About Kris Holm

Kris has ridden challenging technical terrain in more than 15 countries. His adventures have taken him to the summit of the highest mountain in Central America, the summit of the 3rd highest mountain in North America, trade-routes across the Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan, and on the Great Wall of China. In 2006, Kris climbed and attempted a unicycle descent of Licancabur, a 5950m volcano in Bolivia.

Kris was the first rider to bring mountain unicycling to a mainstream audience through film, television, and magazine features. He has appeared in over 200 international media features, including numerous television segments and 18 films that have screened at festivals in over 30 countries, including 5 films on the Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour. This exposure has contributed to a major increase in the popularity of unicycling worldwide.

His film, Into the Thunder Dragon, was named “One of the Top Twenty Adventure DVD’s of All Time” in the December 2005 issue of Men’s Journal. In addition to film, he has been featured in many mainstream print publications, including Sports Illustrated Adventure, Men’s Journal, Men’s Fitness, ESPN Magazine, and National Geographic Adventure. Kris is also featured in the 2007 Ripley’s Believe It or Not! book, on a past episode of Ripley’s television show, in a Ripley’s cartoon and in a 2001 Ripley’s book.

In 2010, Kris became the first unicyclist to reach the podium in a major bike race, on Stage 5 of the Men's Solo, Challenge division of the BC Bike Race. His past competitve successes include holding the 2005 European, 2002 World, and 1999 North American unicycle trials champion titles. For the period spanning 1998-2004 he also held the world record for unicycle sidehop (high jump).

In 1999 he founded Kris Holm Unicycles (KHU). Originally a tiny company providing top-end unicycles to a small handful of hardcore riders, KHU now ships worldwide with a dealer network in over 15 countries. KHU was the first Canadian company and the first cycling brand to join One Percent for the Planet, donating 1% of sales to support environmental conservation. Kris is proud to represent One Percent for the Planet as one of their Global Ambassadors.

To share the off-road unicycling skills and knowledge that he has gained through years of riding, Kris has published a book titled The Essential Guide to Mountain and Trials Unicycling [Gradient Press, 2012]. The book contains instruction for the full range of trials and mountain unicycling riding styles and over 250 colour photographs of riders from around the world.

Aside from managing KHU, Kris works for an engineering consulting firm as a geoscientist specializing in geohazard and risk assessment. He lives with his wife and daughter in Vancouver, Canada.