Spyder Skiing Shop

DAVID L. JACOBS
President

David Jacobs has contributed to the sport of skiing and the ski industry throughout his adult life. A true competitor, Jacobs achieves excellence on the ski run and in the business world. As a top athlete, he has been ranked among the world's best skiers. As president and founder of Spyder Active Sports, has spent over a quarter of a century building Spyder into the leading high-performance specialty skiwear company in the world. His dedication to the sport of skiing and the Spyder brand is truly an inspiration.

Born October 1, 1933 in Montreal, Canada, Jacobs began skiing at age 13. During his school days, he also played ice hockey, only to give it up at age 16 to devote his time to skiing. His first race was at age 18. At 21, he won the Quebec Kandahar, proving that he was on the fast track to becoming a nationally competitive skier. Obtaining his Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics from St. Lawrence University and spending one year studying mechanical engineering at MIT proved to be only slight distractions from his skiing. In 1957 he captured the title of Canadian Downhill Ski Racing Champion. From 1957 through 1961, Jacobs was a member of the Canadian National Ski Team, and during the 1958 season, he was the top-ranked member of the Canadian FIS Team. Unfortunately, he was forced to withdraw before competing in the World Championships at Badgastein, Austria, when he fractured his leg during a downhill training run. As the first full-time head coach and program administrator for the Canadian National Ski Team from 1964-1966, Jacobs continued his contribution to the sport at the national level.

Jacobs has parlayed his love for sports into numerous successful business ventures. From 1966 to 1969, Jacobs was President of Lange-Jacobs, Inc., the manufacturer of Lange plastic ski boots in Montreal. After that company merged with Lange USA in 1969, Jacobs moved to Boulder, sat on the board of directors, and was the company's vice president from 1969-1972. During this time, he designed the first Lange competition ski boot, which became the hallmark of World Cup ski boots. Jacobs then decided that it was time to go off on his own.

In 1972 he founded The Jacobs Corporation, producing Hot Gear, a line of up-market children's ski clothing, and Cool Gear, a collection of adult bicycle clothing and accessories. During this time he was granted a patent for his design of a new bicycle saddle that revolutionized the nature of bicycle saddle construction. After the sale of The Jacobs Corporation, his entrepreneurial spirit led him to found the Spyder brand in 1978. It began as a small business in his kitchen, offering race sweaters by mail order. In 1981 he also introduced the Pearl Izumi technical cycling apparel brand to the U.S. market, designing both the ski and cycling collections. Jacobs sold Pearl Izumi in 1989 to focus his efforts on the Spyder brand.

The company's name was coined after one of Jacobs' early creations -- navy blue racing pants with yellow striped pads extending from the knee to the hip. His son Billy mentioned that skiers were calling them spider pants, due to their spider-like appearance. "When I decided to produce my own race clothing, I thought of using spider, but why not spell it with a "y" like the Ferrari Spyder? Besides, I hate spiders. The most ominous and frightening thing to me is a black widow spider. So that had to be my logo. I figured if I hated them so much, people would look at the clothing and never forget it. I wanted something powerful and menacing -- a lasting image." (Ski Tech, Jan/Feb1988)

That image was splashed across Spyder's early mail offerings, which included Jacobs' racing pants and padded sweaters, as well as Vuarnet sunglasses, bent downhill poles and other racing accessories. For two years, Spyder operated out of Jacobs' kitchen. At the end of two years, sales were in the six figures and Jacobs' kitchen was too crowded.

To finance an expansion in 1980, Jacobs sold Spyder to Boulder-based Hanson Industries, a ski boot manufacturer. Eighteen months later, he bought Spyder back before Hanson went bankrupt. Spyder's growth exploded over the turn of the century, and the company became the largest ski-specialty brand in the world. In 2004, Apax Partners acquired the brand. The partnership will allow Spyder to continue to expand its product line and build on the momentum of the brand. Currently, the company sells products in the United States and Canada to over 550 high-quality specialty retailers. Spyder is sold outside North America into 50 countries through its wholly owned subsidiary in Europe and through independent distributors around the globe.

Spyder's niche has always been high-end skiwear. Its exponential growth resulted from expansion of that market, Jacobs notes. "At the time I started Spyder, there was not much of a market for what I made. But I knew if I could own that little spot at the top, there weren't many people there to compete with me," he recalled. As the desire for high-tech items spread to recreational skiers, Spyder's sales flourished. "People began asking, 'Well, which clothing is the real stuff?' They were told Spyder. The high-performance market just expanded around us." (Ski Tech, Jan/Feb1988)

Athlete sponsorship is a cornerstone of Spyder's commitment to the sport, with major support going to the US, Austrian, and Canadian Alpine Ski Teams, the Canadian Freestyle Ski Team, Team Venom pro freeskiers, and the Venom House Team, a team comprised of regional freeskiers.

David Jacobs' contributions to skiing have not gone unnoticed. He has the distinction of being named to the Honor Role of Canadian Skiing. He is also a past recipient of the John Semmelink Award, an honor given to those skiers whose sportsmanship, conduct, and ability best represent Canada in international competition. He is a 1987 inductee into the Laurentian Ski Hall of Fame in Quebec, Canada, and a 2001 inductee into the Colorado Ski Hall of Fame. His business acumen has also been recognized, as he is a 2004 inductee into the Boulder County Business Hall of Fame. His was Ernst & Young's Entrepreneur of the Year for the Rocky Mountain Region in 2004, and was a finalist for the same honor in 1990, 1991, 1994, 1997, and 2001.

David Jacobs is also an innovator. In 1994, Jacobs was granted a patent on SpeedWyre, a new technology that reduces wind drag on race suits by up to 20%. It was used by the U.S. Ski Team in the winning of two World Downhill Championships by both Hilary Lindh and Picabo Street. SpeedWyre was eventually banned by the FIS for giving unfair advantage.

In light of the plethora of achievements he's gained over the years, which may incline others to rest on their laurels, David Jacobs remains remarkably dedicated to his sport, customer, and company. "It's not size that has been my goal for Spyder, it's position," said Jacobs. That position is for Spyder to be an internationally known brand of high quality, high-performance sports clothing. "My clothes have to perform, not only for the customer but for me," concluded Jacobs. "This is not just a job for me -- Spyder is an extension of my personality." (Boulder County Business Report, Feb. 1988)

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