Fostering the new age of telemark through events, competitions, merch, and general telemark nonsense.
Originally Telemark Colorado, TELE COLO was started in 2018 by CJ Coccia, Brian Strickland, and Erik Jensen, to introduce a culture in telemark representative of the new age and their personal experiences.
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TELE COLO is also focused on supporting the current and future athletes, contributors, and industry to promote continued growth of the sport and its participants to strengthen its survival in both the industry and the community...
and doesn't that just sound fancy.
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In addition to organized on-snow telemark meet-ups, TELE COLO also revived the telemark film circuit and fun season long telemark video contests with the TELE FILM TOUR and Kings and Queens of the Heel.
CJ Coccia
Born and raised in the telemark mecha of... New Smyrna Beach, FL, CJ grew up in the world of surf swell reports and everything skateboarding.
CJ moved to the objectively snowier state of Colorado in 2006 to pursue a Ph.D. in Geotechnical Engineering. During this time he met fellow co-founders Brian Strickland and Erik Jensen and - at that time - discovered the telemark turn.
Inspired by the energy of the local telemark skiers and growing culture, CJ started TELE COLO.
Currently living in Summit County, CO, CJ strives to incorporate his experiences with skateboarding and skateboard films to introduce his vision of what the hell this telemark thing is all about!
Brian Strickland
Brian Strickland had a call to the mountains long before he ever knew it.
Having grown up in south Georgia surfing, skating, and mostly spending time barefoot, something was missing up until the second metal edges met the snow (as a snowboarder) at a small resort in Tennessee.
Brian's transition from sand to snow continued onto West Virginia, Colorado, and then finally to the telemark turn in 2004... with no plans of looking back.
Currently residing in Lafayette, CO with hopes of more days in the mountains asap.
"Drop Knees Always"
Erik Jensen
Erik Jensen has been droppin' knees since he was a teenager, although he fully rid himself of alpine skiing in 2010.
A native of southern New England, Erik spent his early years skiing the East and continues to return to his home field of Jay Peak, VT now and again to make sure he can still ski tight glades and deep pow. Erik moved to Colorado in 2010 to pursue a graduate degree in geotechnical engineering at the University of Colorado, Boulder where he first met CJ Coccia and was also introduced to Brian Strickland.
Erik now lives with his family outside Boulder, CO where he works a day job as an engineer in between pow days.