What do you do when you can’t find what you are looking for? You make it yourself of course. At least some people do and thank goodness for them. Yes entrepreneurs are perhaps a rare breed that when they have an idea on how to make something better they take action on it, create it for themselves and often in the process create something that many others would want as well.

The snowboard industry like so many others in recent years has been going through a movement away from traditional big manufacturers and further towards small handmade, customer, high quality, small manufacturers.

From an education and career as an animal biologist, Greg Fortier of Revelstoke, BC was lured away from his home in northern Alberta by the siren song of Reve’s big mountains and big snow.

Techy by nature, he was in pursuit of the ultimate board. When he couldn’t find it he decided to build it himself. 4 years later trapper snowboards is becoming a recognized niche brand of high quality handmade boards using local materials and labour while being inspired by the areas unique big mountain culture.

I connected with Greg to learn about his start up story, the challenges along the way and why being paid in high fives trumps the big money of the corporate world any day of the week.