Brooks and Elli Gorsuch on ski-shop roots, the science of curation, and what it takes to stay an institution in a town that never sits still.
Interview by Bryan Welker and Stefan le Roux | For The Aspen Times
It’s easy to look at Gorsuch and see a finished product—polished windows, prime real estate, a brand that feels permanent. But permanence in Aspen is rarely accidental. It’s built. And now, that responsibility is shifting.
Brooks and Elli Gorsuch are stepping into a legacy that began in an old gas station in Gunnison, CO with two Olympic ski racers and a few hundred dollars. They understand the weight of their history, but they’re not defined by it. In their twenties, they’re asking sharper questions about structure, data, experience, accountability, and how to honor what their grandparents built while evolving it for a different era.
Bryan: First things first, how did the two of you get to Aspen?
Elli:
We were both born in Denver, but my dad moved us here from Vail in the fall of 1999. He came to grow our stores on this side of the valley.
Bryan: Speaking of your grandparents, can you give us a brief history of how they started the family business?
Brooks:
My grandpa was from Colorado and my grandma from upstate New York; they met as teenagers at Junior Nationals in Jackson Hole. They were sweethearts from their ski racing days, and they both ended up competing in the 1960 Olympics in Squaw Valley.
The doctors told my grandparents that they wouldn’t be able to have kids, so it was suggested that they start a business instead. In 1962, they started Gorsuch in Gunnison in an old abandoned gas station with a few hundred dollars.
Bryan: And what did that first location look like?
Brooks:
It was an old filling station. It’s still there.
Elli:
Which to me is the coolest part; they lived on top and the store was at the bottom. We have a family ranch about half an hour from Gunnison, and as kids, every time we drove by, we’d say, “That’s the original store!”
Our grandfather was the first mountain manager in Crested Butte, so every weekend they’d load the car, drive up the pass, sell merchandise, and tune skis late into the night. In those early days, they didn’t even charge for ski tuning—it was just part of taking care of people.
Then one afternoon, a stack of skis that had been tuned and set aside fell over and smashed the most beloved gift they’d received at their wedding. When our grandfather walked in and saw he said, “That’s it. We’re going to charge now.” And that’s how they became a ski business as well as a merchandise outlet.
Bryan: So you see yourselves as a performance ski shop and luxury retailer?
Elli:
Yeah, absolutely. At the core, we’re a ski shop—we’ve established relationships with luxury brands that make beautiful ski and fashion products that add to our store experience.
Brooks:
The heart is definitely ski, and it always will be.
Bryan: You guys grew up in the store. What was that like?
Elli: So fun. We loved going to work with our dad. My sister and I loved Windexing the windows. We’d be out there cleaning the glass, and people walking by would wave at us. And no one knew who we were; we were just these kids running around.
Bryan: Do you remember the time it went from “kid running around” to “this is a job”?
Elli:
Formally, we both started about a year and a half ago. We both worked elsewhere before but we always wanted to come back. When we came back it was like, “This is serious. We’re taking it seriously. Game on, and it’s been the most incredible opportunity to work with our dad, our grandmother, our uncles, and everyone else at our company.”
Bryan: What’s your official title today?
Brooks:
We’re merchandisers. I’m focused mostly on hard goods, and then men’s ski and some casual wear.
Elli: Our grandma would say we’re “merchants”, that’s what she likes to call us, but we try to have our hands on everything right now. We want to know as much as possible.
Bryan: What have you learned since getting more involved?
Elli:
Always be taking in what you can. Observing is so important: what customers are picking up, what the vibe is in the café, what works, and what doesn’t. Just being aware of what’s happening in the space is crucial.
Bryan: Businesses often look for the big thing that changes everything, but it’s usually a bunch of little things that add up.
Elli:
Exactly. The little things add up to such a big difference. A small decision can be make-or-break.
Brooks:
My grandma would also say we’re “statisticians.” We look at the data every day.
Before I came back, I worked as a rep on the wholesale side for about six years. I worked with every type of retailer in the country. A lot of people buy what they think is cool and buy a wide assortment—almost like shooting in the dark.
We’re a multi-brand store, and we buy everything to go together. The merchandiser is part of buying the product, shooting it for the web and catalog, curating it in the store, and setting up each store. Our merch team goes to each store in spring and fall, and we spend a few days setting it up—seeing how it works, and reworking it when it doesn’t.
Bryan: What do you want people to feel when they come in?
Brooks:
Welcome.
It’s the best of mountain culture from around the world, curated in our stores.
My grandma always says, “Welcome in. Enjoy looking around.”
Elli:
We’re lucky to be in locations where we meet people in the happiest time of their year. They’re here for vacation, and we just want to add to it—have them enjoy walking around, looking at beautiful things. They don’t need to buy anything; it’s just special to be part of someone’s magical time.
Bryan: You’ve got multiple locations. What’s the most notable difference in audiences?
Brooks:
The demographic doesn’t really differ, but where they come from does. In Vail, we have a lot of South American clientele. Here in Aspen, there are more Australians and New Yorkers.
Elli:
This year, there were also a lot more people from South America here, especially that week after Christmas and before New Year’s. We were working on the floor because it’s the busiest time of year, and you’d be awestruck by the different languages in the store.
Park City and Snowmass feel more family-driven. Aspen is… Aspen.
Bryan: What’s your favorite spot?
Elli:
The Aspen Ski Café. It’s home.
Brooks:
The Ski Café and the Vail Village store are my two favorites.
Elli: There are no base lodges anymore. The café feels like a community gathering spot. People can come in, stay a while, not have to do anything—we just love that they’re there.
Bryan: What makes a good Gorsuch employee?
Brooks:
Character. Personality. How they greet the customer. Accountability. High-level experience.
Elli:
Someone who can make the customer feel at home and add to their experience. And it’s important that they love what we do.
Bryan: Biggest challenges right now?
Brooks:
Tariffs have been tough because most of our product comes from Europe. Costs went up—at least 15%—and we had to reprice inventory multiple times. It was volatile, and we had to learn the rules fast.
And the lack of snow this season has been tough. We’re outerwear and ski-centric. Visitation was down. Ski school is down. We try to compensate by offering casual lifestyle ranges as well, but snow matters.
Bryan: What advice would you give an Aspen business owner?
Elli:
Take value in the community you’re in. There’s nowhere like this. Business owners who value the community tend to do better than those who don’t.
Brooks:
Invest in your team and your community. People come first. Chasing a big goal that doesn’t involve people—that’s not the move.
Elli:
And we don’t just cater to visitors. We’re open every day of the year.
Bryan: You’re in your 20s, and you’re stepping into a big legacy. How do you see your contribution evolving over the coming years?
Brooks:
Optimized and honed in on what we have.
For a long time, we were very catalog-centric, and that worked well for us. This spring will be book 50—the 50th year of the catalog—which says a lot about how strong that channel has been. But it’s also expensive, and the cost of paper keeps going up, so we have to be smart about how it fits into the bigger picture.
Part of my contribution is helping us modernize around that foundation. We moved to Shopify 2.0 from a much older system, and we’ve been intentionally building and organizing our client list. We’re a data-rich company—we have decades of customer history—but now it’s about optimizing it, actually using it to guide decisions, and making sure that information is shared across the company so we can operate in a more focused, forward-thinking way.
Elli:
I used to work for Bumble on their marketing team, so I’ve seen how a clear corporate structure can actually help a business move faster. My vision for us is somewhere in between family business and corporate—clear roles and responsibilities, real accountability, and an org chart that isn’t just symbolic but actually guides decision-making. With a growing number of employees, everyone needs to know exactly where they fit and what they own. That kind of clarity matters.
Aspen has a way of testing whether a brand is real—whether it can hold up when the snow is thin, the rent is high, the customer is global, and the town is changing faster than anyone wants to admit.
What stood out to me when talking with Brooks and Elli is that they aren’t chasing novelty. They’re chasing precision: a tighter system, better information, a clearer internal structure—while protecting the thing that made Gorsuch matter in the first place. The heart stays ski. The rest is stewardship.
Bryan Welker lives and breathes business and marketing in the Roaring Fork Valley and beyond. He is President, Co-founder, and CRO of WDR Aspen, a boutique marketing agency that develops tailored marketing solutions. Who should we interview next? Reach out and let us know bryan@wdraspen.com
