Ep. 5 - Jay Levinthal of J Skis: Building real demand through authenticity and scarcity — from the creator of twin-tip skis

The 90’s were a magical time. Extreme Sports were becoming mainstream, and it seemed every sport had an element of going backwards… except skiing. Wanting to change that, one kid in his parents' garage quietly and quite literally reshaped the skiing world. On today’s episode of Selling Snow, we’re sitting down with Jason Leventhal, the founder of J Skis and the original creator of the twin-tip ski. Jay’s been in the ski industry for over 30 years. He’s built brands from his parents’ garage, nearly gone bankrupt more than once, sold a company to K2, and then started over again — this time putting everything he’d learned together with a radically different model. J Skis isn’t sold in shops. There are no sponsored athletes. No massive marketing budgets. Instead, it’s a direct-to-consumer brand built on scarcity, personality, art, email, and a relentless focus on fun. In this conversation, Jay breaks down why most ski brands struggle to survive, how selling less product can actually make you more money, why email still beats social media, and what small brands can do better than the biggest players in the industry. If you’re in the ski business, outdoor retail, tourism marketing - or if you’re just fascinated by how niche brands actually succeed -this is one you don’t want to miss. Now go find your favourite chair… sit in it backwards, and let’s get into it with J Levinthal, founder of J Skis. Get all 19 actionable insights from this episode HERE