brand profile: ThirtyTwo enters the snowboard market

After decades focused on boots and outerwear, ThirtyTwo is entering the snowboard market as part of a broader push to become a full offer hardgoods and softgoods brand. Backed by new support from Nidecker, the move marks a strategic expansion into a competitive category. The launch includes a fully custom line of 12 shapes and 108 sizes, signalling a substantial commitment to the space from day one. Source sat down with Brand Lead Brian Cook to get the details.

What inspired 32 to start making snowboards after years of focusing on boots and apparel?
ThirtyTwo has developed limited boards for over 15 years, usually for promo or special projects, which let us tinker with design and understand exactly what we’d want when the time came. Snowboards were always in the back of our minds, but moving to Nidecker pushed us to explore what a full board program could mean. We planted the seed early on, and the success of FASE showed NDK that ThirtyTwo had the potential to become a complete hardgoods brand. We got the go-ahead in April 2025, reached out to artists in May, sent shapes into development in June, and were testing shapes/flexes by early August. We didn’t take a summer break this year, but we’re not complaining – we have snowboards to ride this season!

PAT-WITH-BOARD

What makes 32’s approach to snowboard design different from what’s already on the market?
That was a big question from the start. We didn’t want to slap graphics on existing boards, so the brand committed to developing our own shapes, moulds, and a real point of difference. NDK completely agreed and encouraged us to explore untraditional shapes and bring fun ideas into the category. We’re fortunate to be manufactured at SWS. Our first samples showed that our quality and finish would stand out. From there, we went through our personal board archives and took influence from our favourite boards over the last 30+ years. We wanted to bring round shapes back – there’s so much squared blunted on the market that seeing a classic popsicle shape beneath your feet feels refreshing. We’re launching with 12 custom shapes, over 108 sizes and 66 next-gen models – a 100% custom line built from the hearts of ThirtyTwo and the minds of NDK. That’s the most important story to tell. Some people may think that because of NDK’s brand assortment, we’re just flipping graphics on old models, but nobody wanted that. We invested in doing this category right from the start, and we know how rare that is. It should be the highlight of our launch.

Please tell us about the line
The line is broken into 4 categories: Destroy – twin shapes with a street/park influence;  Shred – directional twins for all mountain performance; Slash – directional freeride boards for exploration and Cryochamber – our test lab for unconventional shapes and design. Each category includes men’s, women’s and youth specific boards.

COLD-WORLD

How will the boards fit within 32’s existing product line and brand identity?
I think the best early compliment we’ve heard is “These look how 32 boards should,” and that was the goal. This was a boot and outerwear brand for 29 years. In the last two we launched bindings and now boards, 2 of the largest categories on retail floors. We’re not just designing boots,we needed to look across all 8 categories and make sure they speak to each other through colour, graphics, materials and overall merchandising. Customers could buy a board, boots, bindings and outerwear that complement each other, so our storytelling needs to be more connected than ever.

Will we see collaborations or limited editions as part of the launch?
We have three early release models coming Jan/Feb 2026 for two pros and our 30th anniversary. Next fall you’ll also see Volcom Snowboards built by ThirtyTwo, a four-board collection inspired by Volcom’s heritage. The goal was to create boards Volcom fans would collect and save for special days. Each design taps into the brand’s signature aesthetics – black & white collage, Y2K and rootsy garden vibes with hand drawn illustrations.

REIKI

Who will be riding 32 snowboards?
We have 4 riders as of October 2025 – Pat Fava, Phil Hansen, Brin Alexander and Patrick Hoffman. Two more riders will come on by Spring 2026. We kept this project under wraps for six months, so we targeted a few key riders for launch and will continue building through 2026 as word spreads. The budget is open, we want the right people on these boards.

How will the line be marketed?
We’re going to market snowboards the same way we’ve marketed boots for 30 years, by being on the hill and proving performance. Demos, bringing back Boot Camp for retailers and media, and letting our team’s riding speak for itself. We had our sales force on the boards at Zermatt in October, and everyone came off the mountain saying “LFG!” The product speaks for itself. We’re making fun snowboards for fun days on snow. We’re not going to complicate that message.

BRIN-WITH-BASE

www.thirtytwo.com/