We’re celebrating our sixteenth year in business. Katherine asked me to write a “Contemplations” about it. Where do you even begin? I decided to share some of my earliest memories of starting this brand....

March, 2008. Vancouver, BC

I took spring break from school to meet my friend Tripp in Vancouver, BC. We were researching apparel factories, and we knew from reading the labels on our favorite gear that the best technical apparel in the world was made in Vancouver in the Arcteryx factories. It turned out that Arc’s apparel production had been moved to China the year before. We knocked on doors and had meetings with some factories, which led to discussions with smaller factories. This led us to a tiny operation specializing in foul-weather gear upgrades and custom designs for Canadian Mounties. This is where we built our first prototypes and salesmen samples later that fall. 

Memories from the early days.

June, 2008. Hood River, Oregon.

My brother and I drove from Colorado, where I had just graduated college, to Hood River, Oregon, to live with Tripp. I had the family rig, Clifford, a bright red 96’ Chevy suburban with 150k miles. It was filled to the brim with gear. We used a road atlas to navigate Wyoming, Utah, and Idaho. Clifford pulled into the British Pub on Oak Street in Hood River. Tripp was tending bar. There was some kind of custom party going on.

We all ended up working at that bar for a couple of years. John extended his tenure behind the bar for another year to pay off his tab. 

January, 2009. Las Vegas, Nevada.

The Snowsports Industries America (SIA) Show, the largest trade show for the ski and snowboard industries, occurred in Las Vegas, Nevada. The smallest booth that you could get is 10’ x 10’. For the past few months, we had been on the road showing our samples and knocking on doors of specialty retailers across the Mountain West. When we pulled into the Excalibur Casino parking lot, the only structure that we had built was a garment rack made out of 1.25” plumbing pipes.

I had never been to a large trade show like SIA. The plumbing pipe rack had served us well at the small regional trade shows we’d attended. SIA was something different. Booths from Arcteryx, The North Face, and Burton towered over the show floor with large, shiny walls. Lights and speakers were suspended over their display areas like a Motley Cru stage, and plastic mannequins wearing Gore-Tex were taking center stage. We went to a thrift shop off the strip to buy some furniture to fill out the booth. Our booth looked like your crazy Aunt’s living room, minus the cats. We had rocking chairs, lamps, a wooden coffee table, and a nice rug. 

John led the charge for our sales. We gave him the title “Director of Special Operations“ for his ability to target a retailer’s buyer and, within 24 hours, become their best friend. After John’s target was acquired, he’d disappear into the crowd, showing up the following day with his arm draped around a buyer from a large retailer, talking over one another excitedly and slightly drunkenly about their adventures on the strip. Tripp and I stared in disbelief, Tango down. 

Tripp was our fearless leader with an MBA and enough wholesale experience to convince these stores that we could deliver. 

Tripp in trade show mode.

2009-Beyond.

Our first order received at the trade shows was from a large department store in Tokyo, Japan. We met with countless other independent stores, big box retailers, reps, and journalists. There weren’t many new brands like ours then; we were a refreshing curiosity. We came away with barely enough preorders to launch our first production. 
After managing our first production in Vancouver, I shipped gear out of our basement in Hood River while Tripp and John drove around the country trying to open up more specialty accounts.

A glimpse at our very first brand catalog.

Along the way, we always managed to sell our products directly to customers. Taking orders over the phone before our e-commerce site was running and, much later, developing an innovative direct-to-consumer website. 

The most significant part of this journey has been developing relationships with our customers. We appreciate you. Thanks for being along for the ride. We can’t wait to show you what we’re working on for next season. 

Yours TREWly,

Chris Pew, TREW Co-Founder & Ski-E-O