The Ski Podcast

Tony McWilliam, founder Faction Skis (Bonus Episode #19)

Listen Later
In this Ski Podcast Special, we meet Tony McWilliam, founder of one of the world's leading snowsports brands - Faction Skis.

We find out what inspired him to start the company and how it took it to become one of the most famous freestyle ski brands in the world.

Intersport Ski Hire Discount Code
Save money on your ski hire by using the code ‘SKIPODCAST’ at intersportrent.com, or simply take this link for your discount to be automatically applied at the checkout.

SHOW NOTES

  • Tony designed my first brochure for my first business, Natives.co.uk
  • You can listen to our Ski Podcast Special with Pat Sharples here
  • Faction skis started in 2003
  • BoardX took place in Battersea for several years
  • You can listen to our Ski Podcast with Jim Adlington here
  • Other key contacts for Tony in the early years were Phil Martin, Gordy Hughes and Matt Reardon
  • He worked closely with Peter Bauer, founder of Amplid
  • The first range of Faction skis had a waist of 80-110mm
  • Initially the skis were made in Annecy before production moved to Austria
  • Skis like the Seth Pistol were an inspiration
  • Jamie Strachan's designs for Volkl were another influence
  • The first run of Faction skis was just 44 pairs - they now sell 35,000 pairs every year globally
  • Sam Smoothy is a NZ freeride skier
  • Ski Service in Verbier was the first store to stock Faction Skis
  • Tony first met Candide Thovex as a 16-year-old rider in Les Arcs
  • Check out Candide in China here (he took 27 pairs of skis with him for that shoot!)
  • Tony launched an eco-friendly outerwear brand, GHOSTS, on Kickstarter in 2019
  • He also worked with Eric Pollard - ex-Line Skis - on the launch of the new ski and snowboard range Season Eqpt
  • Find out about Candide's outerwear brand


    • ...more
    View all episodesView all episodes
    Download on the App Store
    The Ski PodcastBy The Ski Podcast
    • 4.4
    • 4.4
    • 4.4
    • 4.4
    • 4.4

    4.4

    14 ratings

    More shows like The Ski Podcast

    View all
    The Martin Lewis Podcast by BBC Radio 5 Live

    The Martin Lewis Podcast

    69 Listeners

    The Cycling Podcast by The Cycling Podcast

    The Cycling Podcast

    940 Listeners

    BLISTER Podcast by BLISTER

    BLISTER Podcast

    506 Listeners

    Following On by talkSPORT

    Following On

    37 Listeners

    THEMOVE by Lance Armstrong

    THEMOVE

    3,475 Listeners

    GEAR:30 by BLISTER

    GEAR:30

    773 Listeners

    NEVER STRAYS FAR by David Millar, Pete Kennaugh and Ned Boulting

    NEVER STRAYS FAR

    127 Listeners

    The Story by The Times

    The Story

    254 Listeners

    Watts Occurring by Crowd Network

    Watts Occurring

    284 Listeners

    The Rest Is Politics by Goalhanger

    The Rest Is Politics

    3,000 Listeners

    The News Agents by Global

    The News Agents

    906 Listeners

    The Whiteout Ski Podcast by The Whiteout Ski Podcast

    The Whiteout Ski Podcast

    0 Listeners

    The Rest Is Money by Goalhanger

    The Rest Is Money

    195 Listeners

    For The Love Of Cricket by Crowd Network

    For The Love Of Cricket

    45 Listeners

    Sir Bradley Wiggins’ Café Aficionado by Atomized Studios

    Sir Bradley Wiggins’ Café Aficionado

    10 Listeners