What does biotech have to do with backcountry skiing? What does microalgae have to do with skis? And why did the founder of 4FRNT Skis, Matt Sterbenz, agree to get involved with a new startup ski brand, WNDR Alpine? We sat down in Blister HQ with Checkerspot co-founder and CEO, Charlie Dimmler, and WNDR Alpine founder, Matt Sterbenz, to talk about the creation of WNDR Alpine; its relation to and the mission of Checkerspot; and more.

TOPICS & TIMES:

• Why does Matt Sterbenz hate vowels? (2:00)
• How Matt got involved with Checkerspot (5:17)
• Checkerspot’s mission & innovations (10:00)
• Charlie’s background: from Wall Street to Biotech (17:41)
• What Checkerspot is doing with microalgae (23:20)
• Why make skis from new materials? (26:02)
• Effects on ski performance? (32:28)
• Sustainability as a design constraint (41:00)
• Other possible applications of microalgae (48:50)
• How has launching WNDR affected Checkerspot? (58:24)

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