Origin Story

Hey there!  I'm Steve.

 

I'd like to tell you about myself, and my story of how Snowbeast Performance came to be.

 

I grew up in Pennsylvania playing basketball, football, and baseball.  I got a snowboard as a Christmas gift when I was nine, but that was just too scary for me to risk my aspiring professional sports career.  You can still think that when you're nine.

​

I didn't have the opportunity to ski or snowboard as a kid, so I didn't grow up on a ski or snowboard team, or going on family ski vacations.  No one else in my house was interested, so it didn't happen.

​

Not until I was 21 did I actually get the opportunity to really try the mountain.  I had the typical first day of snowboarding, but I figure out enough of it to know I wanted to do more. I was able to go a few times a season over the next few years, but eventually I wanted to be able to go most of the week.  This started my journey of chasing winters.

​

By the time I graduated college and was working as a physical therapist, I was ready to see what was on the other side of the map.  I've just got this thing about exploring new places.

​

I took a job as a travel physical therapist, and I planned my year around winter.  For a few years, I part time ski bummed with enough work to keep me moving.  I moved back East to be closer to my family, and I started dating Erika, my wife.  We spent a few years commuting to winter while living in New Jersey, but we wanted to go see what else we could find.

​

We decided to travel the country more, and we set off for a few more years of changing winter locations.  Along the way we had our first daughter, and shortly after, we made plans to move back near our families.

​

When we came back East, we knew we wanted to be close enough to frequently see our families, but also be close enough to snowboard from home.  We wanted to grow our family and start our business, and we picked Burlington, VT as the place to set roots, and start building this part of our lives.

​

If you're still wondering how Snowbeast Performance came about, here it is.

​

Our last stop before moving back East was in a great little ski town, and I worked as a ski and snowboard instructor.  I also worked on the parks crew to maintain features and build parks throughout the season.  I made $12/hour, and it was awesome!

​

The obvious part to love is that I was on the mountain everyday.  I was working with the mountain customers, and the employees.  I was talking to people from town, and people visiting.  Young and old.  What was most interesting, was that they were most interested in me being a physical therapist.  When they found out that I could help them ski or ride better, that's all we talked about.  As the season progressed, more and more people were interested in finding out how to be more comfortable on the mountain.

​

This was the seed that got me thinking about a brand that specializes in the injuries and performance of winter sport athletes.  This community of people did not have someone that could help them keep up the activity they look forward to every winter.  I realized that this was not a concern specific to this area I was living, but that this is the norm in winter sport athletes.

​

By identifying a void in the care of this population I belong to, I realized I can help these athletes, and that I can be a solution to this problem.

​

When we came back East to be closer to our families, we knew we wanted to work with winter sport athletes.  We knew we needed to be close to where those families live and work, and we knew we needed them to know what we do.

 

This is how the thought of Snowbeast Performance came to be.