LUKE KOPPA : WHY I SLUT STRAND

hi. My name is @lukekoppa and I like sliding on snow. I also like clothes and style and fashion and perfect seams and smart pocket placements and clean lines and good color palettes. I like all of those things so much that I spent 4 years cussing out sewing machines and the entire Adobe suite into the wee hours of the morning while pursuing a diploma that ending up having something along the lines of “apparel design & development” printed on it. I was also fortunate to do all of that with my classmate, friend, coffee dealer, part-time chauffeur, and SSS founder, @elsagracew.

I never imagined that the snow-sliding and general outdoor industry would be such a driving force in my life while growing up and doing not-skiing and not-outdoor things in Wisconsin. But that’s what it’s become for me, and if you love something, you want to make it better.

Long story short: I think the collection of individuals who make up the SSS are making our inherently silly, simple industry a better place. So if I can support that by pulling my hair out from under my helmet, making old dudes confused on the chairlift, repping the gear my friends designed, and just generally not taking this recreational activity too seriously, I’m happy to do so.

For my job, I spend an inordinate amount of time focusing on the minute details of outdoor gear. But at the end of the day, the main goal of all that is to hopefully help others have as much fun as possible on whichever mountain, bunny slope, or snow-covered landfill they frequent. Because everyone deserves to be able to enjoy that as much as anyone else.

So if you’re ever confused by the stupidly complicated gear on the market, just want to learn more about how to get started skiing or fishing or biking, or are looking for a way to patch up those pants that you’ve shredded, I’d be more than happy to help. In the meantime, I’ll keep letting my hair flap in the wind and getting excited whenever I see anyone doing the same.