Reno? Ski company? Vampires?

Ski construction involves careful attention to detail. And sawdust.
Lots and lots of sawdust.
This will be the last time I pimp out Cathedral Skis on Facebook. 

There are a hundred different ways to start this post. It's like a Choose Your Own Adventure book in my head. As always, I like to boil it down to the bottom line: I'm partnering with some friends who live 3,000 miles away to start a ski company.
This is Zach doing pretty much the first
thing we did, cutting out a template for our
first line of skis.

You haven't heard much about it because I haven't been sure what to say. The whole venture is so out of left field and so perfectly imperfect that I've scarcely been able to believe it. The following phrase is true and simultaneously sounds kind of batshit crazy: I'm starting a ski manufacturing company.

Like anything, it's a wonderful confluence of factors. Since sort of quitting journalism two years ago, I've been wondering what's next. I have a hard time mentally checking out, working 9 to 5. My job in Portland was kind of like that. Show up for work. Put out a newspaper. Sleep, run, repeat.

After my last night of work, Oct. 29, TW asked me very sweetly if I was doing all right.

"I feel like I just lost a job at 7-Eleven," I told her.

That's about right. I was never emotionally invested, and I didn't like that. It's time for something new. But what? The jobs that show up in Portland on a search are underwhelming. You can work at Enterprise in the management training position. If you're an engineer or a nurse, there's probably a job for you.
It's really just an excuse for me
to play with power tools.

Then there was the Facebook status update: "I am not remotely qualified for any job that is available. Fact."

Fact is, I have a pair of friends in Reno that like me a little bit. Suckers. They saw that status update. Zach has been a craft brewer for years and a successful business dude. I say that because I'm not exactly sure what he does in his finance jobs. Something with Microsoft Excel. He likes numbers and figuring out problems. And he knows he can make a great ski.

His wife, Lauren, is a good friend. She puts up with me. We're two of a kind, Lauren and I. Quick to move into action when we get a good idea. Switching easily onto tangents in conversation. We're labrador retrievers. Zach is a collie.

I won't presume to speak to what ran through Zach and Lauren's minds when they saw my FB update, other than this: They had already offered to fly me out to Reno. Why not talk about having me join Cathedral Skis, their new company?

So, here I am in Reno, Nevada, learning how to make skis. I'm here for a week and half, learning how it works. Then I get to live in Maine, trying to sell the skis. I don't really have anything to lose. It's not like I'm passing up on great jobs that I'm qualified for in Maine. I want to do something I'm passionate about. I want to prove myself in the business world.

It's not a mid-life crisis. I believe in following your heart. For more than a decade, it was incredibly rewarding in the journalism world. I trust that the same will be true in the ski industry. It's certainly a new adventure. Just like the new book I'm reading: Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. There you go. I tied the title of this blog post in, finally.

Lauren and Jim, feeling overly confident on Day 1.

Suggestions?

Comments

  1. mr sensible of shoeDecember 7, 2011 at 7:53 PM

    That's awesome, Jim! I wish I had the huevos to find something I am passionate about and make a career of it. Best of luck with venture! I could be in the market for some new skis at some point, but that would require me to actually start skiing again. It has been a few years. I think I need to take a trip out west...

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