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The Powell Movement

TPM Episode 482: Chris Garcin, Co-Founder, Pit Viper

The Powell Movement

Mike Powell

Leisure, Hobbies, Sports

4.9860 Ratings

🗓️ 27 April 2026

⏱️ 66 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Chris Garcin is living a ski bum or anyone's dream life and it all began when his good friend broke a pair of sunglasses.  This week's podcast is Chris's story of going from a passionate skier his whole life, to Boulder, to coaching, to almost giving up on the ski lifestyle and settling for "real world." And then, his rockstar of a good friend came over to his house with an idea, Pit Viper, that became a joke, a brand, a business, and today, a real business. The Pit Viper story is a fun one and former VP of Brand, Spencer Harkins, asks the Inappropriate Questions.

Chris Garcin Show Notes:

4:00: Reeling in, Colorado, Ski Club, Crested Butte, Vail, and Utah

21:00: Elan Skis:  Over 75 years of innovation that makes you better.

22:00: Chuck Mumford, the real Pit Viper Origin Story, what did ownership look like on paper, early road antics, early diy product, running out of that product and Larry The Enticer

39:00: Outdoor Research: Click here for 25% off Outdoor Research products (not valid on sale items or pro products)

40:00: Other influencers, when did he get rich, post pandemic mistakes, giving away stuff, imitation and fake products, and normie glasses. 

57:00: Inappropriate Questions with Spencer Harkins

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Have a seat on your porcelain throne.

0:02.3

It's time to talk some shit on the Powell Movement.

0:13.3

Welcome to the Powell Movement.

0:16.9

I'm your host Mike Powell, and I'm stoked to say that a lot of you really like the 420 episode,

0:22.3

especially the stories from my good friend Bob Landers, and you let me know it.

0:26.9

Funny thing is, I've always thought that Bob would be an incredible guest for the podcast,

0:31.6

but since he's not a pro snowboarder or in the industry, I've never put him on the show.

0:36.0

But you know what? Bob is a professional. And I can't tell you at what, because've never put him on the show. But you know what? Bob is a professional.

0:38.6

And I can't tell you at what, because that would put him on blast. And I'll let him do that to himself

0:43.7

because I'm going to record the best ski bomb episode ever with Bob Landers. Why? Because I want to.

0:51.0

And with the show winding down, I'm going to do whatever the fuck I want to as long as

0:54.7

it's awesome. And I know that you're going to love Bob's episode. He's lived the life of epic proportions, especially for a ski bum who's no bum at all, like homeowner, property owner, all kinds of different stuff that he's all been able to roll up under the life of a ski bum. So that's going to be one of my podcasts in the near future. You also seem to be loving my intros lately. Who knew I should never have had a filter on? And while I could try to force some political bullshit into the podcast this week, I don't go into these intros thinking I have to voice my opinion. But when I get into a rant, it's because I'm fed up with the fucking bullshit and most of the time it has to do with our country. And right now my dog is playing with his penis right now. So if you hear anything fucked up, that is my dog, not myself. It happens all the time, but I'm letting you know in the podcast right now because like I said, it's the end of the podcast. I'm doing whatever I want in these intros, and you're going to hear it all.

2:02.0

So, like I said, when I go on these rants, I don't plan them. They just come out of my mouth. And really, lately, I've been thinking a lot about the draft. And if you're on the wrong side of history, I hope your kids are drafted first. And if they die, they die. At least they're doing it the name of our supreme leader, the Ayatola of fucking assholes.

2:35.7

Honestly, if you're a red hatter, I don't want your kids to die. But if any kids have to go, I want your kids to go first. Then we'll have less dumb people in the world. But if that happens, I'm not going to be here. Like I said, my kid won't be fighting for anyone ever. I taught him to use his words not to kill strangers. So if there's a draft and they're trying to pull American kids in that don't want to fight for our country, well, we're going to move if we have to do that. But enough about the killing people bullshit. Let's talk about a brand that's killing it. More importantly, it's co-founder's story. I'm talking about Chris Garson and his brand Pitfiper.

2:39.9

They have been at the forefront of trends over the past decade, and it's one of the most polarizing sunglasses sunglasses brands on the planet. And Pitfiper really isn't polarizing,

2:44.6

but they make polarized lenses, and I wanted to play off that, and I did. But Pitfiper's all

2:49.2

about fun product, good times, and a party

2:51.5

mountain vibe for all. It's the ski school business episode with the co-founder of one of the

2:56.4

most interesting sunglass brand stories of our time. Before we get into it, I want to thank you

3:01.7

for listening each week. I want to thank the casualties for putting on a sick show the other

3:05.9

night. The highlight or the low light of the show for me was when a buddy bought me a beer. And that's usually a good thing. But at a show like the casualties, you don't want a cup of beer in your hand because you know it's going to get exploded all over you because things are going crazy everywhere. So you really just want to be aware of your surroundings. But just as a song was starting up, I'm taking a sip of my beer, and when I get my cup halfway up, I look and in the air is like a 50-year-old, old plunker, and he's flying through the air with no respect for his body, just jumping off of the stage, and his head made contact with the bottom of my nose and the top of

3:41.8

my upper lip. My beer exploded everywhere. We still are able to catch the guy and make sure that he

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