Management Team / Advisory Board Bios
Chris James
Founder, Chief Executive Officer, Director
James comes from a racing family. James and his younger brother used to race BMX professionally and his father raced Formula 2 and 3 back in the sixties.
Born in Woking, the home of McLaren, James is a proven business leader who has achieved success in a number of endeavors, from film to music to entrepreneurship. His out-of-the-box, creative instinct adds a major layer to Battle Approved Motors.
James is the CEO of Battle Approved Motors, as well as the creator and producer of the successful extreme sports film series “Mod Kids USA,” available on Prime Video.
He’s accomplished numerous accolades in the entertainment industry, as a musician and on the business side for over 30 years.
James developed three highly successful UK and US-based record labels. He also has a Number 1 record in Japan as a recording artist. Combined, he sold more than 4.7 million units.
Taking all that skill-set and experience, James has been working extensively on the Battle Approved Motors concept for the last six years.
Keegan Kincaid
Strategic Advisor
Keegan Kincaid is a BAM Strategic Advisor, a BAM shareholder and a paid sponsored athlete to help bring awareness to Battle Approved Motors and our plans for the future. Born and raised in the heartland of Off-Road racing, Crandon, WI.
Keegan is the current Red Bull Crandon World Cup Champion, reigning Champ Off-Road (COR) Pro 2 Champion, and former X-Games athlete.
Keegan spent his childhood watching his father, Jeff Kincaid, scored seven Off-Road Championships. Keegan took up short-course in his early 20s and has raced across the country in multiple series. Today he spends his days building and fabricating Championship winning off road trucks with his dad.
Hillel Frankel
Outside Legal Counsel
Hillel is a partner at the law firm of Mandell Menkes, LLC and runs their Nashville office. Hillel is legal counsel for BAM. His legal clients include entertainment entities and top music producers, writers and artists.
Hillel also represents companies in copyright, trademark and other intellectual property issues as well as negotiations and transactional work for publishing and advertising rights. He can often be heard at conferences and festivals speaking on intellectual property issues.
Ethan Pole
Outdoors Specialist
Ethan is a highly motivated and energetic professional who just loves the outdoors. He is respected for innovation, effective problem-solving, and decision-making skills.
Ethan also has family ties to racing. His grandfather ran a pit crew for Al Unser Sr. in the Indy Race Car circuit. Al won the Indianapolis 500 two times and has 34 IndyCar wins.
Kenny Osborn
Development Manager
Osborn recently resigned from the day-to-day operations of Black Rhino Performance (a San Diego based UTV Retail, Service, Maintenance, and Repair Center) to focus on the development of Battle Approved Motors.
Black Rhino Performance was founded back in 2004 and grew to 20-plus employees with two locations including a 24,000 sq.ft facility selling thousands of various products. Osborn took full control of the company in May 2011. In 2012 Black Rhino purchased Racer X Motorsports, a premier communications company. Osborn’s twin boys (Bryan and Alex) also raced off-road professionally from 12 years old.
Today Black Rhino, Inc. is a thriving business with sales on the rise, multiple sponsored racing series, and many individually sponsored drivers. Black Rhino is as devoted to UTVs and the sport of UTV racing as ever.
Mark Gantt
Creative Manager
As one of the early pioneers of the digital era, Mark is best known for co-creating, writing, producing, and starring in Crackle’s groundbreaking, Streamy award-winning series, The Bannen Way. The show went on to win 4 Streamy Awards (Best Actor ‘Mark Gantt,’ Best Drama, Director, and Editor), nominated for the BANFF award, and two Webby Awards.
Mark’s love for design and photography led to a twenty-five-year film and TV career where he learned the business from the ground up. Mark voices the narration for the Mod Kids' film series available on Amazon’s Prime Video.
Directing credits include three Lifetime thrillers, Murder In Mexico, Model Citizen, and The Surrogate, as well as a pilot, Intricate Vengeance, for Ron Howard and Brian Grazer’s New Form Digital. He’s also directed national commercials and promos for GMC, Nissan, Lifetime, Fox, AOL, Freeform, Capital One, Kohl’s, and ESPN.
Mark’s onscreen credits include Criminal Minds, Dexter, American Horror Story: Hotel, Ocean’s Eleven, Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle, Buffy, the Vampire Slayer, Major Crimes, and The Arrangement.
He lives in Los Angeles with his wife, actress/writer Brianne Davis-Gantt, their son Davis, and dog Bear.