It gets in your blood - the sharp, whistling speed of a good straight-line, or the cold, overflow fluff of a good powder day. One of our own has taken his diehard love of the slopes and carved a name for himself in the ski industry.
Casey Hakansson, a 1997 graduate of Douglas High School, was just named technology entrepreneur of the year for his Reno-based company Moment Skis, which he started about five years ago.
Nevada's Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology gave the award, recognizing Moment Skis' 16 different handmade models, ranging from park trick boards to all-mountain bombers. Reno Jib, Freebird and Stilleto are just a few of the names.
"It started as a hobby," Hakansson said in a phone interview. "My friend was making snowboards in the garage, and I bugged him to teach me how to make skis. I developed one prototype, and skied on it for a year. I got a lot of response and started making more skis for myself and friends. From there, it grew in the online community."
Flash forward to 2009 and Moment Skis has carriers all over the western U.S. and Europe, not to mention a team of pro riders that advertise the brand.
"We've made over 2,000 pairs this year," Hakansson said. "We're sold out right now, in October, which is crazy."
Since middle school, I've known Casey Hakansson and his hard-core passion for skiing. He was buds with my older brother and one of the free-riding stars of the Kirkwood scene back in the day. I remember watching him turning his way down a corniced slope then taking some big air off Little Jim's Cliff near Kirkwood's Chair 6. When I was a freshman on the Douglas High Ski Team, Casey, then a senior, was one of the extreme skiers my friends and I looked up to. Legends of him and other riders abounded in that circle of mountains, whether stories of dropping massive cliffs or sticking crazy lines, like the infamous Heart Chute off Chair 10.
I also have memories of Casey completely unrelated to skiing. There was one summer during college that I worked with him on a construction site. I remember seeing him sweat in the brutal sun as he helped lay rock for his dad's masonry company.
"I quit about two years," Hakansson said of that backbreaking work.
Thus, he's become one of the fortunate ones, one of those who turn their true passion into their livelihood, though I'm sure manufacturing is no walk in the park.
"We work about 16-hour days," Hakansson reported.
In Reno, he found about 5,000 square feet of industrial space to use as a factory. He now has five employees, a handful of interns, and a business partner from Auburn, Calif., named Luke Jacobson, who's helped him market the product.
On being named technology entrepreneur of the year, Hakansson said it was surprising that someone nominated him. He said the award is really indicative of everyone involved in his operation.
"It's not just about an individual, but about everyone who has helped along the way," he said. "It's awesome, kind of rewarding for all the work we do."
So where does the young entrepreneur see himself and his company in another five years?
"Hopefully, we'll be making 10,000-plus skis a year," he said. "We'll keep manufacturing in Reno, keeping it American made, and hopefully we'll get a bigger facility. We want to keep being part of the ski world and the Reno community. We also want to branch out beyond skiing into lifestyle - clothing, off-the-hill items, more accessories."
Ambition does have its drawbacks, though.
"I'm not skiing as much as I used to," Hakansson said.
Although ski season now signifies a great amount of work for the small business owner, he's still able to find time to rip the slopes.
"We have some big demos coming up in Tahoe," he said. "Come out and try a local brand."
For more information about Moment Skis, visit www.momentskis.com.
