The original site was as basic as they come.
Nothing but a couple of profiles of some sick riders, and three trick tips.
The site needed something more.
It needed more content.
It needed to be completely interactive.
Members loved the interactivity, and guests loved the content.
As the site continued to grow to new levels, so did the glitches in the code.
The possibilities are endless as thousands of new forum posts appear each week, and new members join daily.
As the sport of skiing continues to grows, so does Newschoolers.com.
-Matt Harvey
July 29th, 2002.
What was your vision for the future of the website when you founded it?
did you plan on having such a huge community here?
-broto
MH: Skiing was in a very different place when I started Newschoolers.
I had NO idea it would grow to be so big.
Then this happened…
What brought you to working in digital product at USA Today?
and what were the big differences you saw in working on Newschoolers and Freeskier?
(In terms of like the process, the vibe, etc.)
I guess that’d be a bit different though with freeskier being huge and all -nutz.
Funny enough, David Levin, who I met on NS, convinced me to make the move.
He promised unicorns and rainbows at every turn, and thus far he hasn’t been too far off.
There were huge differences in working for Newschoolers and Freeskier.
Both were really fun in their own way, and I learned a lot at both.
(For what it’s worth, Freeskier is actually quite small.
USA Today, on the other hand, is HUGE!)
Do you still follow freestyle skiing?
Why did you sell Newschoolers?
-steezyjibber
I don’t really follow freestyle skiing anymore.
), but I don’t really know much about what’s going on.
Anything I should know?
Is Tom Wallisch still the man or what?
Why did I sell NS?
That’s a really good question, but is not mine alone to answer.
I won’t speak for the others, but I was all for it.
When founding NS, did you build a team of co-founders, or do everything yourself?
-JPOB
When I started NS, I didn’t even know what a founder was.
I really just wanted to create a place for skiers to talk to each other and post stuff online.
So for the first two years, I did everything myself.
Then I met Chris and Doug, and they helped me see that this thing had bigger potential.
What was early NS like?
Someone new would pop on, and we’d message, “Hi, where are you from?
Which of the three twin tips do you use?”
It was so cool to watch it grow in little pockets.
Are you proud of what you created?
How do you feel about the direction NS has gone in over the past several years?
-1337
Hell yeah I’m proud of it!
However, I know that all I did was create the platform.
The community did all the real work.
How do I feel about the direction?
When the new homepage came out, and NS stopped covering events, I was pretty against that move.
I thought NS’s coverage of events was really good, and an important service to the ski community.
But now that I think about it, it was probably the smart move.
I still don’t “get” the homepage, though.
I stopped trying to figure out how to use it.
Also, I think the design needs help.
Last, I love the NSTV thing.
I think NS has done online video better than anyone else in skiing.
-ERICA.MN
That’s a great question.
It was, and in some ways always will be, what defined me.
But eventually, my passion for the details of skiing faltered.
When that passion faltered, it was time to move on.
What do you think about when you are running?
-DJAK
Beer, mostly.
Do you see yourself moving away from USA Today?
-SDrvper
Eventually, sure.
But I love the opportunity that I have here.
That’s a really hard question to answer.
Thanks for asking it.
I probably should have worked more closely with others in the industry when starting up.
So there’s that…
Is the website now what you envisioned it would be/be used for?
-ski.loon
I guess you could say it is!
I think that has stayed true all these years.
That’s pretty darn cool.
-Mr.Bishop
There are two trends working against media outlets like Freeskier and Powder:
1.
I see magazines' only real future being in gear reviews.
And I don’t see that happening any time soon, so…
