Natural, Built by Hand, Driven by Mountains

A few years ago, I was riding backcountry every day, living the dream. Then two things happened within hours: we found out we were going to be parents —and a snowmobile came out of nowhere and helped me to my first and only double backflip…

One morphine lollipop. One helicopter ride. One “uncomfortable” ski boot removal. One very floppy leg. Season over.

But with that, came time — to think, to sleep, perchance to dream and between rehab and watching my wife Rhiannon disappear into untouched valleys on her splitboard, something started.

I’ve always made things. When I started surfing, I shaped my own boards, skating,  built my own decks. You make your own adventures and the things you need for them are a part of it 

So it was natural that, designing and building the skis and snowboards to have our adventures on, was always part of the plan.

At the time, we were living off-grid, in the mountains, far from town. A tiny alpine ruin with water from the stream and frost on top of the duvet every morning. Utterly perfect but not ideal for the complicated engineering and processes that go into ski and snowboard building.

To take things to the next level, I needed a proper workshop — space, tools, materials — the kind of setup that allows for precision work; high-performance skis and boards aren’t a garage project. You need room to work, the right equipment, a willingness to fail, and a real love of creative problem solving. You can’t really buy ski making tools, you just have to make them. In the mountains it’s, more miles, more fun, in the workshop, it’s more making, more fun.

Researching, experimenting, building tools, talking to experts, and constantly learning. Every idea had been tried and tested. I guess that’s how progress works: not with giant leaps, but with small steps, refinements, evolution.

We moved back to Wales, where we found a small workshop. It wasn’t glamorous. Funding was limited.

Natural was Born.

Two years later, one happy kid, and a workshop full of sawdust, I started building properly. The first batch came together: skis and snowboards I could be proud of. Built by hand, from the ground up. Nothing off the shelf. No shortcuts. Just tools, materials, and graft.

Natural became more than just a product. It’s about choosing materials that leave less of a footprint. Moving away from the plastic age and focusing on sustainable, natural materials wherever possible.

Skiing is an inherently wasteful activity. There’s no such thing as an eco-friendly ski. It’s still going to be driven to the mountains, flown to the snow and create a carbon footprint, but that doesn’t mean it is without value. The space, the feelings, the clarity that come from the mountains in winter send ripples out through our lives. Art is inherently wasteful, but without it we are less than we are. I think that our use of natural materials wherever possible is a step in the right direction, not the solution, but lots of steps get you where you need to go. 

The plan was to get them to Aosta, Italy — to our friends at SWIT Shop, Rhiannon’s first sponsor from the FWQ days. Base’s ground. Edges tuned. Wax on. Ready to ride.

And then… the world shut down.

A global pandemic wasn’t in the plan. But that’s life. The mountains weren’t going anywhere, and neither were we.

The second lockdown though. Oof, that hurt.

Then straight into Brexit. Ouch.

But sometimes, you have to break before you can rebuild.

With a little grit and a lot of uncertainty, We finally made our way back to the Alps. The mountains have a way of calling you, reminding you who you are, what you’re capable of. In the Alps, I found a new sense of clarity. I started to meet people, a small team that believed in the journey and loved ripping round the mountains on our skis and boards. It was in those conversations, those shared experiences, that I started to remember why I’d begun this whole thing in the first place.

It wasn’t just about the skis. It wasn’t about the business. It was remembering that the unknown is all part of the plan. The mountains did what they always do.

So back to the workshop to build more rides, tools of joy creation. Remember the dream life, spend all summer building things that have the potential to give someone the best time of their life, then ride them all winter.

I am back in the workshop now, production is in full swing! I hope you like stuff I make. Maybe see you in the mountains…

Guy NIELD, founder of Natural