Luckily working within the ski industry, is not solely limited to being good on skis.
Ever take a camera up and film your buddies?
Well maybe you could work in ski media.
Like designing things and building stuff?
Maybe you are the next Jlev.
Liftie at your local hill?
Work your way up to CEO.
Tom: Can you remember your first time skiing?
Was it with family and where was it?
Matt: “I grew up in Central New York state (315!)
Tom: How much did you ski growing up?
Matt: “Before I could drive on my own, it was basically every weekend with my family.
And whenever I wasn’t skiing, I was watching ski movies.
I think I’ve watched the Blizzard of Aaahhhs at least a couple hundred times.
Even early on Matt liked to do things a little differntly
Tom: What was school like for you?
Did you enjoy it and what subjects were you good/bad at?
Matt: “Honestly, elementary school was really tough for me.
Like a lot of kids, I was bullied and made fun of, which totally sucked.
I was in my own little world.”
Tom: Growing up what did you want to do for a job?
Creative writing, journalism… Not knowing exactly what you want to do when you grow up is pretty common.
Tom: What did you study at university?
So that meant even going to even more school haha.”
Tom: Were you involved in any ski clubs or teams?
Tom: When did you first work in the ski industry?
How did you get your first job?
And I thought to myself, “This could be pretty fun”.
I started out doing basic shop rat stuff but eventually was asked to help fit some ski boots.
I eventually became the head boot-fitter there, when Gordon left to pursue the Aline project full-time.”
Tom: Did you ever venture to pursue a career in your field of study?
Tom: How did you come to work for Atomic?
Matt: “After Boston, I moved to Burlington, Vermont and got a boot-fitting job at theSkirack.
Unbeknownst to me, he was actually searching for someone to be the alpine boot product manager at Atomic.
As a boot nerd, it was a no brainer for me and I said yes.”
Tom: Can you briefly explain what you do day-to-day?
Matt: “In general, I manage the boot range from idea to finished product.
Tom: What do you enjoy the most about your job?
And I think that is reflected in our boots.
Tom: What is the worst part of the job?
For example, what might work for France doesn’t work for America or Germany but Japan loves it.
Tom: What product that you have worked on at Atomic are you most proud of?
Those who have already seen it, they can’t wait to get a pair.
Matt: “Isn’t that the joke of the ski industry?
Tom: If you could be doing any other job, what would it be?
Or go back for my Ph.D. and teach philosophy.
Hard to say honestly- the thought of not doing my current job would suck.”
Weather it’s covered in snow or dirt, Matt is happy, so long as its pointed down.
But I guess I would tell myself, “Don’t take Latin as your foreign language in college.
German is going to be much more applicable.”
That was a fairly useless decision no matter how you look at it.”
So there you have it.
If you want to design boots study Philosophy, work in a ski shop and learn German.
Next week is the turn of Dave Brownlie, CEO of Whistler Blackcomb Ski Resort.
Thanks to Matt for talking the time to answer all my questions.
