When he started importing Volkl skis into New Zealand over 20 years ago Geoff Mckeown had little idea the brand was going to become so versatile.
The freeskiing explosion started with big mountain events evolving into pipe and park and literally catapulting a number of previously unknown Kiwi snowsport athletes - many leaping around with Volkl on their feet - onto the world stage.
Volkl NZ were among the first to sponsor the 'extreme' big mountain events in the 1990's, introducing a new era of athleticism and approach into the alpine environment.
Kiwi athletes supported by Volkl such as Geoff Small, Sam Smoothy and Janina Kuzma dropped cliffs, charged hard, flew the flag on podiums and featured in movies, inspiring a generation of younger skiers to believe in themselves and aspire to international success.
Along with the high profile freestylers and big mountain adventurers came the arrival of 'young gun' alpine racer and Volkl athlete Alice Robinson.
Just week's after winning the Junior World championships giant slalom title, the astonishing 17 year-old Queenstowner placed second at the World Cup finals just 0.3 seconds behind superstar Michaela Schiffrin.
Master's racing has been another highly regarded project for Geoff with the iconic series strongly supported by Volkl NZ over the past two decades.
Under the banner of Gravity Sports, Geoff now brings in a range of premium brands under the MDV umbrella of Marker bindings, Dalbello boots and his flagship product, Volkl skiis.
In recent years NZ snow conditions have been used by the Volkl international team for research and development of new skis for the northern hemisphere season , particularly the best selling Deacon and Mantra models.
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