In early 2000, Josh Reid and Paul Maravetz—college buddies and fellow snowboarders—took a long, hard look at the marketplace and saw a lot of value tied up in non-snowboarding brands.
“We felt at that time with what we had learned, and the snowboarding we’d done since ’84, that we wanted to give it a go and focus on the type of brand that’s really rooted in the people who have organized their lives around snowboarding,” says Reid about founding Rome Snowboards. At the time, the company was a huge departure from some of the larger, established brands on the market.
Co-founders Reid and Maravetz joined us on the set of The Sessions @ SIA earlier this year to explain the history behind their New England based brand. While a ton has changed over the course of the past 15 years, Maravetz says that the brand has stayed the course when it comes to riding. Even though they haven’t consistently averaged the stellar 100 days per season that they started out with, the business owners says their “love of snowboarding hasn’t changed at all.”
Get the details on Rome’s % For Snowboarding program that gives back to local retailers.
One factor that has changed, from Rome’s perspective, is the level of stress involved in owning and operating a small business.
“With a lot of our employees, there’s now the responsibility of their families,” explains Maravetz. “It used to be in the early days we could lose a lot of money if we failed, but now the money in hindsight isn’t a big deal—now it’s people’s lives that would be upset.”
In terms of new product highlights for next season, Rome gets into details behind several new shapes the brand is exploring, including some crucial rider-feedback updates on its proprietary splitboard technology. Rome has been working with its Japanese distributor to bring three new POW boards to the market for 2016, as well. On the apparel side, Rome has a surprise or two in store for this upcoming season, with an upgraded hoodie that still keeps you warm on the coldest days.
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