A New Vision for Moose Nordic
In an email interview, Luke Brown shares the story of Moose Nordic's humble beginnings, what's in store for the future, and what it means to "Moose it."
Can you tell us how Moose Nordic was born?
There was no singular moment of epiphany or Saul-on-the-road-to-Ephesus moment. Rather, the birth of Moose Nordic was a steady build up through the years as my love for people and community combined with my passion for skiing got all wrapped up in my youthful fascination with moose.
My family and friends rallied around this unique idea for a ski club and what started off as writing down "Moose Nordic" for my team name as a ten year-old skier has morphed into a meaningful social organization that still maintains its just-for-fun roots.
I remember driving back home with my family from a high school ski race at Giant's Ridge and deciding that we should make Moose Nordic official. I think it started with a Facebook group, an "official" board of directors, sweatshirts, an application process, and then the Moose Nordic Urban Sprint Championships.
How does someone "join" Moose Nordic? Or can you even join it?
Great question. Anyone can join the Moose Nordic family. By encouraging your teammates or giving your best effort, by serving others or giving a congratulations to a competitor, by living with the other Moose Nordic values in mind, by spreading the word about the Moose Nordic movement, by mooseing it, or by wearing any of the club's apparel, you can be a part of the organization. You may not have even known you were a part of Moose Nordic but now you know! Maybe that's our new secret strategy.
OK so what does it mean to "Moose it"? I've seen some pictures of people skiing holding up the moose antlers... is that it?
Holding up ski poles to make moose antlers was the original (or should I say OG?) way to moose it. A group of us skiers started doing this as we crossed the finish line of races to signify that we were racing for Moose Nordic. Then one day in a high school ski race, I was double poling up a hill at Trollhaugen when a wax dad from our team just started yelling at me to "Moose it! Moose it!". I was a bit confused because it was in the middle of a race, but then I realized that I could "moose it" in the way I raced. I could go harder! I could double pole like a madman, grit my teeth, have a bunch of fun, fight for the line, congratulate other competitors, and those would all be ways to moose it. So mooseing it has morphed in meaning. But at a basic level, throwing up the antlers with your poles or hands is a way to support the positive aspects of the skiing world that we strive to stand for. It's a way to promote Moose Nordic. It's even a way to say hi to a skier you see across the stadium and it's a way to put a smile on someone's face.
What role do you see Moose Nordic playing in the world today?
I really appreciate the positive impact the ski community has on so many peoples' lives. Whether it's the shared experience of a team trip to the Mesabi Invite that helps form deep friendships amongst middle schoolers or a new passion for a master who now has skied ten Birkies, Nordic skiing can provide so many opportunities for personal growth, positive influence, and downright fun. Moose Nordic exists to help further those positive aspects of skiing within the nordic sport community and beyond. We want as many people as possible to be empowered by a strong community, feel the reward of persevering through a tough challenge, and think intentionally about how they are giving back and changing their community for the better. We've identified our main values as sportsmanship, service, humility, empowerment, integrity, positivity, hard work, and grit. And the Moose Nordic brand is just a spunky way to do all of this because while we're truly trying to do something good, it's still something that's a bit spontaneous and different so it puts a smile on your face.
What sort of things has Moose Nordic done in the past that you would like to continue for the future?
I thought it was awesome a few years ago when we did the Moose Valuable Skier Award - we asked for nominations for high school skiers who have made a positive impact on their communities while living by the Moose Nordic values. We teamed up with Finn Sisu to give the winner a pair of skis to help them along their way. I would love to bring this back.
We've also hosted the Moose Nordic Urban Sprint Championships (MNUSC) three times in St. Paul, MN and I'd love to continue that. It'd be cool to see skiers around the country hosting their own MNUSC races. We've made sweatshirts and hats and t-shirts which have all been fun to wear and they start conversations while spreading the word about what we're doing.
We also see many of our Moose Nordic members and others in the community living out the Moose Nordic values on a day to day basis. These smaller individual actions for good build the base off which we do everything else.
What new ideas do you have for Moose Nordic heading forward?
Just by the nature of things, Moose Nordic started within a specific generation of Midwest skiers. I'd love to expand the organization beyond that original crew. Let's get the word out there to some younger skiers and other folks around the country about what we're doing. The more intentionally people can think about how they are living and acting and impacting others, the better. And it doesn't have to be in a super serious way. It can be fun! Because #mooseit.
Part of this is expanding membership to anyone who wants to be a part of our organization. We want Moose Nordic to be open to anyone who is passionate about promoting the values we've talked about and having fun doing it.
Another part of expanding our reach is defining what's at the core of Moose Nordic. For awhile, this club has been something fun that many people know about but some of these deeper ideas we've been talking about haven't been publicized. So we're spending the time to dig into what Moose Nordic really means to us and then working on getting that info out to the public. This will give people something more definitive and purposeful to get behind.
Where is Moose Nordic based out of?
Moose Nordic is based out of the heart! Dang, that may have been a bit cheesy but that's what popped into my head. Sure, our homegrown origins are rooted in Minnesota but this next phase of the organization is really about a lifestyle and about ideas that go beyond any geographic location. If you need a mailing address or want to visit our headquarters just let me know though. I may send you to a remote bog in The North for a chance to see our animalistic inspiration.
Why Moose?
Ah, because they are the moost majestic animals that combine simplicity of life with an under-the-radar depth of character and uniqueness of personality. If you'd like to hear more, give me a ring, or I can send you a 2002 powerpoint I put together in my free time at age seven that will tell you everything you need to know about this great animal.
Thanks so much for reading and I hope you'll join Moose Nordic as we begin this next part of our journey!