Project Overview

ShredSpots was a community-driven skate spot discovery app that helped skateboarders find and share street spots and skateparks around the world.

I founded and built ShredSpots in 2019 as my first major published app. I was the original founder of ShredSpots. The original iOS version grew to over 100,000 downloads and was acquired in 2021; marking my first exit as a founder. After the acquisition, the new team developed and released the Android version.

The Problem

Skaters often struggle to discover new spots in unfamiliar cities or even in their own area. Existing solutions were either outdated maps, scattered Instagram posts, or word-of-mouth. There was no reliable, real-time, community-powered way to find quality skate spots with useful details like obstacles, difficulty, and local vibes.

The Solution

ShredSpots combined a live, user-generated map with spot submissions, photos, and community moderation. Skaters could easily browse nearby spots, add new ones, and contribute to a growing global database; all designed with a clean, skater-first experience.

My Role & Process

As the solo founder and developer of ShredSpots, I handled everything: product vision, design, iOS development, Firebase backend, and early marketing. I launched the first version quickly (in about 2 months) with a minimal but functional core; the interactive map and spot-adding flow.

Challenges

Two big technical and operational challenges stood out:

• Custom map with user-generated pins:
  • Implementing a smooth, performant map experience with thousands of custom pins, filters (by obstacle, difficulty, etc.), and real-time updates was complex, especially while keeping the app lightweight and responsive.
• Building with Firebase as my first big app:
  • This was my first time using Firebase for authentication, database, and storage at scale. Managing data consistency, security rules, and handling growth in user-generated content presented a steep learning curve.

Beyond the code, building a real community from zero was the hardest part. Turning one-time users into active contributors who added spots and kept the map alive required constant iteration.

Key Features

• Live community-powered map with custom pins and filters
• Easy spot submission with photos and details
• Search by obstacle type, difficulty, and location
• User moderation system to keep the map accurate and high-quality

Technologies Used

• Swift
• MapKit
• Firebase (Authentication, Firestore, Storage)
• Backend services for moderation and notifications

Promotion & Community Building

Growing ShredSpots from zero users taught me that building a great app is only half the battle; the other half is getting people to actually use it and keep coming back.

I took a very hands-on approach to marketing and community building. I ran the official ShredSpots subreddit and Discord server, attended local skateparks and events to give away stickers and merch, and collaborated with other skater brands to run contests. I also filmed skate videos with local skaters to promote the app, and actively posted on Instagram and Snapchat.

Having physical merch (stickers and apparel) that I could give away or sell helped create real-world touchpoints with the community. These efforts taught me valuable lessons in user acquisition, retention, engagement, and how to turn one-time users into active contributors.

Outcome & Learnings

ShredSpots reached over 100,000 downloads and was successfully acquired in 2021. More importantly, it taught me invaluable lessons as a founder:

• Downloads are exciting but retention and engagement are what truly matter.
• Building a community takes far more effort than building the app itself; I learned a lot about marketing, user promotion, push notifications, and keeping users coming back.
• Shipping fast and iterating based on real user feedback is more powerful than trying to launch a perfect product.

This project was a massive growth experience. It shifted my mindset from “just build the app” to “build something people actually use and love over time.” The lessons from ShredSpots continue to influence how I approach every new product, including WhattaEat today.

ShredSpots reached over 100,000 downloads and was successfully acquired in 2021.

Links:

• View the current landing page: shredspots.com

• Original iOS app (built by me as original founder of ShredSpots): App Store

• Android version (developed by the new team): Google Play