Not because they didn’t trust him. Because they didn’t understand it. No one in the family had ever skied. The word “dangerous” came up. So did “it’s just not something we do.” And that was that. He didn’t accept it straight away. He went looking for answers. Google, YouTube, every site a 15-year-old knows how to find. What he got back was advice that contradicted itself, scare stories, and a lot of content that was really just adverts for ski schools and resorts wearing the mask of information.
His parents weren’t stupid. They saw through it too. The answer stayed no. Eric didn’t go on the trip.
But he kept thinking about it.
He realised the problem wasn’t really about skiing. It was about reassurance. Eric found a way, he went on a friend’s ski trip with Sam, a specialist ski instructor. Eric then did work experience with a brilliant PT called Kyle. A fitness inspiration.
After his first time on the snow Eric said: “I wish I’d done more to get ready before I came.” Sam said there’s a word for that, it’s called “PRE-SKI”. The training, the fitness, the equipment planning, the mental prep, all the stuff that happens before you ever get near a mountain.
Eric had gone looking for it. It didn’t exist. Not in one place. Not in a form that worked for his generation. Not in any way that spoke plainly to the people who actually needed it. Not in a way that supports everyone.
So Eric and Sam decided to build it.
Co-founder. The reason PRE-SKI exists, and the one behind the camera.
Co-founder and Ski Expert. The face of every course and the man who knows.
Exercise and Fitness Advisor. Owner of KB Fitness Studio, and the fitness guru.
Eric is the reason PRE-SKI exists. He is the GCSE student who was told no, went looking for answers that were not there, and decided to build them instead. He works behind the camera on every course, and the courses are shaped by what he could not find when he needed it. He turned this into a business aged 16.
He built this with a single aim: to make every ski trip the best it could be, and to ensure no one is left behind. That is not a slogan bolted on afterwards. It is why the free places for teachers and pupil premium pupils exist, why the content comes with SEND options and in multiple languages, and why no pupil is excluded because of ability, background or budget.
Under Eric’s direction, PRE-SKI donates to every school it partners with. Families buy directly from us at the school price, and a goodwill donation goes to that school’s fund. No money, no data and no admin passes through the school, and there are no restrictions on how the funds are used.
Sam is a professional snowsports instructor and the face of every PRE-SKI course. Three winter seasons at GoSnow Niseko in Japan, over 1,000 hours of on-snow teaching, and clients from more than 15 countries, from complete beginners to advanced skiers.
He was awarded Top 3 out of 90 instructors for Instructor of the Season, has won Instructor of the Month six times across three seasons, and holds the highest volume of positive client feedback of any instructor at GoSnow. Sam has also taught at the UK’s longest real snow slope at Chill Factore in Manchester, England, where he was constantly commended and was the most requested instructor for private lessons.
The questions his clients kept asking were always the same. What boots should I buy? How do I get fit for skiing? What gear do I actually need? Those are not questions about technique on the slopes. They are about preparation before you go, and that gap is exactly what PRE-SKI fills.
Kyle owns and runs KB Fitness Studio, a personal training studio and gym in Altrincham, Greater Manchester. He built it from nothing and it now holds a 4.9 average rating across more than 290 Facebook reviews and 80 Google reviews, working with men, women and teenagers at every level, from people who have never set foot in a gym to experienced athletes.
Skiing is physically demanding, and most people do not realise how much their strength, mobility and endurance shape their week until day two, when their legs are burning. Kyle’s role is to advise on the exercise and conditioning side, so the training is ski-specific rather than generic gym work: leg strength, core stability, balance, endurance and flexibility.
He sense-checks every exercise in every course. Sam covers everything on snow, Kyle covers everything off it, and Eric tests it before the clients get near it. Between them the preparation is as sound physically as it is technically.
Everyone included. No one left out. SEND options, multiple languages, free places for pupil premium pupils on school trips. PRE-SKI is built so no one is excluded because of ability, background, or budget.