We've been doing business as an independent, homegrown, mountain raised company for 20 years. We owe it all to you. 

Starting Flylow was the longest of long shots. All the naysayers told us it wasn’t possible to succeed in a saturated niche market. They told us there wouldn’t be room for a small, independent brand run by ski bums who didn’t know much about design but knew a lot about what they wanted in their gear. But look at us now: We’re a thriving business that continues to grow—and we still manage to ski a lot. We’ll call that a success.

This year presented itself with new challenges, as always. But as a team doing this for 20 years now, we delivered the best gear we've ever made. I am so proud of our whole team for what each and every one of them brings to the table. From the current team to those who have helped us build this brand along the way, the list is long. Everyone deserves a hug and a high five. 

The goal all along was to create a company where all of us working here could live our own way and make our own choices: skiing, playing outside, contributing to our communities, celebrating balance in life. The fact that we were able to create jobs for others to join the outdoor industry has been a major bonus.

This whole thing has been a giant leap of faith. We’ve had to take risks and go to sleep at night knowing it could all fail. We’ve learned to accept that chance, with the hopes that things will turn out OK. And yes, we’ve made mistakes (like that time years ago, when all of our pants came with a waist width that was too big and we had to give out free belts with every pair of pants.)

But we’ve learned so much along the way. We’re still ski bums, but we know a lot more about zippers, membranes, and seam taping than we did at the beginning. It helps that we’ve never been at this alone. The success of this brand is entirely a reflection of the powder-seeking and dirt-loving community we’re a part of. 

We are deeply grateful to everyone along this wild road who has supported us and our sometimes untraditional ideas. To every person who’s trusted a Flylow jacket on a storm day, to every shop buyer who’s taken a chance on a lesser-known brand, to every sales rep and designer and athlete and photographer and glove baker we’ve been privileged enough to work with: Thank you. This one’s for you. Here’s to the next 20 years. 

Dan Abrams is the CEO and co-founder of Flylow.