Going skiing? In the early 1930s, it was still an extravagant pastime for Munich residents, reserved for mountain dwellers or Scandinavians. Willy Bogner saw things differently. Born in Traunstein, he had been an enthusiastic skier since his earliest youth. And he had spent a year in Norway after his apprenticeship at Lodenfrey in Munich in 1930. There, Willy learned everything about materials, workmanship and the skiing business (as well as perfect Norwegian) from the legendary ski manufacturer Marius Eriksen, father of the future Olympic giant slalom champion of 1952, Stein Eriksen. His reward: a contract for the exclusive distribution of Eriksen skis in Central Europe. In 1932, he opened the Willy Bogner ski shop on the Schommerstraße in Munich. The humble beginnings of a unique success story.