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Scott Carrell

Don’t get caught up marketing Walkmans when everybody is buying iPods.

Don’t get caught up marketing Walkmans when everybody is buying iPods. Doesn’t matter how popular they were five years ago – doesn’t matter how many design prizes your company won for their creative design in the past – they are simply irrelevant in today’s market. This is the analogy that Scott Carrell likes to use when describing Whistler’s situation in 2006.

"This is our biggest challenge," explains the man behind Affinity Rentals. "We can’t be afraid to re-evaluate what our ‘product’ is all about here. What worked for us in 1986 or even 1996 may not be appropriate to our situation anymore. Whistler’s economic impact translates into about $1 billion a year. It’s all nice and good to talk about ‘sustainability’. But what does that mean in economic terms? Have we really looked at Whistler’s potential from a 21 st century perspective? Have we actually put together a detailed economic strategy – a true business plan – for the future of our community? Do we share common goals? I don’t think so…"

He uses another analogy to re-enforce his point. "When a grenade goes off," he explains, "it explodes with great force in every direction. That’s the way I see Whistler right now. Whether it’s Whistler-Blackcomb, Tourism Whistler or municipal hall, it seems like we’re all doing our own thing and going off in all sorts of directions. Whistler needs to move from a grenade approach to more of a shotgun approach. We need to focus our efforts and all move together in the same direction…"

Carrell believes Whistler will experience renewed success when the community realizes just how big the mountain tourism market is beyond the traditional skier/snowboarder demographic. "Skiers and snowboarders make up around 8-9 per cent of the overall population," he explains. "Does it make sense today to restrict our marketing efforts to such a small group? Heck no! We have one of the most educated populations in the country. Last year, for example, I had two architects, a lawyer and a veterinarian working for me at Affinity. So why aren’t we developing initiatives to promote Whistler as an international learning centre? There are huge opportunities there."

But that doesn’t mean Whistler needs to turn its back on skiers and snowboarders. "We just need to broaden our target markets," he says. "We need to engage other segments of the population."

Given its low elevation (and its surfeit of oxygen), its fresh air and easy access to the kind of wilderness found in few places on the globe, Carrell believes that the time is right to expand the Whistler experience beyond the conventional ski resort model. "We’re spending $10 million on a new library," he says. "So how do we make sure we get the most out of our investment? What are we going to do to ensure that the new facility becomes more than just an expensive repository for books?" And that’s just the tip of the conceptual iceberg, he argues. "Whether it’s lifelong learning or health and wellness, arts and culture or outdoor pursuits, Whistler has the potential to attract a very interesting group of new customers. But we need to think bigger than just the ski hills. Our plant and costs are too big now to risk on a winter-only model. That’s simply not sustainable anymore!"

Interesting that those words come from one of the most committed Snoweaters in the valley…

A Burnaby boy, Scott Carrell fell in love with the mountains when his neighbours convinced the young teenager to come with them on a skiing outing to Mt Seymour. By the time Carrell was 16, he and a neighbourhood buddy had custody of a cabin on the mountain. "I was up there every chance I could get," he says. "We made our own snowshoes that we used for our backcountry adventures. We were definitely mountain kids."

The spark was lit. Shortly after graduating from high school, Carrell moved to Tod Mountain (now called Sun Peaks). But it was just too small and isolated for the ambitious youngster. So the next season he tried Banff. But that was too expensive – and cold. He arrived at Whistler in the fall of 1976. "It was everything I was looking for," he remembers. "It was big and wild – and yet it was still close enough to my family home to feel familiar." A pause. He smiles at the memories. "I was probably one of the few people back then who made the decision to move here on a permanent basis…"

His first job at Whistler had him working in Jim McConkey’s ski shop. "I was living with George (Jim’s son) at the time," he explains, "so I got to see Whistler life from a very interesting perspective." He also realized, given the size of McConkey’s extended family, that there would be few opportunities for advancement there. So when Blackcomb Mountain was launched three years later, Carrell applied to run its fledgling retail division. "There wasn’t much at the time," he says. "There was a retail/rental store at Base 2, a trailer in the village and a tiny shop up at Rendezvous Lodge. But it was still a pretty exciting challenge."

Carrell was hired and quickly set about earning a reputation for himself as someone who could get things done. By the mid 1990s, he’d become one of the most senior guys in the organization. So it wasn’t too surprising when he was approached to replace Blackcomb’s departing general manager, John Birrell. "I should have known," he says with a rueful smile. "Here was a guy who didn’t want the job trying to convince me to take it…"

But take it he did. "It was a very interesting time," he admits. And that’s all he’ll say about the two years he spent at the helm of Blackcomb.

When the two mountains merged in 1997, Carrell decided it was time to move to other challenges. One of the few Intrawest executives to remain in the valley after their stint with the company (his partner at Affinity, Sandy Black, is the only other one I can think of), Carrell took a year off before deciding to challenge his former employer with the launch of Whistler’s first high-performance rental store. And he’s never looked back. "I’m probably one of the luckiest guys in this valley," he says. "I’ve got absolutely nothing to complain about."

But that doesn’t mean he’s not concerned for the future. "For better or worse, Whistler is becoming a suburb of Vancouver," he says. "If we don’t focus our efforts on attracting the kind of people we want to host here, then we won’t be able to control the kind of people who actually come here… we have to have a plan!"

Value is everything, adds Carrell. "Whistler should be like Switzerland – clean, efficient and welcoming. When people hear the word ‘Whistler’, that should mean something special. But that just won’t happen by itself. Success comes from a combination of solid planning, devotion and action. Anything less for Whistler just isn’t good enough."

Affinity’s parent company is called Changing Tides Sports Stores. And that moniker, says Carrell, is at the very heart of his business philosophy. "You can’t stop the tide," he explains. "It comes in twice a day and wipes the slate clean." He laughs. "That’s what life is all about too. Things change. If you want to be successful, you have to change with the times too…"