Shell Game

I learned to ski as a kid at a little hill in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia called Wintergreen. It’s a classic East Coast ski resort where the lodge is on the top of the mountain and they hand out trash bags at the base of the lifts so you don’t get soaked by the snow makers on the way up.

In 1985, the height of ski fashion at Wintergreen was a CB Sports jacket, jeans and gaiters. And you better believe it, that’s the outfit I was rockin’ along with my prized chicken-heart Dynastars.

At about the same time, GORE-TEX hit the scene and and was quickly adopted by the ski industry with its unique claim of “waterproof” AND “breathable.” I especially remember coveting one of those sweet yellow and black TNF Steep Tech getups that Scott Schmidtt always wore. Of course, who could afford it?

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Don’t Mess with a Junkie

If you haven’t read the Inc. Magazine story on Newton, check out page four where the writer mentions The Gear Junkie, Stephen Regenold. The Inc. writer, Robert Andrew Powell, questions the effectiveness of Newton technology referencing the Gear Junkie’s slow Twin Cities marathon time.

Well, the Gear Junkie took issue with Mr. Powell’s reference in a ‘rant’ he posted on Active.com.

“Powell is right that I ran a slow marathon in the Newtons last fall. But he did not phone to ask why. Indeed, the weekend of the marathon I was attempting an endurance feat of sorts, as I raced in (and won) a 12-hour adventure race on Saturday, got a couple hours of sleep, then arose early to run the marathon on Sunday.”

Read the Gear Junkie’s full rant here.

John Mayer Rocks Newtons

Last week, I got a note from the good folks at Newton Running that said rock star John Mayer recently stopped into a Boston area City Sports and bought himself a pair of Newtons.

I guess it was only a matter of time before the paparazzi snapped a shot of him wearing them.

Here he is wearing the Newton Motion shoe, coming out of the gym in West Hollywood.

John also mentions Newtons on his personal blog. Click on the link that says “Smart.”

More John Mayer Newton photos here.

And get your complete John Mayer stalker obsession fix here.