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Bode Miller Joins Crosson Ski

skipress

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Thanks for that, obviously not Ken!

Way back when I did some work with RD, Mike Brunetto and the connection with Tim Kohl [with Swan goggles in the mix] and Mark Archer. I don't remember Ken but it was at the time when RD was on the cusp between garage skis and a 'brand'.
 
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Way back when I did some work with RD, Mike Brunetto and the connection with Tim Kohl [with Swan goggles in the mix] and Mark Archer. I don't remember Ken but it was at the time when RD was on the cusp between garage skis and a 'brand'.
RD (Reseach Dynamics) wasn't a garage brand, I really don't recall any brands being built in garages back then or what the smaller brands were classified....other than smaller brands. Research Dynamics was more a ski marketer, along the lines of Pre (Precision). these were brands that used their industry connections/relationships to get skis built in factories like Head and K2 to their specs or used old (non inline) molds with their graphics on them.

I am not sure what the first "Garage Brand" was and when this trend started. There were brands that were successful as a smaller startup like DPS or Icelantic and many who have fallen by the wayside, SkiLogik and Ramp are two that come to mind...there are many more, too many to even recall but most were not even around long enough and didn't make a indelible mark on my memory.
 

skipress

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RD (Reseach Dynamics) wasn't a garage brand, I really don't recall any brands being built in garages back then or what the smaller brands were classified....other than smaller brands. Research Dynamics was more a ski marketer, along the lines of Pre (Precision). these were brands that used their industry connections/relationships to get skis built in factories like Head and K2 to their specs or used old (non inline) molds with their graphics on them.

I am not sure what the first "Garage Brand" was and when this trend started. There were brands that were successful as a smaller startup like DPS or Icelantic and many who have fallen by the wayside, SkiLogik and Ramp are two that come to mind...there are many more, too many to even recall but most were not even around long enough and didn't make a indelible mark on my memory.

RD really did start as a 'garage brand' - they were made in a garage, then a workshop in Ketchum and they really were one of a kind, hand built stuff. This article gives the early days and name checks Ken Crosson referenced above:

brunetto.png


I was involved after the garage days, when Tim Kohl came into the company changed it into a 'brand' . Mike was there as a sort of figurehead, albeit an influential one. RD really became, as with Pre a sort of branding exercise [of the sort that lots of smaller brands are today - go to a factory Y with a graphic and order 10 000 of model X by length]. I have a feeling they were mainly Atomic but stand to be corrected on that.

Tim also developed a relationship with Swan and they sold their goggles and Poles in the USA. Mark Archer was involved on the bike side - this a long time ago but I think they started as RD bikes with Archer then starting up ARC 1 [one?] bikes much to the annoyance of atomic.

Someone will know better than I, but I seem to remember Tim previously being involved with Scott [or perhaps Pre] and leaving. RD [with Tim, who I remember as a fun guy] etc struck me as an effort to create a sort of Scott version 2.
 
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ted

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Thanks again for that!

Sorry for continuing thread drift, but the new Crosson seems to be Similar to the early RDs, Prepreg and high end cores.

My girlfriend at the time worked at Bahnhof Sports in Park City where they had the All Mountain and Powder Skis. I lusted over the all mountain ski. Something about the shape flex and lightness was appealing as I was skiing a lot of backcountry at the time. This was in the days of skinny tele skis and I couldn't quite comprehend going as wide as the Powder ski. But the price was high and I waffled. An employee snaked the All Mountains and a Patroller ended up with the Powder ski. Both were happy. I eventually bought a pair of RD SLS that were made in Yugoslavia. Elan, I'm sure. They had a similar shape and a very light balsa like core and were fun powder skis. The later RDs were much more serious metal skis and I'd agree that they were likely built by Atomic.
 

skipress

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Thanks again for that!

Sorry for continuing thread drift, but the new Crosson seems to be Similar to the early RDs, Prepreg and high end cores.

My girlfriend at the time worked at Bahnhof Sports in Park City where they had the All Mountain and Powder Skis. I lusted over the all mountain ski. Something about the shape flex and lightness was appealing as I was skiing a lot of backcountry at the time. This was in the days of skinny tele skis and I couldn't quite comprehend going as wide as the Powder ski. But the price was high and I waffled. An employee snaked the All Mountains and a Patroller ended up with the Powder ski. Both were happy. I eventually bought a pair of RD SLS that were made in Yugoslavia. Elan, I'm sure. They had a similar shape and a very light balsa like core and were fun powder skis. The later RDs were much more serious metal skis and I'd agree that they were likely built by Atomic.

Crosson > RD probably depends on the 'when', the early RD stuff was really handbuilt, the later a bit more badge engineered. Crosson seems a halfway house, no doubt a great product, buying in some bits [cores for example], others in house.

Now you mention it some of the early stuff I saw might have been elan sourced too.

Should I ask how the GF panned out ... :) ?
 

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That Blister podcast (from August 2019) aside, I have not seen any reviews on Blister about Crosson, and a Google search show only one review on New Schoolers.

I just re-listened to the podcast, and it’s almost painful listening to the founder, Chase E. He’s not a compelling spokesman, maybe that‘s what they need Bode for.

I know nothing about them other than that, and keep in mind they are HQ’d and manufactured about an hour away from where I live. You’d think they’d be more visible, but there are no stores around carrying Crosson, per their website they are in Gorsuch stores and other high-end retailers.
 

ted

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Crosson > RD probably depends on the 'when', the early RD stuff was really handbuilt, the later a bit more badge engineered. Crosson seems a halfway house, no doubt a great product, buying in some bits [cores for example], others in house.

Now you mention it some of the early stuff I saw might have been elan sourced too.

Should I ask how the GF panned out ... :) ?

Fun for awhile but ultimately a mismatch.
 

fatbob

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So did this news ever break properly or was it [political satire warning] fake news?
 

skipress

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I ve reached out, had a reply but no confirmation.
 

David

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What happened to his ski company? Is Bode even still relevant? Probably came cheap.
 

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Dunno, but to me, the greats of the sport stay on top the rest of their lives, and after. A big deal. (I'll resist the urge to start listing them, and they include Bode Miller.)
While Bode Miller will continue to be recognizable to ski enthusiasts that frequent ski forums, I am willing to bet that among the general skiing public, the names of stars of MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL (in Canada and US cities with teams) are more recognizable than WC and Olympic Skiing Champions such as Bode Miller or Lindsay Vonn or Michaela Shiffrin.
 

ski otter 2

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Actually, unfortunately, the U.S. general public, and even the U.S. general skiing public, has little to do with it, when it comes to ski racing, and except for during the Bob Beattie wide world of sports years, never has.

Among the general public here, at least in the U.S., skiing itself pretty much does not exist, let alone competitive skiing. For high school and college sports, it exists only in ski towns, mostly, if there. T.V. and printed news here has always mostly ignored following ski racing in general, touching on only the top few winners, mostly come the Olympic years. FIS standings? World cup standings? Not reported anywhere in the media in the U.S. except in the most fitful, shallow manner. So again, the general public, even the general skiing public, at least in the U.S., has little to do with it. Not in the picture, when it comes to competitive skiing. Not relevant.

(But in Alpine Europe, a completely different story, in many places - the places with general public that are relevant to ski racing. Austria, Switzerland, Alpine France, Italy and Germany, also Nordic countries - Sweden, Norway. In those places, in high schools and colleges skiing is on the same status level as soccer - or as high school and college football or basketball in this country. In those countries, skiers are a big deal. Right up there with favorite beer pubs. And the greats of skiing there, relatively speaking, are on a par with NFL and NBA stars, and retired greats, here. Semi-permanently.

Yeah, it's a smaller pond. But it's still a big deal. In much of the European Union.)
 
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fatbob

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It's a bigger deal in those alpine countries because alternate sports just aren't at the internationally high profile level - so Austria and CH yes skiing probably at least equals domestic soccer, hockey, handball etc in media coverage. But I bet the Paris media doesn't give as much attention to Worley etc as Mbappe, Neymar and even Ntamack.

Skiing as the opposite problem globally to the big sports followed by millions and billions who do not actively play - not even the majority of particpants are really interested in following it closely save for Olympics. Guess its like fishing or climbing or running in that respect.
 

ski otter 2

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It's a bigger deal in those alpine countries because alternate sports just aren't at the internationally high profile level - so Austria and CH yes skiing probably at least equals domestic soccer, hockey, handball etc in media coverage. But I bet the Paris media doesn't give as much attention to Worley etc as Mbappe, Neymar and even Ntamack.

Skiing as the opposite problem globally to the big sports followed by millions and billions who do not actively play - not even the majority of particpants are really interested in following it closely save for Olympics. Guess its like fishing or climbing or running in that respect.
In terms of why racers like Bode Miller will have "hall of fame" type staying power in some quarters, the above quote seems to contain a certain minimizing, though it makes good sense. For example, there is a lot of terrain - and population - between the extremes of Paris and "the Alpine countries," including much of southern Germany, northern Italy, eastern France and large areas in Norway and Sweden. Many of these places are fanatical about competitive skiing; and the size and prominence of other sports alternatives is more a cultural difference than anything. For example, Munich kids traditionally choose soccer and Alpine skiing to go crazy about and have as their jock high school sports, based on their own preferences and traditions. They get good at the sports they like best, that their fathers and mothers also liked. And those sports produce their heroes, including top soccer players - and skiers.

A lot of rural areas produce top ski racers. But Innsbruck, Salzburg, Munich, Geneva, Stockholm, Bern, Zurich, are just a few cities where high school gate skiing seems to be a big deal. (Not sure about cities in Alpine/northern Italy, but there must be some that are similarly fervent about competitive skiing.) There are also many other cities a little bit farther out from the Alps that are much more interested in competitive skiing than, say, folks in San Francisco, Denver or Boston. For example, unlike in the U.S., people on the slopes there often want race-like skis, in imitation of their skiing heroes. Jean-Claude Killy used to be modestly mobbed for years in Turin, Frankfurt, Milan, or even Paris or Rome, etc. (in addition to some other French cities) in ways no climber, fisherman or possibly even runner might be, with so much staying power (though there are places where running is as big a deal, seems like).
.
Also, each of the three activities you mentioned is smaller and/or more isolated, at a competitive level, except for top running programs maybe. Don't hold your breath, so far, for mountain/rock/wall climbing; or fly/bass/tuna fishing, to field popular national teams, make the Olympics, or fill high school teams with the top jocks in school. It's this kind of enthusiasm that has made skiing such a big deal in a large core European area, that lifts up U.S. racers too with the semi-big-time reality of the European racing traditions, in some ways like baseball or football hall of fame traditions here.
 

fatbob

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A lot of rural areas produce top ski racers. But Innsbruck, Salzburg, Munich, Geneva, Stockholm, Bern, Zurich, are just a few cities where high school gate skiing seems to be a big deal.

I agree with much of what you write but I don't think the cities you have cited constitute much of the EU or Europe. Even within Austria I expect the citizens of Vienna and Graz to care much less about skiing i.e. the interest is strongly geographically localized and in that respect a bit like the US - Vail Daily gives extensive coverage to ski racing, Denver Post decent but less than a Von Miller press conference, USA Today a sidebar.

It might be the case that Schiffrin probably runs on more ads in Austria than in the US - quite common to see her pimping watches on bus shelters in the Tyrol, but she's still minor league in recogniton compared to the Messis and Bolts of the world. Europe has a huge population of active skiers but it's mainly a vacation activity not a sport to them. So ask an average skier now about Bode and you'd probably get "crazy american, wild man" etc but not a lot of interest in what he is up to now. And maybe that's the way it should be, no point in continuing to eulogise yesterday's stars. They can be revisted in nostalgic clip shows and GOAT debates but no need to hog the limelight now.
 

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