Welcome to Beer & Gear, a series where we get to know individuals making big moves in Portland’s Athletic and Outdoor industries. In this edition, author Ellee Thalheimer talks with Matt Hilbert of Deviation Works at the Mt. Hood Brewing outpost in Portland.
Matt Hilbert, the primary owner of Deviation Works, steps back respectfully as a customer mixes their dog’s ashes into the epoxy for the bottom of their new custom skis.
“You’d be surprised at how many people want to sprinkle ashes into their skis,” says Hilbert, whose company creates custom skis and snowboards from a 3,500 square-foot studio in Milwaukie. “We ask that the customers come into the shop to sprinkle their ashes for themselves.”
Deep customization is Deviation’s specialty, and we’re not just talking graphics and design. They produce high-performance heirloom skis and snowboards that are individualized from the inside out.
For example, the wood cores of most skis and snowboards are made with cheap wood fillers. But Deviation likes to use purpleheart wood from South and Central America, which is a rich-hued fiber mainly used in yachts, cutting boards, and jewelry. It’s naturally hydrophobic (even without a coating) and very strong, so the Deviation team uses it for sidewalls to dampen vibration in the noses and tails of skis, while placing ash and poplar in other parts for ideal rebound.
“Some folks specifically want hemp in their board or ski cores, and we say, ‘Yeah!’ to that,” says Hilbert. “From here to Mt. Hood, marijuana dispensaries have our products,” he adds laughingly.
Deviation has sold skis and snowboards in about 35 states and ten countries and collaborated with standout brands including the Trail Blazers, Ninkasi Brewing, Rainier Brewing Company, Honda, Columbia Sportswear, and Full Sail Brewing Company. For individual customers, projects have included custom boards with blank bottoms for wedding guests to sign and asymmetric telemark skis.
“It’s phenomenal to be able to do projects like this.”
-Matt Hilbert
I met Matt at Mt. Hood Brewing in Portland, which seemed appropriate; it’s a satellite location for one of the most popular breweries on the mountain. Despite what one might assume, Hilbert doesn’t present as a typical shaggy ski bum. Rather, he brings major engineer vibes. “I focused on composite materials for my degree in mechanical engineering, my final project being a composite mountain bike,” he says.
Besides running Deviation, the former mountain biker is also an electric utilities sales representative for manufacturers in the Pacific Northwest. Before that, he worked in the electrical industry in a variety of roles.
“At one point, I was creating methods for testing rotor blades for helicopters,” says Hilbert, a skier since he was five years old. “Fundamentally, they aren’t that different from skis.”
Because of the narrow profit margins, Deviation is one of only a handful of custom ski and snowboard companies in the United States. It’s a passion project that Hilbert schemed for years with friends and family before it was founded in 2012.
Though most of their customization focuses on graphics, width, and flex preference, Hilbert’s favorite project to date was headed by employee Dani Lipski (who would go on to lead Project ROAR). They created an adaptive snowboard for Nick Santonastasso, who was born without legs and one arm.
“One of our employees who races cars came up with the key design element to secure Nick to the board using a 5-point harness and a skateboard deck to separate him from the snowboard, allowing him to lean and turn more. It’s phenomenal to be able to do projects like this.”
Ellee Thalheimer is a Portland-based freelance writer and guidebook author. When she can’t get to the trails, she’s writing fiction, relishing local IPAs, falling off bouldering walls, and obsessively scheming the next adventure. Find her on Instagram: @pnw_hedonism.
