This year, Vernon locals Glenn and Gregg Anderson are celebrating the 10-year anniversary of the first ski they ever built. The two have built thousands more since, and have been selling a couple hundred pairs of Skevik Skis per winter in recent years.
Not bad for two brothers who started off simply as passionate skiers tinkering with gear in their parents’ garage back in 2005.
Skevik Skis’ reputation for producing highly durable and high-performing skis with the finest materials — maple wood for the core, triaxial fibreglass layers surrounding the core, and strips of unidirectional carbon placed underneath the bottom fibreglass layers — has helped the company thrive in the Interior B.C. ski scene.
The small, local manufacturer also differentiates itself from the giants with a brand focused on its Canadian roots, and with top sheet design personalization options. Now, with seven different models that are each created to withstand and perform in varying terrain and snow conditions — from groomers to powder and all-mountain to park — the Andersons are celebrating their decade of ski building.
Here’s a look back on how it all started, where the business is today, and where Skevik Skis is going next.
The early days
After graduating from university in 2005, Gregg, the elder of the two brothers, decided to spend a winter skiing at Silverstar, his home mountain, and got a job working at a ski-repair shop. While examining broken skis in the shop, Gregg started to wonder if he could build his own equipment and produce something more durable, and together with Glenn, built their first prototype — a pair of skis that slid top to bottom without damage.
Over the next few years, Glenn and Gregg spent some free time altering designs, but only managed to build a couple of finished models. Then in 2008 the Anderson’s startup truly took off, as Glenn, who was still studying in university, successfully convinced the University of Victoria’s Faculty of Engineering to allow him to work on Skevik Skis for co-op work-term credits.
Armed with full-time hours to spend on engineering Skevik Ski designs, Glenn began producing more models and selling them to skiers in Vernon’s small community.
Organic growth
In the summer of 2010, Glenn had seen interest in Skevik Skis grow year by year, and he chose to move forward.
“I enjoyed building skis and thought it would be cool to have my own company,” Glenn said in an interview. “Once you get a real job and settle down, it’s tougher to get into something entrepreneurial.”
Working full-time on Skevik Skis after graduating with his degree in mechanical engineering, Glenn quickly moved production from his parents’ garage to a shop, researched ski-design trends, asked for feedback from friends and professional freeskiers who had tried their skis, and invested time and money into marketing.
Skevik Skis now has seven different models. Their flagship ski, the Antons, is a longtime favourite, while the Lokens, introduced last year, is also very popular.
And it isn’t only retailers in western Canada taking notice. Shops in Norway and Germany are now also carrying Skevik Skis.
"The growth in Skevik Skis has been organic,” Glenn said. “We originally wanted to focus locally before expanding, but retailers in Europe somehow found out about our skis and wanted to import them.”
The next 10 years
Today, Gregg works in IT full-time but still spends a couple of days per week on Skevik Skis, while Glenn works on the business full-time year round. And Glenn doesn’t see any reason to stop growing his passion project as his main source of income.
“I’m pushing to make it my career,” Glenn said in an interview. “I’ve had thoughts about doing something else with my mechanical engineering degree, but I really want to make this thing grow and believe I need to put my whole heart into it.”
With a history of 10 years of unwavering dedication to ski production, and a continued passion for the business, it would be fascinating to see what happens in the next 10 years to this B.C. ski company with such humble beginnings.