While gloves are believed to have been invented in prehistoric times, the oldest physical examples are those found in 1922 by archeologists exploring King Tutankhamun's Egyptian tomb, estimated from 1300 BC. It wouldn’t be until the late 1980s that humankind would start designing gloves specifically suited to the discerning needs of snowboarders. Now, 2024 marks another milestone in man’s mission to protect their paws with the launch of DEATHGRIP Gloves.
Jake Sullivan, Jonny Murdock, Dan Rhoades, and Matt Patti are the brain trust behind DEATHGRIP. These four shred industry stalwarts have more than half a century of riding know-how under their collective belts, bringing a unique blend of creative influence, product development, and pure vision to their efforts to upend the glove industry.
Jake Sullivan’s tenure in snowboarding began in the Wasatch at Snowbird. In 2003, at age 15, Jake started working at Celtek Gloves making die-cut stickers and quickly moved up the ranks, eventually earning the title of Operations Manager. A decade later, Jake made the leap into entrepreneurship by founding Hand Out Gloves with his partner Don Wildman, which soon led to an appearance on the ABC TV show Shark Tank. And while Don has passed away his spirit and know-how is embedded in the Death Grip DNA.
University of Utah graduate Jonny Murdock spent two years as a financial analyst for Goldman Sachs, yet it’s his experience in the cannabis industry that gives him a firsthand perspective on how inconvenient conventional gloves can be when doing seemingly mundane tasks. In turn, his stint with Backcountry.com similarly helped inform his perspectives of the current glove market. Now an integral part of the DEATHGRIP team, Jonny’s job is to keep an eye on the bottom line so the rest of the staff can focus on the line to the bottom.
With a Bachelor of Fine Arts from UCLA, SoCal-born and bred design guru Dan Rhoades has been the aesthetic alchemist behind leading labels like KR3W, Supra, Billabong, Vans, and now Arbor Snowboarding. Dan's passion for products and design is what makes him a natural fit for the DEATHGRIP family.
From his humble beginnings in the early 2000s packing boxes in the Arbor warehouse, Matt Patti’s ascent within the snowboarding industry proves what happens when hard work, curiosity, and integrity are brought to bear in pursuit of a passion. After seven years leading design and development at Vans Snow, Matt has returned to Arbor as their General Manager. It was on a trip to Baldface Lodge that Matt first used Hand Out Technology™ in the field, and from that moment on, he was hooked, not just for use on his board but also on his bike.
While most snowboarding mitts are considered a commodity, where good enough seems to be the mindset of most buyers, Matt, Jake, Jonny, and Dan know that whether you are buckling in, riding a rope tow, or tweaking a method grab, gloves are one of the most integral garments in your kit. In other words, when gloves are working great, they are taken for granted, but when they fail, your fingers feel it, and ultimately, your day of riding is ruined.
Best-in-class materials for every price point, considered cuts, and handsome styles are all hallmarks of DEATHGRIP's debut collection, but the Hand Out Technology™ is what truly distinguishes their offerings. With a proprietary zipper application, each pair of DEATHGRIPs includes the added function of freeing your fingers without the hassle of removing the glove itself. Hand Out Technology™ allows wearers to tie laces, take photos, and flick lighters without fearing frostbite! And while the ancient pharaohs didn’t have to worry much about freezing temps, the spooky styling of each DEATHGRIP glove would be right up their alley, dare we say, they would make every Mummy proud.
Slush connected directly with Dan, Jake, Jonny, and Matt for more insight directly from the founders of DEATHGRIP.
Do you guys remember the first pair of snowboard gloves that you were really stoked on and why?
Jake: I think they were pretty simple, black, leather Dakine gloves. I also remember always having to take them off and sit on them on the chairlift whenever I wanted to do something with my hands. They were really bulky.
Jonny: I remember I wasn’t too stoked on any gloves until I probably got a pair of OR mitts or something like that. Then I finally went to Milo and got the cheapest pair of Celtek gloves they had. They had short cuffs which I liked because, similar to Jake, I was always taking my gloves on and off, so my hands were always cold.
Dan: I rode for a long time before I found a pair of gloves that I was really stoked on. I think the first were this pair of leather AK gloves that were somewhat slim but warm. They were also Gore-Tex. I do remember that it was always hard to find a sleek, simple leather mitt. All the options were either bulky or too lightweight and made for Spring riding.
Matt: For me, gloves were always just a thing you had to have until my riding took me to places and conditions where gloves were a thing you actually had to have. I was really stoked when Grenade did that Misfits mitt, I was like, "Oh, those are dope. I have to have them." So for me it was less about functionality and warmth. It was like, "Oh look, my gloves are dope, I'm in."
So with Hand Out Technology™ why use zippers instead of snaps, buttons, magnets, or velcro?
Jake: Zippers are weatherproof. You have to keep the elements out and warmth in.
Jonny: And zippers stay shut but when you open it, it stays open, whereas velcro and magnets kind of have the propensity to pop back together
Dan: Yeah, zippers are more functional and rugged.
Matt: I find the zippers to be somewhat habit-forming. Once you have zippers for a while and you're really used to using them, you just like fuck with them all the time. Even if you're not taking your hands out. Sometimes on a chairlift my hands just want something to do.
Dustin Craven, Dusty Henrikson, Scott Blum, and Fridge have already been announced as being part of the DEATHGRIP team. They all rip, but aren’t cut from your typical pro snowboarder mold. They’re all non-conformists who do what they want to do rather than what other expect them to do. Is this by design?
Dan: For sure. I mean DEATHGRIP itself isn’t cut from the same cloth. The brand has a certain edge and we want our riders to also have that. In all honesty, we’re just down for these riders. It’s also pretty organic. Blum reached out and was like “What’s up with DEATHGRIP?” Same with Dusty. These are people who are interested in what we are doing and believe in the product. For them to believe in us even before we launched the brand to the public means a lot.
Matt: I think for us, the word unique comes up a lot because Hand Out Technology™ is unique. Even, the first time I was given a pair of the gloves, I was like, "That's interesting, but I don't know if it's for me." Then I used a pair and was like, "That's definitely for me."
Which brands both inside and outside of snowboarding do you draw inspiration from?
Matt: I’m going to say Grenade again. Even before working specifically on gloves, I was inspired by Grenade. So when we were building DEATHGRIP I was thinking a lot about what Grenade had done and what was unique, interesting, and wild about it. That’s been applied to some degree with some of the art on the products and how we built the team. I know it's a little on the nose because we're talking about gloves, but it’s really hard for me not to say Grenade has been incredibly influential.
Jonny: I think Liquid Death has come up a few times and their ability to market themselves and differentiate in a totally saturated industry.
Jake: For me the obvious answer would be Volcom. If I didn’t have my own glove company that’s what I would be repping. Also, Celtek was a huge inspiration for styles and colors. I think Celtek alongside Grenade really opened up the glove category.
Dan: I’d have to say Ashbury. I’m a little biased because I’m very close to the founders Lance and Mike Hakker and Nima Jalali. They’ve always been an inspiration to me in that they were just a bunch of snowboarders who started a grassroots brand and built it for the love of snowboarding. That’s something I’m proud of because we’re doing DEATHGRIP for the love of snowboarding. Outside of snowboarding, I am pretty influenced by skating. I like a lot of the smaller skate brands like Quasi, Limousine, and Violet which are run by people for the love of it and doing interesting stuff that is having an impact.
While the award-winning Slush Ghoul Mitts are the most anticipated gloves in the DEATHGRIP line, what other collaborations are available at launch?
Matt: We have a leather Werewolf glove with 1910, there are some leather Zombie mitts we created with Baldface Lodge, and also some Ghoul mitts with Montreal-based artist Melodie Perrault.
So last question, from a practical standpoint how does having to design gloves for people who are both left-handed and right-handed complicate the process?
Jake: I don’t think it does. As a matter of fact, in the last decade since Hand Out Technology™ was introduced, we’ve had dozens of adaptive skiers and snowboarders who only have the ability to use one arm gravitate towards our gloves because they can use their teeth to open the zipper and gain access to their good hand.