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“Even in our first year we wanted to create this brand that’s representative of a lifestyle – it goes beyond the sport.
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The early days had this particular portrayal of action sports, but what we were seeing was this brilliance in the athleticism, that goes beyond the act of sport,” Steve Jones said. When we consulted on the first X Games, believe it or not they had shovel racing as a sport. “We’ve always been insanely focused on and believed in action sports as a lifestyle and the personalities behind these things. Shortly after the launch of the first film tour, which evolved into one of the largest action sport film tours in the world, TGR quickly launched its branded merchandise, playing off the growing forum base, and the following year was enlisted to consult on the first X-Games. We were also one of the early adopters of short form content,” he continued, which has led to a monumental content and distribution effort, including social media, branded content, editorial, television, relationships with mainstream entities like USA Today and Disney, as well as real world interactions with fans through the film tour.
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“We always loved how free the digital and online atmosphere was making our world and the opportunities for independence it presented. Jones said one of the brand’s most enduring qualities is to embrace change. “We were deeply passionate about the idea that everyone in the world would be connected and have the ability to reach the global population with no barriers.” “The year we launched TGR we launched the website and put the forum up, so we effectively had an early version of a social network,” said Todd Jones. Today, Henderson is an account executive at Backbone Media, assisting TGR with its global public relations. They were the ones that planted the seed,” explained Eric Henderson, former Jackson Hole and Alaska ski guide whom, like many of his ilk, grew up with and took inspiration from the Jones brothers. “TGR notably was the first online forum for ski bums, and one of the early online forums for any consumer group, launching the famed TGR forums in 1996. Most agree that what TGR did in the late 1990s laid the groundwork for what we today call social media. They are widely credited as one of the first film companies, and one of the first companies in the ski industry really, to have a functioning and interactive website. And they made it a lifestyle.”įounded in 1995, right out of the gate TGR’s first film, The Continuum, in 1996 won the International Ski and Snowboard Film Festival - and was ultimately inducted into the Ski Hall of Fame for transcending the genre with the first true multi-media distribution platform and appearances on Oprah and ABC. “They made skiing young and fun and cool. I waited on tables with Steve and Todd in Jackson Hole when it was just a dream,” said Kelly Blake, another 20-year vet of the outdoor industry and partner at Verde Communications. “When I think of what they have done with TGR it’s like a proud mom. We learned it the hard way, and sometimes the easy way, through success and failure.” It’s actually hard to find someone in the ski world who has not been influenced by TGR and the Jones brothers. “We went to the school of hard knocks and now we’re 20 years in. Right out of the gate we had pretty big ideas, for all things action sports, a vision and a brand, and we wanted to be recognized,” TGR Co-founder Todd Jones, 43, told SGB from his Wyoming office. “In the beginning we were ski bums with a vision to make films to showcase skiing and snowboarding from our eyes, the way we wanted it to be. TGR employs about 41 people year round including some of the most talented names in business management and media development, not to mention content and film making as well as retail, admin, production and the film tour department.Īt its core, however, there are two people credited with the vision and determination to bring this media house to age, and that’s brothers Steve and Todd Jones, who are still involved in every aspect of the business from management and finances, strategic growth, planning, filming, editing and directing. (The company moved to Wilson from its enviable offices at the base of the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort tram about three years ago, where it officed for 10 years.) More than 100 people may be working for TGR on any given day in the winter season, engulfed in projects ranging from filming for its upcoming surfing documentary on the legendary Andy Irons in Hawaii, scouting lines from a helicopter in Alaska, or scripting television programming for Unreal TV, with up to 55 people buzzing around its headquarters in Wilson, WY.