Mount Bohemia Sues Local Business

Mount Bohemia is suing a local business over merch.

Below is lifted from the GoFundMe for legal defense.

"Mount Bohemia is a geologic formation, (a mountain), that overlooks the lake and community of Lac La Belle, Michigan. The recent history of this mountain’s name can be traced back to the 1860s, when the Mount Bohemia mining company prospected for copper minerals on and in its slopes. For at least the past 40-years, many local businesses, including restaurants and gift shops, have used the name and likeness of Mount Bohemia, (not the ski resort), to sell novelty T-shirts, Sweatshirts, etc… to tourists and locals, alike.

Now come the owner(s)/operator(s) of the Mount Bohemia Ski Resort, seeking to trademark the iconic, geologic formation, known as Mount Bohemia; and, in doing so, have sued Troy and Cathy Westcott, seeking to block them from selling any novelty T-shirts, Sweatshirts, or other gift shop items that mention the name or depict the likeness of this well-established, Keweenaw County, geologic formation. Troy and Cathy’s gift shop items and apparel have never used the likeness nor the logo of the Mount Bohemia Ski Resort."

Some of the Merch in question:

1017155.jpeg

1017156.jpeg

Some amazing takes by Boho:

1017157.jpeg

1017159.jpeg

wE bRiNg BuSiNeSs tO tHe ArEa So We CaN sUe.

All in all a shit situation and the Trust Fund Baby owner of Boho is still a douchebag.

Link to GoFundMe for legal support if you want to help out: https://www.gofundme.com/f/a-david-versus-goliath-story

**This thread was edited on Nov 8th 2021 at 3:26:22pm

**This thread was edited on Nov 8th 2021 at 3:27:23pm
 
Oh and they only filed for the Trademark last year after announcing their own general store to sell merch. They operated for 19 years without the Trademark.
 
14343007:Static said:
Vail tried this same shit when they acquired Park City.

Yeah that didn't go well at all for Vail and they bailed. The PC/vail situation was a bit different as it is the name of the town and there are many business with PC in the name.

Is Boho the only business that uses Mount Bohemia in their name? I'm not sure if these small businesses will have much they can actually do, I think the stance of "were small business that bring people to town and we'll just close/leave" is moronic, the mountain clearly brings people to the town....
 
OP didn't Lonnie ban you from their IG comments a year or two back? I miss you doggin them in the comments.
 
14343015:r00kie said:
OP didn't Lonnie ban you from their IG comments a year or two back? I miss you doggin them in the comments.

Nah they claimed they would ban me from the resort but I still bought a pass the 2 following seasons.
 
Also, why would a company air their grievances/legal issues on their social media for all to see? That's just dumb. Keep it on the down low and the only people who hear about it are locals who aren't even the target consumer. Now all the out of towners know and are siding against them. Boho marketing is a train wreck yet somehow they have a cult following as a customer base that has grown exponentially the last 5 years.
 
Lonnie seems to be great at becoming hated in any community he is a part of.

These are the Tldr versions, from memory. Not going to take the time to go back through the shit show that is boho pr. To my knowledge, this is mostly accurate... but to defend myself from lonnies lawyers I will say that this is not necessarily fact... and to steal from the fox news legal team "given Lonelys reputation, any reasonable viewer 'arrive with an appropriate amount of skepticism' about the statement he makes.

Chapter 1-Pretty boy Adam and the "Bo-Hoes"

A few years back, the old social guy for Boho posted a picture of a scantily clad chick in the infamous boho hot tub, (with or without her consent I can't remember) with the caption "we need more Bo-Hoes at Boho" to the official insta. The response from boho after the shitstorm was a half-hearted apology and then a parody boho tv episode about adam apologizing. This plays into the next chapter.

Chapter 2- Dude Stew

A man and his family had been doing a big family meet up at boho ( extended family). He loved it, they loved it, and he figured for one year he would make t-shirts for the whole family. So he goes and makes a few, without any boho branding. It was very well done (If I remember correctly the guy was a graphic designer) and depicted a drawing of the infamous boho hotub, with monkeys sitting in it and Vern (Drawn as a person) stirring it with the caption "Dude stew" a joke about how the larges hotub in the midwest is always filled with greasy dudes.

The response from Boho? Lonnie calling the guy out, by name on the official boho instagram (10k followers) with a caption saying that he is banned from the resort until further notice, and that he needed to call boho immediately. This resulted in the guy taking down everything about his t-shirts.

Chapter 3-The Lift Lie

This ones pretty simple. Biggest pow day of the season, but some high winds. Many were apprehensive about the lifts being open. I called 30 minutes before opening. "oh yeah they will be running". Insta page said so too, right before opening. Suddenly, we arrive, and the lifts are both totally out of commission due to "high winds" (probably wouldn't be an issue if there chairs were actually functional".

So it was either go home, hike or very conveniently for that day, pay something in the realm of 5-10$ for a cat ride up to the top.

This devolved into a huge social media shit show and Lonnie threatening to ban people who were critical of boho from the resort, while also saying that people who worked at or skied at Ripley that commented (which is most of the locals up here) were "competitors trying to take his business down" or something like that.

In Closing

These were some of the bigger boho bullshit moments, but there are plenty of other small ones that have occurred over the 5 years I've been living up here.

Boho is a unique place, has some of if not the best skiing in the midwest, and is dirt cheap. But man is lonnie a headass.

More Lonnie Lore Below
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_Glieberman
 
Also, to note. Boho (as in the ski resort) has been selling their own merch for years, and there has never been an issue with any local businesses to my knowledge.
 
Why do some businesses even feel the need to do this? I imagine merch sales would be pretty marginal in terms of boho's revenue anyway...
 
14343044:hi_vis360 said:
this is why we need ski resorts to be publicly run and funded and not controlled by a random rich guy

That's Vail Resorts, so I'm not sure if thats actually what you want.
 
14343032:Lonely said:
Lonnie seems to be great at becoming hated in any community he is a part of.

These are the Tldr versions, from memory. Not going to take the time to go back through the shit show that is boho pr. To my knowledge, this is mostly accurate... but to defend myself from lonnies lawyers I will say that this is not necessarily fact... and to steal from the fox news legal team "given Lonelys reputation, any reasonable viewer 'arrive with an appropriate amount of skepticism' about the statement he makes.

Chapter 1-Pretty boy Adam and the "Bo-Hoes"

A few years back, the old social guy for Boho posted a picture of a scantily clad chick in the infamous boho hot tub, (with or without her consent I can't remember) with the caption "we need more Bo-Hoes at Boho" to the official insta. The response from boho after the shitstorm was a half-hearted apology and then a parody boho tv episode about adam apologizing. This plays into the next chapter.

Chapter 2- Dude Stew

A man and his family had been doing a big family meet up at boho ( extended family). He loved it, they loved it, and he figured for one year he would make t-shirts for the whole family. So he goes and makes a few, without any boho branding. It was very well done (If I remember correctly the guy was a graphic designer) and depicted a drawing of the infamous boho hotub, with monkeys sitting in it and Vern (Drawn as a person) stirring it with the caption "Dude stew" a joke about how the larges hotub in the midwest is always filled with greasy dudes.

The response from Boho? Lonnie calling the guy out, by name on the official boho instagram (10k followers) with a caption saying that he is banned from the resort until further notice, and that he needed to call boho immediately. This resulted in the guy taking down everything about his t-shirts.

Chapter 3-The Lift Lie

This ones pretty simple. Biggest pow day of the season, but some high winds. Many were apprehensive about the lifts being open. I called 30 minutes before opening. "oh yeah they will be running". Insta page said so too, right before opening. Suddenly, we arrive, and the lifts are both totally out of commission due to "high winds" (probably wouldn't be an issue if there chairs were actually functional".

So it was either go home, hike or very conveniently for that day, pay something in the realm of 5-10$ for a cat ride up to the top.

This devolved into a huge social media shit show and Lonnie threatening to ban people who were critical of boho from the resort, while also saying that people who worked at or skied at Ripley that commented (which is most of the locals up here) were "competitors trying to take his business down" or something like that.

In Closing

These were some of the bigger boho bullshit moments, but there are plenty of other small ones that have occurred over the 5 years I've been living up here.

Boho is a unique place, has some of if not the best skiing in the midwest, and is dirt cheap. But man is lonnie a headass.

More Lonnie Lore Below
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_Glieberman


You know, boho would make for great content in a Netflix docuseries.
 
14343050:eheath said:
That's Vail Resorts, so I'm not sure if thats actually what you want.

oh god no thats not what I meant lmao, what I'm talking about are hills that are owned by local governments. Like the ski hill I go to is owned by the town's parks and rec dept and season passes are discounted for residents. Not publicly traded giant mega corps lol
 
14343054:hi_vis360 said:
oh god no thats not what I meant lmao, what I'm talking about are hills that are owned by local governments. Like the ski hill I go to is owned by the town's parks and rec dept and season passes are discounted for residents. Not publicly traded giant mega corps lol

That works well for small rope parks (shout out Mulligans Hollow) but anything larger the non profit model rocks it, Bogus Basin being the shinning example.
 
14343055:r00kie said:
That works well for small rope parks (shout out Mulligans Hollow) but anything larger the non profit model rocks it, Bogus Basin being the shinning example.

I totally agree, different size resorts need different business models, as long as the emphasis is on helping people get outside in the winter and not profits I'm all for it
 
14343057:hi_vis360 said:
I totally agree, different size resorts need different business models, as long as the emphasis is on helping people get outside in the winter and not profits I'm all for it

Ski resorts are a business though, some non-profit resorts exist but it's hard to do outside of smaller resorts. The only way you could create a new resort/operate a resort without being a "business" would mean you would need someone to give up a ton of cash for no return, thats not a typical investment for most wealthy people.

Even if it was "state run" it would still need to at least break even for the state to consider funding it, but they'd likely want to see at least a small chunk of revenue.
 
14343062:eheath said:
Ski resorts are a business though, some non-profit resorts exist but it's hard to do outside of smaller resorts. The only way you could create a new resort/operate a resort without being a "business" would mean you would need someone to give up a ton of cash for no return, thats not a typical investment for most wealthy people.

Even if it was "state run" it would still need to at least break even for the state to consider funding it, but they'd likely want to see at least a small chunk of revenue.

It doesn't have to be at the state level the town I live in owns the ski hill. And yes of course the town gets some revenue from the hill that's how it works.

Here's my question: Why does the ski hill have to be a business? Lots of outdoor recreation spaces like hiking trails, city parks etc. are funded and maintained by taxpayer dollars. A ski resort requires more infrastructure sure, but thats what the lift ticket is for. I think everybody deserves the chance to have fun skiing in the winter at an affordable price, and to do that we need ski facilities where profit isn't the objective.
 
14343068:hi_vis360 said:
It doesn't have to be at the state level the town I live in owns the ski hill. And yes of course the town gets some revenue from the hill that's how it works.

Here's my question: Why does the ski hill have to be a business? Lots of outdoor recreation spaces like hiking trails, city parks etc. are funded and maintained by taxpayer dollars. A ski resort requires more infrastructure sure, but thats what the lift ticket is for. I think everybody deserves the chance to have fun skiing in the winter at an affordable price, and to do that we need ski facilities where profit isn't the objective.

Because all of the very expensive infrastructure would require voters to agree to it and pay for. Private investment doesn't require taxong people who may not want their money spent on such things and isolates the risk to the investor and not an entire community.
 
14343071:r00kie said:
Because all of the very expensive infrastructure would require voters to agree to it and pay for. Private investment doesn't require taxong people who may not want their money spent on such things and isolates the risk to the investor and not an entire community.

you're not wrong but It seems like you guys keep pretending that publicly owned ski hills don't exist. In the town I live in voters did agree to it and pay for it. If you're a resident you get discounted passes.

Private investment is simpler for sure but then some asshole might run the place and there's not much you can do about it.
 
14343073:hi_vis360 said:
you're not wrong but It seems like you guys keep pretending that publicly owned ski hills don't exist. In the town I live in voters did agree to it and pay for it. If you're a resident you get discounted passes.

Private investment is simpler for sure but then some asshole might run the place and there's not much you can do about it.

I'm well aware they exisit, there is one 30 minutes from my house. But, its only 4 ropes and 100 vert and hasn't changed in decades. Asking a municipality to take on the risk of running a full scale resort is not a burden taxpayers should tasked with. The majority that doesn't ski shouldn't be asked to subsidize the minority that does. Also, if the resort fails, the community is still on the hook for the money which could compromise budgets for actual government functions such as roads, schools, and parks.
 
14343073:hi_vis360 said:
you're not wrong but It seems like you guys keep pretending that publicly owned ski hills don't exist. In the town I live in voters did agree to it and pay for it. If you're a resident you get discounted passes.

Private investment is simpler for sure but then some asshole might run the place and there's not much you can do about it.

Which resorts are owned by the public? I'm unaware of these, I'm guessing they're very small, low cost establishments.

This is why I said it would only work for smaller resorts, even a medium sized resort has a shit ton of expenses every year and lift tickets alone don't get anywhere close to covering those costs. Most large resorts don't make that much money from ticket sales.

That being said, large resorts generate a SHIT TON of money, so its desirable for investors, hence why we see so much money grabbing these days.
 
14343077:r00kie said:
I'm well aware they exisit, there is one 30 minutes from my house. But, its only 4 ropes and 100 vert and hasn't changed in decades. Asking a municipality to take on the risk of running a full scale resort is not a burden taxpayers should tasked with. The majority that doesn't ski shouldn't be asked to subsidize the minority that does. Also, if the resort fails, the community is still on the hook for the money which could compromise budgets for actual government functions such as roads, schools, and parks.

well nobody is going to force you to vote for a ski hill in your town. That's my point: you would have a choice. The hill in my town is thinking about building a new lodge, but some people are against it, so it hasn't been decided yet. The town as a whole has a say. If it was a privately run mountain I'm sure they would just build it and increase ticket prices.

So you characterize parks as an "actual government function" but not ski hills? Are ski hills not just a wintertime park with more facilities? Not everyone uses the park down the street either, or the schools or roads for that matter if we're getting technical...
 
14343082:hi_vis360 said:
well nobody is going to force you to vote for a ski hill in your town. That's my point: you would have a choice. The hill in my town is thinking about building a new lodge, but some people are against it, so it hasn't been decided yet. The town as a whole has a say. If it was a privately run mountain I'm sure they would just build it and increase ticket prices.

So you characterize parks as an "actual government function" but not ski hills? Are ski hills not just a wintertime park with more facilities? Not everyone uses the park down the street either, or the schools or roads for that matter if we're getting technical...

So if I were to vote no on such a proposal, do I get a tax cut cause I don't support it? Cause if not I'd still be paying for something I didn't consent to. Maybe I just believe there are limits to what governments role is in society and you want to use it for personal interests.
 
Mount Bohemia is a great ski area but has probably the rudest staff and most stuck-up local crowd I have ever encountered, including large west coast resorts. Went there once and never ever went back.
 
14343078:eheath said:
Which resorts are owned by the public? I'm unaware of these, I'm guessing they're very small, low cost establishments.

This is why I said it would only work for smaller resorts, even a medium sized resort has a shit ton of expenses every year and lift tickets alone don't get anywhere close to covering those costs. Most large resorts don't make that much money from ticket sales.

That being said, large resorts generate a SHIT TON of money, so its desirable for investors, hence why we see so much money grabbing these days.

Off the top of my head Gunstock, NH, Camden Snow Bowl, ME, Marble Mountain NFLD. Yes they are mostly small, which is why I think gigantic resorts are the main issue in why skiing has become so unaffordable. As you point out, they need revenue from stuff other than ticket sales, which is what encourages the money grabbing you also pointed out. That's why I stick to smaller hills these days.
 
14343078:eheath said:
Which resorts are owned by the public? I'm unaware of these, I'm guessing they're very small, low cost establishments.

This is why I said it would only work for smaller resorts, even a medium sized resort has a shit ton of expenses every year and lift tickets alone don't get anywhere close to covering those costs. Most large resorts don't make that much money from ticket sales.

That being said, large resorts generate a SHIT TON of money, so its desirable for investors, hence why we see so much money grabbing these days.

The only ones I can think of are Spirit Mtn in Duluth and Mt. Spokane.
 
14343087:r00kie said:
So if I were to vote no on such a proposal, do I get a tax cut cause I don't support it? Cause if not I'd still be paying for something I didn't consent to. Maybe I just believe there are limits to what governments role is in society and you want to use it for personal interests.

I mean if you voted no but the rest of the town said yes then yeah, you would still have to pay for it. This is how taxes work dude, we all pay taxes on shit we don't support. People who don't have kids still pay taxes to fund schools. People who don't drive cars still pay taxes to fund roads. People who don't support US foreign policy still pay taxes to fund the military.

I don't see the ski hill as a personal interest, it's an area for winter recreation that lots of people can enjoy. And if it attracts people to the town, that brings in more revenue overall.

If you really hated it you could move to a different town that doesn't have a ski hill. Your choice!
 
god I love boho and it makes me so upset lonnie is such a dumbass, If I had other options I would say fuck them Im not giving them my money but like it has the best radicality to cost ratio and I cant give up good skiing just like that. like OP said its the name of the fucking mountain and has nothing to do with the resort. completely different design logos too. what the fuck, this march looks nothing similar to anything that the resort sold in the past few years. I'm just gonna donate to the cause to balance it out but goddamn, fuck lonnie, I wish the skiing wasn't so good
 
14343091:hi_vis360 said:
Off the top of my head Gunstock, NH, Camden Snow Bowl, ME, Marble Mountain NFLD. Yes they are mostly small, which is why I think gigantic resorts are the main issue in why skiing has become so unaffordable. As you point out, they need revenue from stuff other than ticket sales, which is what encourages the money grabbing you also pointed out. That's why I stick to smaller hills these days.

Some people don't have a choice where they ski/only have for-profit resorts around them. Skiing is a business, its been a business for a long time and honestly its been expensive for a long time too, you're maybe just realizing it.
 
14343099:hi_vis360 said:
I mean if you voted no but the rest of the town said yes then yeah, you would still have to pay for it. This is how taxes work dude, we all pay taxes on shit we don't support. People who don't have kids still pay taxes to fund schools. People who don't drive cars still pay taxes to fund roads. People who don't support US foreign policy still pay taxes to fund the military.

I don't see the ski hill as a personal interest, it's an area for winter recreation that lots of people can enjoy. And if it attracts people to the town, that brings in more revenue overall.

If you really hated it you could move to a different town that doesn't have a ski hill. Your choice!

Skiing is 100% a personal interest. If everyone with an expensive hobby turned to the government to fund it people would be taxed out of existence. This is the same reason cities paying for stadiums is stupid. We may just have to agree to disagree on this.
 
the owner acts like a fucking child on their instagram

lonnie is seriously a certified clown
 
14343100:Jems said:
https://instagram.com/lonieglieberman?utm_medium=copy_link

look at this dude ???

Can't see the picture, but I have to wonder if he's gotten his nose any more repaired after he picked a fight with a drunk guy they were kicking out and got a forehead sandwich to the old sniffer
 
14343107:r00kie said:
Skiing is 100% a personal interest. If everyone with an expensive hobby turned to the government to fund it people would be taxed out of existence. This is the same reason cities paying for stadiums is stupid. We may just have to agree to disagree on this.

well we can def both agree on the stadium thing lol, but I must admit that a lot of the pro-stadium people would make the same arguments I'm making now. But I view skiing/ski hills (they can be used for stuff other than skiing) as a benefit to public health, which I wouldn't say about stadiums. So many people have seasonal affective disorder and it seems like most skiers don't so I think we need to make it easier for people to get out in the wintertime.
 
14343102:Notaskibum said:
Mount bohemia is a local business too lol.

They deserve trademark protection here imo.

a quick peek at their instagram will change your mind
 
14343105:eheath said:
Some people don't have a choice where they ski/only have for-profit resorts around them. Skiing is a business, its been a business for a long time and honestly its been expensive for a long time too, you're maybe just realizing it.

Ahh I knew condescending eheath was gonna come out here it was just a matter of time lmao

I'm fully aware that since modern alpine skiing's genesis in Austria in the early 20th century it has always been a sport for the wealthy. Why should it be like that forever though? I choose to work towards a future where the ski industry isn't controlled by a handful of rich guys. I think that this mount bohemia stuff is a perfect example of why that model isn't always that great.
 
14343127:hi_vis360 said:
Ahh I knew condescending eheath was gonna come out here it was just a matter of time lmao

I'm fully aware that since modern alpine skiing's genesis in Austria in the early 20th century it has always been a sport for the wealthy. Why should it be like that forever though? I choose to work towards a future where the ski industry isn't controlled by a handful of rich guys. I think that this mount bohemia stuff is a perfect example of why that model isn't always that great.

Sorry for being honest with you, but your statements are naive.

In what world does Vail/Alterra/other large companies that own ski resorts for profit decide to sell their business for a bag of peanuts to the state/city/whatever organization so they can be operated as a not for profit business?

What you're hoping for is next to impossible and is extremely unrealistic, I'm not trying to insult you or be condescending, just trying to help you to understand what what you're hoping for isn't gonna happen.
 
Vail is in fact publicly owned, just not exclusively by the communities in which they have resorts. In fact, Vail's stock is up over 200% since November of 2016. So maybe we should all buy some Vail stock, hope it triples in value over the next 5 years and then collectively invest our earnings in our own resort somewhere. i am partial to tahoe but happy to negotiate =)
 
14343136:eheath said:
Sorry for being honest with you, but your statements are naive.

In what world does Vail/Alterra/other large companies that own ski resorts for profit decide to sell their business for a bag of peanuts to the state/city/whatever organization so they can be operated as a not for profit business?

What you're hoping for is next to impossible and is extremely unrealistic, I'm not trying to insult you or be condescending, just trying to help you to understand what what you're hoping for isn't gonna happen.

I obviously don't expect big resorts to just sell off their shit. I just think it's good to be conscious about where you ski. People hate on big resorts on here for charging 100 for a day pass and then turn around and support those places. At times I'm one of them. But in general I'm trying to avoid supporting big ski resorts in the future and skiing as much as possible at small hills.

What I'm hoping for is that more newschool skiers get stoked on supporting small or publicly owned ski hills that aren't specifically designed for wealthy people. There are lots of successful hills like this already so it's not impossible. Mount Bohemia isn't a huge place either!
 
14343149:bennwithtwons said:
Vail is in fact publicly owned, just not exclusively by the communities in which they have resorts. In fact, Vail's stock is up over 200% since November of 2016. So maybe we should all buy some Vail stock, hope it triples in value over the next 5 years and then collectively invest our earnings in our own resort somewhere. i am partial to tahoe but happy to negotiate =)

interesting idea ngl
 
boho is a joke. The owner is an idiot and they will file chapter 11 within 5 years. It’s so sad that he ruined such a good place, but it’s gross mismanagement.
 
14343212:BrightFrog said:
boho is a joke. The owner is an idiot and they will file chapter 11 within 5 years. It’s so sad that he ruined such a good place, but it’s gross mismanagement.

Idk if they'll file bankruptcy when Lonnie can just raid daddy's 9 figure piggy bank.
 
14343089:rdhans24 said:
Mount Bohemia is a great ski area but has probably the rudest staff and most stuck-up local crowd I have ever encountered, including large west coast resorts. Went there once and never ever went back.

He must have asked Rich for water.
 
14343251:armada1652 said:
He must have asked Rich for water.

Lol when my dad came to visit and we went to Boho he asked for a water. Rich poked a hole in the cup so my dad just threw it all over the bar. Boho employees are a special type of tool.
 
14343254:Michigan_Sucks said:
Lol when my dad came to visit and we went to Boho he asked for a water. Rich poked a hole in the cup so my dad just threw it all over the bar. Boho employees are a special type of tool.

So true. I hate how they think they can position themselves well in the market when they have nothing to offer but trendy “type 2 fun” for Midwest dads who want to brag to their coworkers about the triple blacks they ski. It will always be a shit place for shit people, and [tag=258251]@r00kie[/tag] is the reason the U.P. got ruined.
 
14343288:BrightFrog said:
So true. I hate how they think they can position themselves well in the market when they have nothing to offer but trendy “type 2 fun” for Midwest dads who want to brag to their coworkers about the triple blacks they ski. It will always be a shit place for shit people, and [tag=258251]@r00kie[/tag] is the reason the U.P. got ruined.

My family is literally from the UP. You got some weird unjustified beef my guy.
 
Back
Top