Ski Racing - November 21, 2011

OUT OF THE GATE
Paul Koetke Rolling Out New Protective
Wear Line BY ERIC WILLIAMS

This month, it’s not only racers testing out their mettle at Copper Mountain, Colo., but also an in-
ventor testing out his metal — er, Kevlar and carbon fiber. Any day now, you’ll see a brand-new line
of shin guards added to the up-and-coming PK Protective Wear line.
Last January, when he was just 18, racer Paul Koetke of Redmond, Wash., started experimenting
by building arm guards. When friends started asking for his creations, Koetke launched PK Protec-
tive Wear.
“I’ve always liked building stuff, so I started messing around with some arm guards; it looked like
fun,” says Koetke.
PK products hit the market last year, initially distributed by Fuxi Racing before getting picked up by
Artech and Race Place.
Now a freshman mechanical engineering student at Rensselaer Polytechnic in Albany, N.Y., Koetke
continues to manage his business with a high school buddy while going to school. During a full
summer week of production the pair can crank out around 60 pairs of Kevlar or carbon fiber arm
guards.
“This is going to keep me connected to the sport,” says Koetke, who continues to race on the USC-
SA and FIS circuits. “As much as I wish I could have been on the U.S. Ski Team and skiing every
day, that didn’t happen but I love ski racing and I love being around it.”
As Koetke has tweaked his products, he’s gained an education in business development. “I was
amazed at the amount of work you have to put in to make even a little bit of money, a growing busi-
ness just takes all that money,” says Koetke. “It’s was kind of a realization, I thought, ‘I can sell all
these arm guards and make a lot of money,’ but the business ends up needing all that money to
grow; I haven’t actually made any money yet.”
PK Protection Wear hit a milestone last year when it made its World Cup debut along with Mikaela
Shiffrin.
“I gave a pair to Mikaela to let me know what she thinks,” says Koetke. “That was a couple weeks
before her first World Cup. I was watching the race and she was wearing the arm guards, and there
I was, watching my arm guards on TV. That was one of my favorite moments.”
The small business allows Koetke the flexibility to stay in the trenches and adapt. “I’m on the hill
every day and people will ask me to switch this little thing; I can see what’s going on, fix it and come
up the next day and try it out again,” says Koetke. “I’m looking at moving over into the European
market. The U.S. market is only so big, and I believe that we have a product that can compete with
Slytech, Leki and POC and all those other top brands. I’d like to take on that challenge.”