Kelly Payne was born and raised in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, a mountain community where kids truly grow up outdoors. Skiing, climbing, camping, and biking made up a lifestyle that became a passion for Kelly. At age 4 he learned to ski, receiving his first training from U.S. National Ski and Snowboard Hall of Famer Bill Briggs. Kelly remembers that each day after kindergarten class, his mother would drop him off at Snow King Mountain, the local ski hill, where he and his friends would ski until closing time. In the summers, the kids spent their days biking, rafting, water skiing, fishing and swimming in the local rivers and lakes. Kelly’s family lived on a tall hill overlooking town; unless his mom hung a dish towel from a tree as a signal to come home, he would ride his bike until dark. At 10, Kelly began to focus on organized sports, starting with little league football and baseball. He trained in trampoline and double mini-trampoline, winning second place in his age group at a national meet. In high school he lettered in football, wrestling, and track and field, and won a gymnastics scholarship to Eastern Montana College, where he competed for 4 years. Since childhood Kelly has viewed California as an ideal setting for outdoor adventure, so when the opportunity arose, he transferred to California State University at Sacramento and earned a bachelor’s degree in biodynamics. In 1998 he settled in Folsom, at the base of the Sierra Nevada foothills. With the town’s easy access to the mountains and an extensive bike trail system, a rider can set out on a quick 10-mile excursion or a 50-mile all-day outing. Kelly had found a perfect trailhead. Kelly’s life-long passion for the outdoors, his love for the mountains, and his desire to share the outdoor experience led him to found Pure Mountain Mojo. His vision is to make the sights, sounds, and smells of the mountains—combined with the joy of moving under one’s own power—accessible to others.