Greetings Freeheel Lifers,
Now that we've sparked some renewed activity online, I wanted to share an update on what's happening in Freeheel Life land. As many of you know from reaching out, I made the decision last spring to close the brick-and-mortar shop in Salt Lake City to focus more on my real estate business, which I started in 2020. I sell homes across Utah and moved a couple of hours from SLC about four years ago, so keeping the physical shop no longer made sense. The dream of running a true Telemark shop—the kind of place I’d want to walk into myself—was fulfilled. I proved many concepts, learned a lot from both successes and setbacks, and have zero regrets. Mission accomplished.
Along with these personal changes, there were also shifts in the Telemark retail landscape that I wasn’t entirely on board with, so I chose to step back from certain aspects to stay true to my core mission: preserving, protecting, and promoting Telemark skiing. This has always been my passion and priority.
I know that not everyone out there agrees with my approach, and that's okay. That's been the case since I started in the Telemark business. My advice? If something I’m doing isn’t your cup of tea, no hard feelings—focus on what you enjoy, and we’ll both have a better day for it. I’m here to create and share what I find meaningful, and for preserving Telemark’s history for the future.
When I started Freeheel Life back in 2002, it was a personal blog. It evolved into a web magazine, then a retail shop, and everything in between, but the mission of "pushing Telemark forward while preserving the past” has always been at the heart of it. While some of you came to know Freeheel Life mainly through the retail shop in recent years, for me, it’s been a lifelong project covering everything I’ve done over the past 25 years.
As I move into this next chapter, things won’t look so different on my end. I’ll be running Freeheel Life solo, much like in the early days. This season and likely into the next, my focus will be on cataloging and reflecting on the past 25 years of work—a personal dream of mine that I haven’t yet had the chance to fulfill.
For those of you who have enjoyed my work in the past, here’s where to keep in touch:
- YouTube: Most of my future efforts will go into my YouTube channel, where I can explore Telemark skiing in various ways through video. I’ll continue creating public content but will put a stronger emphasis on member content to grow and support that community. You can join here: YouTube Membership.
- Website: I’ll continue to offer some of my own products (Lifestyle, Bluebird Day Gear, & Skis), select used equipment, and remaining new binding parts until they’re sold out.
- Consultation Calls: I’ve been offering these to guide customers through choices on boots, bindings, technique, etc. If you don’t have a local resource and need some help, this could be a great fit. Book here: Consultation Call.
- Instagram: I’ll still be posting on Instagram to stay connected with everyone, though I’ll mainly use it to direct people to the YouTube channel or website.
That’s the scoop for now. Here’s how to reach me going forward:
- Email: team@freeheellife.com
- Phone: 801-450-9986 (Text first, please!)
Spread Telemark Always, my friends,
Josh Madsen