From Boot Containers to the Hilton: Ned Buckley | Only Friends on a Pow Day

From a tiny Niseko locker room and shipping-container boot shop to Boot Solutions Japan and Village Sports inside the Hilton, Dr Ned Buckley shares the twenty-year journey behind one of Japan’s most trusted boot-fitting businesses.Full Episode:Ned Buckley had two options: build a life in Telluride or take a punt on the still-emerging ski town of Niseko. Then he arrived in April, woke to almost a metre of fresh snow and made his decision.Twenty years later, the founder of Boot Solutions Japan has grown a tiny boot-fitting operation beneath Lodge Bamboo - and later a couple of demountable shipping containers - into specialist stores across Niseko and Hakuba, including Boot Solutions inside Village Sports at the Hilton Niseko Village.In this episode of Only Friends on a Pow Day, Austin sits down with one of the ski industry’s true characters, Dr Ned Buckley, for the full story.Born in Cooma into a family steeped in Australian skiing, Ned grew up partly in Vanuatu before finding his way back to the mountains. A fairly wild forklift job in Brixton led him to walk into a London ski shop, where he began learning the craft of boot fitting. From there came Telluride, the legendary BootDoctors, and an obsession with understanding not only ski boots, but the anatomy and biomechanics of the feet inside them.Ned tells us how a powder day in Niseko changed everything; why the first Boot Solutions shop came with a 30-centimetre “powder clause”; and how the business grew through early Niseko, its long partnership with Rhythm Japan, the opening of Hakuba and the move into its own purpose-built stores.At the same time, Ned returned to university, qualified in podiatric medicine and completed a Doctorate of Clinical Podiatry to become a specialist podiatric surgeon. Eventually, he made the call to step away from surgery and return his full focus to the ski industry, where he felt most at home.The story is not all powder days and perfectly fitted boots. Ned talks candidly about opening a major Village Sports operation just as COVID hit, losing around 90–95 per cent of business for three seasons, borrowing to keep the company alive and rebuilding on the other side.Austin and Ned also get into the real fabric of the snow industry: the characters who built early Niseko, why good boot fitting can make or break someone’s relationship with skiing, creating genuine careers in seasonal towns, balancing business with family and the culture that keeps people coming back winter after winter.In this episode:Growing up between Cooma, Vanuatu and the Australian snow industryChasing Erin to London - and accidentally finding a careerLearning boot fitting in London and TellurideThe April powder day that sold Ned on NisekoOpening Boot Solutions in 2006 beneath Lodge BambooThe shipping-container shop and the 30-centimetre powder clauseEarly Niseko, Wild Bill’s, Waza’s World and the people who made the townGrowing alongside Rhythm Japan and opening in HakubaStudying podiatry, biomechanics and foot surgeryBuilding a specialist service without losing the funVillage Sports, the Hilton and the huge risk taken just before COVIDSurviving three seasons with a 90–95 per cent downturnChoosing the ski industry over surgical practiceFamily, balance and showing his kids what “as good as it gets” really looks likeThe future of Boot Solutions, year-round mountain towns and real snow-industry careersGuest: Dr Ned BuckleyInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/buckleyned/Boot Solutions JapanWebsite: https://www.bootsolutionsjapan.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bootsolutions_japan/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/boot-solutions-japan/Village Sports JapanWebsite: https://villagesportsjapan.com/en/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/villagesports_japan/Follow Only Friends on a Pow DayYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@OnlyFriendsonaPowDayInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/onlyfriendsonapowday/Website: https://www.onlyfriendsonapowday.com.auSpotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4f3LRobtvyCKkoWAlDBb8YApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/only-friends-on-a-pow-day/id1804878609Support the showThanks for listening, stay frothy and have fun!