About Dave Goode
Dave was an incredibly bright individual, many thought he was a genius and an extremely passionate innovator. He was a skier both on snow and on the water. He was a mentor, husband, son, father, step-father, grandfather, brother, pilot, engineer, and successful business owner. Ultimately, Dave’s passion as both a water and snow-skiing athlete led him to innovate and do the tremendous work that he did. He was recognized around the world.
Dave started his company right out of high school, while his friends were heading off to college Dave was innovating and making the products we use today.
He concentrated on his athletic goals of being on the US Ski Team, specializing in the Downhill, before an ankle injury sidelined him and caused him to change the course of his life. He started out with ski accessories, then he invented and patented the first carbon fiber ski pole, this was his first of over 20 patents, then he incorporated the carbon fiber technology that he taught himself into his water ski. He was a competitive water skier and found that the materials would improve performance.
Dave was always very confident in his decisions, even when there were doubters.
Many people within the water ski community would say that Dave’s innovations and technologies had an unparalleled impact in shaping the water ski industry. His innovations transformed skis and drove others to develop new technologies. Dave carved out the basis by always creating his own original ideas and inspiring others to do the same.
As his wife Dawn will tell you, Dave found joy in other people’s success as much, if not more, than his own. He was dedicated to motivate people by saying small words of encouragement to anyone and everyone he came in contact with. His kindness was infectious, because he truly felt that if others were succeeding in their own personal goals, then the sport was succeeding.
About Your Donation
The Dave Goode Memorial Foundation is a non-profit organization and your donation will be used to support young water skiers, entrepreneurs, and innovators advance their passions through scholarships to help support their athletic or entrepreneurial endeavors.
Who Does the Foundation Serve?
Whether you are a young skier or an aspiring innovator/entrepreneur, we are here to support you. First and foremost, Dave felt that the best way he could help people was with equipment. He was dedicated to making the best equipment so that athletes could perform to their full potential. He was constantly tweaking and adjusting his athlete’s equipment based on their feedback in order to make sure they had the VERY BEST equipment under their feet.
Dawn can share story after story of how Dave obsessed over what the skis were doing on the water. Dave basically had a photographic memory, which allowed him to remember every single detail that would inform equipment improvements. You would see him videoing people water skiing at almost every event he attended, as an athlete, a sponsor or just a spectator. When he returned home, he would spend hours analyzing the footage to help him tweak or develop entirely new technologies in order for the equipment to perform at new levels.
The Foundation strives to carry on Dave’s legacy by inspiring and supporting a new generation of athletes and entrepreneurs to pursue their dreams.
