Riv on the Record: Pete Forras (Olympian and XTM founder)

THIS week I had the great pleasure of being joined by 1988 Australian Olympian and global snow brand XTM founder Peter Forras. Spin it!

Tell us how you got into skiing and downhill? What was it about that specific “edge of control” that drew you in as a young athlete?

I was born in the mountains. We had a little shack down at Mount Buller and my dad was teaching skiing in winter and building lodges in summer.

To be honest, I think I was skiing when I started walking.

I never thought about competing, and I was 14 years old when I got the lightbulb and thought it was what I wanted to do.

I won the Buller Cup in my first year of competing and joined an overseas club in Colarado.

I got better at giant slalom and got the speed going and boom, I realised I was better at downhill and off we went.

Walking into the Olympic stadium represents the pinnacle for any athlete. Looking back, what was that moment like? Was it a dream achieved?

I was 24 years old when I was there in Calgary, Canada. It was an absolute pinnacle to go there.

We were making up the numbers in 1988 in all reality, as it was dominated by the Swiss, Norwegians, Austrians and the United States.

The competition itself didn’t go very well – I ended up crashing. It wasn’t the best moment in my life, but being there representing Australia was unlike anything before.

It was a great honour to march in behind the Australian flag and I’d like to think we were building the platform for the generations now.

How did your career prepare you for the unpredictable world of international business?

I switched gears after 1988 when I pulled a disc in my back, and it was time for me to build a house in Jan Juc and move forward.

A lot of athletes struggle with moving past their retirement because they can’t find the same excitement, but when I moved down the coast it gave me that.

I got a fresh new lease on life and we made a little company called Rojo, which we based out of Torquay under the guidance of some of the founders of Rip Curl and Quiksilver.

I worked with the girls at Rojo for years and I took it to Europe, America and Japan and it skyrocketed. Soon later, I became an owner and spent most of the 90s with them.

You started XTM (Cross The Mountain) in 1999. Was there a specific gap in the market or did you want to find your own way of staying connected to the mountains?

I started XTM within Rojo and the rest has been history.

It’s blown me away and it’s been way more successful than we intended it to be.

We saw a gap in the market for entry level skiing…and really knocked out the competition in the market.

Our competitive juices got going and with good disciplined focus we went on to achieve a whole lot more.

I was used to using the best product from being an Olympian, and I committed to athletes it would be the best they’d ever worn.

From 2006 to now, we’ve been outfitting them all. It’s been a great honour.

Your family has a storied history in the Australian ski industry. How much did that family heritage influence your path, and did you ever feel a “weight” of expectation to succeed in the snow?

It was the opposite really. My parents never pushed it upon me, I had to beg to make it happen.

I was so inspired by watching the entrepreneurship of my dad and his brother, and I wanted to create my own blueprint.

XTM gives me a chance to give back because I had such an incredible experience in my career, and I just want to nurture that for others.

What is it about the Jan Juc community that makes it the perfect home base for a family that lives such an active, outdoor life?

The irony of a snow company in a surf town is funny, but it’s worked for us.

We are all action sport companies doing it in a lifestyle manner.

This is the best place in the world. It gets cold in winter, but you head to the mountains and ski.

It’s good to travel, but autumn, summer and spring are beautiful down there.

Torquay folk are storm chasers. We are all searching for the same thing – we push everything aside to get that fresh snow or lines on waves.

After more than 25 years of XTM, what is the “black diamond” run you are still looking to conquer?

I’d love one day for XTM to be available in every resort in the world.

The depth of market share and penetration in Australia is strong for us, but we to continue that drive overseas too.

We are going well in New Zealand, and we just started licensing in America.

For us, it’s head down and let’s keep going.

RAPID RIV:

Favourite XTM product: The Aurel Glove

Favourite mountain: Mount Buller – it’s as good as anywhere in the world

Favourite song: Le Grange by ZZ Top

Favourite food: Anything Japanese, poached eggs or acai bowls

Life motto: Live Hard, Play Hard, Love Lots