Third-generation race car driver Ken Nichols had an epiphany watching a World Cup ski race several years ago.

“I saw all of the chatter in the skis and thought, ‘What if ski racing had shock and damping systems like race cars?'” he said.

The idea inspired Next Level Platforms’ “Shredshox,” a suspension system for Alpine skis. He co-founded the brand alongside fellow race car driver Nick Foster.

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“I knew that Nick was the guy to design and engineer the first prototype,” Nichols said. “And we were off.”

Foster, however, wasn’t sold on the idea right away.

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“When Ken first approached me, I was like ‘No way,'” he said. “First off, I wasn’t a skier, but I thought he was crazy. A few weekends later while we were at the race track, I thought, ‘I bet we could make something happen.'”

In December 2017 — about 10 months after the brand’s birth at Madera Speedway in California — the first prototype was tested at Palisades Tahoe.

“Six years later, we are on the generation 6 prototype,” Foster continued. “And I am really pleased with the engineering and design and, most importantly, the feedback from our test riders.”

One tester is a former Olympic gold medal-winning mogul skier, said Jarrod Krisiloff, a part-time Vail resident who is a partner and the company’s head of brand.

One of the Indianapolis Business Journal’s 40 under 40 in 2014, he purchased a home in Vail last September. He and his wife, Megan, have visited the valley often, even teaching their two boys — now in high school — how to ski at Beaver Creek. Over a recent President’s Day weekend, he was boarding a plane from his Indianapolis home to ski in Vail when Foster approached him in the jetway and showed him a ShredShox prototype. They decided to meet up for lunch at a later date.

“I was like, ‘Here’s all my thoughts,’ and they asked me to join the company,” said Krisiloff, whose background is in both motor sports and sports management. His last post was as vice president of events and facilities for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

The ShredShox is a patented, fully-adjustable suspension system tailored for snow skis. Its lightweight, air-spring style uses a dual-adjustable mountain bike shock and features both compression and rebound adjustments wherein skiers can apply boot pressure to the ski from the front and back. Developed and manufactured in Indianapolis, Indiana, the ShredShox’s plate is made from 100% high-strength carbon fiber; the entire apparatus, which is compatible with nearly all skis and bindings, adds 2.4 pounds to the overall weight of the ski.

The benefits are improved cornering and stability, as added static pressure keeps the ski in constant contact with the snow. The suspension also makes for a smoother ride and softer landings.

“It’s eating up all that vibration that’s going into your body,” said Krisiloff, who thinks there is decent crossover between the feel of his product and a mountain bike.

“For those familiar with mountain biking, this concept will be pretty straightforward,” he said. “It will be fun to kind of tinker and dial in exactly what you’re riding that day.”

How does the Shredshox feel?

Krisiloff, a lifelong skier who has been coming to Beaver Creek and Vail since middle school, tried out the Shredshox for a couple days on the final weekend at Palisades Tahoe. He dropped into a chewed-up bowl on his first run in typical freeze-thaw spring conditions.

“I felt like the faster I got going, the easier it was to treat it like a groomer,” he said. “It kind of just soaked it up, and you could keep it under control. I didn’t get bucked in any way.”

He said one question people ask is what it’s like being raised slightly off the ski.

“(You) don’t feel that at all,” he said. “You can feel a little bit of the weight initially going at slow speed — getting on the chair or going on the catwalk. But once you start moving, you really don’t feel the weight.”

The product has been tested most by a few big mountain, mogul, and freestyle skiers as well as a 63-year-old lifetime skier. The takeaways?

Softer landings, soaked up impact on moguls, and stability at high speeds.

Next Level Platform hasn’t conducted official sports science research with the ShredShox yet, but Krisiloff said he’s talked to individuals at the Steadman Clinic about doing on-mountain testing “to really dial in what the impact is on the body.” 

“I’m working with a couple orthopedic surgeons in Indianapolis to try and do some similar testing,” he said. “Because I think we definitely need to have that story.” 

When will it be for sale?

The ShredShox isn’t for sale yet. Krisiloff said the goal this season is to dial in the target market through continued testing, establish relationships with potential retailers, and hit up demo shows.

“And once we feel like we have our complete story put together, then we’ll do a capital raise to try and launch the product for sale at the end of the season, for install at the end of the summer,” Krisiloff said. 

His involvement in the project has been motivated at least in part as an additional excuse to come to Vail and test.

“I’m going to spend as much time as possible on these,” he said. “I love being out here, and I want to be out here as much possible. Having the opportunity to put together an identify was a fun, creative outlet for me. I just think it’s cool taking motorsports technologies and ideas and bringing it to something else I’m passionate about.”