NORTHWAVE - History

At the end of the 1980s, when the snowboard emerged, Gianni Piva diversified his production and developed a range of boots specifically for snowboarding and then, after an intense phase of Research and Development, decided to sell what he produced under his own brand. He looked for a name and bought Northwave, which at the time was being used by company specialising in wind surfing equipment.
In 1991, the first collection of snowboarding shoes was created and, two years later, the company diversified and developed the first model of MTB shoes.

In 1996, Cross-Country MTB made an entrance at the Olympic Games. It was Northwave’s time to shine as Paola Pezzo won the gold medal in the women’s event. She defended her title and won four years later in Sydney where Northwave presented its very first clothing collection. In 2004, the brand scooped up a new Olympic gold, this time with Norwegian athlete, Gunn-Rita Dahle. They partnered with her to develop a collection of “Skeleton” gloves and jerseys, which has become the absolute go-to for many pilots and racers.