You don't ski fast… you fly low
The idea behind Flylow took roots when co-founders Greg Steen and Dan Abrams, both Colorado natives and friends since college, couldn't find a pair of ski pants that could hold up to the kind of skiing they were doing. Although they had no background in clothing design, they went on to design some of the best mountain gear for fellow skiers. President
Dan Abrams talks to
Paulami Chatterjee about how Flylow is creating ripples around the world of skiing with fashionable yet durable mountain apparel.
How have bib pants become resurgent and so popular for the modern skiers?
Bib pants have more total protection, which offers more warmth. And more warmth allows you to stay outside longer. It's an additional bonus for everybody. This more functional version of the pant is also very much in fashion right now.
What is Flylow gear all about?
Flylow is an independent, homegrown, and mountain-raised company dedicated to building great gear for the modern mountain lifestyle. I founded the company with my good friend Greg Steen, and we are still the owners, operators and guys who design the clothes. We are skiers first and foremost, and we make products that are specific to skier needs. On a more esoteric level, our goal is to inspire people to live life on their own terms, because that's what Greg and I have done. We are living life on our own terms in the mountains, making gear for people who like to play hard.
Where did you get the name Flylow?
Greg and I were skiing at Jackson Hole and a college buddy of ours showed up with his girl friend, who happened to be French. Most of the group was telemark skiing, and they had to take a break in the middle of the run-as telemarkers do-and I blew past their rest break and skied right to the lift. When the group re-gathered at the top, the young French woman came up to me and said something that was immediately memorable. She said, "You don't ski fast… you fly low." Instantly, I could see it written on a t-shirt or a jacket, and I knew it would be a fantastic name for a brand.
What are the new inventions you are coming out with in your skiing product range?
We are always looking to innovate and find new ways to make our products. We are looking to make our products more environmentally sustainable, to use more recycled products, and to use smarter and more innovative DWRs like Omni Bloq. In the next couple seasons, we will also be looking at integrating active insulations in our mid layers, allowing them to be both durable and insulating, but also more breathable so they can be used in active scenarios as well as just keeping the wearer warm.
Tell us more about the Deeper line range of products.
The Deeper line is our heritage collection. These pieces are the ones we built the company around, ones that blend mountaineering technology with a utilitarian durability. These are excellent pieces of gear built for true skiers-made to climb farther, ski harder and last longer.
What made you start making women's gear in 2011 and what were the details that went into it?
We knew from the beginning that we wanted to make women's gear, but we had to make sure that we could afford it as small entrepreneurs who were paying the bills ourselves. Fortunately, we eventually felt a groundswell through our social media channels that enabled us to be confident that there were at least 500 women out there who would buy our jackets and pants-as that's what the minimum is. Even though the greatest determinant of what people buy in apparel is colour, when Flylow builds a jacket, the number one input is the fabric. For our women's line, we design fabric from the ground up for each piece. For example, we don't want to sacrifice durability but we do want to add a little more stretch for comfort and fit. We also use a little bit of a warmer membrane, use more traditional moisture-vapour permeable membranes, and shy away from the air-perms. All these things add up to allow our women's designs to fit more people and appeal to a wider variety of skier preferences.
What was the idea behind intuitive fabrics and what makes them different from normal fabrics?
All intuitive fabrics are specifically made for Flylow and are designed based on the anticipated end use of each garment. This includes the balance between waterproofness and breathability, the thickness and the texture, the colour and other factors.
What other segments do you cater to other than mountain utility products?
The Flylow collection is growing quickly into mountain lifestyle apparel, a year-round apparel collection built for an active yet relaxed life in the mountains. The designs really capture the style and essence of the modern mountain lifestyle, and are totally fun and versatile.
Your products are regularly featured and awarded by top magazines and publications? How does it feel?
It's always humbling to be included amongst the ranks of some of the finest brands in the world, and from time to time we have found ourselves next to great mountaineering brands, traditional alpine race brands and even fashion brands. Honestly, we are flattered that our designs and our feature sets continue to have overrepresentation relative to the size of our company. From what we hear from the media, they really respond to the fact that the guys who founded the company are still the ones who are making and designing all the gear.
How are you going to take on your competitors in coming years?
It's not just about growing and consuming market share; it's about staying true to our core customer. Our goal, first and foremost, is to create the best possible gear for the constantly evolving needs of the mountain lifestyle. We are committed to making Flylow gear better every year, to continue to delivering on time, and to be planning for the best-but ready for the worst, especially when it comes to logistics and shipping. We are always evolving ourselves, too, adding new products, adding new technologies, adding new colours, and of course adding new twists.
Powder mag has called the Cooper Jacket one of the best men's jackets of the year. What makes them a class apart?
The Cooper Jacket is built with an intuitive air-permeable fabric that we call 'The Perm'. It utilises an electrostatic membrane, which allows the fabric to be 20k waterproof-which is at par with the weather requirements of high-altitude mountaineering gear-while still maintaining an air permeable membrane. The pores also allow air to move out without allowing water to move in, allowing heat to escape before it turns to sweat. This is a key difference from the traditional moisturevapour permeable membrane and keeps the wearer drier and more comfortable during a full day on the mountain.
How do your snow apparel and accessories protect skiers against extreme weather conditions?
The key to staying warm and staying outside is to be able to stay dry, and Flylow accomplishes that by using super breathable fabrics and layering systems. One of our newest technologies is Omni Bloq, an innovative new durable water repellent (DWR) that creates a stronger and more cohesive bond with the fabric, causing water to bead up and shed for three times longer than typical DWRs.
Which are your biggest retail markets around the world? Are you planning to expand?
Our biggest region is North America, hands down. Additionally, we are seeing strong growth in Norway, Japan and New Zealand, and in the future we expect to see similar growth throughout continental Europe.
What is your R&D team like? How much do you spend on it on a yearly basis, and where do they get information on trends and consumer insights?
Our R&D team is me and Greg and our network of friends, retailers, sales reps and athletes. We don't have an 'official' R&D approach, but I guarantee you that our 'unofficial' team understands the true needs of everyday skiers and snow boarders better than the biggest brands in the world.
How has your project at the Good labs evolved through the years?
It's really a relatively new thing, but it evolved basically by acknowledging that typical brand collaborations are transparent, blatant marketing ploys. As a team, we decided if we are going to do a collab and promote someone else's brand then we would prefer to promote a non-profit organisation that's doing good for the community or the environment. That was where the idea for 'Good labs' was born-instead of marketing for profit, we market to help people out.
How have sales been in the current fiscal and what are your projections for the next 12 months?
Our sales have increased by an average of 30 per cent year over year for the last five years. We are committed to growing as fast as we can grow while maintaining the independence of our company. Based on our projections and feedback from key accounts, we anticipate that we will easily continue to grow at this pace for the next 12 months and likely quite a bit longer. (PC)
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