Short rant- Pro skiers x Ski brand ambassadors

WGalinskiThis is a rant.

A line needs to be drawn between actual pro skiing and people that represent a brand as an ambassador because of their social media influence. These instagram girls and guys that claim to be pro skiers need to realize without their cell phone apps they would never be considered pro. I just watched one of the most cringe worthy ski videos ever and found out the skiers in the video have more of a following than some of the best park skiers and ski racers in the world. I’m not going to call out the brand or skiers in the film I seen, but it hardly makes sense why they would film these subpar pros and put out a video showcasing average powder skiing that my 66 year old dad can do.

Anyone else feel like brands need to give the pros more love (and money) and give less attention to these influencers? Or is there need for both? I appreciate your perspectives

-DanSupport the brands the support the people projects and events that you want to see.

WGalinskiThese instagram girls and guys

BigPurpleSkiSuitThe whole reason pro skiers existed in the first place and got money was because of the viewership they drew. Same with any sport. I bet more young basketball fans today know who D'vontay Friga is more than most NBA players because of his youtube viewership and relatable content. He's a basketball influencer, and in the same way, you get ski influencers who make high quality video content, and may or may not be able to ski well. They might not be 'pro' level but it is worth far more to a company to send them gear/pay them than a pro who shoots very little content with low viewership but skis at an insanely high level.

**This post was edited on Dec 6th 2024 at 3:06:05pm

Christian_Bale"high quality video content" lmao

BigPurpleSkiSuitThe whole reason pro skiers existed in the first place and got money was because of the viewership they drew. Same with any sport. I bet more young basketball fans today know who D'vontay Friga is more than most NBA players because of his youtube viewership and relatable content. He's a basketball influencer, and in the same way, you get ski influencers who make high quality video content, and may or may not be able to ski well. They might not be 'pro' level but it is worth far more to a company to send them gear/pay them than a pro who shoots very little content with low viewership but skis at an insanely high level.

**This post was edited on Dec 6th 2024 at 3:06:05pm

BigPurpleSkiSuithigh quality in the sense of having a good camera that shoots good footage. Not necessarily the content itself.

Way*MoReplying to your thread because it is the most relevant.

I think the problem is that companies are extremely short sighted. An influencer might get in front of more eyeballs and may convert some of those eyes to sales initially, but I also don't think those people stay around long term. On the other hand, true pros and core riders might have smaller followings, but the people they do reach are invested for the long term.

Basically, the industry needs to invest in a core culture that cares deeply about the sport. Over time, some outside people will see how cool it is organically and it will venture over and the sport will grow. This growth will be healthy and sustainable and will preserve what we all love about the lifestyle.

The alternative is to try and pull in every Tom, Dick, and Harry who has skied once or thought about skiing with cheap gimmicks and un-authentic influencers. This will result in the loss of the sports identity and soul which ultimately creates bust cycles and in the mid to long term actually hurts growth and evolution.

Niche sports need to learn that they don't need to, and even more, shouldn't target broad main stream success. Invest in the actual culture and growth will occur naturally.

creatureloEntirely depends on the product. You may be correct in the case of hard goods, but with outerwear it’s a poor decision to exclusively target such a niche demographic if your goal is growth and/or profit. The person walking down the street of Chicago is just as important of a customer as the person ripping laps at a resort in Utah. Just because you can reach a wide and diverse audience does not mean you necessarily have to stray from “sports identity and soul”, in fact it often results in an increase of budget to go towards the things you and I give a shit about with cultural significance. People aren’t just going to magically take notice of skiing if it exists in a vacuum.

Way*MoExcept that the ‘customer’ in Chicago is fickle. As soon as trends shift your jacket is no longer desirable.

creatureloNot true. A trend like the arcteryx /gorpcore phenomenon is not a representation of the outerwear industry.

About 70% of the people living in the US experience snowy winters- those folks living in southern Wyoming or western Pennsylvania or per my last example Chicago, all need clothing that keeps them warm and dry regardless of trends, and regardless of what they are using it for. Who’s to say that someone plowing roads in Ohio can’t wear the same Helly Hansen jacket as the die hard guy skiing Alta everyday? Customers outside of our immediate community are vital to most brands making clothing.

creatureloNot true. A trend like the arcteryx /gorpcore phenomenon is not a representation of the outerwear industry.

About 70% of the people living in the US experience snowy winters- those folks living in southern Wyoming or western Pennsylvania or per my last example Chicago, all need clothing that keeps them warm and dry regardless of trends, and regardless of what they are using it for. Who’s to say that someone plowing roads in Ohio can’t wear the same Helly Hansen jacket as the die hard guy skiing Alta everyday? Customers outside of our immediate community are vital to most brands making clothing.

Way*MoI'll add, you obviously have much much more insider perspective than me. All of my statements are based off anecdotal observations and long standing discussions with friends in other outdoor industries.

Do you know of any specific metrics that track outerwear sales and how the decisions were made? It would be really interesting to see to know how many of these non-ski jacket purchases are at least partially informed because these people might go ski once or twice a year and want a jacket that can do both. In other words, they bought a jacket to plow in but made there final selection because they can also use it for skiing.

GrandThingsI want an Arsenic sponsored GRWM that includes rolling spliffs and jump-starting a dead Subaru with 6 guys standing around

VT_scratchwhat film

-DanSupport the brands the support the people projects and events that you want to see.

WGalinskihttps://youtu.be/BBJa32lCaaY?si=cjMeRqVaZvpGEOyg


this is it

VT_scratchIf you wanna have a conversation about this, let's actually talk about it. why are you worried about sharing your opinion online, it's just ski media and community discussion.

WGalinskiThis was a rant, not a conversation. I wanted to read other perspectives of the matter and refrain from calling anyone out. It’s out of respect whether I agree with what they do or not. End of rant.