FIVE QUESTIONS: Photographer Oskar Enander Talks DPS Skis
DPS Skis (formerly DrakeBoinay) shocked the freeride world a few years ago with the introduction of the revolutionary Tabla Rasa – the first truly high performance super fat ski. Now DPS is stronger than ever and has rolled out new and exciting designs, with their unique carbon fiber construction.
DPS revolutionized ski design with the introduction of the Tabla Rasa in 2005. The secret – besides the extra wide shape and swallow tail – was the space age carbon fiber construction which made for a super light weight, yet extremely torsionally rigid, ski. With the introduction of the Lotus 138 two years ago DPS went even further laying down a new foundation for changing the way we ski powder. The 138 is based on the now legendary Volant Spatula, a ski with inverted sidecut and heavily rockered tip and tail. The future of powder skiing is here, and DPS sits at the forefront of the evolution.
Ski photographer Oskar Enander sat down with DPS founder, Stephan Drake, in late December 2007 for some questions about DPS Skis.
DPS has been in the shadows the last couple of seasons. What's the story?
Well Mr. Enander, as you know, a few years ago we set off to create a revolutionary ski construction that would be lighter, more powerful, and rip harder than anything that has ever been built before – the world's first sandwich construction prepreg carbon fiber ski. Carbon fiber is very difficult to work with in a ski: it's expensive, very fickle, and requires total precision. There are stories in the ski industry of the big ski brands having tried this project, but they gave up. It has taken us a few years of hard work to mature the process and technology. While the brand had really good buzz a few years ago, we simply didn't have the skis to sell, so we decided to lay low, concentrate on the technology, and operate at a low volume until the skis were fully ready and in stock.
It's been awhile, and we are doing this chat now. Does that mean that DPS is starting to roar?
Yes, we realized that from a business perspective we missed the opportunity of really striking hard a few years ago, but we stubbornly said, "We are going to stick it out, and build this dream carbon ski even if it destroys us." We refused to give in. We fought and struggled and fought to tame carbon and make it work toward a perfect ski. We had a lot of manufacturing problems with the new technology, but have come out the other end of the birth canal with most complete quiver of any manufacturer on the planet, the most advanced technology, and the most advanced shaping.
More importantly, every model, flex and size is currently in stock and can be shipped anywhere on the planet in a few days. They are truly unique, exotic skis, and they are a reality, so it's time to start talking again.
