Need your ideas

tomPietrowski

tomPietrowski

Active member
Hi all. So some of you may know me but for those who don't let me start by introducing myself.

I have been working as a bootfiter for the past 11 years an I now work in whistler. Over the years I hav worked with some great people and learnt a lot. I've the past 4-5 years I have got more involved with working with athletes and have been working closer with a few top brands.

So for the reason of this post. I have an idea for a Website and would like to hear from you guys. I would like to start a site which could attempt to both answer popular questions I see here on the forums but also give you an insight to the athletes setups and more.

What I have in mind is a blog style site. I would like to produce content to help answer questions I see here. For example ski prep videos. Waxing, edge detuning ect. How about all the how does this jacket fit threads. I would like to produce posts where I show how the popular jackets fit on differnt size people. Being In whistler I am lucky to hav a lot of shops easy at hand to do things like this which may not be an option for many people living in less ski friendly places.

I'm also in the position to offer product tests and although I do not plan to go against sites like blister I do think simple reviews like ski flex comparison videos ect and real park use durability tests could Be interesting.

Alongside this I would like to involve the whistler scene. There are a lot of pros who either call this place home or who pass through. I would like to offer quick interviews and offer you guys a look at what the pros are really riding.

Would any of this be of interest to people here?

I would really like to hear what you guys think. Would you be interested in the tech reviews or tutorial videos? Would interviews and pro setups interest you.

Please let me know your ideas.
 
13197125:tomPietrowski said:
So when you say done right what would you consider done right. Or what would you not want to see.
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Just the insite the site actually offers. From what I've seen on NS, you're always on point and helpful, I don't think there'd be any problems there.
 
13197132:immas said:
Just the insite the site actually offers. From what I've seen on NS, you're always on point and helpful, I don't think there'd be any problems there.
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Ok so making sure the content and information is helpful and correct. That make sense for sure.

Any styles you and everyone else prefer. Would videos be more helpful then just a photo of jacket sizing ect. Would you like written versions of the tech videos alongside the video. I find having to rewatch a video to find a spefic part can be annoying so I prepose a written explanation below videos so you have both options.
 
13197140:tomPietrowski said:
Ok so making sure the content and information is helpful and correct. That make sense for sure.

Any styles you and everyone else prefer. Would videos be more helpful then just a photo of jacket sizing ect. Would you like written versions of the tech videos alongside the video. I find having to rewatch a video to find a spefic part can be annoying so I prepose a written explanation below videos so you have both options.
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Personally I like short videos, with a written explanation, but that's just me.
 
If you could pull that off I almost guarantee you NS would hop right on board with you and help out and maybe make a tab to your site or something like that, because that would be out of this world cool. It would just give everyone an insight on that much more of what everyone else is doing. And also there are a lot of unrecognized skiers on the glacier that don't have any sponsors or anything who can throw down like crazy, that would be a really cool way to get them some publicity too.

I think this is a great idea and if I could be of any assistance at all let me know and I'd be glad to help!
 
13197149:LamieJ said:
If you could pull that off I almost guarantee you NS would hop right on board with you and help out and maybe make a tab to your site or something like that, because that would be out of this world cool. It would just give everyone an insight on that much more of what everyone else is doing. And also there are a lot of unrecognized skiers on the glacier that don't have any sponsors or anything who can throw down like crazy, that would be a really cool way to get them some publicity too.

I think this is a great idea and if I could be of any assistance at all let me know and I'd be glad to help!
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I really like this idea. I always like to try to help out the younger riders when I can so if the site coul offer a form of promotion for them too that would be awsome.
 
I really want to know how the angle of your boot affects how you ski. Because that's something I've never understood
 
13197180:ChubbyBoy said:
I really want to know how the angle of your boot affects how you ski. Because that's something I've never understood
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This bring up a good point too. Id love to have a thread where you guys could ask questions so you can directly affect what the content would be. How would that sound to you guys?

Boot stuff would be a given from me. I have loads of ideas for boot related posts.
 
Another thing that I've always been curious about is freestyle poles. I know that poles are shorter and I love mine that way, but the only ones I ever see are either Line (Which I personally hate the quality and style of their poles) or Scott which I use now, but I know of only a few other brands, and I'm sure there are plenty more out there.

While I'm at it another thing is filming and photography tips. I'm sure you could open up an entire new section on that. Not a day goes by where I don't see an edit that has some excellent skiing but the filming is lacking. Don't get me wrong, there are a lot of excellent videos with better filming than skiing but it seems like the majority of the time the problem is either quality of the footage itself or the need for a steady cameraman or something. I'm sure there are tips about different angles and sunlight and time of day and brightness and nighttime settings and all sorts of different things that a bunch of us (myself included, I know little to none about quality photography and videography)would be curious to learn about.

tl;dr - Quality Poles and photography/filming should be included in some of your content!
 
I really like the idea. Personally I would love to see more reviews and videos on actual gear, ie boots/back country equipment/anything other than skis etc. There's so many ski reviews and videos while everything else seems sometimes like an after thought. Maybe even some tips and tricks on fitting or using equipment that you or others use.
 
In depth interviews with pros about the specifics of their setup would be awesome. I'm always wondering about that. For example, it would be cool if a pro explained their binding mounting preferences and why it works for them. Thats just one of many things I would like to see talked about in an interview with pros.
 
op...this sounds like a great idea...and you seem to know exactly what you are talking about when it comes to boots and stuff from how long you have been a boot fitter
 
13197378:Bum.Life said:
In depth interviews with pros about the specifics of their setup would be awesome. I'm always wondering about that. For example, it would be cool if a pro explained their binding mounting preferences and why it works for them. Thats just one of many things I would like to see talked about in an interview with pros.
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This was one thing I was thinking as well. I mount up skis for athleates all the time so just giving a quick rundown of the kit they use, preferred mount point and and any special features I thought was a nice little piece of content which could be interesting.
 
13197667:Oli_Kelski said:
Sounds so sick. One thing I'd be keen to see is info about gear from smaller/up and coming brands that we don't hear much about
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I'd be really interested in this too, the hard part is getting gear from the smaller brands to show and review as it's not as easily available but hopefully I can get a few things
 
Do it. I am also a fitter and bow down to your knowledge on the subject. I've gotten many good tips from you over the years just reading your responses. I think a combo of video and photo would be great. Like for the jacket fitting you don't need videos, but for tuning tips videos are the best, also for the durability tests photos and writing would do the job. A good mix is always the way to go in my book.
 
I think its a great idea, I love blister for its very through reviews, its pretty much the only site who doesn't do one run and done or look im skiing with the brand rep...

Having said all that a proper skiers faq site with support thats easy to find and well documented would serve everyone well. It might also save the moderators on here some headaches with the many many duplicate thread that have appeared.
 
Cant think of any criticism. Sounds awesome; I think this will be a huge success. Definitely involve athletes for gear preferences as well, that is something that the ski industry lacks for sure.
 
you mentioned trying to show how popular jackets fit. I think many people on this site, myself included, have experienced the hassle of buying outerwear online and finding out that it doesn't fit how you expected.

I really like what virtika is doing on their site using pictures of different size models wearing different size jackets and pants.

If you could incorporate something like that into your site with popular brands it would be pretty cool
 
Your describing a freestyle specific site that addresses a broad range of gear questions and issues in our discipline that we are faced with all the time. NS, TGR, and Epic Ski touch on these things, some more than others, but nothing to the extent and depth your talking about.

This would be pure awesome, and ive seen your feedback to members on boots and gear. You have the knowledge and experience to back it up without question.

Getting insight from pros about gear preferrences is huge because they have lived it and learned what works best for them. I mean i have a million questions i'd want to ask.

-- how do you deal with or have ever dealt with shinbang?

-- how quickly do u go through skis, and at what point do u decide the ski has had enough?

-- Do you sharpen your park skis and leave underfoot detuned? How do u deal with that?

-- Do you prefer a stiff or moderate flex boot?

-- Does having center mounted skis on jumps & rails as apposed to a few cm back make that much of a difference?

I could go on and on, but this idea is solid. I Doubt there would be anyone opposed to it seeing as how it's never been done to the degree your proposing
 
13197140:tomPietrowski said:
Ok so making sure the content and information is helpful and correct. That make sense for sure.

Any styles you and everyone else prefer. Would videos be more helpful then just a photo of jacket sizing ect. Would you like written versions of the tech videos alongside the video. I find having to rewatch a video to find a spefic part can be annoying so I prepose a written explanation below videos so you have both options.
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Personally I am more of a hand on learner, and the closest thing to that online would come in video form, others would probably benefit from images and text though. You could make everything a whole lot easier on yourself though if you just made a youtube channel and only did videos. That way the videos are easily accessed not only by us but others who are trying to find this sort of thing. If you wanted to do a blog on top of that it really is an easy site to maintain and even easier to embed video. Just split everything into categories instead of by date and stick to neutral/ muted colours that won't piss people off or give them headaches (I find TGR to be this way with their rich ass blue).
 
That's such a dope idea man. I know I'd spend alot of time there. If u ever want help filming shit we'd be more then happy to help out.
 
Ok, don't know how I missed this thread but this is a great idea!

Agree with most of the advice above, use videos and photos to show us things that are not easily explained. The personal aspect with pros and whistler locals would be really sick too. I really want to see this happen!
 
Illest idea I've heard in a while! I personally like longer product videos, i don't feel like 30-60 seconds explains enough about the ski, jacket etc..
 
Illest idea I've heard in a while! I personally like longer product videos, i don't feel like 30-60 seconds explains enough about the ski, jacket etc..
 
dude if your in whistler and spending your free time doing anything other than

skiing, partying or tryin to bang hotties

you're doin it wrong and need to reevaluate proirties
 
That's a tough segment right now my man.

With wildsnow, blister etc. already doing that for the most part, you'd need to find your own niche to be successful IMO. If you did it with a park bias I think you could really capitalize on a dearth of REAL and VALID info in this segment. You could review the newest gear, clothes and news in the context of this scene more or less, while being one of the very few if any sources for very good technical info as it pertains to this kind of stuff.

Nobody does good, in depth product reviews for park skis and gear and in that context I think you may really be onto something.
 
13198007:Huck_Norris said:
That's a tough segment right now my man.

With wildsnow, blister etc. already doing that for the most part, you'd need to find your own niche to be successful IMO. If you did it with a park bias I think you could really capitalize on a dearth of REAL and VALID info in this segment. You could review the newest gear, clothes and news in the context of this scene more or less, while being one of the very few if any sources for very good technical info as it pertains to this kind of stuff.

Nobody does good, in depth product reviews for park skis and gear and in that context I think you may really be onto something.
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ALLL THISSS
 
youre a great poster on here and a really valuable asset to this site IMO.

i think your idea is a good one if you can make it work, but my 2 cents is maybe you could focus on boots as you seem to be extremely knowledgeable on them and i think that they are often overlooked in skiing even though theyre arguably the most important part of a skier's setup
 
Thanks for all the feeback guys, i stoked your into this idea as i really see potential

13197707:WillowShabby said:
A voting system so we can vote for the gear or whatever we might like your opinion on!
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I really want to do this, maybe have a thread stickied here so people can throw up ideas for what they want to see. I want to make it very user interactive.

13197755:Lordf* said:
I think its a great idea, I love blister for its very through reviews, its pretty much the only site who doesn't do one run and done or look im skiing with the brand rep...

Having said all that a proper skiers faq site with support thats easy to find and well documented would serve everyone well. It might also save the moderators on here some headaches with the many many duplicate thread that have appeared.
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yeah simple things like making a post of all weights of skis and a straight pull length. Simple things like that which it can be hard to find the info for in one place.

13197857:SKIU4EA said:
Your describing a freestyle specific site that addresses a broad range of gear questions and issues in our discipline that we are faced with all the time. NS, TGR, and Epic Ski touch on these things, some more than others, but nothing to the extent and depth your talking about.

This would be pure awesome, and ive seen your feedback to members on boots and gear. You have the knowledge and experience to back it up without question.

Getting insight from pros about gear preferrences is huge because they have lived it and learned what works best for them. I mean i have a million questions i'd want to ask.

-- how do you deal with or have ever dealt with shinbang?

-- how quickly do u go through skis, and at what point do u decide the ski has had enough?

-- Do you sharpen your park skis and leave underfoot detuned? How do u deal with that?

-- Do you prefer a stiff or moderate flex boot?

-- Does having center mounted skis on jumps & rails as apposed to a few cm back make that much of a difference?

I could go on and on, but this idea is solid. I Doubt there would be anyone opposed to it seeing as how it's never been done to the degree your proposing
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love all these ideas. I think its the small details which are actually often very interesting and do not usually get covered.

13197906:SIMPLE. said:
That's such a dope idea man. I know I'd spend alot of time there. If u ever want help filming shit we'd be more then happy to help out.
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that could be amazing, Id love to do stuff both on the hill and in the shop so help filming could be amazing.

13198007:Huck_Norris said:
That's a tough segment right now my man.

With wildsnow, blister etc. already doing that for the most part, you'd need to find your own niche to be successful IMO. If you did it with a park bias I think you could really capitalize on a dearth of REAL and VALID info in this segment. You could review the newest gear, clothes and news in the context of this scene more or less, while being one of the very few if any sources for very good technical info as it pertains to this kind of stuff.

Nobody does good, in depth product reviews for park skis and gear and in that context I think you may really be onto something.
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I could not agree more. I think our section of skiing needs more of a voice. Whenever you here about good boot fitters its he fitted for the us race team ect, why not he fitted for the us slope team. There is currently I think a lack of good knowledge in the freestyle scene, or more a lack of voice for the good knowledge.

Thanks again for all the feedback and please keep it coming.

Any name ideas guys, I was hoping for some good laughs this morning.
 
13197857:SKIU4EA said:
-- how quickly do u go through skis, and at what point do u decide the ski has had enough?
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forgot to say, this is somthing I would like to do. Show the progression of a riders skis through the season. Show the real abuse they get and how many they potentially go through. Maybe pick a few local guys and show you guys first hand how the skis hold up.
 
13197635:aceofbladeZ said:
I think it would be even more sick if this was a built in section of newschoolers.
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It could be cool if you talked to doug and got this integrated with the gear section, idk but im sure there is a great opportunity with that as this site gets a pretty large amount of views, and would provide the major backing to make this happen

13198109:tomPietrowski said:
forgot to say, this is somthing I would like to do. Show the progression of a riders skis through the season. Show the real abuse they get and how many they potentially go through. Maybe pick a few local guys and show you guys first hand how the skis hold up.
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This would be sick, you could have a timeline where you take a photo every couple of weeks of the bases of their skis, and include some info on how they overcame major problems/edge pullouts etc.

Sick idea man, fully support this!
 
I'd check it out for sure! I'm pretty sure everyone has questions about gear now and again, and I can't really think of one place where you can go and get super dialed answers about a whole load of different things.
 
13198539:dogard said:
I'd check it out for sure! I'm pretty sure everyone has questions about gear now and again, and I can't really think of one place where you can go and get super dialed answers about a whole load of different things.
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Yeah I'd love it to act as a resource for tech info as much as anything. Somewhere you can find all the info to help you make purchases in the type of products new schoolers is interested in.
 
Thanks for all the feedback guys. This project is a go. I am starting work I the site and I'm hoping to have it all up an running by the time most people will have started there season.

Any name suggestions. I was really hoping newschoolers would be awsome when it came to suggesting interesting names.

Thanks guys
 
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