I have no idea if this is an active rumor, but if not we’re going to start it: Does Skullcandy own Surface now?

It would be a great rumor if it were true, however, we are not owned by Skullcandy.

How did this collaboration come to be? What is the relationship between the brands?

The collaboration has been a long time coming. We have been discussing it with Skullcandy for the last year and finally decided to pull the trigger and make it happen. The relationships there all tie back to skiing. I have been good friends with Skyler Gillette (Core Sales) for a lot of years and ski with a bunch of folks up there like Dan Levine, Steph, Zack Leader, Uda and Jeff Earl…all really good people.

We’ve seen Level 1 and PBP headphones co-branded with Skullcandy, but what’s unique about the Surface collaboration?

Our collabo with Skullcandy is actually and entire line of co-branded products, skis, clothing, poles, accessories. I believe the PBP and Level 1 deal was strictly caps for the Icon headphones. Another differentiator is the fact that our collabo products will be sold through all of our channels here in the USA, virtually every country in Europe as well as Asia, NZ, Australia and South America. It’s not just strictly a promotional program. This is the first collabo of this magnitude in freeski.

After reading back through the press release, I’m not sure when these skis will be released. Will they be in shops this fall/winter?

The skis will debut in Windell’s Summer Camp the entire last week in July (Session 6) where we will be hosting on and off snow activities all week and then celebrating the collabo with a live performance from Del tha Funkee Homosapien on Friday July 30^th on the Windells compound. The skis will be available for consumer and retail purchase in September sometime.

Who is designing the graphics for the partnership models?

All design work has been from Surface in-house designer, Jay Eichhorst.

Are there any plans to extend the partnership beyond this season?

We will carry the collabo through the season and show these and new collabo products at SIA in January and also have them on display at the Skullcandy booth at ISPO as well.

Surface has a pretty strong brand identity within skiing, how do you think it meshes with Skullcandy’s much bigger profile?

Skullcandy hasn’t been that big for that long. It wasn’t that long ago when they were on the tram at Snowbird giving away ridiculous amounts of stickers and those first round of Skullcany Links to everyone on the tram. Their growth has been recent and with a lot of hard work and smart choices made along the way, similar to Surface. A lot of people think Surface is a new brand, but we are actually going into our 7^th season this year. By teaming up with Skullcandy it adds a level of legitimacy to our brand and gives us one more creative outlet to use.

There’s been some mention of the shoddy quality of Skullcandy headphones…what has been your experience with their product?

I think I know where you’ve seen some of those comments. My opinion there is that everything breaks, especially electronics. A lot of it depends on the user and how much they appreciate and take care of their possessions, no matter what brand it is. After owning a skateboard retail store for a number of years, I know that a lot of kids in our market are actually proud of breaking their equipment, whether it’s a skate deck, snowboard or a pair of park skis. It gives them the feeling that they were crushing it harder than everyone else. As we get older and actually have to pay for things ourselves, it seems like we start taking care of our gear a little more and making it last. I have 20+ different pairs of Skullcandy headphones in my house and have never had a problem with them breaking. On another note, I do know that Skullcandy was the first core audio brand in the world and has paved the way for brands like Matix, Nixon, WESC, Siege and more to create a headphone division within their companies. Their products are trusted and used by such musicians as Jay Z and Roc Nation, Snoop Dogg, Thrice, Del and many more world renowned artists.

Any chance that this foreshadows a future leap by the Surface brands into the audio market?

No, we have enough on our plates with Surface and Joystick and now launching an apparel brand this fall, Causwell. I am content with my new Roc Nation Aviators I have just acquired.

1. Big clothing

2. Rap music

3. Simon Dumont

But that being said, I have a nifty login here at BroBomb and damn it, I’m using it. Enjoy the 2010 Team America JOSS Edit. God knows Jon won’t.

-Rogge

When BroBomb gets a redesign, and I have a separate “News” page, you’ll be able to scroll through every press release that you already heard about from some insider on NS. Until then, I’m going to stick with the interesting ones. The people who brought us “Hot Lunch” are all under one tent, and that seems like a good thing. Then there’s the related news of Joystick founder Anthony Boronowski signing with the Surface Crew (interview to come). Surface is building an empire, so you better watch your ass or you’ll be next!

Surface Acquires Joystick

 Salt Lake City, UT – December 17, 2009 – Surface Ski (www.surfaceskis.com) today announced its acquisition of Joystick Skiing (www.joystickskiing.com).  Joystick adds several ski poles and gloves that complement Surface’s line of snow skis and Causwell’s line of snow sports apparel.

“We’re really excited about bringing the Joystick brand into the Surface and Causwell family,” said Michael Schneider, manager of Surface Skis.  “We’re also stoked that we get to have Joystick with us at the SIA tradeshow in January.”

“It means a lot to me to know that Joystick will be owned and managed by people who represent and embody the brand,” commented Anthony Boronowski, Executive Director for Joystick Skiing.

About Surface

Surface Ski Collaboration, LLC is a Salt Lake City-based company that makes twin-tipped snow skis for powder, park, and pipe skiing, the fastest growing segment of the snow sports industry.  The Surface brands are Surface Skis, Causwell apparel and now Joystick poles and accessories.

BroBomb: You just got back from a shop tour of California to promote the 09/10 Surface line. How’d that go?

Mike Schneider: Overall, the trip was much needed and a great time as well. Some friends of ours were kind enough to let us stay in their place in Incline Village so I actually had a hard time leaving the Tahoe area once I settled in. I visited a few shops around that area and the response was good. People are hyped on our rocker stuff and price points. We don’t have a ski over $600.00 in our entire line and offer some good incentives and margin to our dealers. I think we did real well for our first real shop trip to CA. I also spent an afternoon over at Boreal watching the chaos take place on their landing strip of snow. I got to chill with our homey, Jason Arens, for a bit so it was great to see him and meet his crew of friends. I will most definitely be spending a lot more time in Tahoe when the snow comes in. I am pretty hyped to get to know that area this year and bring the Surface crew over to shred.

Are you noticing more interest in the park/ freeski segment of the market over past years?

For sure, park skiing especially is blowing up and is so sick to see take place. Park skiing is so accessible to every kid no matter where he lives and I think that’s a large part of why its doing so well. Not many of us get to shred snowmobiles and heliʼs in obscure places all the time so we have to make the most of what we have, whether its sessioning a flat bar in Michigan or spinning laps in Park City, it’s all good. Super pleased on where skiing is headed right now.

Are shop owners catching on? When I was a kid I remember trying to convince my local shop that park skiing wasn’t just a fad. Are you finding that they’re already convinced of its staying power now?
The smart shop owners and those who are on the pulse (or have employees who are) have already committed buying dollars to freestyle brands and its not nearly has hard to convince them that freestyle is here to stay and exploding.

If you were writing the Surface biography, what would be the first paragraph?

We use the phrase, “we live the life we work for” all the time around our group. This holds true for Surface. We spend, and have spent hundreds of hours per week working on improving the brands direction and legitimacy. We have some amazing people contributing to the brand, most of them have never been paid. Ski photographer Adam Clark has contributed so much to our brand and continues to do so. Our premier athlete, Blake Nyman has been with us since day one. Itʼs been cool to watch him come up and gain respect from all types of skiers– from Tanner Hall to Eric Pollard. The key has been perseverance from all involved in the brand. The brand was started by my wife and I on, literally, a few hundred bucks and an idea. We’ve just built from there.

What’s the best thing about being an independent ski manufacturer right now?

The best thing about being independent (and small) is the fact that I get to have a hand in every single aspect of the business and learn so much on the day to day. Another good thing is the fact that we have total creative freedom and can fire off ideas and new projects like its going out of style. Only a portion of them materialize but I think its the constant flow of creative that makes me want to wake up each morning and work on the Surface brand.

And I bet you saw this coming…whatʼs the worst thing about it?

Totally. For us, it’s been manufacturing. Making skis is not easy, but even more difficult than that is obtaining legit distribution. Anyone can start a ski brand and make skis, but to really create a brand that is taken serious in the industry is a whole other challenge. And the other thing is obviously financing growth. When your brand grows at over 300% each year it gets expensive to keep up. But, I’m not complaining.

As the freeski market expands and more companies enter the fray, what will be the effect on individual marketing strategies? What will it take to rise above the crowd?

Well I could go on for a long time about this topic. I will say one thing, with brands like Surface, Armada and Moment and being so unique and marketing their brands so well, the larger brands are really going to need to learn to adapt. This sounds arrogant; however, I truly believe the above mentioned companies brand themselves better than all of the major player ski companies that run the show. There is a lot of thought and passion involved and I think that’s what is so appealing to customers buying our skis. They can sense that we care and appreciate their support. And on that note, I think that is a quality that you can continue to have no matter how many pairs of skis you sell each year, itʼs just a matter of being conscious every day you are in business.

I’ve noticed that snowboard companies are tending to adopt a certain image for their team and line of products. Do you see that happening in skiing?

I think that happens naturally sometimes within brands. Each company kind of has their own feel, regardless of how different each one of their team members are. For example, when we were just getting rolling we took a lot of shit for being the tight pants kids and I always thought that was hilarious. A lot has changed since then though.

How did you put your team together? For the kids out there trying to get sponsored, what influences the decision most?

I think this kind of ties into what I said before. What I have done is just tried to find the skiers who work extremely hard and have infectious personalities. I think everyone on our program could tell the Surface story to a shop buyer or customer and get it right on. We are actually a really close group and I personally speak to most everyone on the team multiple times a week. Every one of them is welcome to walk into the office any time of day. Blake Nyman has been with us since, literally, day one. You don’t see that kind of loyalty very often nowadays. We have a pretty special crew of athletes at Surface and it’s something money can’t buy. For up and coming skiers trying to get sponsored, I suggest you learn patience. Try to set yourself apart and find a niche where you can shine. And most important, attitude is everything. Don’t get caught up in all the crap and just ski as hard and as often as you can, no matter the conditions. If you do those things right, chances are you will be noticed by an area rep or brand before you ever make a “sponsor me” tape.

The reverse camber movement is probably the biggest change in ski technology since sidecut became common. Any guesses as to what will be next?

Rocker is not going anywhere. My guess is that there will be different variations of rocker, similar to our 3-Stage Rocker Technology, that will allow skiers to feel different feelings while shredding pow.

Thanks so much Mike. We can’t wait to see some edits of the Surface team in action this winter.