4FRNT Skis

Infobox_Company
company_name = 4FRNT Skis, LLC
company_type = Private
foundation = flagicon|USA Utah, USA (2002)
location_city = Salt Lake City, Utah
location_country = USA
industry = Skiing, Snowsports, Manufacturing
homepage = [http://www.4frnt.com/ www.4frnt.com]

4FRNT Skis is an independent brand of alpine skis, bindings, poles and other accessories that helped topioneer the development of the freeskiing movement.

History

As a rider-owned and managed company, 4FRNT has grown significantly since it was founded by professional skier Matt Sterbenz in 2002 [ [http://www.manta.com/coms2/dnbcompany_g47dqb Company Profile] ] and, today, is a recognized leader in the ski industry. 4FRNT is distributed in over 30 countries worldwide and has one of the most recognized and talented team of rider/owners in the freeskiing world. Started in one of the recognized mecca's of skiing, Lake Tahoe, 4FRNT moved to its current headquarters in Salt Lake City in 2005.

ignificance

4FRNT's emergence was a significant development within the sport of skiing for several reasons. First, 4FRNT helped to legitimize the so-called "freeskiing movement" that was being led by a group of Canadian skiers known as the "New Canadian Air Force" (Mike Douglas, JP Auclair, JF Cusson and Vincent Dorion). Those athletes were all sponsored by ski industry giant Salomon, and were the drivingforce behind the development of the first " twin-tip" ski, the Salomon 1080 in 1998 [ [http://www.fazeteen.com/winter2001/freeskiing.htm Freeskiing: The New King of the Hill] ] [ [http://www.salomonsports.com/img/aboutSalomon/Salomon%20Story.pdf Salomon Story] ] . About the same time, several high-profile athletes, including X-Games phenom Tanner Hall, JP Auclair and JF Cusson left their ski sponsors and formed the first independent freeskiing company, Armada. Seen as an "interesting experiment", Armada created a certain amount of excitement within the ski industry, particularly amongst those who believed that skiing had become stagnant. However, the established companies within the industry appeared to consider neither Armada a serious threat nor freeskiing a viable movement. 4FRNT, as the second independent freeskiing company to arise, provided evidence that the movement was gaining momentum and created significantly more interest within the ski industry. Second, 4FRNT introduced a new business model, the rider owned and operated company [ [http://www.aspentimes.com/article/20031110/NEWS/31109017 Aspen Times: Spence rides his own brand into the 4FRNT] ] , to the sport.

Although this model was relatively common in other board sports, such as skateboarding, no group of skiers had previously taken such a bold step. This development helped to move skiing towards acceptance as a legitimate "board sport", a status it had previously been denied. The emergence of rider-owned and managed companies marked significant turning points in the growth of sports such as skateboarding and surfing as prominent athletes took on the role of steward for the broader sport. This business model is designed to provide the athletes with control over product design and marketing and more directly tie their efforts to the rewards they receive.

Athletes

* Matt Sterbenz
* CR Johnson
* Eric Hjorleifson
* Steele Spence
* Niklas Karlstrom
* Vincent Dorion
* Matt Hayward
* Wiley Miller
* Even Sigstad
* Erich Kunz

Products

kis

* TNK - Niklas Karlstrom Signature Model (competition park and pipe ski)
* STL - Steele Spence Signature Model (park and all-mountain ski)
* MSP - Matt Sterbenz Signature Model (all-mountain ski)
* VCT - Vincent Dorion Signature Model (backcountry and all-mountain ski)
* EHP - Eric Hjorliefson Signature Model (Big mountain / powder ski)
* Pique - Identity Series Model (all-mountain ski)
* Madonna - Identity Series Women's Model (all-mountain ski)
* Grom - Identity Series Junior Model

Bindings

* Padlock
* Deadbolt

Poles

* Crossfade
* Signature
* Grom

References