Jan Karpiel was born in the mountain resort town of Zakopane, Poland. From an early age, his two great passions were ski racing and modifying his folding hardtail bike to descend the steep mountain trails around his home.

He was recognized at the age of 11 for his skiing ability and enrolled in the government-sponsored training program, landing him in the Europa and World Cup ski racing circuits by the age of 16. Traveling the resorts of Europe, his skills in ski racing improved to the level where he was selected as a candidate for the National Olympic team. The Solidarity Movement in Poland caused sweeping civil unrest, however, and Martial Law was imposed, forcing Jan to leave the country in 1981.

After arriving in the US, Jan applied for and was granted a full athletic scholarship to the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. Once there, he contributed to the team's National Championship status through competitive racing and earned his degree in 1987 in International Economics and Mechanical Engineering.

Jan moved to Seattle, Washington in 1988 and founded a vintage and exotic car restoration business. In addition to restoring import sports cars and historic racecars, he raced vintage Alfa Romeo models in competition. He sold his restoration business in 1992 and focused his interest on mountain bike racing.

Over the course of a decade, Jan designed, raced and manufactured Karpiel bikes, sponsoring many top riders and earning international industry recognition for the design and quality of his product lines, as illustrated by years of published professional and rider reviews in mountain biking magazines. Karpiel bikes were featured in movies (Down, Double Down, New World Disorder), television shows (Next Step and Extreme Machines) and video games (Sony PlayStation2 Downhill Domination).