SIA is fast approaching, and here at BroBomb we’re kicking off our event coverage with an interview with Mike Waesche of RMU Skis. Mike is a Summit County local, and his special-order-only boards are making waves in the crowded pool of independent ski manufacturers.
Check back over the coming days as we take a good look at what RMU and some other companies have in store for ’10-’11.
BroBomb: Hey Mike, thanks for taking time out to chat with us. You guys just got back from a few days on the road right? What’d you get into?
Mike Waesche: Thanks, Chris. I’m stoked for the opportunity.
Yea, we were down in SOCO for a few days, started out in Telluride, then headed to Silverton. It snowed two feet over night in Telluride, and Silverton received over 50 inches…to say the least: Epic.
Was that trip business, pleasure, or both….and more importantly will we be lucky enough to see any footage?
That there is the grey area…who would of thought skiing powder could be a tax write off!? We are working on a new edit to show off our new pow ski, the Professor, and it should be up around the 15th of this month.
The Professor. RMU’s powder whip. Early rise, and 122mm underfoot.
Oh, the wonders of capitalism…How did RMU come to be? Who are the key players?
RMU was the search for a better way, it was about the product. My good buddies Chris, Ocho, and Alex were all down for the cause from day one. I think Ocho’s exact words were, “Drink beer and build skis?…I’m in”.
Chris moved aside half of his family room and we set up shop there. We spent about a month building our press, three months building the first molds, and another month figuring out how to profile cores. I think ski building is something most skiers always have in the back of their mind, so it was fun to go through the trial and error of making the first skis. Eventually, we started making some pretty good stuff, so naturally we had a few buddies who wanted some custom skis—and after a few builds—word starting getting out. The Diam, our park ski, became so popular and we had enough demand that we made the move to Never Summer and created our first production ski. Big thanks to Never Summer for believing in us.
The Diam, RMU’s park slayer. Fully symmetrical and 93mm underfoot.
Drink beer and build skis….I’d like to believe that you’re not the first company to land on that as a mission statement. That being said, are there any unconventional materials, designs, or construction techniques that you’re particularly proud of?
We have pride across the board in our products and our company.
Because we are the ski patrollers, the shop employees, and the people working in the restaurants, we can only afford one pair of skis and we expect them to last. Our products are the ambitions of our members; we ask every single person on our skis what they like, want, and what we can do better next year. Our members want durability, so we reflect that in our buying decisions when we build the skis. Our materials are very high end, yielding long lasting durable skis.
Much like snowboard manufacturers have cultivated strong brand identities, ski manufacturers seem to be moving in a similar direction. Describe an RMU “rider”. Who do you build your skis for?
We build for any body who has passion for the product!
Our members range from riders in Jackson Hole who are out pushing the limits on alpine lines, to skiers who put in over 250 days a year in the park.
I’ve noticed that you refer to your customers as “members”, why is that? Any plans to offer custom skis in the future (lengths, camber, flex, etc.)?
Our customers are our company. Sometimes, that just means they get an invite into the garage to drink a few beers.
We fire up the press every now and then if somebody has something they really want to try.
One of your team riders, Dylan Ferguson, has been busy making a name for himself on the aerial and ski ballet side of things. Any chance RMU will dabble in reinventing the acroski?
Dylan is the man, we are so stoked to have Dylan be apart of the company and are stoked to see his progress with aerials. I was catching up with Ocho the other day and he already has the Acro ski in CAD.
Dylan Ferguson- future Olympian.
That sounds glorious…I’m looking for a pro model monoski if you guys are at all interested.
Yes, Lets do it, we actually made some Pow skis by special request that were 204 in the tip 176 underfoot and 186 in the tail. Could be the building blocks for the CC pro model monoski.
Let’s draw up the contracts and get it done. You guys have a fairly strong presence on NS, and your edits are staples in the top-rated video section. How important is it to you as a company to generate that sort of content?
RMU is all word of mouth, we don’t advertise, we just figured our product would speak for itself— this approach has actually gotten us pretty far. We occasionally run into awesome opportunities like the skiing mag graphic contest that we can’t turn down (check out new schoolers in February). We never really looked at our edits as advertising, but more of a presence in the community and that to us is huge.
Where do you see RMU in five years?
On top!!
If you had to punch one skier, sponsor one skier, and watch only one ski flick for the rest of your life…go.
Hmmmm, punch myself for not dropping that line with Nick, sponsor Tom, and watch level 1′s Real Time.
Any shameless self-promotion, or plugs you wanna throw out there?
Thanks a lot, Mike! Looking forward to seeing what you guys have in store at SIA!
