In this one, Cody talks to Matt Eastman, an entrepreneur and a businessman. Over the years, he’s founded a number of companies — an inflatable party rental business called Tons of Fun Entertainment, a hockey blade protector business called Hockey Wraparound, and a sunglasses business called Teamclix. But before all that, he was the most business-minded manager at the Dimond Center Boarderline, an Alaskan snow and skate shop that supported the scene from 1989 to 2006. From 1997 to 2004, Matt embodied so much of what makes a great leader — he was supportive, empathetic, passionate and creative. And he was a great salesman — he helped turn Boarderline from a strictly core shop that intimidated a lot of customers to a more inviting one. He was there throughout so many of the growing pains and the shenanigans, and he was truly able to find a balance between the pranks and playfulness and running a business.

 

Matt says he remembers those old Boarderline days and thinks about them all the time. He remembers how employees were given $50 for catching thieves, and how that resulted in chasing people through the mall and fistfights. He remembers chain stores moving into the mall and how they would try to poach Boarderline employees without understanding that their work life and their social life was tied to the culture created by the shop. He remembers the video premieres and how Boarderline staff and team riders were the rockstars of their day. He says that, at its core, Boarderline was a work family. And in some cases, this work family would go beyond what was expected to support each other.