the impacts of tariffs.

“It’s not good for a lot of people that are outsourcing their products,” says Dakota, who had an initial starry-eyed hope to keep ActionGlow’s products made entirely in the USA. Easier said than done considering that their LED systems are made using components mainly manufactured overseas.

“We’re not going to make our product twice as expensive to consumers,” he adds. “So it’ll [the added cost of tariffs] cut the margins a little bit. But, you know, running a business isn’t all about money. Sometimes it’s about having fun and doing good by your customers.”

To help weather the changes, the Porters partnered with a manufacturer willing to share the tariff burden and stocked up on inventory ahead of their tour.

“We knew this year was going to be a big year hitting the road anyway,” Dakota says. “So we have enough inventory hopefully to get us through this scary portion before our next order.”

Bros Before Literally Anything Else

Rolling with the punches is something the Porters have gotten pretty good at over the years.

“We built the same walls over again probably four times across the entire bus,” says Dakota. “It’s constantly building things and then tearing it down… just realizing the dream and the design took a lot of different iterations. And that’s what we learned life is all about, you know? It’s just trying things and failing and getting back up and doing it again until eventually something becomes perfect. And we’ve learned that throughout the company.”

Business—and sleuthing out best pit stops to stretch their legs—isn’t the only thing the brothers are figuring out on the tour. Like any siblings, they have their less-than-stellar moments.

“But at the end of the day, you know, it may take us five minutes to kind of hash it out real quick,” says Garret. “But then it’s back to business. We’ve got stuff to do. No one else is going to do it.”

Besides, they say, peel back the business partner label and they’re the same kids who started out as built-in best friends, hitting the slopes together after school.

“Garret and I are very fortunate to have grown up pretty close in age, and so we did everything together,” says Dakota, adding that their differences have made them better business partners. “I’m very right-brained and creative. I run all of the brand aspects of the company and the grand visions of it.”

Meanwhile, Dakota says Garret helps him balance his “crazy ideas” against reality and brings the good ones to life. But they both agree that, most of the time, they’re on the same page.

And, laughs Dakota, “That’s why we're now on a school bus sitting in Utah.”

Let’s Shop

The bay may be taking a little longer to warm up this year, but at least the sun’s finally out! Here are Garret’s top ActionGlow picks for adventuring around NoMi this summer.

LED SUP System: No helmets required! Paddleboarding (or supping) is the watersport that even the most sports-averse can enjoy and “has exploded in popularity,” says Garret. This system adds just enough light to be seen from the shore while taking in the last rays of a Lake Michigan sunset.

LED Kayak System: “We released the AG Kayak System in the very early days of ActionGlow due to the overwhelming amount of requests we received for this application,” Garret explains. “Since then, kayakers all over the world have been using the AG Kayak System to be seen and feel safer while on the water.”

LED Bike System: Apply the LED bike system across the top and down tubes to light your way up Leelanau’s 17-mile paved bike trail for some scenic viewing at DeYoung Natural Area before carboloading on radiatori and chocolate chip cookies at Farm Club. If the night runs long, Garret says this system provides over half a mile of visibility, “a crucial element of safety.”

LED Longboard System: A throwback to the Porters’ early days of launching ActionGlow, the longboard system is a nostalgic point of pride for Garret. “Surfing the streets with your glowing longboard is a feeling unlike any other,” he says. “It’s a surreal, head-turning experience. We were lucky enough to live it firsthand many times in downtown Traverse City.”

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