THE ICONIC SHAPER

In the world of freeride skiing, there are names that travel differently. In conversations at the bottom of runs. In workshops where people talk about flex and sidecut radius. In the mouths of riders who know how to recognize, beneath their feet, the signature of a particular shape. Julien Régnier is one of those names. A shaper whose work has crossed generations, not because he set out to build a reputation, but because he set out, from the very beginning, to answer a simple question: how do you make a ski that lets you do what the mountain makes possible?
The answer, he looked for it where few people would have thought to look. In his own body. In his own practice. In the gaps of the equipment available when he was still a professional skier. That singular path, from the athlete who demands a tool that does not yet exist to the shaper who ends up designing it himself, is what gives his work a rare density. Julien Regnier does not think about skiing from a desk. He thinks about it from the snow. From the turn. From the sensation, precise and fleeting, of what a run can be when everything is right.

Three new freeride prototypes are in development within the walls of the ZAG Lab, within reach of the north faces of Chamonix. 95, 105, 110 millimeters underfoot. Three hypotheses on what freeride skiing can become. A conversation with a man who thinks about skiing the way others think about language, and who has not yet finished shaping it.

J.R. — The approach to designing skis came to me quite naturally and fairly early in my career. Simply because, back then, we didn’t have twin-tip skis. When I started freestyle skiing and we needed to ski backward, we didn’t have the tools for that. So I had to ask to develop that type of ski. That was sort of the start of my journey as a developer. You ask for a tail at the back, and the technicians ask you what height, what dimensions. You have to start thinking, making drawings, coming up with ideas. And that’s how it all began.

J.R. — A good ski is, above all, a high-performance tool within its specific field of use. A good ski enhances performance, makes it easier, and allows the skier to perform better with greater ease. This isn’t about ease in the sense of laziness. It’s about ease that opens up new possibilities and solutions. A good ski is something that gives you an edge and removes certain constraints on the snow.

J.R. — The riding experience can vary greatly. Depending on the shape of the tips and tails, the rockers, the camber, and the flex, you can ride in very different ways. A heavy freeride ski doesn’t ski the same way as a backcountry ski with more generous tip rises and more progressive flex. They offer different sensations. Either one can be excellent depending on your style and what you want to do. Every ski and every shape offers the skier something different, and that’s what I find so exciting.

J.R. — It always starts with a skier’s need. For years, I met my own needs, because I was a professional skier. Today, I listen to young people; I listen to people with different needs. I also like to push skis toward performance and a competitive spirit, because that’s where the future of skiing is built. In practical terms: an idea, a need, and then you have to address it technically. That’s where there’s a little bit of magic, something hard to explain. I try to understand how sidecuts influence a ski’s behavior. With all that accumulated knowledge, I design my sidecuts.

J.R. — I’ve made a lot of mistakes in the past by having too many people looking over my shoulder. These are often athletes who aren’t necessarily used to reading technical drawings. It’s very easy to get sidetracked and end up with something that doesn’t work because we tried to listen to everyone. I prefer a clear brief at the start, then I do my design. Only then do we have a group review.

J.R. — I remember one ski: when I received the final technical drawing, the tip was very square. I thought it was just a pixelated export of the file, so I didn’t check it. In reality, the tip really was square. I learned that you always have to double-check, to make sure everyone is speaking the same technical language. Every time you work with a new factory or new collaborators, it takes time to understand each other and create a common language.

J.R. — When I design a ski, my main goal is for it to quickly put the skier at ease. If you feel comfortable right from the first few turns, everything becomes easier. My goal is always to make skiing accessible to as many people as possible so they can have fun. The idea isn’t to create competition skis for ultra-powerful athletes. It’s to create a tool for fun for as many people as possible.

J.R. — For me, what defines ZAG most today is its renewal. There’s a strong drive behind the brand, lots of new people, but also a solid technical and passionate foundation, especially with Bastien, who has built up the entire lab and engineering team over the past few years. What’s really interesting is the flexibility. If I have a slightly crazy idea, it’s not very expensive and it’s very quick to test it. The process is pretty simple: an idea, some dimensions, then back-and-forth with Bastien and Paul. We build the prototype, mount the Bindings test it.