Photo: Peter Landry (@peterpeter.ski)
XAN MARSHLAND
Brand development/algae evangelist, WNDR Alpine founding team
Every time someone new learns our story, this grin gets bigger.
Wasatch Range, UT. Photo: Carson Meyer (@carsonmeyerphoto)
I grew up in the Berkeley hills, raised by tofu-eating hippies in a household where environmentalism and a love for mountains were ingrained in me from the time I learned to walk. Gravity and speed came into the picture as soon as I learned to ski at age 4.
Though I skied Tahoe resorts every winter since, it wasn’t until my early adulthood on Colorado’s front range when ski touring took center stage. I’ve done my best to play catchup ever since, making countless happy, bizarre, and stupid memories in the backcountry. To this day, my greatest friendships have grown out of human powered exploits in the woods.
As a young adult, I temporarily laid my environmental science degree to the side and charged headfirst into the outdoor industry, beginning by writing for a gear review publication, and quickly leveraging that experience into a full time gig as US brand manager for a boutique mountain bike brand.
In summer of 2018, I teamed up with Matt Sterbenz and Checkerspot’s science team with a daunting mission ahead of us: launch a new brand to empower skiers with the first biobased materials developed specifically for backcountry skiing.
Long story short, we pulled it off. I credit the passion, resolve, and mutual enthusiasm of our entire team - and a few late night metal playlists when it was crunch time. Launching WNDR Alpine has truly been one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve had, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.
Today I help operate WNDR Alpine in Salt Lake City and serve as the bridge between Checkerspot’s and WNDR Alpine’s communications channels. If I’m not on a mountain, you can usually find me writing words, editing words, and spreading the good word - through our Stories page, publications we work with, and our own video content.
BORN
Oakland, CA
RESIDES
Salt Lake City, UT
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
- Skipped waiting around to pick up my college diploma and skied Pikes Peak in my graduation gown instead
- Launched WNDR Alpine in July of 2019 alongside Sterbenz and the Checkerspot crew
- Record low ER visit frequency