About Us
Poet Snow Co-Founder Lee White began experimenting with the concept of shaping poems to mirror the flowing lines of ski tracks in early 2000. His poetry wasn’t just written, it was crafted into physical forms, where movement of words on the page echoed the motion of a skier carving through snow. These uniquely shaped poems soon became a form of visual art, inspiring the idea of putting these ski track-shaped poems to life on skis as limited edition art pieces. White calls the style of poetry Zen Koan Archery where stream of consciousness word play intersects with precisely aimed paradox to invite reflective insights. For White, ski tracks are calligraphy where the body is a brush and gravity a hand.
In 2017 Lee met Co-Founder Chad Weir at a scientific health conference where Chad was the producer and Lee was a speaker. In his talk, Lee shared a story of healing from a crippling injury and still skiing like a teenager which Chad resonated with as he had to take years off of skiing to recover from a crippling head injury, only to find a renewed sense of joy and freedom when coming back to the snow capped mountains. Throughout the week, they crossed paths several times and quickly discovered they shared many similar values and interests. During the final wrap up dinner, they connected deeply around their shared love of skiing, a passion for the mountains and a shared perspective on how the ski industry had evolved. Another colleague shared that Lee was also an accomplished poet and philosopher. At this, Lee - despite his imposing 6'3" Viking-like stature - became shy and reserved. With great hesitation, he shared his poem "Come Run Savage" with the group and everyone, especially those who shared a love for the mountains, was deeply moved.
Soon after, Lee and Chad found a kindred partner in Evan Fair, a custom ski and snowboard maker with over 15 years of experience crafting bespoke skis and snowboards in his shop near Comox, where Lee resides. Evan helped them produce a limited run of skis featuring Lee’s poem, "Come Run Savage," and the original ski track poem from 2000 “We”, printed in the shape of a ski tracks. The simple design, white font on a black base, curving and swooping down the length of the ski, was striking. It quickly garnered attention from ski guides and industry professionals and the entire original set was snapped up in no time.
Later that year we expanded by producing a few snowboards alongside additional sets of skis. This was followed by our first collection of hats and T-shirts, which were especially a favourite of the younger crowd. Poet Snow remained a passion project until the COVID-19 Pandemic struck in 2020. With increased interest in the brand and a little more time on their hands, Lee and Chad saw an opportunity to use their work as a vehicle for social change. Over the next few years, with the help of passionate and talented friends, the brand evolved into what it is today. Looking ahead, Poet Snow is committed to creating the highest quality products that embody our love for the mountains, disrupting the ski industry with more sustainable practices and connecting and collaborating with talented designers, poets and creatives to help give them a vehicle to share their work. Our mission is to create social change initiatives that help our world become a better place, and to enable, empower and inspire more people to live authentically, to find their own voice and to find that ephemeral pursuit of flow.
CO-FOUNDER
About Chad
Originally having aspirations of becoming a mountain guide, Chad's professional journey in the ski industry spans over two decades taking on a myriad of roles ranging from ski instructor for Ski Big 3 and Non Stop Ski in Banff, Events Director at Lake Louise, sales rep for Head Skis, Boot Fitter, Technical FIS Coach and Program Director of the largest ski clubs in Alberta. Eventually Chad took on a leadership role with Canada Ski Cross and the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics. In 2011 he took on the task of bringing Ski Cross to the country as Director of National Programs and Events with Alpine Canada helping to shape the sport on a national level.
Outside of skiing Chad is a 13x Entrepreneur, Corporate Project Manager, Business & Leadership Consultant, Global Events Director, Marketing Strategist, Human Development/Change Management Researcher.
Chad was drawn to this project because of his love for the mountains and a desire to spend more time with a community of like minded people. As he explored further, the synchronicity between personal development, the mountains and the pursuit of flow and poetry became clear. The opportunity to combine these concepts was highly appealing to him. Chad also has a passion for quality craftsmanship, contrasting with the trend in many industries toward cheaper, fast-fashion consumer goods.
CO-FOUNDER
About Lee
Lee started skiing out of his backyard in the Yukon with his parents and brothers at 5 years old. This early connection to the wilderness shaped his lifelong love for the mountains, adventure and creativity. Over the past three decades, Lee has worked as a writer, artist and wilderness guide, designing transformative experiences for others. He worked extensively with Outward Bound in the mountains north of Whistler, while also spending two transformative years in post-Apartheid South Africa. Lee continues to deliver an Adventure Therapy program for the youth prison in BC. His diverse experiences are reflected in his philosophy book rapt in awe, which explores rites of passage and living in flow through nature, poetry and adventure. Lee’s approach to life is distilled in his philosophy: “When you’re skiing the trees, look at the spaces in between.”
In addition to his creative work, Lee is a social impact entrepreneur. He leads ChinookX Technologies, where he develops innovative solutions for clean energy transition and data sovereignty, grounded in respect for Indigenous knowledge. His contributions to climate action and data sovereignty have earned him recognition as an Ashoka Fellow. Through Poet, Lee combines his passion for nature, creativity and craftsmanship, with a focus on helping others tap into their unique gifts by optimizing flow states.
Director of Operations
About Zaman
Zaman is a skier, educator and builder at heart. Driven by a deep belief in the power of meaningful experiences and purposeful design.
By day, he leads global AI initiatives in industry, helping organizations harness technology to solve complex challenges. He also teaches data-driven decision making at the graduate level, and is a certified ski instructor who found the sport later in life but quickly became hooked on the sense of flow, freedom and connection that comes from time spent in the mountains.
When he met Chad and first encountered Poet Snow Sports, it immediately resonated. The craftsmanship, the storytelling, the mission, it was a brand that matched his values and vision for what snow sports could be.
Today, Zaman brings strategic leadership, operational insight and community-building experience to Poet as Director of Operations. He helps steer the brand’s growth while staying grounded in its roots: connection to nature, creativity and a more inclusive outdoor industry.
Marketing and Production Coordinator
About Sydney
Sydney has been a passionate outdoorswoman her whole life, exploring environments ranging from her home mountain range of the Cascades in central Oregon to the seaside cliffs of Wales to now residing and riding in the Coast Range mountains of BC.
Currently pursuing a degree in Media with a minor in Applied Animal Biology at the University of British Columbia, Sydney seeks to use her developing skills across the mediums of digital art, video production and journalism to tell stories about the natural world and its communities that evoke empathy and creative organic movement for change.
Sydney seeks to explore every corner of the world to tell its stories, but she will always have a soft spot for the grand peaks of mountains and joy of flying through snow.
About Sean
Sean Kerrigan is a specialist in the flow state, a focus he has pursued his entire life, whether carving a line down a pristine powder run, surfing or mixing a dynamic set as a DJ at a music festival.
His journey began in the mountains, where a background in ski racing, guiding and developing an outdoor leadership program in Switzerland instilled a deep appreciation for precision, risk management and program design. This ethos carried into his professional life, where he applies the same rigor to digital marketing strategy and large-scale event operations.
Sean is a friend of Poet Snow. He shares our love of flow, community and creative expression and carries that spirit into everything he does, from powder runs to festival stages.
About Florencia
Florencia Porcario was born at the foot of the Andes, where horizons stretch endlessly and silence carries weight. The mountains rose around her like guardians, and the rhythms of the Andean landscape shaped her from an early age. Growing up immersed in these lands, she learned that the world is alive, that every stone, river and gust of wind carries a story and that inhabiting a place is never about possession, it is a dialogue, a slow, reverent conversation with the earth, guided by the traditions and wisdom of Andean cultures.
With every ascent, the Apus (the sacred spirits of the Andean mountains) awaken. They are alive, conscious and watching, the true protagonists of the land. Honored for centuries by Andean cultures, they guide, protect and teach through presence, whispering through the wind, moving through the snow, stirring the air. Respect, surrender, humility, patience. There is nothing to do but listen, to feel, to learn. Each step becomes a conversation, each breath of crisp air a teaching, each moment of overwhelming silence a message. The Apus are there, guiding, shaping the flow of attention and movement, teaching through rhythm, presence and ancient wisdom.
Since 2017, Florencia has lived and breathed the mountains as a professional ski instructor, moving between hemispheres and spending winters year-round on snow. From Ushuaia to Andorra, she has guided, taught and explored the backcountry, tracing lines across slopes with care, attentiveness and respect. Every ascent for her is a ceremony (a moment to offer gratitude, ask permission, greet the Apus and honor Pachamama). Advanced avalanche training and backcountry courses in the Argentinean wilderness have deepened her understanding, allowing her to move through the mountains with intuition, grace and reverent presence. In these moments, the flow of movement becomes a conversation with the spirits themselves, a dialogue of attention, awareness and respect for the living mountains.
Her architectural practice channels this same sensibility. Each project listens to the land, to the rhythms of light and matter, to the whispers of wind and snow and to the guidance of the Apus and Pachamama. Her award-winning project Attraverso, recognized with a Gold Mention by the Club Alpino Italiano in 2025, translates the emotional and physical journey of mountain ascents into spaces that honor the intelligence of the land, the presence of those who inhabit it and the enduring wisdom of Andean cultures. For Florencia, architecture is never about imposing forms, it is about revealing relationships (between humans and mountains, interior and exterior, tradition and innovation, silence and gesture), always guided by the spirits that inhabit the land.
Guided by intuition, reverence and the wisdom of the Andean world, Florencia crafts experiences that honor the mystical, physical and creative dimensions of life. The flow of skiing, the silent guidance of the Apus and the rhythms of Pachamama shape her movement, her attention and her understanding of the world. Her work is an invitation to inhabit the world with humility, awareness and reciprocity, listening to the land as it has been listened to for centuries, and letting the spirits themselves lead the way.
About Dario
Dario Douglas is a Secwépemc snowboarder, storyteller and cultural and environmental advocate from St’uxwtéws, British Columbia. As a CASI Level 2 instructor, snowboarding has become more than a sport for Dario; it’s a way to connect with the land, the mountains and the teachings that have shaped who he is.
Through the Mother Earth Cultural Conservation Society (MECCS), he leads hands-on cultural and environmental projects that bring people back to the land and strengthen community connections to traditional knowledge.
He’s also the co-founder of SACRED, a modern streetwear brand that shares Secwépemc stories through art, design and culture. Across his social media, Dario uses storytelling to teach about plants, animals and the importance of protecting Mother Earth; showing how every part of the land is connected, from the valley to the peaks.
As a Poet Snow athlete, Dario rides with purpose; carrying culture, community and gratitude into every turn on the mountain.
About Jennie
Born in Kazakhstan, Jennie was then adopted by her mom and moved to the United States at around fourteen months old; about six months after that she was put on a pair of skis and has not stopped since, finding ski racing and eventually growing up to ski with the U.S. Ski team. After a few surgeries put her out and got her dropped from the team she took up auto mechanics on the side as a hobby whilst trying to figure out what she wanted to do with skiing.
What started as a hobby turned into a life long passion and she now has her own automotive/fabrication shop that she runs herself as well as her own desert racing team, all the while still avidly skiing in the Wasatch. She now skis for fun with her friends as an ambassador for Alta Ski Area and works as a brand model in the winter and works on/races cars year round.
About Tao
Growing up in the forest-surrounded village of Cumberland, first famous for its donuts and now for its outdoor adventures, Tao has been lucky to enjoy the best of both worlds. Humbled by the original platter lift at Mount Washington, he persevered, learned how to snowboard and went on to become an instructor, spending many seasons wiping off hot chocolate from snowsuits. The passion for teaching and sharing the love for the outdoors only grew from there.
Tao has taught and mentored as an Outdoor Educator and Guide for the past decade, with the privilege of working in locations such as Hornby Island, Strathcona Park, The Sunshine Coast, The Canadian Rockies and Croatia. His current job guiding for Backroads (an active travel company) has him biking and hiking in some of Planet Earth's most scenic landscapes where he can share his deep rooted love for the stillness and peace found in nature. Busy summer seasons allow for a more mindful and intentional approach to his personal life in the winter.
Being part of a creative family with a father as a musician, Tao found his expression through filmmaking. With films featured in the Vancouver International Film Festival and Banff Mountain Film and Book Festival, he continues to find ways to tell stories of outdoor adventures through a unique and personal lens. Now as an adaptive snowboard instructor and avid backcountry skier, his winters are almost just as busy as his summers (he makes sure to leave time to crochet).
As a Poet Snow Ambassador, Tao helps share the voices and stories of the mountains and those who visit them. A few seasons, avalanche courses and core shots later, he’s more inspired than ever to blend his love for storytelling and media arts with the quiet clarity found in deep breaths of cold mountain air along the skin track.
About Dace
Born and raised in Campbell River, Dace grew up with the mountains and ocean as constant companions. Snowboarding quickly became more than just a sport, it became a way of expressing creativity, presence and connection.
Dace earned a Bachelor’s degree in Outdoor Sport Marketing & Communication while studying in the French Alps. During this time, he had the opportunity to ride many of the Alpine resorts, expanding his perspective on snowboarding and deepening his appreciation for mountain culture across different regions. This experience allowed him to combine a love of adventure with formal training in marketing, storytelling and community engagement.
Whether carving fresh lines, testing new gear or hyping friends up for their next run, Dace thrives on sharing the stoke and inspiring others to find their own flow in the mountains. As an adaptive snowboard instructor, he takes pride in making the mountains accessible for everyone, ensuring that every rider can experience the thrill and joy of snowboarding. Beyond the slopes, Dace channels his energy into other outdoor sports, spending time with family and exploring new terrain; he's always seeking the next adventure that challenges him and sparks creativity.
As a Poet Snow ambassador, Dace brings an authentic, local voice grounded in experience, creativity and a lifelong connection to the outdoors, helping to elevate the brand’s narrative and inspire the next generation of riders.
Content and Community Manager
About Tessa
Tessa Munro was born and raised in Aspen, Colorado and grew up ski racing with the Aspen Valley Ski and Snowboard Club through her post-graduate year, an experience that sparked her lifelong love of skiing and connection to the mountains. At The Colorado Rocky Mountain School, Tess embraced outdoor education and developed a passion for climbing, biking trail running and backpacking.
Tessa holds a B.S. in Psychology with minors in Outdoor Studies, Sports & Exercise Science and Studio Art from St. Lawrence University, where she guided for the outdoor program, earned her Wilderness First Responder and Avalanche 1 certifications and summited Mt. Kenya during a research expedition on altitude physiology.
As a dual U.S. and Canadian citizen with experience skiing in the Selkirk wilderness, Tessa is rooted in both American and Canadian mountain culture. She’s passionate about backcountry skiing, mountain biking, road cycling and surfing. Pursuits that keep her grounded and connected to nature and community.
Tessa has taken on the role of Poet’s Content and Community Manager, where she brings together her background in psychology, social media and outdoor experience to tell meaningful stories, build brand presence and foster community. With firsthand knowledge of the ski and outdoor industries, and as a woman in the field, she’s committed to creating inclusive spaces and inspiring the next generation of mountain athletes.
Director of Marketing
About Sean
Sean Kerrigan is a lifelong skier, digital marketer and creative culture-builder, driven by a mission to blend high-performance outdoor experience with authentic artistic expression.
Born on skis, Sean possesses deep, hands-on knowledge of mountain culture, having lived in Colorado and Whistler and skiing resorts and backcountry across Western and Eastern Canada. This passion evolved into a professional career that included roles as an avalanche course instructor, professional ski patroller and guide, alongside developing leadership programs in Switzerland. He also brings insider knowledge as a member of the Ski Canada Magazine ski testing team.
Sean transitioned this precision, risk management and program design into a digital career, spending over 15 years in website development, SEO, content strategy and business growth. He founded a successful agency supporting adventure and Indigenous tourism and honed his corporate expertise at top Canadian firms. He is also an educator on digital marketing and entrepreneurship.
His background is further defined by his passion for the arts: managing productions for large music festivals and serving on the Comox Valley Arts Council board. This expertise complements his life as a House DJ and music producer.
As Director of Marketing for Poet Snow, Sean is uniquely positioned to steer the brand’s growth by connecting its poetic vision to the real-world performance only a lifelong skier can deliver.
SOCIAL + COMMUNICATIONS
About Nicole
Nicole has spent over two decades leading digital communications, steering high-profile online marketing campaigns and shaping strategies across a range of industries. Throughout her career, she’s been recognized for her knack for bridging technology with corporate and political environments, helping organizations adapt to the digital age with clarity and impact. Whether she’s crafting engaging messages, managing stakeholder relations or leading complex projects, Nicole’s expertise has consistently driven digital transformation and elevated brand presence.
After a 20-year break from skiing, Nicole recently rediscovered her love for the sport. This unexpected reconnection brought a fresh perspective, blending resilience and the joy of continuous learning into both her personal and professional life. Now, with her renewed passion, she’s excited to bring her unique skill set and a fresh take on adaptability and growth to Poet Snow, tackling challenges with the same enthusiasm she finds on the slopes.
Brand Athletes & Ambassadors
Alpine Guide | Splitboard Mountaineer | Freeride Competitor
About Hannah
Hannah Matranga doesn’t just ride the mountain, she communes with it. A freeride competitor, alpine guide and snow-soul explorer, Hannah’s lines are poetry in motion. From making first-known female descents on Oregon's Steens Mountain to podium finishes across North America’s Freeride World Qualifier circuit, she’s shaping her own alpine mythology. She’s currently ranked among the top 15 female freeride snowboarders in North America.
Based in Bend, Oregon, Hannah's pursuits extend beyond the backcountry. She’s a certified avalanche professional, wilderness first responder, snowsports photographer and an advocate for mental health and diversity in the mountains. Whether guiding multi-day tours or planning an expedition to the Himalaya, she brings a radical authenticity and community-first ethos to everything she does.
A believer in snowboarding as an act of expression and healing, Hannah lives for the intersection of artistry, risk and belonging. One of her current projects, Cascade Slaydies, seeks to provide underrepresented gender minorities with the mentorship they need to access the backcountry safely. She is, at heart, both a builder of turns and of community.
Hannah rides Poet Snow because she sees snowboarding as more than adrenaline, it's a way to write your story in snow.
Certifications and Courses:
AMGA Alpine Snow&Glacier Module and SPI Course, AIARE 1, 2, Rescue and PRO1, WFR, Outdoor Emergency Care and AASI Level 1 Snowboard Instructor
PHOTOGRAPHER
About Craig
Craig is a photographer, carpenter and all around athlete having represented Canada internationally in rugby at various age grades. Craig is the owner of CWH Construction in Victoria building custom homes, renovations and commercial projects, a family business built on quality, integrity and craftsmanship.
After studying at the esteemed Western Academy of Photography in 1990, Craig established himself as a freelance adventure and landscape photographer. Craig has visually chronicled many White-brother adventures over the years and brings his eye to the Poet Snow aesthetic. A genuine family man, Craig frequently skis with wife and three adult children. Craig continues to compete in rowing regattas inspiring others with his quiet unstated work rate.
HELISKI GUIDE
About Graeme
Graeme is an ACMG Ski and Rock Guide and the eldest of the White brothers - twin Craig and Poet co-founder Lee. Graeme has been breaking trail on brotherly adventures for decades. In recent seasons Graeme has been heliski guiding in Northern BC with Last Frontier Heliskiing as well as guiding throughout the seasons with Island Alpine Adventures.
Graeme’s love of wild spaces began at an early age camping with his family and exploring Western Canada and the Yukon. His own explorations continued across Western North America, South America, the UK and Africa. For sixteen years, Graeme worked with Outward Bound Canada, starting as an instructor and later as manager of their Western Canada operations and has also worked globally developing and supporting Outward Bound schools. Graeme also works with St. Michaels University School outdoor programs, and fills the time between teaching and guiding working as a carpenter.
PHOTOGRAPHER
About Craig
Craig is a photographer, carpenter and all around athlete having represented Canada internationally in rugby at various age grades. Craig is the owner of CWH Construction in Victoria building custom homes, renovations and commercial projects, a family business built on quality, integrity and craftsmanship.
After studying at the esteemed Western Academy of Photography in 1990, Craig established himself as a freelance adventure and landscape photographer. Craig has visually chronicled many White-brother adventures over the years and brings his eye to the Poet Snow aesthetic. A genuine family man, Craig frequently skis with wife and three adult children. Craig continues to compete in rowing regattas inspiring others with his quiet unstated work rate.
About Pieter
After graduating from the University of the Orange Free State with both a distinction in Communications and the Andre Du Plessis-prize for best Dramatic Arts student, Pieter obtained a diploma in Creative Writing from the AAA School of Advertising in Cape Town, South Africa before spending 3 years cutting his teeth as a professional copywriter for Saatchi & Saatchi. At this time Pieter's primary passion in life was surfing daily and regularly hitting breaks considered extreme where few chose to paddle into.
Since arriving in the Comox Valley in late 2008, Pieter has been working on his business Pod Creative helping small business and non-profit organisations establish and maintain professional up-to-date communications systems. Skiing has replaced surfing as Pieter’s driving passion to anchor stoke and feed his hunger for adventure. Pieter and Caila share their love of skiing with their daughters Juniper and Wren - both little rippers in the park and all over the mountain - the next generation of soul skiers.
Pieter is both an adaptive ski and snowboard instructor as well as a board member for the Vancouver Island Society for Adaptive Snowsports, a group of people passionate about both skiing and helping people. A place to anchor compassion in action. Amidst it all, Pieter is a poet.
Friends & Collaborators
PHOTOGRAPHY
About Jenn
Jennifer is an accomplished photographer and graduate of the Western Academy of Photography (Victoria, BC). She views life as a series of memorable moments and creatively and professionally captures those moments for her valued clients. Jenn finds sanctuary adventuring in the great outdoors. The Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains are her favourite playgrounds. With her passport stamped on every page, she loves to travel and appreciates culture and diversity.
DESIGNER + ILLUSTRATOR
About Ian
Ian was trained in traditional fine art and illustration techniques, including colour theory and composition, which has given him a unique approach to graphic design. By combining these skills with modern mediums and with an equal understanding of print and digital production, Ian is able to understand the bigger-picture needs of a project.
This knowledge and practical experience make it easy for Ian to successfully handle any design challenge, from concept to completion.
In Fall 2021, Ian became an instructor of branding and packaging for North Island College’s Digital Design & Development program.
Ian also owns Done Creative, a small-batch art and apparel company that donates a portion of all sales to local environmental and community initiatives.
