Ryan Amoils MX Locker is the story of a Miami native who got his first dirt bike at four, learned to flip sneakers as a teenager and turned both passions into an online marketplace for powersports parts, gear and vehicles. Amoils is the founder and CEO of MX Locker, a platform where riders buy and sell dirt bike gear, ATV and UTV parts, street bike components, snowmobile equipment and more. Starting with two used parts, the company grew to hundreds of thousands of listings, raised a $700,000 seed round from BAM Ventures and Lead Ventures and expanded well beyond motocross.
This guide to Ryan Amoils MX Locker covers the founder’s background, the problem he set out to solve, the early marketplace challenges, the business model, the funding history and the lessons other founders can take from it. Every claim comes from the company’s own pages or published coverage, and where sources disagree or a number is company-reported, we say so.
Ryan Amoils MX Locker: Who Is the Founder?
Ryan Amoils is the founder and CEO of MX Locker. CB Insights lists him as founder and chief executive officer, and press coverage from Forbes, Refresh Miami and Vital MX consistently identifies him as the person who started the company. He is a Miami native, a University of Florida marketing graduate and a lifelong dirt bike rider.
What stands out about the Ryan Amoils MX Locker story is how personal the idea was. He did not study the powersports market from a distance. He was a rider who needed expensive gear, saw how the resale system worked and built the tool he wished existed. The brand’s own tagline reflects that origin: the marketplace is described as built by riders, for riders. Amoils also still keeps a hands-on style, since a 2025 Refresh Miami profile noted that a customer support call might even be answered by him.
Growing Up on Dirt Bikes and Buying and Selling
Two passions shaped Amoils early. A Refresh Miami profile quotes him saying he got his first dirt bike at four years old. About a decade later, he got into entrepreneurship. He told the outlet that he always found himself buying and selling anything he could get his hands on, started his high school’s entrepreneurship club and became a semifinalist in the Miami Herald’s Business Plan Challenge in 2014.
Forbes adds more color. At school he sold everything from sneakers to snapback hats and was always at the post office shipping boxes, until his parents asked him to focus on getting into college. In the StartupANZ founder questionnaire, he describes running his own e-commerce store throughout college, where he bought and sold riding gear. The Ryan Amoils MX Locker journey therefore began years before the company had a name: a rider with a shipping habit and a feel for what people would pay.
The Problem: Distrust of eBay, Forums and Facebook
The business started with a frustration. In a Refresh Miami interview, Amoils said he disliked going to eBay and seeing so many questionable products, and that he hated getting scammed on forums. In an earlier profile, he said people no longer felt safe on existing marketplaces for dirt bike gear, such as Facebook and eBay, and did not trust those systems.
That distrust created an opening. Riders were buying expensive, safety-related gear such as helmets and boots from strangers on general-purpose platforms, with little protection and no easy way to compare fitment or condition. MX Locker’s current website still frames the problem in these terms, contrasting a generic marketplace, where powersports listings mix with unrelated products, with a specialized one where buyers can shop by category, vehicle, fitment, condition and brand. The Ryan Amoils MX Locker pitch has always been trust plus focus.
From Sneakers to Motocross Boots
The sourcing insight came from sneakers. In the Forbes profile, Amoils explains that his dad would never buy him the top pair of bike boots, so he made it his goal to get one. He knew that companies sponsor many top athletes who get to keep their gear at the end of the season and then sell it. As he had done with sneakers, he scoured eBay for opportunities to buy in bulk, sell two or three sets for a profit and use that profit to keep a set for himself.
That experience showed him there was a large market for used and surplus motocross gear. It is a classic resale lesson: find an enthusiast category with high prices, loyal buyers and a steady supply of barely used goods. The Ryan Amoils MX Locker idea combined this reseller instinct with a community he already belonged to, and boots remain one of the platform’s top categories today.
Launching MX Locker After College
The launch timeline is reported differently across sources. Forbes says that on graduating from college in 2020, Amoils’ parents gave him a year to make his fledgling business work or find a job, and that he teamed up with college friend and computer science graduate Andrew Samole to build a new e-commerce platform, launching the following year. By contrast, the StartupANZ questionnaire lists the founding year as 2019 and says he launched the marketplace a month after graduating, and a Refresh Miami profile says he launched in 2019 three months after college. CB Insights lists 2017. The brand’s own site does not give a founding date.
What the sources agree on is the shape of the story: a recent graduate, a small first inventory and a deadline. Refresh Miami reports that the company started with just two used dirt bike parts for sale. Samole joined as co-founder and CTO in January 2021, per the same outlet. Readers should treat the exact launch year as uncertain. For Ryan Amoils MX Locker, the core fact is that the marketplace grew quickly from a tiny catalog.
Solving the Chicken-and-Egg Problem
Every marketplace faces the same early challenge, and Amoils named it clearly. In the Forbes profile, he said the biggest challenge was hacking supply and demand: sellers will not list on a platform without traffic, and buyers will not find a platform without sellers. What helped was that he had his own supply, a small stock of around 200 items.
The traction came from that seeded inventory. According to Forbes, the business knew it had momentum when it started earning $100,000 a month, after which Samole joined full-time. Within two years, user numbers grew from 7,000 to 160,000. Refresh Miami adds that the company bootstrapped itself to $100,000 in monthly gross merchandise value before raising a single dollar.
Amoils also admitted a lack of marketplace experience. All he had at the start, he told Forbes, was a basic knowledge of how money should flow between users and how checkout and selling should work. The Ryan Amoils MX Locker playbook was to learn by listening to customers and building tools in response, including features that let sellers create their own mini storefronts inside the platform.
How MX Locker Makes Money
The business model is a commission marketplace. In 2023, Forbes reported that seller registration is free and that revenue comes from taking 11% of each sale. Current fees may differ, so readers and sellers should check the company’s Fee Policy page for the latest terms.
The platform also offers a growing set of services around the transaction. Its site describes buyer and seller protection that keeps the transaction organized, tracked and supported from checkout to delivery, plus customer support for returns and order problems. A MXLockerDirect program lists boots, helmets and exhaust that MX Locker stocks and ships itself, promising delivery in two to three days, free shipping and easy returns. Live auctions add another sales format, with listings for gear such as goggles, boots and helmets.
Refresh Miami reported that in early 2025 revenue was up 45% year over year and gross profit was up 75%, according to Amoils. These are company-reported figures. In practical terms, the Ryan Amoils MX Locker model grows with transaction volume, so supply, trust and shipping speed matter more than any single product.
How Ryan Amoils MX Locker Expanded Into Powersports
MX Locker began with dirt bike gear but did not stay there. Today its categories include dirt bikes, e-moto, ATVs, UTVs, street bikes, cycling, snowmobiles, personal watercraft, casual apparel, collectibles, tires, OEM parts and vehicles for sale. In the Refresh Miami profile, Amoils explained the logic: customers participate in multiple sports and just want a central location to buy and sell products.
That recognition came from his own experience, since riders rarely stick to one vehicle. The company’s website now describes itself as a marketplace where riders buy and sell powersports parts, gear and vehicles, and it lists thousands of items from sellers around the world.
The scale of the opportunity is large. Refresh Miami cited an industry valued at nearly $48 billion, and Forbes cited a global off-road motorcycle market of $103.53 billion in 2022, forecast to reach $151.80 billion by 2030. These figures come from third-party reports and should be read as estimates. For Ryan Amoils MX Locker, expansion widened the pool of sellers and buyers without changing the core rider-first identity.
The Shopify Integration: A Supply Hack
One of the company’s biggest wins was technical. According to Refresh Miami, MX Locker integrated with Shopify, allowing sellers with existing e-commerce stores to list inventory on the marketplace seamlessly. Amoils called it “a huge supply hack for us,” adding that the team was able to onboard thousands of new listings overnight.
The impact shows in the numbers. The same article reports that active listings grew from 40,000 to 300,000 in just a few months. For a marketplace, supply is the hardest thing to build, and importing it from existing stores solves the problem faster than asking sellers to type in each item. The company now lists integrations as part of its seller tools.
The Shopify move also reflects a broader pattern in the Ryan Amoils MX Locker strategy: make it easy for professional sellers and brands to move inventory. Amoils told Refresh Miami that he sees a big opportunity in helping brands move excess inventory, and that some sellers make a living on the platform.
Community, Content and the Boot Trade-In
MX Locker works to be more than a listing site. Refresh Miami reports that the company produces product review videos to help customers make informed decisions without the bias of paid endorsements, and that it plans to double down on content creation. The company’s blog, called The Paddock, publishes buying guides on topics such as premium motocross boots, goggles and tires.
The boot trade-in program is a good example of community-led product thinking. Riders trade in old boots for credit toward a new pair. According to the same profile, the company received 200 inquiries in the first 24 hours after launching it. Boots are among the platform’s top categories, so the program ties resale supply to new purchases.
Sponsorship and mentorship helped too. Vital MX reports that MX Locker sponsored the PR-MX team for the 2020 Supercross season, and Forbes says Amoils rallied support from motocross legend Jeff Emig, who acts as mentor and advisor. Early coverage also notes that Nick Tomasunas, a professional motocross rider, served as chief marketing officer. This rider network gives Ryan Amoils MX Locker credibility in a skeptical niche.
Funding: From Bootstrapped to Seed
For several years, MX Locker grew without outside money. Forbes reported in 2023 that the business was entirely bootstrapped until the previous year, when Amoils raised a $750,000 pre-seed round with help from family, friends and business angels, and that he had his sights on venture capital next.
That next step came in 2024. Refresh Miami reported in February 2025 that early traction helped the team land its first institutional round in mid-2024, securing $700,000 from BAM Ventures and Lead Ventures. CB Insights lists a $700,000 seed round dated January 15, 2025 with the same investors, so the exact date depends on the source. At the time, the company had only six employees and was investing in product development, customer experience and marketing.
The pattern is capital-efficient: $100,000 in monthly GMV before institutional money, a small team and a lean seed round. For comparison with other startups raising capital, see our Funding News section. Whether Ryan Amoils MX Locker raises a larger round later will depend on how aggressively it wants to expand beyond marketplace fees.
Where Ryan Amoils MX Locker Fits in Powersports Resale
The resale market is crowded with general-purpose platforms and specialty retailers. Large marketplaces such as eBay, Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist offer reach but weak category focus. Specialty retailers offer curation but usually sell only new products at retail prices.
MX Locker sits in between. It combines new and used items, individual sellers and professional shops, plus its own fulfilled inventory, and it uses powersports-specific categories and fitment filters. The company’s About page contrasts itself directly with generic marketplaces, saying shoppers can search by vehicle, fitment, condition and brand so they find what actually works.
Customer sentiment on the company’s pages is strongly positive, although testimonials on a brand’s own site are selective by nature. The site cites 4.9 average app ratings, and different pages claim “350,000+” and “700,000+” customers, so the exact figure is unclear. The Ryan Amoils MX Locker position is a vertical marketplace with trust as the main selling point.
What Could Slow Ryan Amoils MX Locker Down
Every fast-growing marketplace faces predictable hurdles. This section is analysis, not reporting.
Trust and fraud. A marketplace built on trust has to keep policing counterfeit, misdescribed or unsafe gear, especially helmets and protective equipment.
Fitment complexity. Parts for many makes, models and years require accurate data, and wrong-fit returns can erode margins.
Competition. General marketplaces and large powersports retailers can both compete for the same buyers, and some sellers list across several channels.
Category expansion. Moving from dirt bikes into cycling, snowmobiles and watercraft means learning new buyer behavior in each category.
Small team. With about six employees reported in early 2025, scaling support, trust and logistics is demanding. These risks are normal for a company at this stage, and the seed funding suggests Ryan Amoils MX Locker has room to build the operations it needs.
Leadership Style and What’s Next
Amoils leads as a founder close to the product and the customer. Forbes quotes his advice to young entrepreneurs: be bold and unafraid of taking risks, have a clear vision and put something out for consumers to test. His own path followed that rule, from a tiny first catalog to a worldwide user base.
The visible roadmap includes scaling newer categories, working with influencers in new spaces and helping brands move excess inventory, according to Refresh Miami. The company also plans to invest in content creation as a growth strategy, and Forbes mentions shipments of dirt bikes sold via the marketplace as a new project. How Ryan Amoils MX Locker balances marketplace fees with direct fulfillment and brand partnerships will shape its next stage.
Lessons From the Ryan Amoils MX Locker Journey
The Ryan Amoils MX Locker journey offers practical lessons for founders, especially those building marketplaces.
1. Build for a community you belong to. Amoils was a rider first, which gave him instant credibility and insight.
2. Seed your own supply. About 200 items helped solve the chicken-and-egg problem.
3. Bootstrap to proof. Reaching $100,000 in monthly GMV before raising made the pitch stronger.
4. Find a supply hack. The Shopify integration onboarded thousands of listings overnight.
5. Tie new purchases to resale. The boot trade-in program links used supply with new demand.
6. Follow your customers into new categories. Riders who do many sports led the company beyond dirt bikes.
7. Stay lean. A team of six running a marketplace of this size shows what focus can do.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Ryan Amoils? Ryan Amoils is the founder and CEO of MX Locker, a powersports marketplace. He is a Miami native and University of Florida marketing graduate who has ridden dirt bikes since childhood.
What is the Ryan Amoils MX Locker story? It is the story of a rider and reseller who disliked buying gear on eBay and forums, launched a niche marketplace after college and grew it into a platform for dirt bikes, ATVs, UTVs, street bikes and more.
What is MX Locker? MX Locker is an online marketplace where riders buy and sell new and used powersports parts, gear and vehicles, with a mobile app and some inventory fulfilled by the company itself.
Who founded MX Locker? Ryan Amoils is the founder and CEO. Andrew Samole is co-founder and CTO.
When was MX Locker founded? Sources differ: 2017 (CB Insights), 2019 (Refresh Miami and StartupANZ) and a 2021 launch after a 2020 graduation (Forbes).
Has Ryan Amoils MX Locker raised funding? Yes. Forbes reported a $750,000 pre-seed round in 2022, and Refresh Miami reported a $700,000 seed round from BAM Ventures and Lead Ventures in mid-2024. CB Insights dates a $700,000 seed round to January 2025.
How does MX Locker make money? Forbes reported in 2023 that sellers register free and MX Locker takes 11% of each sale. Check the current Fee Policy for updates.
What can I buy on MX Locker? Dirt bikes, e-moto, ATVs, UTVs, street bikes, riding gear, OEM and aftermarket parts, tires, cycling items, snowmobile gear and collectibles.
What is MXLockerDirect? It is a program in which MX Locker stocks and ships certain items itself, with delivery in two to three days, free shipping and easy returns, according to the website.
Is there an MX Locker app? Yes. The company offers apps for iOS and Android, and its pages show an average rating of 4.9.
Conclusion
Ryan Amoils MX Locker shows how a rider’s frustration, a reseller’s instincts and a patient approach to supply can build a specialized marketplace in a crowded internet. From two used parts to hundreds of thousands of listings, a $700,000 seed round and a growing powersports catalog, Amoils has built a company that keeps a small team and a community-first identity. His story is a useful case study in solving the chicken-and-egg problem and in expanding by following customers.
The open question for Ryan Amoils MX Locker is whether it can keep trust high and operations tight as it grows into more categories and more fulfilled inventory. If it can, MX Locker may become the default place riders go to buy and sell almost anything with an engine.
For more founder journeys, read Michael Fedele’s Throne Sport Coffee, Molly Sims’ YSE Beauty and Alvaro Silberstein’s Wheel the World on Denote Press, or browse more Founder Stories.
This article is for information only. Company figures are self-reported or from published coverage. Riders should always check safety gear condition and certification before buying used equipment.
Sources and further reading: Forbes profile, Refresh Miami, 2025, Refresh Miami, earlier profile, Vital MX interview, StartupANZ, About MX Locker.
