Pulling Back the Curtain: How Things Actually Work at Global Ski / Outdoor Companies
GEAR:30
BLISTER
4.9 • 844 Ratings
🗓️ 8 May 2026
⏱️ 80 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Often on GEAR:30, we zoom way in on the particular design details of a product. But today, we zoom way out, and take a look at how some of the biggest, global, ski and outdoor gear manufacturers actually operate, with Jake Stevens (Rossignol); Jesse Ambrogi-Yanson (Armada); Joe Johnson (Salomon); and Sean Kennedy (Atomic).
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TOPICS & TIMES:
Shoutout: New BLISTER+ Members (1:55)
Introductions (3:34)
From Europe to the USA & Beyond (6:44)
Armada: from the USA to Europe & Beyond (16:33)
Marketing Products: Domestic vs Global (18:12)
Global Campaigns (29:54)
Importance of Athletes for Brands Today? (37:08)
Audience Questions:
Customer Retention: Best Practices? (48:48)
Importance of User-Generated Content? (56:17)
Is Total Consumer Domination The Goal? (59:20)
The Importance of Top Sheets? (1:05:58)
Is Carving Becoming Cool Again? (1:09:55)
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hey everybody, welcome back to Gear 30 on the Blister podcast network, where we are very |
| 0:10.2 | proudly based out of Elevation Hotel right here in Crested, Butte, Colorado. |
| 0:16.1 | I'm Jonathan Ellsworth, the founder of Blister, and you can check out everything we're doing and |
| 0:21.9 | reviewing over at blisterreview.com and on our YouTube channels, Blister Review and Blister Studios. |
| 0:31.5 | Okay, today we've got a bit of a different type of Gear 30 conversation for you, and |
| 0:37.0 | it's a really good one. Often here, |
| 0:40.8 | we are zooming way, way in on the specific, minute product design details of a particular |
| 0:48.0 | ski or snowboard or boot. But today, we are zooming way, way out, and taking a look at how some of the biggest global |
| 0:57.8 | ski and outdoor companies actually operate. So, for example, how does it all actually work |
| 1:06.0 | at very large ski companies that were founded in Europe, but now sell products all over the world. |
| 1:13.8 | And what if you are a company founded in the USA, but you are now looking to grow your brand |
| 1:20.2 | in Europe and beyond? How do you cater to and market to all of these different countries and demographics. How has the ecosystem |
| 1:31.6 | of sports marketing changed? And how exactly are these big legacy brands evolving? Well, today, |
| 1:40.4 | you are going to get to hear a panel session that we just held at our Blister Summit at Snowbird, |
| 1:45.9 | and you are going to be hearing from some of the people who are most responsible for making it all go at these companies. |
| 1:55.8 | Okay, time now to give a shout out to a few of our newest Blister Plus members, and that includes Pat in Carbondale, |
| 2:02.5 | Colorado, Amy Caldwell, who is a legend in the world of cross-country skiing and is a co-owner |
| 2:10.0 | of Caldwell Sport in Vermont. Amy just became a member. We are delighted to have you. Welcome Amy. |
| 2:17.5 | We've also got new Blister Plus member Tell, who is a professor of traumatic injuries at CU Boulder, |
| 2:26.7 | so he knows a thing or two about the significant cost of outdoor injuries. |
| 2:33.0 | That's for sure. |
| 2:36.6 | Let's see. We get to welcome Allison in Oroville, Washington, Theo in Salt Lake City, Nolan in Lisbon, Iowa, Andrew in Fallon, Kansas, |
... |
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