Jon Comber Interview, August 2006
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Editorial and interview by Andrew Winter



Jon Comber has lead quite a life...By his late teens he was already well travelled, spending time working in the Middle East on projects set up by his mother. He then spent his 20's in the military as a paratrooper, serving in both Northern Ireland and central Africa and completeting over 100 parachute jumps. Two years ago, Jon took over Chalet Snowboard, the UK's best known snowboard chalet company. This summer Jon moved to Dubai to work and save so he can put money into Chalet Snowboard for the future.
At 36, you might think he'd done enough with his life already. Seeing Jon floating smooth 360's and switch backside 180's in the Avoriaz snowpark last season wearing a fat pair of headphones and a wife-beater vest, you'd be forgiven for thinking he was closer to twenty than fourty. I hooked up with him to catch up and find out a little more about life in Dubai....

AW : So Jon what’s it like, having spent the past four or five years living in the French Alps, to suddenly be living in the middle of the desert?
JC : Odd. To go from mountains and snow to desert and sand kinda throws you. I’ve acclimatised now but there’s no getting used to 45 degrees!

AW : You obviously live in one of the new apartment blocks, who is your typical neighbour?
JC : No we have a villa because we have Roxy our dog with us. I see the neigbours now and again. One side is a Saudi Arabian family, the other Emerati.

AW : What’s the view from your window?
JC : A wall. That sounds odd but everywhere here is walled. They have a big thing about privacy. Everyone drives blacked out cars too!

AW : Speaking of cars, I hear you're cruising in a Humer these days!?
JC : Yeah it's my fiancee Karen's actually. They're quite cheap out here comparatively, so we've got the smallest of the Humer range, but that's still pretty big! About the size of a Grand Cherokee jeep.

AW : You’ve been to the indoor snowdome they’ve got there, what’s it like? How does it compare to Milton Keynes?
JC : Poor to be honest....yeh it's big but the chairlift is very slow and they haven’t got the maintenance of the slope worked out yet. I hope it gets better. They’ve started a freestyle night which is a step in the right direction.

AW : Everyone thinks of modern day Dubai as full of trendy bars, architecture, and rich westerners. Is it really like that, or is there still a strong sense of the Middle East?
JC : Its very ostentatious. This is the place where Western/American culture meets Middle East, but if you want local culture you’re in the wrong place. I don’t think it's that trendy either. It lacks the cutting edge that say London or Manchester has.

AW : Are there any noticeable poor areas?
JC : Of course. Even here not everyone is wealthy. Dubai has a lot of Indian and Pakistani immigrant workers and they live in huge housing compounds.

AW : With all those skyscrapers around and your parachuting experience have you been tempted by any base jumping!!?
JC : Very funny. Actually I did wonder about jumping off the Burj Al Arab (Big Hotel, 7 star etc). It's as high as the Eifel Tower and would make a classic bond scene!

AW : Ok on to snowboarding. Will you be back in Morzine this winter?
JC : Unfortunately not. Dubai will be home for a while now. I loved the four seasons I spent in Morzine and will miss it for sure. I will get a few trips there but I also have a chalet in Les Deux Alpes so will spread my time between the two.

AW : Most snowboarders, when they reach their mid 30's, start chilling out and getting more into freeriding. But the past two seasons you’ve been doing the opposite, hitting the park most days and teaching yourself plenty of tricks. What’s influenced this?
JC : The challenge and the people. I love freeriding and you can’t beat it when conditions are right. But to incorporate some freestyle moves into my freeriding I’ve been hitting the park more. I’ve been lucky to make good friends too who have had the patience to help me and I really appreciate that.

AW : Are there any things in snowboarding you still want to do or achieve on a personal level? You were thinking of climbing Mont Blanc last season, is that something on the cards for next season? (I want to know this for myself too ‘cos I need a partner!)
JC : There’s no next big thing, but I’d like to climb and ride MB for the hell of it. I’d also like to enter the Brits as a Senior, not because I have any aspirations as a competitor but more to experience the event from that side.

AW : What’s going on at Chalet Snowboard this winter? So you’ve just acquired a new chalet in Deux Alpes right?
JC : This winter is big for us. Yeah we just got a new chalet in L2A which is pretty exciting. For a small company it’s a real challenge to grow and that’s partly why I’m here in Dubai. It's also the first season I’ll spend away from the business but I’m lucky to have great staff to rely on.

AW : I understand you have changed Chalet Snowboard’s test centre to include a wider range of brands rather than exclusively Burton…tell us a bit about that.
JC : We’ve had a Burton test centre for 15 years and I’m very proud of that. The guy that started the company was sponsored by Burton and so it’s part of our heritage. However, I didn’t feel they were giving either me or my customers what they wanted. So I decided to look to offer a wider variety of kit that offers our guest a real opportunity to try something new. Its no good have Customs year in year out. So this year will be offering K2, Rome, Endeavor and Burton

AW : How important do you think it is that companies like snowboard chalet companies remain run by snowboarders?
JC : Firstly I’m a snowboarder. Secondly I run a Snowboard Chalet. If it's not in your heart and soul stick to IT…

AW : What do you think when you see companies that are blatantly not run by snowboarders, marketing themselves as “rider-run”?
JC : At the moment there are a lot of chalet companies starting up and trying to attract snowboaders. Nothing wrong with that, competition is healthy. My issue is that 80% of their clients will be skiers! They are just chalets and take anyone. We have a strict no skier policy and that makes us a snowboard chalet. Like I said, heart and soul…

AW : More and more camp style holidays are around now, and they all seem very popular. Do you think that with the increasing trend towards a camp or themed holiday that you will gradually focus more on this side of the company or is there still a bigger market for straight up chalet holidays?
JC : We will stick with a formula that works for us and that’s a mix of both. Our freestyle camps are very popular and great fun to run. I’m not a fan of the current trend for girls only. We already cater for female riders and I always employ a female guide/coach where I can and offer a product that is attractive to girls. But think it's divisive to start discriminating along those lines. Snowboarding should be about bringing people together.

AW : Ok what’s the worst thing about running your own chalet company in France?
JC: The French…. burocracy

..And the best?
JC: Being able to make a difference. When someone stays with us and leaves at the end of the week and it’s the best snowboard holiday they’ve ever had.

AW : Cheers Jon and good luck with it all!
JC : Thanks. Later....



check out jon's company at www.chaletsnowboard.co.uk

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