GEAR:302 Nov 2018

Zen & the Art of Creating the World's Biggest Splitboard Binding Company: Will Ritter, Spark R&D

Will Ritter is the founder of Spark R&D, the largest splitboard binding company in the world, and Spark R&D designs and manufactures all of their products in Bozeman, Montana. This turned into such an interesting conversation with Will that we are presenting it in two parts. Here in part 1, we talk about the history of Spark R&D, and whether or not you’ve ever ridden a snowboard, if you have ever thought about starting any company of any kind, listen closely, because I promise you that you will glean some very real insights into what actually goes into starting and running a company.

And then we will be posting later part 2 of our conversation, where Will and I went deeper into Spark R&D’s specific products, we discuss hard boots vs. soft boots, how much room Will thinks there is for splitboards to improve, and more.

But for now, let’s get the origin story of Spark R&D, and listen to Will kindly share some real words of wisdom for anyone thinking of starting anything.

TOPICS & TIMES:

Trick or Treating & the myth of the Sugar Sprite?? (1:44)
When, where, and why did Will start Spark R&D? (3:48)
The many products Will worked on as an engineering consultant (5:25)
Working on the MFD ALLTIME touring binding with Jason Prigge (7:27)
The move from consulting to factory production (10:06)
The backcountry touring scene back when Will started Spark R&D (14:05)
"Making One" - and other major milestones (23:35)
How to have Zen get beaten into you (35:35)
The state of Spark R&D today (46:35)

STAY TUNED FOR PART 2...

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Det här avsnittet är hämtat från ett öppet RSS-flöde och publiceras inte av Podme. Det kan innehålla reklam.

Avsnitt(403)

The Latest New Thing at Blister + Reviewer Reports

Jonathan and Kristin announce the latest new thing at Blister — ‘The Vault’ — then talk about some of their summer adventures, the new sports they’ve been getting into, and the new gear they’ve been u...

17 Juli 34min

Gold Forcefields, Multi-Purpose Mountain Gear, & More w/ Outdoor Vitals

From thru-hikers to ski mountaineers and backpack hunters, Outdoor Vitals’ products have gained a very diverse following. To understand why, Luke Koppa sat down with Brigham Crane, their Product Desig...

10 Juli 49min

Buyer’s Guide News + Other Changes at BLISTER

Luke Koppa and Jonathan Ellsworth break news about our 26/27 Blister Winter Buyer’s Guide, and some other big changes at BLISTER. They also talk about the changing media landscape in 2026, and how BLI...

3 Juli 58min

Hoji on the Future of Ski Gear; His Latest Projects; & More

Today, Hoji weighs in on the great ‘hybrid binding’ debate; then he and Jonathan discuss the future of ski binding technology; 3D printing applications in ski gear; and Hoji's current attempts to push...

26 Juni 1h 1min

The Pro's Gear: Cody Townsend (round 3)

Cody is back for some straight-up gear talk, and to share where his gear preferences & practices have shifted, and where they’ve remained the same. Also, if you would like to nominate any particular s...

12 Juni 1h 26min

The Debate: Should We Change Our Winter Buyer’s Guide?

For some years now, we’ve wrestled with some big ideas about how we could change our annual Blister Winter Buyer’s Guide. So today, Jonathan Ellsworth, Luke Koppa and Kristin Sinnott discuss those pot...

5 Juni 44min

Ski Design & Your Questions

At our Blister Summit, we asked our Blister Summit attendees to pose their questions about ski design to Max Smith (vice president & ski designer at Moment Skis); Stu Gleason (senior designer at DPS S...

30 Maj 53min

Starting a Ski Company from Scratch w/ Ellis Skis

There’s no shortage of skis on the market these days, yet we’re still seeing new brands pop up. So what does it take to start your own ski company, and why do it in the first place?In this episode, Lu...

22 Maj 59min