Interview: Julian Carr’s Balls Are In The Air

Discrete Headwear owner and professional skier Julian Carr drinks a beer in Chile. Photo: Chris Bezamat

Sure, he’s on DVD covers, posters, and probably on top of whatever social media app you’re currently perusing, but Julian Carr does more than style his professional ski career. His business savvy is as on point as anyone else with 40-plus-hour workweeks; the difference lies in his ability to keep his 120-foot frontflips on point, too.

World record holder, Discrete Headwear proprietor, and professional skier Julian Carr has a couple of balls in the air — and not only when he’s dropping cliffs. This week, he’s managing incoming shipments, hiring sales reps, dispersing product to retailers, designing the 2013-’14 line, revamping website content, and handling international brokering. He fails to mention maintaining contact with his thousands of social media followers, fans from around the world, and his entire ski career. All of this after spending the last three weeks in Chile, competing at La Parva’s Eye of the Condor event, which he won (People’s Choice and Best Photo Portfolio).

Yesterday, I joined Julian for the second of his two time-trial trail runs of the day, on Salt Lake City’s Mount Olympus, bookending his long day at Discrete’s Salt Lake City headquarters.

BRODY: Rank your abilities: 1) Skiing off 100-foot cliffs; 2) Instagramming; 3) Dog-owning; 4) Business-operating.

JULIAN: 1) Decent; 2) Have a ways to go to catch @brodyleven; 3) Crush it; 4) Always learning.

BRODY: Why did you start Discrete Headwear?

JULIAN: Because I love creating stuff that people dig. I’m so appreciative of each of Discrete’s customers.

BRODY: With the optimism of a skier, I will now claim summer to be officially over. So, given summer’s recent end, how did you spend the miserable season-that-shall-not-be-named?

JULIAN: Europe in May, NYC, Vegas, Portland and Denver a couple times each, Bend, San Fran, Sonoma, South America. Portland has the best trail running and is home to my sister’s family and my mom. Vegas is the wildest. New York was a lot of working. Denver is where Icelantic, Spyder, and some new business relationships are based, so it rules. I raced $150,000 Audi R8’s in Sonoma’s Sears Point Raceway during the GoPro athlete retreat. That was so radical. Between trips I hang and hike and water ramp in Salt Lake. I work on Discrete wherever I roam, but have an incredible team holding down the fort when I’m away.

Julian Carr at Discrete HQ. Photo: Brody Leven

BRODY: Your social media following is more likened to a celebrity than a skier. How did that come to be and what does it mean to you?

JULIAN: My nose for action is always sniffing and it’s super fun to interact with everyone. Thanks y’all!

BRODY: Everyone knows you won two of the three awards at Eye of the Condor in La Parva. Last time I was there, I was living in a snow cave, hitchhiking to the mountain, and trying to find lift tickets. How are Condor athletes treated? Do you get discount lift tickets!?

JULIAN: Between the marketing department, Mike Reff, and the mountain host, Rodrigo Medina, they took care of us. We skied, slept, ate and were merry. Very merry. It was cool being there with some heavy hitters like Rachael Burks, Ingrid, Davenport, Adam Clark, Sherry McConkey, Kaylin Richardson, Parker Cook, Bezamat, Roderick, the Widsix crew, the Icelantic crew and local Chileans.

BRODY: I heard you got sponsored.

JULIAN: Icelantic, Spyder, GoPro, Discrete, Backcountry.com, Smith, POW gloves, Suunto, Panda Poles, MFD bindings.

BRODY: …speaking of bikinis, what is your ideal vacation?

JULIAN: My own bed.

Julian Carr goes big in the office. Photo by Brody Leven.

Carr obviously has an undying and atypical desire to succeed. And while we all hold different definitions of success, it’s hard to disagree with Julian’s tireless work ethic, vigorous drive to be the best skier/CEO/person he can be, and ambitious determination in both the mountains and the office.

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stash member Brody Leven

Stubbornly suggesting that skiing is a year-round activity. brodyleven.com