Words and Photo: ANNAH KIM NELSON-FEENEY 2024-02-08 07:41:00
In the Pacific Northwest, Michael Toohey brings his traveling tuning circus on the road. Michael Toohey hangs the Vroom Vroom Tune Room sign on the back door of his 2000 Chevy Astro van and sets up his tuning table underneath an attached awning. Parked at the base of Alpental today, Toohey converses with local riders while tuning up skis and boards in the wet Pacific cold. Toohey wouldn’t have it any other way. The van, which migrates to events and different ski areas along the Cascade Crest, isn’t just his business these days, it’s his chosen living setup. But it’s the community that’s rallied behind his mobile tune shop that has turned the Vroom Vroom Tune Room into home. Toohey has always loved the vibrant misfit culture in snow sports. Homeschooled in a Buddhist household in rural Vermont, he saw snowboarding as the ultimate “ragamuffin” support group. It only took him one visit to Smugglers’ Notch in Vermont at the age of 14 to know that this was the passion he’d follow the rest of his life. He broke into the snow sports industry at 18, cutting his teeth working at Smuggs. Being on the hill has its perks, but he found that working at a shop in town was even more fulfilling. He spent a bulk of his early adult years in Vermont working for Darkside Snowboards, a cornerstone in the local riding community. Toohey quickly realized that brick and mortar shops play a much more pivotal role than just providing gear and services. “The shop is the hub of the community,” says Toohey. “It’s where you end your day, where you engage with folks to catch the talk of the day, it’s your invitation into the scene.” With over 22 years in the industry, Toohey also grew disenchanted with the inequity in his mountain pastimes, and even more so with what he considered an industry unwilling or at the very least slow to change. He resigned from his North American sales manager position at Seattle-based C3 to reconsider what he wanted to do, admitting his only real plan was to “figure out how to reconnect and re-engage with the community.” Toohey says he wanted to effect change in his own way. That answer came in a converted van. Building out the Astro into a mobile tune shop helped Toohey get his boots on the ground, taking advantage of the abundant PNW ski lot culture to reach a broad audience and meet skiers (new and old) where they were at. In his second year of operations, Toohey is already partnering with local organizations and community leaders like Change Collective, Edge Outdoors and the Service Board to share his knowledge and network with more folks. Through his tuning pop-ups and an upcoming project to donate old gear, as well as a contagious positive attitude, Toohey hopes to push the door open. “I’m one man in a tiny van,” says Toohey. “[But] I want to break down as many barriers as I possibly can.”
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