4FRNT began as a series of discussions between Matt Sterbenz, Joe Stumpf, Steele Spence, Luke Van Valin, Eric Hjorleifson. They talked about the future of skiing and, specifically, freeride skiing. At that time there were a lot of freestyle skis in production which had ideal shapes for racing or moguls and fat skis had yet to be introduced. This left a gaping hole in the industry for 4FRNT founders to create new freeride shapes for their mountain playground. There was some struggle with the ski sponsors, but 4FRNT was determined to take skiing to another level and usher it into the future, which was in danger of being absorbed by snowboarding. This small group of individuals decided to be change agents for skiing and ultimately forfeited their previous arrangements with their ski sponsors. It was scary, but they had to drive the sport’s progression at a quicker rate. Creating a company dedicated to freeride skiing was their singular vision.
The content below originated from a phone interview with Matt Sterbenz, 4FRNT’s Sales and Marketing Manager:
- Team Driven - 4FRNT is a rider owned company, not just a marketing ploy that is often used in the industry. Every pro athlete on 4FRNT's squad (Eric Hjorleifson, Niklas Karlstrom, Matt Sterbenz, Vincent Dorion and Steele Spence) owns the direction of the brand, marketing initiatives, and ski research and development. Through this ownership they have a voting interest in how the company is conducted from marketing to future product innovation and distribution. The goal of 4FRNT is to remain grounded in their original vision even though they are growing rapidly. The 4FRNT team is made up of elite athletes, but they are still approachable and act as ambassadors of the sport and guide the youth coming up behind them.
4FRNT doesn't push and promote their skis to be pro models in the common use of the term. Instead, they focus on producing signature skis for their athletes who have a lot more involvement in the process than developing graphics for the top sheets. As mentioned above each athlete is responsible for the research and development of their skis from the shape, flex, construction, and, finally, the look of the skis. It is up to the individual team members to make sure their ski comes out the way they want it to from concept to completion. This is the primary reason why 4FRNT encourages skiers to really think about the term "pro model" and determine if it really is different than another ski in a company's line-up. Pro models need to have a unique shape, feel, style. Because of this 4FRNT has decided to develop signature skis beyond the pretty graphic. Each signature ski is a symbol of the athlete that rides it.
- Freeride - 4FRNT is committed to developing the freeride skiing segment by focusing solely on freeride skiing. 4FRNT desires to be the first ski company that pops into peoples' minds when freeride is mentioned. The company was founded by a crew of professional skiers that all looked at the mountain differently. Freeride is more than just twin tips even though new school skiing is commonly associated with twin tip skis. Twin tips are there to help you ski switch, but you don't have to ski backwards.
4FRNT believes that the evolution of freeride skiing is going to be the standard for recreational skiing in the future. It attracts more beginners because there isn't a harsh competitive push to race down the mountain as fast as possible. Instead, rookies to the sport are attracted to the mountain as an entire playground not just the terrain park. Freeride skiing allows participants to join a small, but growing contingent, that is not focused on one particular style of skiing. Freeride is beyond novelty and is now gaining a whole new generation of rebels who don't mind cruising around the mountain creating something from nothing, laughing, and having a good time.
4FRNT Ams Team rider and evo team rider, Erich Kunz, has this to say about 4FRNT:
The first thing that attracted me to 4FRNT was their image. They were a part of the first wave of ski companies to break into the industry and create a true identity for skiers. While conventional companies cater to the easy money making markets, 4FRNT went out on a limb to provide products designed exclusively for the smallest niche in the industry. The performance of their product has been unprecedented since their inception and has yet to falter even while experiementing with new concepts in shape and construction.
Beyond that 4FRNT is always giving back to the community; from aiding in the creation of organizations such as Stand Strong Again, a "non-profit organization dedicated to helping athletes with spinal cord injuries", to being the main ski sponsor at Camp of Champions, a ski and snowboard summer camp in Whistler, Canada. Be it pioneering a new facet in the ski industry, helping kids with their first trick or even assissting an athlete's return to normalcy after a devastating injury, 4FRNT is down for the cause from every angle.
|
|
