Bored stiff? No way!

Geof Hare, owner of Boardstiff, has a lifestyle that blends business, family and recreation

Geof Hare owns and operates Boardstiff in Fernie, B.C., and has a second store in Kimberley, B.C. — Marie Milner photo

For Geof Hare, the timing was perfect. Unexcited by his studies in economics at Langara College in Vancouver, Hare decided to make a new career plan that incorporated his love for snowboarding.

With his cousin Mark, Hare embarked on a research tour that started in Whistler and covered Nelson, Golden, Revelstoke, Fernie and Banff. They arrived in Fernie in 1996, the year before the local ski hill, Fernie Snow Valley, was sold to Resorts of the Canadian Rockies (RCR) and renamed Fernie Alpine Resort.

Great timing

“When I learned that  RCR was going to invest $100 million in the next 10 years to develop the mountain and the village,” Hare said, “I decided that it was the perfect time and the perfect place to open a board sports store.”

That decision has worked out pretty well. Hare’s business, Boardstiff, has two locations—one in Fernie and one in nearby Kimberley, a city that also has an RCR ski hill—and the stores are providing a good living and a good life for Hare and his family.

A lifestyle to love

Hare said that he values a lot of things about the Fernie community—it’s safe and friendly; it still feels very small-town yet has lots of opportunity for business; and it is very multicultural, with visitors from all over the world.

“I love being my own boss, with the freedom to get out and enjoy what I came here for in the first place,” he said. “It’s great that my work is closely tied to the things I love doing—snowboarding, wake-surfing and even river surfing. Lots of people move here for the lifestyle and then they get too busy to enjoy it.”

Hare’s three boys are a bit young yet to have favourite sports activities—Hudson is six and Cooper and Eli are just two years old—but their parents are already introducing them to the entire range of what is available in Fernie.

“I love that my boys have lots of other kids to grow up with,” Hare said, “and that these families are my neighbours. We take turns taking the kids up to the hill, and passing on outgrown clothing and gear, but it’s also really good to know who my kids are being influenced by.”

Strength in numbers

Hare supports local charities and events as much as possible, and he is developing a website called localcoreshops.com, intended to provide an inexpensive, co-op-style forum for small, independent sports gear shops in B.C. and Alberta, where they can advertise and compete with the big chain stores.

“Even though our prices may be a few dollars higher than the prices across the border,” Hare said, “it’s worth it for locals to support us because of the employment we provide and the support we give back to community groups and local sports teams. If we aren’t here, then that money dries up.”