If you’ve been around for a few seasons, you might remember a provocative ad in the New York Times on “Black Friday” 2011 that read “Don’t buy this jacket!” It was a shocking message because the ad had been placed by a leading manufacturer of outdoor clothing — Patagonia. The company was deliberately swimming against the rising tide of consumerism — encouraging people to purchase well-made gear that would last for years — and manufacturers to make fewer things of higher quality.
It took a while, but Eric Pollard eventually drank that Kool-Aid. He knew the ski industry hustle well. He designed his first pro model ski with his sponsor, Line Skis, when he was just 17. In the two decades that followed, it was his job to help design and promote new skis year after year, in the endless cycle of commercialism that encouraged consumers to buy, buy, buy. Most of the changes to the skis each year (if any) were minuscule, or just new graphics on top sheets. It was mostly marketing with very little actual design innovation.