Rewind the clock 20 years and Armada Skis is busy exploding onto the scene. In the early 2000’s, freeskiing was still in its formation. It's competitions had become a fixture of X Games and ski movies were back with a vengeance. Five of the movement's leading lights; JP Auclair, Tanner Hall, JF Cusson, Julien Regnier, and Boyd Easley — the original AR5—teamed up with photographer Chris O’Connell and videographer Eric Iberg to chart a new path and create a brand that embodied the revolution taking place. Their first ski, the AR5 came to dominate the podium and Armada was here to stay.

Founded in 2002 in a home office in a Truckee, California basement, Armada has grown and evolved in tandem with skiing. Headquarters has moved to Park City, Utah, but the mission has remained the same since the beginning: to support the pioneering athletes and build the products that would redefine skiing. Despite an occasionally rough ride and changes of ownership, the brand has stayed true. Think of the leading lights of the new generation; Dani Bacher, Olivia Asselin, Kuura Koivisto. Who do they ride for? I think you know the answer.

Armada has always been unique, a family encompassing not just athletes but musicians, photographers and artists. Their current team page is stacked with athletes but right there among them Dillon Cooper, Daniel Rönnbäck and of course MADSTEEZ.

https://www.newschoolers.com/videos/watch/1081860/MADSTEEZ-x-ARMADA-ARVs

This season marks twenty years since the release of the AR5. The ARV name, and the spirit of expression and discovery, of reconfiguring our conception of skiing, of freestyle, and the culture that runs through it, live on in a whole series of skis today. And who better than the California-based street artist, who has been synonymous with the brand for its entire history, to put together a one-of-a-kind celebration of the ARV (ARV=AR5 | V is 5 in Roman numerals if that hasn't clicked for you yet).

His brief? To break the mold and help the brand celebrate with something truly special. “I want it to look larger than life. Something so heavy and surreal it almost seems like it's fake or photoshopped,” Madsteez said at the start of the project.

During AR Team Week in Absolut Park, MADSTEEZ enlisted the support of the Armada crew and team to build the colossal installation which was painted on snow exposed to the elements during some truly epic ski sessions. The result, a sublime monument to creativity brought to life in an acidic burst of color splashed across an enormous mural made from 90 pairs of ARV 116 JJ ULs. After the project was completed, the ski wall was deconstructed, and every pair was hand-numbered and signed by the artist, himself.

“To build this project with everyone here has been so immersive. I’ve had relationships with some of the athletes for years, just from talking online, but I’d never actually met them before. To have their help in creating this in person, on the hill is so sick” - MADSTEEZ

The MADSTEEZ ARV 116 JJ ULs from this project each feature unique topsheet art, a small yet integral segment of the magnificent mural born from the mind of MADSTEEZ and the collaboration of the AR Family. 90 Pairs of skis, each a unique creation, and part of the larger masterpiece. Find out more, and take home part of the story yourself HERE.