-HTPS`[PTL^P[O*HYPHUK>VSMNHUNH[4VVUSPNO[)HZPU 4;PU-LIY\ -HY` >LOH]LHOV\ZLPU)PN:R`HUK VU[OPZ[YPW ^L^LU[KVN sledding with some friends. Photo: Woolcott Collection THE EXTENDED FAMILY The biggest thing I miss about Volcom is the family aspect—we had a great group of people through all stages of the business, and there is still a great group there now. When we started out, we were all really young. We became close friends. We had holiday parties and went to each other’s birthday parties—we did everything together, through thick and thin. I would fly to a trade show with 30 of our troops. We knew what we had to do. We all had each other’s backs and had this camaraderie, and it was important to me. When you’re in it, you al-most take it for granted. Maybe you’re worried about something, but you’ve got this great group of people around you that are supporting one another and that’s what gets you through everything. That original group has fragmented; people get married, have kids, and move on. I don’t have that camaraderie anymore and that’s OK, but I think that’s what made Volcom so strong to begin with: We were all walking in unison together. The team riders were important from day one. I wanted Volcom to be a rider-driven company. Everything we did was around the riders and that was probably the strongest thread throughout my time with the company. Ryan Immegart was our first official snowboarder on the team. He was 15 years old at the time, from Big Bear, CA. Ryan is still at Volcom today as the global marketing director. It’s cool to see some of the early guys still involved with the brand. And it’s not just Volcom; it’s that whole scene from back when we started. You see brands like Vans supporting the legends, and what Burton gives back to the sport—I take my hat off to Jake Burton. He welcomed us into snowboarding, and we shared a lot of team riders for a long time even though we made some of the same products. It worked out for both companies and helped in building the whole culture. Thank you, Jake. THIS GIRL IS GREAT I met my wife Cari in 2006. She’s an acupuncturist. I strained my Achilles while trying to keep up with Jamie and Terje snowboarding at a Zumiez event at Keystone, CO. My physical therapist was like, “Hey man, I can’t fix this. Let me recommend you to an acupuncturist.” I started going to Cari. Eventually I healed and we developed a relationship. She came around at a time when I needed somebody like her in my life—very grounded, calming, a perfect match. Volcom had just gone public. I was 40, and it was a whirlwind. I needed certain things to help ground me and support me as I went on this journey as a CEO of a public company, which can be a lonely place. I ran into her and thought, “Wow! This girl is great.” We hit it off, and five years later we got married. We’ve always had a lot of fun together. She’s a real natural gal who loves the ocean and the mountains. She lived in Sun Valley, ID, and she’s a ripping skier. Not long after we met, she told me she skied. She was going to Mammoth a lot at the time and I said, “I got this place at Mt. Baker, up in Washington.” I took her up there and, in my mind, it was go time—no worries. We started to hike in from the parking lot to get first chair and she said, “Wait a minute, I’m hiking in ski boots. Where are we going?” I said, “Oh honey, we have to get first chair. Here, you need a back-pack, a beacon, a shovel and a probe. We might pop out of bounds.” She’d never done that before. So, I geared her up, we got on Chair 5, got off, ducked under a rope, and rode down to a chute. She was like, “What are you doing? Ducking ropes?” I looked down the chute, it was early season, and a little rocky get-ting into it. I dropped in, stopped, and yelled up, “You can totally do it! Point it!” The next thing I knew she was headfirst down the chute with her skis stuck up in the rocks. And I thought, “Uh-oh, this isn’t good.” We hadn’t been dating six months. She was pissed. It was our first run of the season, her first run at Baker. The snow was heavy, we rode a few more lines, but she was used to the dry snow in Idaho—she wasn’t so sure about Baker. Over time, it really helped our bond on the mountain. We’ve been back to Baker a few times and she’s gotten comfortable in that Pacific Northwest powder. Now, when we go to the mountains, we laugh about Baker, but that first day, it was pretty touch and go. She’s become a great partner. She’s a great friend. She’s a great wife. She’s a great mother and I’m lucky to have her in my life. RICHARD WOOLCOTT 083
The Snowboarder's Journal frequency 17.4: Page 85
