TPM Episode 60: Murray Wais: Founder, Matchstick Productions

Murray Wais was a punk rock kid who left Seattle for a community college that put him in the mountains.  He fell in love with that life, became an instructor and then graduated to studying journalism at the University of Oregon.  Fast forward to being laid off by Microsoft,  he decided to work for free and follow his ski bum dreams.  He ended captured gold with a lot of hard work, some amazing skiers co-founder Steve Winter and what was to become Matchstick Productions.   Listen to Murray tell it how it is on the podcast.

Murray Wais Show Notes:

2:00:  Tradeshows combined and his history with the tradeshow

4:00:  Growing up in Seattle, Microsoft, Steve Winter, punk rock, sports

8:00:  The Ski Bus, snowboarding taking off and Warren Miller and ski movies

14:30: Community College in Wenatchee with Steve and Breckenridge, and University of Oregon

18:00:  Evo (Use the code TPM10 for 10% off at checkout) and RESQWATER (enter the code resqwatertpm for a 20% discount on a 12 pack)

19:30:  Getting laid off by Bill Gates, getting an internship at Powder Magazine and finding Steve Winter again

26:00:  Getting into making movies as Steve’s right hand man and how things have changed

32:22:  The helicopter crash

36:00:  Taking over in the field when Steve couldn’t go out, Gaffney, and rebranding as Matchstick Productions

40:00:  The personalities of the early movies  

47:17:   10Barrel Brewery and The Summit at Snoqualmie (use the code Powell18 to get pre-season pass prices)

49:10:   Athletes making money off the movies, distribution and getting into bikes (New World Disorder)

54:00:  Making Money

57:40:  MSP changing last year and the fan reaction