/ Published in Events, Spark Hits the Road

ISPO: A whirlwind of outdoor gear, good friends, and beer

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Production manager Kory Graham putting the final touches on our ISPO booth.

The craziness that is Trade Shows has come and gone.  The weeks leading up the shows are a time of great stress and anxiety as we have a thousand things to do to get ready:  build prototype gear, create and print a catalog, design and build trade show booths… the list goes on and on.  The first real break, actually, is the 13 hour flight to Munich for ISPO!

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This guys was REALLY excited about our new Dyno DH hard boot bindings!

If you haven’t been, ISPO is truly a sight to behold. This year, 2,565 exhibitors from 51 countries filled over 1 million square feet of exhibition hall space that seemed to go on forever.  It’s absolutely overwhelming and, for a gear junkie, heaven on earth.  Over the 4 days, more than 80,000 visitors wandered the endless displays of outdoor gear bliss.  At one point, it seemed all 80,000 were standing in our booth!

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Team rider Luca Pandolfi stopped by to hang out and talk splitboarding.

To the many great dealers, friends, and fans of Spark we meet during the show, thanks for stopping by!  It is your energy, enthusiasm, and kind words that make all the hard work worth it.  Very special thanks to Markus Reichard, owner of Wildschnee, for all his help constructing our booth, helping out with the crowds, and (most importantly) bringing us beer.   We couldn’t have done it without you — see you next year!

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Markus Reichard and Spark owner Will Ritter enjoying the local flavor at the St. Augustiner beer hall in Munich.