My Story

Hey, my name is Matt Steubing and I am the founder of J.VIEW. I grew up in Rochester, New York and got my Mechanical Design Engineering degree at Rochester Institute of Technology. Following my graduation, I was hired by Kodak as a design engineer. Working for a photographic icon that invented digital photography had its perks for a guy that liked to shoot photos. Think free film, cheap processing and even free promotional cameras when the first digital cameras were introduced. I eventually transferred over to sales and marketing, moving territories often, and finally ended up in Utah in ‘94.

In Utah I learned to ski powder and my world was changed. I met some great people through business that skied backcountry in the winter and I also got into climbing, canyoneering, mountain biking, rafting, and mountaineering in general. I brought my love for photography/videography with me everywhere we went documenting some great adventures.

In February of 2000 my son Julius was born. My life would never be the same. The NICU doctor that night told me that Julius was going to have some serious problems and I stood stunned not yet aware of his grave brain injury. Luckily, Julius survived and spent his first few months in the NICU as we slowly adjusted to the fact that our son has been diagnosed with cerebral palsy. Julius for all his injury and challenge was a precious child who wanted to be loved and was generally happy. He was a fighter and he wanted to live and experience life.

Leading up to his birth, I imagined days skiing with my son and bringing him into the backcountry, teaching him to climb and watching him pass me up in capability in all my favorite outdoor activities. I had to come to terms that this wasn’t going to be quite what I had imagined and had to find alternative ways to let him experience the outdoors that I so loved. I started with buying a baby carrier so I could take him on long hikes into the mountains. He couldn't walk and it looked like he would be confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life but he loved the rhythm of my walk being on my back. He too loved the mountains as he looked over my shoulder and took it all in. I carried him on my back until he was almost 9 using a military pack. Once his feet began to kick me in the calves I knew I could no longer have this amazing experience with him that we loved to share.

This is where J.VIEW comes into frame. Over the past decade as I developed this mount I tried to figure out what to call it. As I looked at some past pictures of Julius and I hiking with him peeking over my shoulder, I realized that the mount often put the camera in that same location over my shoulder. Then it dawned on me that this was Julius's view. J.VIEW! Julius has been the motivation for this product since I started it in 2011 when he was 11 years old. I can't bring Julius with me into the backcountry to ski a sick line or move through an aspen grove in powder but I can capture the J-View and share it with him. He can get a sense of what that is like.

Matthew R. Steubing                                                                                        PowderRock60LLC                                                                                                  J.VIEW Mounts