Discover Bob Ross and J Skis Unique Collaboration
J Skis collaborates with the Bob Ross estate to create limited-edition skis that blend art, nostalgia, and performance. Jason Levinthal’s four-part Joy of Skiing series proves that ski equipment can tell stories beyond the mountain, turning functional gear into cultural artifacts that reference PBS, accessibility, and joy.
Jason Levinthal puts Bob Ross on skis. They sell out in weeks. This tells you something about skiing, or about Bob Ross, or possibly about what happens when you stop pretending equipment can’t be interesting.
The Setup
Levinthal built early twin-tips when the industry said no. He started Line Skis, then left. In 2013 he launched J Skis with a simple idea: small batches, artist collaborations, direct sales. Make a few hundred pairs of something that looks good, skip the middlemen, see what happens.
What happened was a Bob Ross ski.
Why Ross Works
The first Joy of Skiing edition appeared in 2019 on the Allplay model, a 98mm all-mountain ski that doesn’t commit to anything specific. They made 450 pairs with Ross’s face and happy trees across the topsheet. It sold out fast.
Ross spent decades on PBS telling people they could paint. No mistakes, just happy accidents. Everyone can do this. The barrier is in your head. Levinthal looked at that message and saw skiing. Ross made art approachable. J Skis makes skiing personal.
Joy of Skiing 2 came next with new graphics. Then Joy of Skiing III in 2023 on the Masterblaster, a 99mm freeride ski. Six hundred pairs, hand-signed by Levinthal. Now there’s a fourth version on the Escalator model. This isn’t a one-off. It’s a series.
The Art Part
These skis actually work. The Masterblaster Bob Ross is a legitimate mid-fat freeride ski with normal rocker and camber. The topsheet doesn’t affect performance. But it affects everything else.
You show up with Bob Ross skis and you’ve made a statement about what skiing means to you. That it can be both serious and fun. That aesthetics matter. That the industry’s obsession with muted colors and aggressive graphics isn’t the only option.
This is the collaboration’s real point. Ross gave people permission to paint. These skis give people permission to care about how their equipment looks without apologizing.
Other Collaborations
Bob Ross gets the headlines, but J Skis runs collaborations constantly. The Ski The East partnership made 100 pairs using scanned graphics from someone’s grandfather’s wooden skis. The Shane McConkey tribute honored a skier who understood that the sport could be serious and absurd at once. Artists like Alyse Dietel, Jimbo Phillips, and Sam Larson have all done graphics.
Every J Skis model has seen collaboration variants. Limited runs, hand-numbering, artists who aren’t famous. It’s the business model: make equipment people want to look at.
The Risks
Not everyone cares about graphics. Some skiers only read spec sheets. That’s fine. They have options.
The real risk is whether graphic trends age well, whether too many collaborations dilute scarcity, whether collector markets distort the point. Some Joy of Skiing 2 pairs sell for premium prices now. When equipment becomes collectible, something shifts. Are you buying skis to ski or to preserve?
Why It Matters
The ski industry isn’t lacking vibrant graphics. Plenty of brands make bold, colorful equipment. But J Skis asks a different question: What if skis could tell a story? What if they could reference culture beyond skiing itself?
That’s the difference. Most ski graphics are either technical abstractions or mountain imagery. They speak the language of skiing to skiers. Bob Ross skis speak a different language. They reference art, PBS, childhood memories, accessibility, joy. They assume skiing can borrow meaning from outside itself.
This matters because it changes what equipment can be. Not just tools optimized for performance. Not just branded products. But artifacts that carry ideas, that start conversations, that let you express something beyond competence.
Bob Ross would get it. No mistakes on the mountain. Happy accidents. Maybe some trees.
Most skiers remember days they felt something more clearly than days they skied their best. The light, the snow, the company, the gear. J Skis is betting that last part counts.
They’re probably right.
