One of the sharpest minds for business in the game Mike launched Jib 686 30 years ago starting as a small garage brand building up to the 686 we know today, one of the largest apparel brands in the industry and most impressively still independently owned. We talk 686 origin story, getting his first 100k order, surviving the first two years, sourcing, production, issues with seasonal business, scaling, West Life Dist., NRI, the bowl of forgiveness, time management, Kaizen, being yourself and so much more! Independently owned business’s pop up in snowboarding all the time, most last for some years and then shut down or get bought by a larger company in order to survive. Lasting for 30 years and turning into one of the top 3 apparel brands in snowboarding is unheard of and a feat that deserves some serious respect and should be supported at all costs. Join us as we sit down with Mike and hear all about how he grew 686 into a brand with a valuation of at least seven 0’s also picking up some other brands along the way and started the largest 3PL shipping company in action sports, all this while furthering his college education ultimately becoming a Professor. We talk about it all on this week’s episode of The Bomb Hole.  Special Thanks Ten Barrel Pub Beer The Patreon Members, We would not do this without you!!- https://www.patreon.com/thebombhole Bub’s Naturals- https://www.bubsnaturals.com Ikon- https://www.ikonpass.com Edmonton Style Experience https://exploreedmonton.com/event-calendar/the-style-experience Stance | https://www.stance.com Sun Bum- https://www.sunbum.com 686 Apparel- https://www.686.com Instagram Mike West’s instagram @michaelakirawest https://www.instagram.com/michaelakirawest/ @thebombhole: https://www.instagram.com/thebombhole/ @Grendiesel : https://www.instagram.com/grendiesel/ @E_stone : https://www.instagram.com/e_stone/ Budz Print Shop- www.e-stonephoto.com https://307o96449135872.3dcartstores.com For all things Bomb Hole, go to : https://thebombhole.com/ BOMB HOLE STORE: https://thebombhole.com/collections/all Watch the episode on YouTube- https://youtu.be/IYHDbdWNnUg Join The Bomb Squad on our Patreon page! Props to all of our Patreon members for the support. We could not make these episodes happen without your help! Patreon members get the chance to ask guests questions and find out who we will be interviewing before anyone else. They also receive Bomb Hole merch and a custom Bomb Squad sticker!!! Find out more at https://www.patreon.com/thebombhole Show Notes- Collaborations 686 | https://www.686.com/pages/mens-collections Grateful Dead x 686 | https://www.686.com/collections/grateful-dead Challenges Of Seasonal Business | https://www.mymoneymantra.com/blog/5-big-challenges-that-seasonal-businesses-face-and-how-to-overcome-them West Life on Hype Beast | https://hypebeast.com/2014/1/hypebeast-spaces-westlife-distribution-inc-featuring-686-new-balance-numeric-and-matix NRI - https://nri3pl.com 686 On Deadliest Catch | https://www.snowboarder.com/transworld-snowboarding-archive/snowboarding-news/686-outerwear-featured-on-the-discovery-channel/ Marshall School Of Business | https://www.marshall.usc.edu The Search For Animal Chin | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bV1b_-7zf-s Future Primitive | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VG74o7aafpc&t=107s Time Management For Business Owners | https://www.orbitalshift.com/blog/business-owners-time-management Kaizen | https://www.kaizen.com/what-is-kaizen How To Be Yourself | https://www.tonyrobbins.com/personal-growth/how-to-be-yourself/ Ski And Snowboard Costs | https://endlessrushoutdoors.com/how-much-does-it-cost-to-ski-or-snowboard/ Thanks For Listening! Copyright 2022 Bomb Hole Media, Inc.