In an industry based on adaptation and reliance of weather systems, defining the success of a brand is to some degree abstract. Involvement and establishment of community is in large part what allows a brand to have an impact on ski culture. There are some brands that have without a doubt accomplished this, and the path of doing so is not always of shared methods, as some start in their living rooms, some in their garages, and some in their basements. Each one offers individuality, warranting attention for both the people behind the scenes, and their success as a small company within an undoubtedly difficult industry. ‘Inside the brand’ is a way to shed light and gain insight to the inner workings of small, community driven, and well deserving brands in skiing.
Vishnu Freeski has doubled every year since its inception in 2014. The ski and clothing brand based out of Salt Lake City, Utah, is known for their unique personality and ability to inspire a niche of freeskiing. It is owned by Emmett Davis, though it is operated as a group with all of the affiliated riders and friends, making it a truly skier-run company.
Although many people attribute the growth of Vishnu to the marketing strategies used, “the reason we continue to grow is because our product lives up to the hype and our focus on customer service is second to none. Everything else (social media, videos, etc.) is important but ultimately secondary. If you are starting a brand yourself, please print out those last two sentences and staple them to your forehead.” Davis explains.
Originally Vishnu was co-founded with Davis and a
“At the time we had a flow deal from a major global ski brand. They would ask us advice on how to sell more park skis, accept our input, and then totally ignore it.”
Frustrated and disenfranchised, they used money they had saved to buy the materials to make a pair of skis in a friend's garage, and Vishnu was born.
The values of the brand have not strayed, something that is particularly respectable. The goal was based on legacy, with the hope that a team of creative skiers and content reflecting such would encourage kids that “they don’t have to be able to do double cork 1080’s to have fun skiing, they can go do tricks on a park bench in one inch of snow and it’s just as fun and just as valid”. Davis having roots in the midwest certainly drove this vision, “growing up in Wisconsin, I was often discouraged that the skiing I did in my backyard was "stupid" or "didn't count" because I wasn't hitting a 60 foot jump with huge lights and a crane and a $25,000 budget. I always try to remember how that felt.”
The uniting theme among the Vishnu team members is not about thrifted kits and style turns, but rather the desire for self expression through skiing. They set goals and aim to achieve them accordingly, regardless of money, followers, or image.
“The people affiliated with our brand would be doing this kind of skiing regardless, they just happen to have support from us.”
That’s not to say the thrift store doesn’t play a role in the brand. With encouragement from team member and friend Parviz Faiz, Vishnu Items was born. With all of the income from the ski sales going directly back into the brand, Vishnu Items is what keeps food in Davis’s fridge. Taking such a creative approach to the merch end of product was a natural progression.
“I have always been a DIY clothing maker person, from crocheting hats in middle school to resewing tall hoodies in high school when having knee length sweatshirts was hot.”
“The clothing hustle started out of necessity; I was working at a restaurant and hating it, I realized I could get around the high barriers to entry in the clothing world (minimum orders, expensive printing costs) by buying interesting clothing items from the thrift store and making one of a kind garments in my living room. It happened to coincide with the vintage trend on social media that is still going on and here we are.”
It isn’t just a source of income, but also a source of satisfaction.
“Seeing one of a kind v items out in the wild is so so sick. I made a seperate instagram for it because I didn’t want to annoy @vishnufreeski followers that aren't clothing nerds like me. Follow @vishnuitems I am hungry please help me.”
When asked about the image of the brand matching up with the hot topic of “new wave” skiing, Davis explains that he doesn’t “personally push the idea of it”, because in his opinion, “there is nothing that “new” about it”.
He goes on to say that “Eric Pollard was buttering around with his hands on the ground in like 2004, same with Garrett Russell and many, many others. Hell, even someone "mainstream" like Adam Delorme has elements of his skiing that would count as "new wave." Human beings have a natural need to categorize things to understand them better and that's just the way it is. Regardless, if that's what people want to associate our brand with I'm all for it. If you identify with Vishnu and you like our skis and content, you can call us whatever you want.” In the long run, skiing is skiing, and labeling the different facets of it is up to personal opinion.
Those same personal opinions are consistently thrown in the direction of Vishnu, one of the recipients of such often being their topsheet graphics. Vishnu has received criticism for their skis looking like “stock photos”, and lacking the mainstream aesthetics other companies use. Davis describes that as something he hated most about the ski industry when they started.
“More often than not, topsheet graphics from major ski brands amount to little more than what I like to call "Illustrator soup." The amount of space on a topsheet is very very small compared to something like a canvas in a museum, but designers are still trying to cram a canvas worth of information into a tiny rectangle. Generally, it ends up looking overly busy and forced.”
As a result, Vishnu opted for simple, eye catching graphics that they created from real life.
“Some people love them, and some people absolutely hate them and aren't shy about letting us know. Negative comments means you made someone feel enough to type out a response. People see content they don't like all the time and say nothing about it. But if they take the time to write out how bad you suck, that means on some base level, they care.”
Vishnu continues to grow as a brand, adding a new ski to the line up, and continuing to put out content from skiers most people haven’t heard of.
Vishnu Freeski has doubled every year since its inception in 2014. The ski and clothing brand based out of Salt Lake City, Utah, is known for their unique personality and ability to inspire a niche of freeskiing. It is owned by Emmett Davis, though it is operated as a group with all of the affiliated riders and friends, making it a truly skier-run company.
Although many people attribute the growth of Vishnu to the marketing strategies used, “the reason we continue to grow is because our product lives up to the hype and our focus on customer service is second to none. Everything else (social media, videos, etc.) is important but ultimately secondary. If you are starting a brand yourself, please print out those last two sentences and staple them to your forehead.” Davis explains.
Originally Vishnu was co-founded with Davis and a
“At the time we had a flow deal from a major global ski brand. They would ask us advice on how to sell more park skis, accept our input, and then totally ignore it.”
Frustrated and disenfranchised, they used money they had saved to buy the materials to make a pair of skis in a friend's garage, and Vishnu was born.
The values of the brand have not strayed, something that is particularly respectable. The goal was based on legacy, with the hope that a team of creative skiers and content reflecting such would encourage kids that “they don’t have to be able to do double cork 1080’s to have fun skiing, they can go do tricks on a park bench in one inch of snow and it’s just as fun and just as valid”. Davis having roots in the midwest certainly drove this vision, “growing up in Wisconsin, I was often discouraged that the skiing I did in my backyard was "stupid" or "didn't count" because I wasn't hitting a 60 foot jump with huge lights and a crane and a $25,000 budget. I always try to remember how that felt.”
The uniting theme among the Vishnu team members is not about thrifted kits and style turns, but rather the desire for self expression through skiing. They set goals and aim to achieve them accordingly, regardless of money, followers, or image.
“The people affiliated with our brand would be doing this kind of skiing regardless, they just happen to have support from us.”
That’s not to say the thrift store doesn’t play a role in the brand. With encouragement from team member and friend Parviz Faiz, Vishnu Items was born. With all of the income from the ski sales going directly back into the brand, Vishnu Items is what keeps food in Davis’s fridge. Taking such a creative approach to the merch end of product was a natural progression.
“I have always been a DIY clothing maker person, from crocheting hats in middle school to resewing tall hoodies in high school when having knee length sweatshirts was hot.”
“The clothing hustle started out of necessity; I was working at a restaurant and hating it, I realized I could get around the high barriers to entry in the clothing world (minimum orders, expensive printing costs) by buying interesting clothing items from the thrift store and making one of a kind garments in my living room. It happened to coincide with the vintage trend on social media that is still going on and here we are.”
It isn’t just a source of income, but also a source of satisfaction.
“Seeing one of a kind v items out in the wild is so so sick. I made a seperate instagram for it because I didn’t want to annoy @vishnufreeski followers that aren't clothing nerds like me. Follow @vishnuitems I am hungry please help me.”
When asked about the image of the brand matching up with the hot topic of “new wave” skiing, Davis explains that he doesn’t “personally push the idea of it”, because in his opinion, “there is nothing that “new” about it”.
He goes on to say that “Eric Pollard was buttering around with his hands on the ground in like 2004, same with Garrett Russell and many, many others. Hell, even someone "mainstream" like Adam Delorme has elements of his skiing that would count as "new wave." Human beings have a natural need to categorize things to understand them better and that's just the way it is. Regardless, if that's what people want to associate our brand with I'm all for it. If you identify with Vishnu and you like our skis and content, you can call us whatever you want.” In the long run, skiing is skiing, and labeling the different facets of it is up to personal opinion.
Those same personal opinions are consistently thrown in the direction of Vishnu, one of the recipients of such often being their topsheet graphics. Vishnu has received criticism for their skis looking like “stock photos”, and lacking the mainstream aesthetics other companies use. Davis describes that as something he hated most about the ski industry when they started.
“More often than not, topsheet graphics from major ski brands amount to little more than what I like to call "Illustrator soup." The amount of space on a topsheet is very very small compared to something like a canvas in a museum, but designers are still trying to cram a canvas worth of information into a tiny rectangle. Generally, it ends up looking overly busy and forced.”
As a result, Vishnu opted for simple, eye catching graphics that they created from real life.
“Some people love them, and some people absolutely hate them and aren't shy about letting us know. Negative comments means you made someone feel enough to type out a response. People see content they don't like all the time and say nothing about it. But if they take the time to write out how bad you suck, that means on some base level, they care.”
Vishnu continues to grow as a brand, adding a new ski to the line up, and continuing to put out content from skiers most people haven’t heard of.
