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The Prior Experiment - Taking ‘Whistler Style’ to another level

There has been a lot of talk in Whistler recently about the need for economic diversification as the community grows and develops. And I totally agree.
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Chris Prior and Dean Thompson Photo by Peter Holst.

There has been a lot of talk in Whistler recently about the need for economic diversification as the community grows and develops. And I totally agree. Over the next few years, it will become incumbent on Whistlerites to come up with new and exciting business initiatives that assure the town’s long-term success — both as a resort destination and a community worth living in. But what does that mean exactly? And more importantly, what does it look like?

For the last 40 years, Whistler has been in the mountain-sports business. Skiing, snowboarding, mountain biking — and the celebration of a local culture that has been performing these sports at the cutting edge — that’s what this resort community’s reputation has been built on. And it’s provided us with a distinct brand and a unique personality.

Indeed, while a growing number of business people in town seem enthralled by the shopping-mall/amusement park model — “Fill those beds at all costs!” appears to be the new battle cry — I would argue that Whistler’s future success is intrinsically tied to the development and evolution of its original core story.

Which, in my mind, makes locally-produced Prior skis and snowboards one of the most promising diversification experiments going.

Think about it. Here’s a Whistler-based company that has been designing, building and distributing a product that is directly linked to the resort’s economic engine. A product, furthermore, that reflects local riding styles and conditions. And one that can change and evolve quickly to fulfil the needs of a very demanding and high-performance consumer. Talk about innovative…

“We certainly see ourselves more as artisans than manufacturers,” says company founder and co-owner Chris Prior. “That’s why we’ve focused on custom-style production. We’re definitely not in this just for the money. We’re trying to create a business that also values a healthy lifestyle. To me, success means being able to surf and test product on the mountain as much as being able to pay the bills at the end of the month…”

But that doesn’t mean that the company isn’t run in a business-like manner. Enter Dean Thompson — a tough, no-nonsense guy with an enduring love for adventure sports and an unswerving focus on the company’s bottom line. “There’s a great satisfaction from making a product that people really love,” says the MBA graduate and other half of the Prior ownership team. “But producing skis and boards in a place like Whistler means that we have to do things a little differently than our competitors (who mostly manufacture overseas, increasingly on the other side of the Pacific Ocean). I mean, this is a tough place to make a profitable go of it. You have to be really creative — and really disciplined.” That’s why, adds Thompson, the company decided to go to the direct sales route.

“Our biggest challenge is making sure that our prices remain competitive while our quality remains high,” explains Thompson. “And with the increasingly high cost of manufacturing at Whistler, together with the variety of products and custom options we provide, selling direct makes sense for us.” By eliminating the retail middleman, by selling directly to the consumer (either through its Internet site or through its Function Junction store), the company has managed to remain profitable while staying true to its reputation as one of the most progressive custom manufacturers on the market today.

All you have to do is slap on a pair of Prior skis and hit the slopes to understand just how strong a reputation this company has with young, high-end consumers. Just about every chairlift ride you take will elicit some comment from fellow riders. “Wow. Prior skis. I hear they kick ass.”, or “My roommate just bought a pair. And he says they rule!”, or even: “I’m saving my money to buy a pair. I could have bought some other skis on the bro/pro plan but I wanted Prior.”

As for their performance — no question. These are born and bred Whistler tools. Like the company ads promise, the Prior designs are made to maximize a rider’s pleasure in our unique Coast Mountain conditions. And while Prior’s reputation was originally built on the quality of its snowboards, its surf-inspired ski shapes are making converts out of even the most hardcore of the two-planked set.

So are the two principals getting rich yet?

“We’re certainly not over the hump yet,” says Thompson with a laugh. “When we put our business plan together a few years ago, we set down a target number that we needed to reach for us to live the lifestyle we wanted and still be a successful company. We’re growing every year, but we’re still a ways from that number yet.”

When I ask him how many skis and snowboards Prior now produces, Thompson is reluctant to provide exact numbers. “We’ve never answered that question,” he says. And then he laughs again. “This is a very competitive business and we don’t like to provide our rivals with too much information.” But when I suggest ‘a few thousand’, he doesn’t object. “If a ‘few thousand’ means somewhere between 1,000 and 4,000, then I’m OK with it,” he concedes, a Cheshire cat smile hovering on the edge of his words. And then he gets serious again. “For any board company to become successful, you definitely have to reach a certain threshold in sales. Otherwise, you just can’t cover your fixed costs and buy the materials in big enough quantities to make it work.”

As we talk together, it becomes clear to me just how creative and strong this Prior/Thompson partnership is. And yet, how unlikely it is that these two very different personalities would ever develop enough common ground to find a way to work together successfully.

Chris, the Barbados-raised, laid-back board-shaper is an artist through and through. And like most artists, his mind works in wild and wonderful non-linear ways. A latecomer to winter sports — “I first started snowboarding around 1989 or so,” says the former windsurf star — he was soon building boards for friends who wanted something a little different than what was available in the local stores. “Compared to shaping surfboards, making snowboards is not that complicated,” he says. And then he smiles. “You just have to make sure things are glued together properly…”

For his part, Dean grew up in the heart of the Rocky Mountains — Golden to be exact. And though his heart has always remained in the backcountry, his mind was business-focused from the get-go. A talented athlete — and a successful semi-pro hockey player — Dean brought the same hardnosed approach to work that he did to the ice rink.

So how did they ever connect? I mean, this is not your average partnership.

“I was working for Quicksilver in Japan,” Dean explains. “And I needed some snowboards for a promotion we were doing. I’d heard what Prior was doing so I asked him for a quote on the job.” He pauses. “You know, being from B.C., I wanted to keep it local. So when Chris came back to me with a competitive bid, I decided to go with him.”

Chris: “That’s what got me out of the garage in North Van. Up to that point, I’d been selling a few boards here and a few boards there. Then Dean ordered 250 boards from me. Suddenly I had a real business going. I had to step it up.” The initial order was a success and Dean and Chris stayed in touch. On his return from Japan, Dean enrolled in the MBA program at SFU. Meanwhile he kept buying boards from Prior.

“By this point,” says Chris, “I was being challenged by the growing size of the business. I’d been through the knocks and bumps pretty early on and I knew right away that I couldn’t do it all. I needed help on the business front.” So the two friends started talking.

“That’s when we developed a plan to move the business up to Whistler,” explains Dean. “To me it was obvious. Handcrafted Prior boards and Whistler were a good fit.” They joined forces in 1999 and made the move in 2000. And though they’ve had their share of challenges over the years, both agree it was the right move to make.

“There are so many advantages to being based in Whistler,” says Chris. “Being here, my mind is going off all the time. New shapes, new ideas — it’s pretty much endless.”

Adds Dean: “From the terrain to the quality of the local riders, we couldn’t ask for a better place to test our product. And overall, the community has been pretty supportive. Not everybody knows us, but those who do are pretty positive about our product.”

Which begs a couple of questions: why aren’t more Whistler politicians and muni officials showing off Prior product when they’re on the mountain? Why are Whistler-Blackcomb executives riding on French- or Austrian-made boards when they could be supporting a local brand? To me, it’s all about pride. What Dean and Chris and their merry staff at Prior are doing is truly inspiring — and ultimately adding to the Whistler mystique. Besides, if diversification is the key to our future, then they’ve already opened the door…