Mike Hattrup has joined Black Diamond Equipment as their new Ski Category Director. As head of the ski business unit Hattrup will be overseeing the development and marketing of ski related products. In addition to his legendary status in backcountry skiing, Hattrup brings Black Diamond a wealth of experience in both the ski and outdoor industries including sales, marketing, product development and brand director roles.
“We are very excited to have someone with Mike’s stature join the Black Diamond team,” said John Walbrecht, president of Black Diamond Equipment. “His knowledge of the marketplace, identifying trends and developing disruptive products that enhance the user experience make him the perfect fit to lead Black Diamond’s ski program.”
Hattrup joins Black Diamond having spent his entire career in skiing, in both hardgoods and softgoods categories. Most recently, he was the US Alpine Product Marketing Manager for Fischer Sports, where he led the development of its award winning freeride collection. Previously, he was International Sales Director and the Global Backside Director for K2 Skis. In softgoods, he spent ten years on Marmot’s Design Board Team and another four years spearheading the development of Outdoor Research’s freeride collection.
Prior to his business career, Hattrup was a mogul competitor eventually earning him a spot on the US Freestyle Ski Team. He starred in over a dozen ski films including the influential “Blizzard of Aahhh’s.” While filming in Chamonix, he became captivated by the terrain beyond the resort boundaries. This led to him becoming one of the first certified AMGA Ski Mountaineering Guides. He’s guided clients in the US, Canada, South America, Norway and the European Alps.
One of the less known characteristics of Hattrup is his charitable side. After his team won the Ford Sport Trac Challenge adventure race, he donated his $25,000 winnings to the American Mountain Guiding Association to create an endowment that provides ongoing tuition for guide education. He’s also donated his time to help raise money for the Special Olympics, Outdoors for All, and Sun Valley Center for the Arts.
In his position at Black Diamond, Hattrup will be responsible for creating the strategic direction of its ski category including business and product launch planning, global product line management, product development and the delivery of activity and consumer driven product initiatives. “I’ve been a fan of BD products ever since I went through the guide program. When I was their competitor, I admired the passion of the employees, envied and at times loathed the power of the brand, so I’m honored to join the BD team and excited to advance Black Diamond’s Ski category in an increasingly competitive global marketplace.”
When talk of the heydays of Telemark come up they would be incomplete without a tribute to Mike Hattrup and the lineup of tele skis he helped create for K2. For as long as it lasted, Hattrup had his pulse on what the tribe wanted, with names that defined the culture, like Work Stinx, Piste Stinx, Piste Off, and the Piste Pipe, an ode to free heelin’ park riders. It will be interesting to see what sort of synergy will result between Hattrup and the Black Diamond brand.
© 2021