Stay ConnectedThe Ski Monster Podcast — conversations about skiing, ski gear, the ski industry, and the people behind it.
We sit down with athletes, founders, product designers, industry veterans, and other people who have helped shape skiing and snowboarding.
From how iconic skis and ski boots came to be, to the stories behind brands like LINE, Full Tilt, J Skis and more, we get into product development, gear, skiing, business, marketing, and the stories you usually don’t hear.
Hosted by The Ski Monster.
Copyright: © The Ski Monster 2022
We sat down with Ben Fresco, the Marketing and Product Manager at Elan Skis USA. We get into Ben’s ski industry background, starting off with stories of selling gear to Geraldo Rivera and MLB umpires in Lake Tahoe, to eventually moving back east to get started at Elan. We talk about the rampant success the Elan brand has seen in recent years, specifically in the free ride category with the Ripstick Series. Eric and George recently joined Ben and some members of the Elan team on a trip to their factory right outside Bled, Slovenia, so they were really stoked to be able to recap the trip. The boys discussed their round of golf, Slovenian cowboy parties, and most importantly, the biggest takeaways from seeing Elan’s production process.
For the 10th episode of the Boston Ski Party, we have a very special episode for you. The Ski Monster cofounders George and Eric sit down to give you the full, unfiltered TSM origin story. Starting from their days as ambitious college kids with an idea to start a ski retail site, all the way through the insane twists and turns it’s taken to get TSM to where it’s at today. There has been no shortage of roadblocks and wild stories over the years, so sit back and enjoy the show.
We sat down with Justin Heanue, the National Sales Manager of Blizzard Tecnica USA. We started it off by catching up with Justin and discussing the last time he was in Boston, when he and the Tec/Bliz team joined the TSM crew for an afternoon at America’s most beloved ballpark (Fenway). We then got into how Justin got started in the ski industry and he explained some of the steps he had to take before finding himself in the role he’s in today. Heanue then discussed his current role at Tec/Bliz, while getting into some of the differences between his day-to-day on the ski side with Blizzard, and the boot side with Tecnica. We ended the episode with a massive revelation in regard to the pronunciation of our guest’s last name.
We sat down again with Ethan Korpi, the North American Product Manager of Nordica. Korpi joined us again in studio as our first repeat guest here on the BSP. We picked up where we left off in our last conversation talking about our European adventure with Nordica, but this time focused more on the boots side of production. We get into all things ski boots and end up discussing the new 5th generation Doberman Boot, which you only know about if you listened to the last episode with Korpi, because Eric accidentally leaked it. We go into detail on Nordica’s boot production and testing facility, and talk about some of the structural dynamics of the Tecnica Group’s ownership. George also joined in on the conversation to pick Korpi’s brain in regards to his extensive boot Knowledge.
We sat down with Josh Malczyk, Brand Director at Season Eqpt. Josh started in the industry with Line and Full Tilt back in 2007, and would eventually become the global brand director for the freeski giant. At Line and Full Tilt, he oversaw some of the sickest products, projects, and teams the sport's ever seen. In early 2020, Josh linked up with ski icon Eric Pollard and pro snowboarder Austin Smith to start a new ski and snowboard brand, Season Eqpt. Season is built from the idea that buying and owning skis and snowboards needs to be simplified, and the life of hardgoods should be longer, with the aim of making the sport more sustainable, and accessible. We talked with Josh about everything that’s going on at Season, and how they plan to hold on to these core values but also run a successful business. We also got into what it’s like doing something totally new in contrast to what he’d been doing for so long at Line and Full Tilt.
We sat down with Damian Quiqley, publisher of FREESKIER Magazine. Damian started at the magazine 10 years ago and over that time has cemented a key role at the iconic publication. Our conversation with Damian is centered around the strategies being used at Freeskier to adapt and stay ahead. Damian shares some insight on how vital it’s been to build such a strong brand identity beyond just the magazine through avenues like digital content along with some of the best events in the business.
We sat down with Ethan Korpi, the North America Product Manager at Nordica. Korpi tells us a bit about his background in the industry and how he ended up working for the iconic Austrian ski brand. We discuss his rise through the company to eventually develop some of the badass products that make the Nordica brand what it is today. This past May Eric, George, and Matt were lucky enough to join Ethan on a trip to the Nordica motherland in Mittersill, Austria. The boys discuss their trip and the biggest takeaways from seeing the production process from start to finish.
We sat down with Devon and Tate from the soft goods team here at the store and talked about what it's like being on that side of the industry. Devon told us her story and how she went from being a brand rep to working with the dudes here at TSM on the retail side of things, and then to eventually bringing Tate on board to join forces with her. The Lady Monsters™ give us some insight into outerwear and accessories world, and how they manage to keep their finger on the pulse with what's hot and what's not. They also touched on their most recent trip to NYC, where they were wined and dined by the "boujee brands."
We sat down and had an awesome talk with Sierra Shafer, former editor-in-chief at Powder Magazine, and current editor-in-chief at Ski Magazine. Eric, George, and Sierra looked back on some epic Powder Weeks weeks, and dive into Sierra’s transition going from the end of Powder to almost immediately taking on the editor role at Ski Magazine, another major pillar in the ski media landscape. We get into some of the changes going on at Ski Magazine as well.
We sat down to chop it up with industry legend Matt Sterbenz. We get into his mindset behind launching 4FRNT and the journey that the company would take over the next 15 years. Sterbenz tells some awesome stories about the days of being both an athlete and a young entrepreneur at the same time. In 2017, 4FRNT sold to Jay Levinthal and Sterbenz started WNDR Alpine. We wrapped up the episode by getting into all the cool stuff that he's got going on at WNDR and beyond.
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