The Story behind the Ski Mojo: An Interview with Martin Hannaford

Have you ever wondered how the Ski Mojo came to life? We take a look at the story behind this incredible product that has helped so many people keep skiing, when they would have otherwise have stopped.

The initial idea

Martin Hannaford, the inventor of the Ski Mojo, explains the story behind the device that has allowed so many skiers to ‘ski stronger and ski longer’:

“The creation of the Ski Mojo is a two-part story. Back in 1989/90 I was working my first season as a ski guide for a tour operator in Méribel and regularly skied with some of the other saisonnaires.”

“We used to compete in a weekly giant slalom and at the end of the season there was a moguls competition called the ‘Ski Cocktail Shaker’ (back in the days when moguls were the next big thing).”

“Moguls are much tougher on the thighs than slalom racing and I distinctly remember one of the guys [Rab McNab – who is still based in Meribel as an ESF instructor] saying ‘I wish I had thighs like pistons’.”

“As an engineer, I had an idea how I could make this work, but didn’t have the resources to turn my designs into anything useable.”

The prototype

That was part one of this story. Part two came later, after Martin had finished his seasons, and was organising an annual ski trip for some of his friends and former guests:

“One of the older guys on our trip had his own business and had had one of his engineers make a prototype of something not too dissimilar to the idea that I’d had back in the day.”

“This turned out to be the first basic working version of what we now know as the Ski-Mojo.”

“I could see that my original concepts could dramatically improve his prototype. After sharing my designs, he asked if I wanted to go into business with him.”

Launched in 2007

The first version of the Ski Mojo was launched at the Manchester Ski Show in 2007:

“We were really excited; we knew the moment people actually tried it; they would love it.”

“We had ski boots of every size and a ‘magic carpet’ [a rolling ski slope] so people could test the Mojo there and then. It went down really well and we made our first sales.”

Five-time Winter Olympian Graham Bell tried the Ski Mojo at the show and loved it and Sunday Times ski correspondent Sean Newsom wrote about it.

Ski Mojo 2.0

The second-generation Ski Mojo – based on Martin’s original designs from 1990 – was launched at the London Ski Show at Earls Court in 2010.

“It did the same job, but it was more robust mechanically and was ergonomically designed so that when you were skiing you were completely unaware that it was there.”

Sales of the improved design went well, but it was from 2014 after further improvements that sales really took off.

Then in 2018, the Ski Sunday presenter and four-time Winter Olympian, Chemmy Alcott tried the Ski Mojo and loved it so much, she joined the team as our Brand Ambassador.

 

 

Sales gather momentum

The goodwill and word of mouth that the Ski Mojo built up over the years meant that sales really started to gather momentum.

“We were mainly selling online and through select UK retailers who knew how to fit the Ski Mojo properly.”

“We also started to notice more and more sales coming from overseas as our French distributor started making a significant number of sales, many to French ski instructors.“

 

 

Watch this space…

The combination of Brexit and then the pandemic in 2020 made Martin rethink his approach to the business. Volumes were growing and required bigger premises and more staff.

“Our sales in France and the rest of Europe were flying. That rapid growth eventually led to negotiations with our French distributor and in March 2021 we sold the Ski Mojo brand to them.”

“The Ski Mojo is now manufactured by them in France. We look after sales and customer service in the UK and are working with the French team on new ideas.”

“We are very involved in new developments and innovation of the Ski-Mojo, so watch this space!”