About Us

• Our Journey
• Mission & Values
• Vision
• Careers

Businessman and outdoor enthusiast Barry Goldware founded Tennis and Ski Warehouse in the Midwest as a startup business in the sports industry. Soon after, he saw potential in an untapped market for winter apparel. An avid skier himself, Barry decided to take a chance and move business operations to Houston, Texas in July of 1980 and established Sun & Ski Sports.

His ambitions proved to be successful, as by September 2006 Sun & Ski Sports had grown to a chain of 18 brick-and-mortar stores across the United States and sold product for just six sports: watersports, snow sports, cycling, skating, running, and camping. Like many entrepreneurs, Barry was always up for trying new things. In the same year, Sun & Ski Sports debuted its online ecommerce presence on sunandski.com.

Then in 2012, Steve Rath and Frank Stanley became co-owners, establishing a new leadership team that would strategize tactics for continued business growth while also creating new opportunities for the future of the company’s customer experience.

Just 4 years later, Sun & Ski Sports grew to over 30 stores in 12 different states, in addition to a fast-growing omni-channel ecommerce business, to become one of the top specialty outdoor retailers in America. The business quickly evolved to offer equipment, apparel, footwear, and more from over 350 top outdoor brands.

In January 2019, Karl Salz became President of Sun & Ski Sports to help lead the business towards a comprehensive Vision for years to come. The company would then go on to further invest in serving adventure-seekers’ passion for the outdoors by transforming all stores into full-service bike, ski, and snowboard shops staffed with associates who combine their first-hand experiences and product knowledge to tailor each customer’s shopping experience based on their active lifestyle needs.

As Sun & Ski Sports has grown, our current leadership and their teams are just as passionate about helping get people outdoors with the gear they love. Our Mission every day is to provide you an elevated shopping experience through exceptional customer service, first-hand expertise, and competitively priced brands ready to perform for any adventure.

We recognize that the heart of adventure lives within communities we serve and plays an important part in our local community commitment. After all, Sun & Ski Sports was founded on strengthening community ties and helping others enhance their lives through adventure. That’s why we dedicate over $100,000 annually to actively support dozens of local events and groups including: the Texas MS 150 having surpassed $5 million in cumulative fundraising and over 20 years of support for the National MS Society, organizations in need like the Boys & Girls Club, Star of Hope, and Salvation Army gathering essential items at all stores during our annual Share Your Warmth Clothing Drive for the past 10 years, local ski and snowboard clubs, upcycling bikes with partners like Charlotte Re-Cyclery and The Pedal Factory who work to make bikes accessible to all individuals, even supporting RunningWorks’ events that advocate for an end to homelessness, and the U.S. National Whitewater Center’s year-round events that aim to get more people outdoors to enjoy an active lifestyle.

Our story continues as your journey begins. We are here for you where you live and play whether it be at home or afar, in the mountains or trails, on pavement or in water. Consider us your adventure experts with local roots, professional services, and expertise in providing the right gear. At Sun & Ski Sports, we are a place for everyone and believe in adventures for all.

Adventure Resource Guide

Careers

• Our Journey
• Mission & Values
• Vision
• Careers