Local ski firm gets a boost at Olympics
Freestyle skier Wise used poles made by Zipline, winning gold in halfpipe
When U.S. freestyle skier David Wise dropped into the halfpipe in Pyeongchang, South Korea, and threw up a series of “double cork” flips in four directions, he was using graphite composite ski poles made by Baltimore-based Zipline Ski.
After wiping out on his first two runs, Wise, the defending gold medalist from Sochi in 2014, nailed his final run and won the gold.
“What was so amazing, the tricks that he did were never done before in competition in that order or the degree of difficulty of his jumps,” said Chuck Heidenreich, president of the 4-year-old Zipline and a former U.S. Ski Team freestyle athlete.
Zipline’s ski poles, goggles and other gear have been used during these games by skiers from the U.S., Norway, Finland and Germany. But Wise was the only Zipline athlete favored to win a gold medal.
Heidenreich, who had traveled to South Korea for the start of the games, watched the halfpipe event from his home in Overlea, U.S. freestyle skier David Wise won the Winter Olympic gold medal in the halfpipe using graphite composite ski poles made by Baltimore-based, 4-year-old Zipline Ski. sharing the moment through Facebook with his three daughters and son, all watching from their homes or the colleges they attend.
“My heart was jumping,” Heidenreich said. “To be able to say that our product is being used by an Olympic gold medalist can really help boost our brand image and expand us into other categories of skiing.”
Alex Ferreira of the United States won silver in the halfpipe, and Nico Porteous, a 16-year-old from New Zealand, won bronze.
Heidenreich met Wise after the skier started to follow the Baltimore brand on Instagram last fall. Heidenreich followed up, and Wise ended up trying the brand’s Blurr poles.
Wise has said he likes Zipline poles because they are both light and strong. After switching to Zipline and before the Olympics, he had wonthree times, including his fourth X Games title. He won two of the three World Cup competitions this season leading up to the Olympics.
“When you are spinning high in the air in the halfpipe, having light poles is crucial to perform the maneuvers and achieve the best scores,” Wise said in an email before the start of the Olympics.
Heidenreich, originally from Massachusetts, competed as a mogul skier for three years. He moved to Baltimore in 1999, when he left a 10-year job as a product manager at Spalding Sporting Goods to attend Maryland Bible College and Seminary. His company designs its own brand of ski poles, goggles, gloves, mogul pants and other apparel. It also sells Shaman skis, a Finnish brand designed for freestyle mogul skiing.
Though elite freestyle skiers use the brand’s poles, the company designs products for skiers of all levels, Heidenreich said.
“Not everyone is a freestyle skier, but we all want to be one,” he said. “Our poles can be used by anyone. They’re lightweight and strong. Who doesn’t want that?”