BODE MILLER: RACING WITH IDEAS
Tired of being dumped by companies after he helped them design products, the ski champion looked for an opportunity to be an owner and manager instead of an endorser
AS A WORLD and Olympic ski champion, Bode Miller got paid to endorse skis and apparel, which made him wealthy but not satisfied. “I’d been working with companies my whole career, contributing my know-how and on-the-hill experience in product development,” he says. “But after they got what they wanted, I was left with nothing.” He considered starting his own business (“the logistics didn’t work”), but decided to buy into Bomber Ski and sportswear maker Aztech Mountain. He’s also exchanged expertise for equity at bag maker Esperos.
With Bomber, the plan is to give amateurs the hot skis he had access to as a racer. “We’ve been developing good skis, but you couldn’t buy them,” Miller says. “The difficult part is to figure out how to make it work in the business model.” Spoken like an MBA. Bomber is making Porsches to the industry’s Kias, skis that sell for $2,500 versus the typical $600. Bomber is controlled by real estate investor Robert Siegel, who bought it at a court auction in 2013. He sees a $100 million brand in five years.
At Aztech, Miller is chief innovation officer. Aztech, founded in Aspen in 2013 by David Roth and Heifara Rutgers as a performance label, grew 50 percent last year. “It’s a brand-new startup, and I get in at a good valuation,” says Miller. “And startups usually need people who can do multiple roles.” Having won in five ski racing disciplines, multitasking comes naturally to him. —B.S.