Mike heading into Westlife Distribution's new headquarters
It’s late October, and the air is beginning to take on a crisp in Southern California. While the Rockies are getting their first major storm, it’s still far from jacket weather outside in Orange County, but inside the doors of Santa Ana’s Granberry studios, it’s full winter. An all-star cast is gathered trying on hundreds of first layers, softshells, and outerwear pieces lined up on dozens of racks for the 686 20-year anniversary catalog shoot.
Current team riders Patrick McCarthy and Forest Bailey clown with photographer Mike Granberry and 686 VP of Marketing Kristin Cusic, as former 686 riders and partners including Ethan “E Stone” Fortier, Stephen Duke, Gaetan Chanut, Kevin Zacher, and Chris Engelsman catch up and pose for the upcoming 300-plus page catalog commemorating the double decade of the brain child of one of snowboarding’s most creative minds—Michael Akira West.
Planting The Seeds: Inspiration In Three Acts
While 686’s story begins in 1992, its seeds were planted 20 years prior. Mike West coined the brand’s name from the date June 6, 1986 (6/86), when his grandmother from Japan showed him an antique design, that inspired him to start something for himself in life, and for his age when he launched the company (6+8+6=20). Growing up in Manhattan Beach, California, Mike found his first true passion in skateboarding in the early ‘80s. Skating grew to engulf all of West’s free time, with days spent hitting parks and street spots from Huntington to Venice, sessioning with the likes of Jason Lee and Ed Templeton, and taking notes on what Steve Rocco was doing on the business side of the skate industry as West skated for first Santa Monica Airlines and then World Industries.
In ’86, West was introduced to his next driving passion—snowboarding, and while he hated on it at first for not being skating, he quickly realized the potential of adding speed and bigger jumps into the mix for creatively expressing yourself sideways. He began riding more and more, and eventually took a job at Goldmine Resort, a little place east of the city that would eventually become Big Bear.
West had always been interested in fashion and became intrigued by the independent looks and styles he saw on the hill. “Bear in the early ‘90s was really where it all started,” says West. Mike Parillo was building the world’s first park, Outlaw, the best snowboarders were there pushing each other, and West met people like Tom Sims and Plain Sane Founder Mike Maceda, who were actually making a living through snowboarding by not just creating products, but by setting trends.
At the same time, West was commuting from LA where he was in USC’s Entrepreneur Program. During his senior year, the pieces of the 686 equation began to add up as part of his senior project—to create a business plan. While most of his peers worked on traditional businesses, West took to heart advice from his professor, Mack Davis. “He told me to do something you love, that you’re passionate about,” says West, speeding between meetings in Carlsbad and Manhattan Beach sitting at the helm of his matte gray wrapped Land Rover. The message that combining work and play could mean getting paid to do what you love, struck a chord and what was once an academic exercise turned into an actual business plan for JIB 686 Enterprises.
One of the entrepreneur program’s main features is bringing successful graduates back to speak to the class, and in 1992 a young USC grad named Steve Klassen, who had started a shop called Wave Rave in Mammoth Lakes, California, came to speak to West’s class. West had begun making T’s and beanies in November of ’92 and visited Klassen’s shop shortly after.
“My project in that class was to launch a snow clothing brand,” recalls Klassen, “but I started a shop instead. Mike came in and reminded me about meeting in his class and told me had launched a brand. I gave him a $1,000 order on the spot.” West delivered an order of JIB branded t’s and hats and they checked. “I still have one of those shirts around,” says Klassen. “They would still probably do good today.”
