From London couriers to motorcycle clothing experts, we discover the story behind Roadskin jeans

Riding jeans have come on in leaps and bounds over the past few years, offering increasing levels of protection without sacrificing either flexibility or those casual under-the-radar looks for which denim is so desired. Several UK firms have brought top notch products to the marketplace, but if you’ve been to any major bike show recently there’s one brand that always has a highly visible presence – Roadskin.

We’ve tested most of the Roadskin range at MCN, which includes jeans, cargoes and leggings, not to mention gloves, hoodies and waterproofs, and the quality and performance of the goods has always impressed. So, what is it about this Kent based company that manages to get riding kit bang-on? We visited their base in Royal Tunbridge Wells to find out.

The knockabout banter is flowing as soon as we enter the premises, with chirpy duo Ian Wilson and Mark Kingham bouncing digs, jokes and laughs off each other like an old married couple. Which isn’t that surprising, as these two have quite a history together.

“We met about 40 years ago – ish,” says Roadskin’s marketing guru Mark, “back in the good old days, when we were couriers in London. If you liked bikes, that was the ideal job. The money was good and without ANPR, speed cameras and all that, it was just like being a cowboy!”

“The relevance of that, is that if you’re a courier for years and years you learn a lot about motorcycle clothing,” interjects Ian. “Mark and I have been riding all our lives, and there was no real protective clothing back then. We used to wear bin bags to keep dry and stick an MCN under our jackets to stay warm.”

“I used to heat my socks up in the oven, wrap them in silver foil and gaffer tape and hope that they’d keep my feet warm for a couple of hours at least,” laughs Mark. “But then we went from being couriers to owning our own companies with something like 60 people working for us. That was great, but like any small business you end up doing everything yourself, so it was still really difficult work.”

A non-bike related accident resulted in Ian being hospitalised for six months, and it was during that period of being laid up that he began to hatch a new plan.

“I fell 30 feet onto a concrete floor, smashing myself to pieces,” says Ian, “Marky here saved my life and got me breathing again – it’s the only time I’ve kissed a man! Anyway, it was about the time that internet commerce had begun to take off, and I thought I could run a small business from my garage selling bike kit. We’d already had experience of dealing with distributors as we used to get gear in for our couriers, but I couldn’t get anyone to supply me as I didn’t have actual retail premises.”

Ian solved this issue by renting a small shop space in a local garage, with the intention of selling online from home and only having to work there on a Saturday morning. The only problem was, customers kept coming in…

“All of a sudden I ended up with a shop that was five times bigger,” he says. “I never wanted to be a shopkeeper, but again I learnt a lot from the experience, and it was there that Roadskin started.”
Through a tip off from the editor of Rider’s Digest, a freebie magazine for couriers, Ian discovered Draggin’s Kevlar lined riding jeans, which proved to be something of an epiphany.

“Mark and I had been old school bikers, even back to our courier days. All we would wear is jeans and leather jackets, so these Kevlar jeans were like a gift from heaven, because if you love something, and you believe in it, it’s easy to sell. There was an old boy called Terry who would import them from Australia where they were made, and he was the first person to bring Kevlar lined jeans into the UK.

“I quickly became the biggest seller of their jeans in the country. Every week I’d buy all of Terry’s stock, and one day I offered to take over distribution, should he ever want to get out.”

It wasn’t long before that opportunity occurred, and Ian upped the game by supplying retail giants Hein Gericke among others. But it was at bike shows where things really took off, establishing a format that runs through to the present day.

“At the NEC we had this huge stand all done in corrugated iron, way before that look became cool and trendy. There were so many people queuing up to buy them that I had everyone I knew working on the stand for me. We were throwing jeans back and forth to this long line of changing rooms, and from the day the show opened to the hour it finished we were selling.”

This boom in the popularity of riding jeans resulted in a raft of different people jumping on the bandwagon, including Ian’s friend Adrian, who was actually the person responsible for getting the Roadskin brand off the ground.

“Ade asked if I minded him getting in on the action,’ says Ian. “There wasn’t anything I could have done anyway, so I gave him my blessing and he went off to start Roadskin. That was about ten years ago.”

The next time he bumped into Ade, it seemed that not all was rosy at Roadskin as a customer facing business wasn’t exactly his calling in life. As a result, Ian took on the warehouse and shipping duties, and a few years later, in the wake of the Covid lockdowns, he took advantage of the government’s bounce back loan scheme to buy Ade out.

“Roadksin at that time was quite basic,” says Ian, “it was basically a cottage industry, run from home, with just a couple of products, quite market trader like really. I was absolutely 110% behind it though, and the first jean we did was the Taranis.”

“It just so happened that my mate Mark was on a bit of a sabbatical around that time, so I called up and asked him to come and work with me. I’m not great at remembering names and it takes a lot of time to follow up with influencers and creators or doing magazine articles and chasing people up.

“You can send 101 pairs of jeans out for promotion, but you’ve got to see it through to make sure the product’s getting coverage. He loves bikes and I knew this would suit him down to the ground, so he joined me about four years ago and since then we’ve been absolutely fine. We both love what we’re doing and both completely believe in the product.”

“That’s because the product does exactly what it says on the tin,” says Mark, eventually getting elbow room to chime in. “Our jeans look good and they feel good – we’re never going to be everybody’s cup of tea, but I always say that 80% of the people will like our gear. The rest comes down to issues with fit, and although we’ve tried, you just can’t please everyone.”

One of Roadskin’s major selling points is that that many of their jeans reach the highest CE certification of AAA, but their commitment to safety is more than just about meeting standards.

“All our gear comes with CE level 2 armour – shoulder, elbow, back, hip and knees – simply because it’s the best you can get at this moment in time,” says Mark, “I can’t understand why you would sell a jacket with a piece of foam in place of a proper back protector. I know it’s an easy way of saving a few quid, but surely you could increase the price or just include one, because it’s not expensive. Even if you try to add it on as an extra in a shop, a lot of kids will leave it, and then they’ve got nothing at all.”

When it comes to design, Roadskin’s approach is very down to earth, but there’s more than a bit of magic in the mix.

“We think of gear that we like wearing,” says Mark. “It’s all designed around us as individuals, and the humbling thing is, and this goes for the whole company, is that other people like wearing it as well. Once we’ve come up with an idea we talk to our designer, who was an apprentice under Vivienne Westwood and used to work for Burberry, and she makes it work to get samples made up.

“We then try them out, make a few alterations if needs be, then send it off for certification. Ideally we want everything AAA rated, that’s what we’re working to, but that process take time. Sometimes we’ve got a AA garment that we’re wearing, but all the time our designers are working on how to get it up to the highest standard. And that’s the same with armour.

“All of our garments are currently certified with either Sas-Tec or Smoothways armour, but we’re working towards certification with Rheon because it’s lighter, more flexible and breathes better. We think it’s head and shoulders above everything else on offer. For now we sell it separately as an optional upgrade.”

What comes across more than anything is how passionate these guys are about their business. “We want to give people the best possible garment they can have, for the best possible price,” Mark adds. “Our AAA Taranis jeans are £180 including level 2 armour. We sell direct, because if we put them in dealers, the price would go up, and we firmly believe, based on our own experience and customer feedback, that our jeans are better than our most expensive competitors.”

Given their presence at seemingly every bike show, high profile on social media and raft of positive online reviews, you could be forgiven in thinking that Roadskin is a pretty big operation, but in reality there are only eight people working full time for the company.

“We’re expanding 30% year on year, and we’re entirely self-financed with no debt, which isn’t bad for a little business like us,” says Ian. “In 2023 we sold 7000 pairs of jeans alone.”

Roadskin is a true British success story, and for a relatively young company, they’ve already made some pretty big waves. And that’s not just here but over the pond too, where US riders have also picked up on the brand. If you happen to see the Roadskin stand at a show, drop by and say hello – they’re a friendly, down-to-earth bunch who love their bikes and love what they do. And they’re always up for chat too.

- Just so you know, we may receive a commission or other compensation from the links on this website - read why you should trust us.