Nick, pro snowboarder.
Brad, marketing guy in the snowboard world.
Laura, the social media Mavam of Drink Coffee Do Stuff
GCG: So, here’s the thing: this isn’t exactly the résumé of two guys who are about to launch a coffee company. Take me back to the beginning. Was there a specific moment when this idea sparked, or was it more like a gradual shift from casual conversations to, “Wait, are we actually doing this?”
Nick: When you snowboard for living you’re faced with do or die, go big or go home, jump off the cliff or back off decisions on a daily basis. So the call the entrepreneurialism didn’t seem threatening, it seemed excited and we were dedicated to making it work!
GCG: “Drink Coffee Do Stuff” is one of those names that feels obvious after you hear it. Be honest, was that a lightning-bolt moment, a dumb joke that refused to die, or something you went back and forth on way too many times?
Nick: I used to go to Saas-Fee, a Switzerland glacier every year in the autumn to train — they have one of the highest cafes in the Alps, days on the glacier were espresso… snowboard, cappuccino… snowboard… so on and so forth! So after years, the agenda each day was to literally DRINK COFFEE DO STUFF, THEN DRINK BEER AFTER. I was getting recruited by some energy drink sponsors at the time and could never get behind the artificial sweetness and synthetic ingredients so I just began to drink a lot of coffee to fuel my snowboarding career. So a love it or hate it name? Sure it is. But it was very much authentic to my life story, and low and behold, everyone else’s too!
GCG: At what point did this shift from a fun side project with good energy to that slightly terrifying realization of, “Oh… this might actually work. Like, for real”?
Nick: I think that moment happened mentally before we launched; I am not very moderate, very black and white in my thinking, perhaps that’s a glitch, but in entrepreneurial its been a friend and foe. For DCDS, it had to work and we invested our life saving, livelihoods and life’s futures into making it a reality.
GCG: You didn’t just build a coffee company, you built a whole vibe. The branding, the tone, the attitude, it all feels very you. Was that intentional from day one, or did it evolve naturally as you figured out what you liked and what you hated?
Nick: Ha! Thank you. It was always meant to be both, to emotionally connect with people and live in two worlds: 1) specialty coffee, 2) the outdoor space. Our history in snowboarding — Laura, Brad, and I each — helped us understand the power of brand, so we built an outdoor brand that sells coffee. It was pretty intentional from the beginning.
GCG: Let’s talk Tahoe. How much of this brand is basically bottled mountain life? And if you dropped it into somewhere like Miami or New York, does it still hit, or does it lose a little of its soul?
Brad: We did think it was going to just be an alpine modern brand in Tahoe, but then what happened is we ended up meeting people visiting from all over the state and country that connected with drinking coffee and doing whatever it is that they did after… from cycling, to surfing, to marathon running, to just working and being parents. The original concept intended to embrace alpine ski and snowboard culture (which we still lean into), but as the brand grew, so did our understanding of our customers and the significance of the motivation that comes from extraordinary coffee.
GCG: Nick, coming from snowboarding, and Brad, from marketing in that world, how much of that background still shows up in how you run this company today? Are there things from that world you have deliberately held onto, or totally rejected?
Brad: Years of brand-building for international snowboard brands, and my history in media prior (ESPN, magazine publishing, etc), really built a proper foundation for what to do and what not to do. I’ll speak for Nick here, too, because he was in sales and marketing meetings for global brands. We both took from what we learned, knew, and then applied our strengths to DCDS. Nick loved specialty coffee and, before retiring from snowboarding, spent years apprenticing for master roasters in Seattle and Portland, and I loved building companies and developing interesting go-to-market stories. Laura, Nick’s wife and our Creative Director, was also there at inception, and we couldn’t have done it without her prowess for digital media and graphic design. Really, the three of us have done nearly everything from day 1 and have now trained an incredible team to join us in the movement!
GCG: High-altitude roasting sounds cool as hell. But for someone who just wants a great cup of coffee in the morning, what is the real difference? Why should they actually care?
Nick: Great question. High altitude is meaningful. We source high altitude specialty coffees, mostly from about 5200’. These coffees have more challenging environmental conditions, making the plants dig their roots in deeper into more nutrient-dense soils, delivering to the fruit (coffee being its seed) unmatched, healthy growing conditions. We also roast at the same altitude, which has less atmospheric pressure, allowing us to get into sugar caramelization a little sooner per roast degree. So we can savor the original characteristics and preserve some sugar content per roast degree, delivering an unparalleled coffee experience, making all our coffees sweeter and less bitter.
GCG: The coffee space is crowded with brands all claiming they are different. Cut through the noise. What do you guys genuinely believe you do better than most?
Brad: We’ve been a finalist and have won multiple Good Food Awards, and we’ve scored countless 90+ coffees from other credible reviewers. Yes, we’re good at branding, and our coffees are renowned for themselves; however, I think what we do very well is understanding our customers and what people really want out of their coffee experience. We don’t try to convince anyone our coffees are better than someone else's, we’ve created a product and brand that people get to choose for themselves. So, to answer it frankly, I think we value our partners and our customers in a very authentic way, like a friendship. That is seen in our business relationships and our relationships with those who choose DCDS in their mug every morning. We left the egos in snowboarding and are just trying to create a brand and coffee experience that really does enhance the day of our customers. And ourselves too :)
GCG: When it comes to sourcing coffee, what is a hard no for you, no matter what? And on the flip side, what gives you that immediate, “Yes, these are our people” feeling?
Nick: Integrity. There’s got to be integrity in sourcing through and through, from quality to the trustworthiness of our suppliers. Whenever there is a slippery slope of trust, or rather, distrust. We’re out. Now we have awesome supply chain relationships and distribution with people we trust and can just call up on the phone. Good news, bad news, constructive news, it doesn’t matter, doing things on the up and up is a constitution we believe in.
GCG: What has been the biggest unlock for growth so far, the moment where things started to click in a new way?
Brad: There hasn’t really been one thing; it’s been a lot of things. Really, I just would shout out to Nick, Laura, and myself — if I can do so humbly — and just say we’ve worked hard, nothing came easy, but we’ve overcome all the obstacles so far and will continue to. Now those same unlocks from work ethic and integrity are coming from our staff, and it’s really cool to be a part of their growth in the coffee industry and contributing to the local economy of Tahoe.
GCG: And give me one thing you were sure would be a hit that totally flopped.
Nick: Who sings that song “Boulevard of Broken Dreams?” We’re no strangers to trying to shoot for the moon, but we do always try to land on it, and when we don’t, we shoot for the moon again!
GCG: Running a business together, especially as friends, can get real fast. What have you learned about each other through this that you definitely did not know at the start?
Nick: People say don’t get into business with family and friends, but my experience is the exact opposite. Who else can you trust?
GCG: Outside of coffee, what does a perfect “do stuff” day actually look like for each of you? No work, no obligations, just your ideal day.
Nick: I think we are all still die-hard snowboarders at heart. A perfect day for all three of us in an espresso, followed by a pow day in Tahoe! Cliche?
GCG: And last one, no overthinking, just gut reaction: if your coffee were a person showing up to a party, who are they, and what are they doing?
Brad: They are us, and they’re having more fun than the rest of the party!
If this interview made you curious, browse our Drink Coffee Do Stuff roaster collection and discover the coffees they’re roasting right now.
