Over the years, Utah has become an outdoor industry hub, acting as mission control while providing pristine backdrops that bring gear to life with the ultimate field test—from backcountry boots to climbing quickdraws. Hosting everyone from ski junkies in search of that powdery white stuff to cyclopaths hunting red rock playgrounds, it’s no wonder—though often a surprise—that our state has birthed some brag-worthy companies. 

We talked to four founders who’ve stuck around to watch their trailblazing ideas disrupt the industry. With dogged determination, they’ve busied themselves crafting snowboards with more pop, mountain bikes with more grit, pants that won’t ride up and packs that don’t sink down. They live by credos worth contemplating—whether it’s sticking to one’s roots, combating world poverty, cleaning up the planet or making gear affordable for amateurs, these founders have maintained course and refused to compromise their vision.

Cotopaxi
The Do-gooder

Creating the first venture capital-backed Benefit Corporation and Certified B Corp, Davis Smith not only admits there’s profit in this digitally-driven new age of activism but preaches that mission-based companies build trust and value. He says his (modest) raison d’etre is to change the face of capitalism. “Right now, it’s fashionable to fix things,” he says. “I hope it stays that way. We’re making money and we’re helping to alleviate poverty. It shows other companies what’s doable.”

Read more about Cotopaxi.

Niche Snowboards
Getting On Board

Niche Snowboard founders Ana Van Pelt and Kirsten Kolter shared a grievance regarding the industry’s harmful environmental practices, describing the toxic resins and non-recyclable plastics that make up a typical board. They thought it ironic that, while celebrating the outdoor lifestyle, most snowboard companies seemed to care little for their impact on the planet.  “We knew our boarding community was made up of many like-minded people who were passionate about the environment and the outdoors,” says Van Pelt. The plan for Niche over a decade ago was simple: make boards that perform, look beautiful and love the planet.

Read more about Niche Snowboards.

Fezzari Bicycles
The Ride of a Lifetime 

In 2005, Chris Washburn went to work creating Fezzari Bicycles, a web-based company specializing in custom-designed, high-end bikes for both road and mountain riders. “We won’t enter a category unless we can make the best-in-class in a product,” Washburn says. “We knew we were going to be competing against behemoths, so we decided we’d offer really good products that make that elite, custom experience accessible to even the weekend warrior.”  

Read more about Fezzari Bicycles.

KÜHL
KÜHL Runnings

while everyone wants in on KÜHL’s “technical sportswear”—high-performance casual clothing that moves effortlessly from ski runs to sales meetings—KÜHL remains purposely small-staffed, locally-run and committed to doing business with outdoor retailers over mega-companies. That it’s still independently owned and operated is due to one simple fact: it’s not for sale. But what else would you expect from a fiercely independent powderhound who found salvation on a pair of skis?

Read more about KÜHL.

Who’s missing from the outdoor industry? 

Researching outdoor companies both in and outside of Utah, we noticed it too—a glaring lack of representation where people of color are concerned. This is true not only in the boardrooms but also on the bike trails and among the boulders. Research shows people of color are far less likely to engage in nature-based activities thanks to a history that locked them out of national parks and structural deficits that keep many feeling out of place. Pushing back takes many forms, including Utah-based Backcountry.com’s new “Breaking Trail” program, a commitment to supporting organizations like Latino Outdoors and Native Women’s Wilderness that improve access and promote exposure to the outdoors for the underrepresented.

Even though Kirsten Kolter and Ana Van Pelt met while working for a company to develop a new type of horse harness—Kolter in product development and Van Pelt in design—neither of them actually rode horses. They discovered, however, they both rode powder. 

“Snowboarding was our community,” Kolter says of their meeting 15 years ago. “There weren’t as many female boarders out there, so we became fast friends.” That chance meeting would forge not only a friendship but later a business partnership pioneering hand-crafted, environmentally-friendly, zero-waste snowboards bearing the name Niche. 

As a New York transplant who came out west a few years before attending the University of Utah, Kolter says she found solace on the slopes. For Van Pelt, who grew up in California and moved to Idaho as a teenager, she credits snowboarding with saving her life. 

“I was suffering from a severe eating disorder when I first strapped on a board and realized, ‘Whoa, I love this…I really love this,’” says Van Pelt. It struck her that great snowboarders were strong, athletic and took care of their bodies. “That motivation just changed me. I knew I needed to get healthy—and after a lot of hard work, I did.” 

After their first foray working together, an acquaintance looking to invest in a custom-graphics snowboard company asked the two women to sit in on the pitch. “We came out of that meeting and said to ourselves, ‘We could do this better. We both know the industry and each of us has a set of expertise it needs right now,” says Kolter. “More importantly, we felt we could bring something new to the table that existing board companies were overlooking.” 

That “something” was environmental responsibility. Both women shared a grievance regarding the industry’s harmful environmental practices, describing the toxic resins and non-recyclable plastics that make up a typical board. They thought it ironic that, while celebrating the outdoor lifestyle, most snowboard companies seemed to care little for their impact on the planet. 

“We knew our boarding community was made up of many like-minded people who were passionate about the environment and the outdoors,” says Van Pelt. “So why were big-name snowboard companies unapologetic about the war they waged on the environment and why was no one looking to do it differently?” 

They went back to the investor with their own proposal, and in 2010, Niche Snowboards was born. With help from Van Pelt’s husband Todd Robertson, creating zero-waste prototypes of an eco-friendly snowboard became “a real family affair,” says Van Pelt. They used recycled bases and sidewalls and edges. They replaced carbon fiber with basalt fiber, created sustainably sourced wood cores, applied bio-resins and used hemp composite instead of carbon fiber stringers for reinforcement, springiness and pop. The final touch was lacquer-free, beautiful graphics made from non-toxic, water-based inks and environmentally friendly printing methods. 

“Our initial aim was to ensure performance every bit as good as the competition without the waste and toxins,” says Van Pelt. “We weren’t expecting the alternative materials to actually feel superior and outperform—but that’s exactly what happened. They’re lighter, snappier and more durable than most traditionally-constructed decks.” She admits to skepticism, confusion and “more than a few side-eyes’’ from folks when Niche was starting out. The sustainability “trend,” as she calls it, wasn’t yet in full swing. Thankfully, their silent investor wasn’t among the skeptics. 

Eleven years later, Kolter and Van Pelt are thrilled at the success of Niche Snowboards. As the world’s first and only completely zero-waste snowboard company, it has gained serious traction, selling globally through a network of retailers from REI to backcountry.com to specialty boutique shops like Milosport, with a list of big-name riders like current Freeride World Tour athlete Erika Vikander. 

The plan for Niche over a decade ago was simple: make boards that perform, look beautiful and love the planet. Niche has never graced the Olympics or sponsored XGames, yet this Salt Lake City company has carved up the snowboarding industry by setting the standard and forcing even the giants to answer for—and improve—their practices. 

“Some of the response is, of course, greenwashing,” says Van Pelt, who adds that despite this, she sees it as a “win” any time a beneficial technology becomes trendy and inspires change.

“Ultimately, it’s a great thing. Even if it’s driven by money, it doesn’t matter where their heart is. If the demand for more transparency in manufacturing is there,” Van Pelt says, “we are making a difference.”

Gear Guide

Available at nichesnowboards.com

Minx

The super lightweight and poppy Minx is the perfect freestyle board for all-day sessions on and off the park. It floats well in powder, is soft enough to press, yet stable enough to hit jumps. Plus, the flat camber makes it virtually impossible for you to catch your edge. 

Fathom

Not bound by resort operating hours, the classic all-mountain shape of this splitboard works for any conditions and every rider. Plus, it’s the only zero-waste splitboard on Earth.

Maelstrom

Taking snowboarding back to its roots with traditional edge control and a tapered, directional, camber, this board features new-school twists like edge-tracing traction bumps and a hybrid directional camber profile. Cruise, carve, float and charge with ease. 

Read about other stars of Utah’s outdoor industry.

Chris Washburn remembers a singular, clarifying moment that led to the birth of his company, Fezzari Bicycles. With degrees in both business and law from Brigham Young University, he seemed destined for corporate life, working in the newly-emerging electric bike industry with such giants as famed businessman Lee Iacocca and the U.S. military. But a decade into the drill, commuting to the east coast nearly every week, a niggling sense that life was passing him by crystallized as he boarded yet another plane. 

“I was missing every soccer game, dance recital, birthday—I was missing life,” the father of five children and husband to wife, Nancy, says. “I remember this one particular day—I was in turmoil, wondering what to do. At the moment my feet crossed that divide from the jetway into the airplane, it was like a light turned on and I knew I was crossing a threshold in my own life.” 

Washburn decided to quit his job, and in 2005, he went to work creating Fezzari Bicycles, a web-based company specializing in custom-designed, high-end bikes for both road and mountain riders. 

“I’ve always loved biking. I’m not a former Tour de France rider or anything. I just have a passion for it,” he says. “I’m a bike junkie, and I’m always looking for a high-quality setup.” But walking into a bike shop to explore custom bike options sometimes felt like sneaking into the country club. “There can often be an elitist mentality and a take-it-as-it-is attitude. Sometimes I was made to feel like I should be content with what was in the showroom.” 

“You don’t have to be a world-class runner to want a running shoe that fits. You can buy the nicest set of golf clubs but they don’t do you any good if they’re not the right size. So why is it that getting a bike built and fitted to your specifications seemed so outlandish—not to mention obscenely expensive?” 

Washburn set about hiring a team of designers, mechanics and engineers. He then secured partnerships with top-of-the-line component manufacturers, and they began building high-end bikes with dozens of customizable options. “We won’t enter a category unless we can make the best-in-class in a product,” Washburn says. “We knew we were going to be competing against behemoths, so we decided we’d offer really good products that make that elite, custom experience accessible to even the weekend warrior.” 

Fifteen years later, Utah’s biggest bike company still operates almost entirely online, but it does have a factory showroom in its brand new Lindon, Utah headquarters, allowing locals to test ride, get custom fittings and order a bike. 

Washburn says Fezzari’s direct-to-consumer online model allows its bike builders to fit bikes, including frames, handlebars, forks, stems and seatposts to each rider’s measurements. A deeper dive can even amount to custom components from gear ratios to derailleurs all for about 40% less than similarly-specced competitor models. As a result, they have received three Bike of the Year awards and currently have a six-month backorder. Critics have likened Fezzari bikes to “a machine gun in a knife fight” and eager customers seem content to wait months for that big box delivered to their doorstep. “People are willing to wait. They see the value in getting it just how they want it,” he says. 

Fezzari allows customers 30 days to test ride it and send it back for free if they’re not satisfied. “It was originally seen as a risky model, and what we’ve found is that the only way we can offer that guarantee is to be 100 percent confident in our product and believe customers will love it, too.” 

Washburn says jumping from the mundanity of corporate life to a creative venture came with many questions and few easy answers. “I wondered if I’d made a mistake because the whole point was to be able to spend more time with my family and enjoy my passions,” he says. In reality, he didn’t even get on his bike during his first year creating a bike company. 16 years later, however, life has settled into a rhythm of not just calls to suppliers and meetings with designers, but family dinners, graduations and daily canyon rides with Nancy on bikes that represent a passion built from the ground up.

Gear Guide

Available at fezzari.com

The Delano Peak

Fezzari’s newest premiere full carbon all-mountain/trail bike does it all, equally adept at climbing and descending. 

The Empire

When “Iron Cowboy” James Lawrence looked for the right bike to help him complete 100 full-distance triathlons in 100 consecutive days, he turned to this full carbon disc brake road bike. Named “Bike of the Year” by BikeRumor it’s light, fast and remarkably comfortable. 

The Wire Peak

With this high-performance pedal-assist e-bike, mountain bikers get a great workout while taking their adventures faster and farther. 

Read about other stars of Utah’s outdoor industry.