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The Wire: Industry News–Gossip, rumors & lies from the world of skiing

The Wire: Industry News–Gossip, rumors & lies from the world of skiing

This story originally ran in the October 2008 issue of Freeskier (V11.1).


Photo: Chris O’Connell

October, the first Wire column of the year. Skiing in North America has halted for a few months (save Whistler and Mt. Hood), giving companies and athletes time to relax. Sort of. It’s during this “recess” where quite a bit of moving-and-shaking is done. Here is the first crop of industry news this year:

Over on the other side of the pond, French CoreUPT rider Richard Permin has been scooped up by Oakley for eyewear. Now Richy will have Oakley’s Thermonuclear optical protection while he suns in the south of France. Fellow Euro, Jacob Wester (1), has jumped on board with Dalbello, joining his Armada teammate Tanner Hall. No doubt Jacob locked up that deal while recently in Bali on his “sickest surf trip evahhhh.”


Photo: Courtesy of Line Skis

Fellow Scanner Jon Olsson has been busy this summer, too. Getting down to business in New Zealand, Jon won another FIS race, with borrowed boots, as his own didn’t make it down under. On the professional end of things, Jon has signed with Kristoffer Hanson at Dot Inc Action Sports Management, which represents other snowsports big-timers like pro snowboarders Hampus Mosesson and Jakob Wilhemsson. And on the wilder side of things, Jon managed to become the second most photographed person on the Stockholm nightlife website this summer as reported by Stureplan Magazine. Check out jon-olsson.com/video-blog and stureplan.se for more of Jon’s on- and off-hill antics.

Sweden-based POC has recently injected some new blood into its athlete program, signing TJ Schiller, Tyson Bolduc and Tucker Perkins to helmet and protection deals. The company has also nabbed am Willis Brown for a helmet and optics arrangement. These guys bolster the company’s already impressive roster, which includes various deals with Tanner Hall, Jon Olsson and Blake Nyman.

Speaking of Blake Nyman, the Surface rider has accepted an invitation from Jason Levinthal and Josh Malczyk to be a part of the Full Tilt boot program. Blake is also a big part of Joystick and the company’s new movie, Hot Lunch. You can see a whole host of Joystick athletes rocking the poles, as well as Joystick’s new gloves. Speaking of Surface, Orage rider Banks Gilberti has recently joined the Surface World Team. No doubt Banks will be turning heads on those boards this upcoming season.


Photo: Shay Williams

In other ski news, Eric Pollard (2), known for his unique style on the hill, is also an accomplished artist. So LINE had Pollard create two completely exclusive graphics for the limited release of the Anthem ski. The skis will feature the same LINE construction, and will be limited to 150 pairs, per size, per model; so get yours before they’re all gone and you’re stuck buying a normal ski.

Former LINE marketing manager, Gary Winberg, has been busy behind the scenes these days, starting his own company called G Brand, which will manage and plan marketing for two main clients: Nimbus Independent and Spacecraft Clothing. Check out everything that is happening at garywinberg.com and we wish G Brand long-lasting success.


Photo: Shay Williams

In more news from the Northwest, Nike 6.0 has signed Simon Dumont (6), who joins TJ Schiller (4), Sammy Carlson and Jossi Wells (3) on the pro team. Nike 6.0 will be a major sponsor of the AST Dew Tour this winter, where you’ll see said athletes putting up impressive performances. Simon, in addition to other Empire athletes Peter Olenick (6) and Colby West, made the trek to LA to watch the Summer X Games, cheering on his fellow Target teammates Kevin Robinson, Shaun White, Nate Adams and Anthony Napolitan.

Who else made it down to Summer X? Female superstars Sarah Burke (5) and Grete Eliassen (5) were spotted hanging out at the Standard Downtown Hotel and the X Games venues, catching some rays and cheering on their summer teammates. Rumor on the street is that both Burke and Eliassen got on stage and rocked out with Three Six Mafi a during one of the nightly parties in Hollywood. Describing why, Grete simply states that they were, “just keepin’ up the street cred.”


Photo: Grete Eliassen

In other news from the world of Grete Eliassen, she has just returned from Argentina with Oakley, testing out her new team-inspired outerwear. The pieces are in their final stages of testing and will be released in the fall of 2009.

In more signature-product news, big-mountain skier Cody Townsend has signed with The Levitation Project for the company’s newest line of base layering. We can expect a Cody-inspired base layer system, balachlava, tee, socks and hat. He says, “It’s going to be metal infl uenced and f’ing sick.” And in outerwear, Scott Hibbert over at Under Armour has picked up super-hot amateur Bobby Brown. No doubt Ahmet Dadali and Bobby will be keeping it real street… at the high school parties.


Photo: Shay Williams

Long time pro skier, rail badass and wonderful individual Steele Spence has taken up a permanent post at 4FRNT skis as the Creative Director. Steele is a true innovator and has been a proponent of 4FRNT for a long time. Even though Steele has been around longer than Sean Pettit has been able to walk, he’s still got skills. Check him out in Level 1’s Turbo this fall.

In other new beginnings, account executives Philip Welsh and Luke Blaser (7) have left Freeskier to pursue new opportunities. Philip has taken a job with Mountain Time. Luke, meanwhile, has taken a sales role at bnqt.com in Santa Monica. We wish both of them the best of luck in their new posts, and they will be sorely missed by the Freeskier family.

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