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Looking to waste some time online? Of course you are…that’s what people do with this crazy world wide interweb super-highway. While you’re at it…visit some of Snoloha’s BFF’s:

The Tropicast Radio Network Snoloha has been working with Jimmy Pirate & The Tropicast Radio Network for a couple of years now by sponsoring the show and promoting the Trop Rock genre of music.




Homemade Wine Snoloha is partnering with Homemade Wine of East Tennessee, a Trop Rock band recording a new cd and touring throughout the lower states this summer. Yes, they will be sporting Snoloha gear on stage!




Bay Breeze Yacht Charters & Sailing School Escape on the water with our friends at Bay Breeze Yacht Charters & Sailing School.




St. Thomas Blog The Snoloha brand and it’s inspiration is partly attributed to the island of St. Thomas. Nicci & The Big Kahuna from the St. Thomas Blog keep us abreast of life on the rock and pay tribute to Snoloha with a trip to Magens Bay in their Definition T’s.




MISkiReport.com The web’s best source of information on snowsports in Michigan, offering real-time snow reports, event info, great deals, and more. Check ‘em out at MISkiReport.com

Snoloha, The Drink This recipe was created by Mark, the TikiTender and the photo was taken at the Golden Lion beach bar on Florida’s Atlantic Coast. Check out the ingredients. What a perfect concoction for the Snoloha brand. Thanks TikiTender, for creating a great Snoloha style drink.

My Licensee in Spain recently finished a deal with a distributor for Snoloha throughout Germany beginning in 2010. This is very exciting, or “sehr aufregend”…I think. They have already included Snoloha at a tradeshow and in the Christmas card they mailed to all of their customers. Oliver of Makani Lanakila S.L (the official & legal name of the Snoloha Licensee, but will be better known as Snoloha International) asked the new distributor to send a card my way and I thought I’d share.

The name of the new Snoloha German distributor? “Eva-Csilla Leonidopoulos und Ioannis Leonidopoulos GbR”.

Keep an eye out for changes to the website that will reflect our international growth and efforts in 2010.

“Frohe Weihnachten Und Ein Gluckliches Neus Jahr”

In the post below, I shared some of the new branding that Joe designed. But the branding doesn’t stop there. Snoloha branding is much more than the logo and the collateral materials. The branding goes much deeper than that.

I am the brand (I am also Batman). So whatever I do is a reflection of Snoloha, from my personal Facebook profile to how I scowl when my wife takes me shopping (I need to work on the scowling). Locally, there are people who only know me as the “Snoloha guy”. So if I’m at a local watering hole, yep…I need to remember that I represent the brand. While I’m driving my Jeep with the big www.snoloha.com sticker on the back window, I have to be mindful of my driving and my singing.

It’s also the presentation at retail and how your package shows up in the mail…and both are undergoing changes.

The feeling a person gets when they see or think “Snoloha” is also branding at work. This is much more difficult to control, since I’ve learned that everybody connects to the brand in their own way. Some people think “Snoloha” and they drift off to a remote beach to relax. Others think “Snoloha” and they are enjoying fresh powder at their favorite ski hill. The commonality, though, is people tend to escape to their favorite place “somewhere between the islands and the arctic”. Escapism is the key.

How Snoloha gives back as a company is also branding at work. Some brands are very discrete, while others work giving back into their business model. Both are fine with me. Giving back, whether it’s public knowledge or not, is the right thing to do. I’m still trying to figure this one out.

How I write, and what I write in this blog is branding at work. There are bound to be typos and grammatical errors…but I’m not too concerned. Snoloha is not an elitist, high-brow brand. A typo here or there goes hand-in-hand with the slacker-friendly, laid-back approach of the brand.

It goes farther than this, but you get the idea. Actually you (yes you) are part of Snoloha’s branding. Think about that.

This process of designing a new look for Snoloha has been a ton of fun. I’m super excited (I think the kids say “stoked”) to continue blending the new branding into all elements of the business. Again, the website has a slightly updated look, but this is just my own temporary fix, we are still planning a new look for early 2010.

The retail catalog now has my full attention. If you know of any retailers that are a good Snoloha fit (or you are a retailer)…contact me.

I also wanted to recognize the great work Joe The Designer did for me. Coming up with something that reflects the Snoloha brand is not real simple or straight forward. It’s a made up word that has a fair amount of explanation and meaning behind it!

We were trying to go for something that was laid-back and fun, yet professional and classy…and at the same time incorporated the elements that make up Snoloha (the varying climates and activities that make up this lifestyle we all enjoy).

That was not an easy task.

Joe nailed it with his “layered” idea. After all, there are a number of layers to Snoloha. So moving forward we can switch out images in order to fully capture the essence of Snoloha. The branding will not be static and boring…the logo will always be the same of course, as will the overall look and feel…but the ability to change up imagery is very cool.

This is the new email signature:

Here’s the new Coffee label:

New letterhead, business cards & envelopes:

I got a kick out this photo. That’s the back of Gumbo Ron’s vehicle, and those are Snoloha stickers in each corner.

Gumbo Ron has been playing Trop Rock music for years. While living in Belize ,on the island of Caye Caulker, he wrote many songs about his “Belizean” experiences… yeah, lot of “drinkin’ songs” but hey, we all love drinking songs, right? A CD, “What We Belize In”, was the result. His most recent CD, “Tequila Tonight, Tomorrow We Ride!”, is definitely for the Jimmy Buffett-Parrothead inclined. However it will also be enjoyed by anyone who likes easy-listening “folk rock”…only with a tropical theme.

So what happens when you Google “Tequila Tonight CD”? Here you go.

Thanks for the support Gumbo Ron.

I’m really starting to get excited about 2010. We’ve been working on (and continue to work on) big changes for Snoloha.

A new branding look is complete and is slowly starting to be worked into the marketing and the business. If you’ve received an email from me, you’ve seen the new signature; if you’ve visited the Snoloha Twitter page, you’ve seen the new background; if you’ve looked at the Snoloha Coffee, you’ve seen the new labels; and finally if you’re a Snoloha Facebook Fan, you’ve probably seen the new profile image.

Next up…a new website that will incorporate the new look, a new retail catalog is underway along with plenty of other various new marketing collateral (business cards, letterhead, envelopes, invoices, sell sheets, stickers, hang tags, etc, etc)

But…we are not stopping there. A majority of the Snoloha product is also being completely revamped. We will be using a new supplier that Screen Print Dave discovered in California, and we will finally introduce some of the great designs Joe has come up with (as well as carry forward many of the current favorites and best sellers).

So yes, 2010 will be full of changes. Change is good. I’m looking forward to it.

For now though, remember to take advantage of all the current t-shirts that are only $15.00. And remember, shipping is still free when you spend at least $30.00.

I was going thru a bunch of Snoloha photos recently and noticed Captain Dave from Bay Breeze Yacht Charters wears his Snoloha gear proudly so I thought I’d highlight some of them here.

I wonder though, why does Dave always ask “Have you ever wondered if there was more to life, other than being really, really, ridiculously good looking? “ (okay, so that’s a Zoolander quote)

I have a feeling that Dave doesn’t take his male modeling job with Snoloha very seriously.

Here’s Dave at Mamacita’s (Culebra, Spanish Virgin Islands) along with some of the rest of us during our recent sailing excursion.


Dave again in Culebra at a watering hole called “The Spot”. Bad things happen there…could have something to do with Tequila though.


This is Dave & Jimmy somewhere in the British Virgin Islands. They are not allowed to wear the same shirts on the same day anymore.


And here he is with his “Thinker” pose during a recent hike sporting his new Snoloha Sailor beanie (which are now sold out). His lovely wife wonders if they will ever have a normal photo taken of the two of them.

For all of you doing your online shopping…remember, if Snoloha is the perfect gift, perfect. If not, please buy a toy. Then donate it. Actually, do the same even if you need Snoloha as well.

Also remember, shipping is FREE when you purchase $30.00 worth of gear…which is quite easy to do. Heck, since all T-Shirts are $15.00, buying two gets you FREE shipping. Buying this same hoodie that Seattle Dave is wearing below gets you free shipping. Buying a Snoloha Cooler and a Snoloha sticker gets you free shipping. I could go on and on with examples…actually no, I couldn’t, my math isn’t that good.

Happy shopping…

Thanks Seattle Dave for sending this note and pic:

“Unintended Snoloha gear sighting. Totally random, but great. Watching the Seahawks game, I spotted this moment and grabbed a shot.”

It’s been busy behind the the scenes with plans and changes for 2010, including lots of computer work (not my favorite way to spend time, but a necessary evil), all new branding, web site meetings, new product samples & designs and trade show planning.

So it’s always nice to take advantage of the escapism mentality and lifestyle that I promote. Not only is it healthy, but it’s also a great reminder of why I launched this brand in the first place.

Saturday was a great Snoloha day. The Grand Traverse Yacht Club has a kids party each year where Santa Claus is delivered to the Club… by sailboat of course. Since the Snoloha Sailing Yacht (it’s not really a yacht, I just like saying that) is still in the water…we decided to sail as well alongside the Santa delivery. It was fun. A little cold, but a lot of fun. There’s something about being on the water that is therapeutic, whether it’s July and 80 or December and 30.

The day didn’t end there. That evening Boyne Country Sports was hosting Warren Miller’s ski movie, “Dynasty”. I also had Snoloha swag to deliver that was for the give-aways during the intermission. Suddenly, I went from a sailing state of mind to having that childhood excitement of the first run of the year down the slopes.

Selfishly, I really want to sail and snowboard in the same day. That, I think, would be pretty sweet. The boat is still in the water, so I guess it could happen! Maybe I need to rethink my goals in life?

Sunday finished the weekend out with a nice dog hike along the waters of East Bay just south of the resort town of Elk Rapids (where we stumbled across a driftwood built warming shack…pictured below).

Now it’s Monday and I’m sitting in front of this computer thinking back to the weekend and what a good time it was. That’s exactly the point of Snoloha…you never stop enjoying the lifestyle. It’s still there when you need it by simply closing your eyes and drifting away, taking a look at a favorite framed photo, or rehashing stories with the people you shared it with.

So escape…physically or mentally.

A bit of snow to clear of the deck.

Marc from Manitou Boatworks and Durk from Bay Breeze Yacht Charters.

The “Spyke” crew delivering Santa.

Hiking in Elk Rapids.