Only Friends on a Pow Day

From a tiny Niseko locker room and shipping-container boot shop to Boot Solutions Japan and Village Sports inside the Hilton, Dr Ned Buckley shares the twenty-year journey behind one of Japan’s most trusted boot-fitting businesses.
Full Episode:
Ned Buckley had two options: build a life in Telluride or take a punt on the still-emerging ski town of Niseko. Then he arrived in April, woke to almost a metre of fresh snow and made his decision.
Twenty years later, the founder of Boot Solutions Japan has grown a tiny boot-fitting operation beneath Lodge Bamboo - and later a couple of demountable shipping containers - into specialist stores across Niseko and Hakuba, including Boot Solutions inside Village Sports at the Hilton Niseko Village.
In this episode of Only Friends on a Pow Day, Austin sits down with one of the ski industry’s true characters, Dr Ned Buckley, for the full story.
Born in Cooma into a family steeped in Australian skiing, Ned grew up partly in Vanuatu before finding his way back to the mountains. A fairly wild forklift job in Brixton led him to walk into a London ski shop, where he began learning the craft of boot fitting. From there came Telluride, the legendary BootDoctors, and an obsession with understanding not only ski boots, but the anatomy and biomechanics of the feet inside them.
Ned tells us how a powder day in Niseko changed everything; why the first Boot Solutions shop came with a 30-centimetre “powder clause”; and how the business grew through early Niseko, its long partnership with Rhythm Japan, the opening of Hakuba and the move into its own purpose-built stores.
At the same time, Ned returned to university, qualified in podiatric medicine and completed a Doctorate of Clinical Podiatry to become a specialist podiatric surgeon. Eventually, he made the call to step away from surgery and return his full focus to the ski industry, where he felt most at home.
The story is not all powder days and perfectly fitted boots. Ned talks candidly about opening a major Village Sports operation just as COVID hit, losing around 90–95 per cent of business for three seasons, borrowing to keep the company alive and rebuilding on the other side.
Austin and Ned also get into the real fabric of the snow industry: the characters who built early Niseko, why good boot fitting can make or break someone’s relationship with skiing, creating genuine careers in seasonal towns, balancing business with family and the culture that keeps people coming back winter after winter.
In this episode:
Growing up between Cooma, Vanuatu and the Australian snow industry
Chasing Erin to London - and accidentally finding a career
Learning boot fitting in London and Telluride
The April powder day that sold Ned on Niseko
Opening Boot Solutions in 2006 beneath Lodge Bamboo
The shipping-container shop and the 30-centimetre powder clause
Early Niseko, Wild Bill’s, Waza’s World and the people who made the town
Growing alongside Rhythm Japan and opening in Hakuba
Studying podiatry, biomechanics and foot surgery
Building a specialist service without losing the fun
Village Sports, the Hilton and the huge risk taken just before COVID
Surviving three seasons with a 90–95 per cent downturn
Choosing the ski industry over surgical practice
Family, balance and showing his kids what “as good as it gets” really looks like
The future of Boot Solutions, year-round mountain towns and real snow-industry careers
Guest: Dr Ned Buckley
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/buckleyned/
Boot Solutions Japan
Website: https://www.bootsolutionsjapan.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bootsolutions_japan/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/boot-solutions-japan/
Village Sports Japan
Website: https://villagesportsjapan.com/en/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/villagesports_japan/
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Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/only-friends-on-a-pow-day/id1804878609
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Thanks for listening, stay frothy and have fun!

From learning on a snow-covered garbage dump to riding Alaska’s Pontoon and filming for Warren Miller, TJ Balon shares a lifetime spent chasing snow.
He learned to ski on a snow-covered garbage dump in Manitoba. Decades later, TJ Balon was dropping into Pontoon in Alaska, flying drones for Warren Miller and helping run one of the most legendary heli-ski operations in the Chugach.
In this episode of Only Friends on a Pow Day, Austin sits down with Canadian-born snowboarder, photographer and lifelong snow tragic TJ Balon for one hell of a campfire story.
TJ traces the journey from minus-40 Manitoba winters and finding his people in Banff to learning to snowboard for a girl, working multiple jobs to fund back-to-back winters, leading early powder trips through Japan and eventually testing himself in Alaska.
Then it gets properly wild: long weather holds, remote heli operations, a destroyed drone with a miraculously intact memory card, an unexpected invitation to ride Pontoon, and aerial footage that made it into Warren Miller’s Face of Winter.
This is a story about much more than big lines. It is about belonging, obsession, risk, family, burnout, the people who pull you back to the mountains and recognising that you are allowed to be proud of the life you built.
In this episode:
Learning to ski on a snow-covered garbage dump in Manitoba
Moving to Banff with a few hundred dollars and finding his people
Learning to snowboard to keep up with Mon
Back-to-back winters across Canada and Australia
Leading early Japan powder trips before the boom
Entering the world of Alaska heli-skiing in Valdez and Cordova
The weather, waiting and culture behind a heli operation
Becoming part of the Points North Heli family
Losing a drone, saving the footage and being invited to ride Pontoon
Filming Alaska aerials for Warren Miller’s Face of Winter
Life in Revelstoke and working with CMH
Family, burnout and knowing when one chapter is complete
TJ’s new chapter representing Heli
Guest: TJ Balon
Points North Heli-Adventures: @pointsnorthheli
Heli: @heli | heli.life
Follow Only Friends on a Pow Day for more raw stories from the people who live for snow.
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4f3LRobtvyCKkoWAlDBb8Y
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/only-friends-on-a-pow-day/id1804878609
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@OnlyFriendsonaPowDay
Website: https://www.onlyfriendsonapowday.com.au
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/onlyfriendsonapowday/
#OnlyFriendsOnAPowDay #TJBalon #AlaskaHeliSkiing #Snowboarding #BigMountainSnowboarding
Thanks for listening. Stay frothy and have fun!
Support the show
Thanks for listening, stay frothy and have fun!

What happens when the sport you've dedicated your life to suddenly ends?
In this episode of Only Friends on a Pow Day, we sit down with former Australian alpine ski racer Lily Tomkinson to explore the highs, heartbreak and reinvention that followed an elite sporting career.
From representing Australia on the international stage to enduring four knee surgeries, Lily opens up about the physical and mental challenges of injury, identity and starting again. We also discuss life after ski racing, her work in wildlife conservation, appearing on Farmer Wants a Wife, and why purpose doesn't end when competition does.
Whether you're an athlete, skier, snowboarder, coach, or simply navigating a major life transition, Lily's story is a powerful reminder that resilience isn't about returning to who you were - it's about becoming who you're meant to be.
In this episode we discuss:
• Growing up in Australian alpine ski racing
• Representing Australia internationally
• Four knee surgeries and injury recovery
• Mental resilience and identity after elite sport
• Wildlife conservation and life beyond racing
• Farmer Wants a Wife
• Finding purpose after professional sport
Guest: Lily Tomkinson
Follow Only Friends on a Pow Day for more real stories from the mountains.
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#OnlyFriendsOnAPowDay #LilyTomkinson #SkiRacing #AlpineSkiing #AustralianSkiTeam #Resilience #SportsPodcast #AthleteJourney #InjuryRecovery #ACLRecovery #MountainStories #WildlifeConservation #FarmerWantsAWife #SnowSports #Podcast
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For many of us, the mountains have always felt like home.
They're places of adventure, community, freedom and connection. But behind the stories we share and the photos we post, there is often another side to mountain life that receives far less attention.
This conversation was inspired by something we've been reminded of ourselves recently: mental health affects everyone, and sometimes the most important thing we can do is talk about it.
In this episode, Layla Lee joins Austin, Elyshia and Matty for an honest and deeply personal conversation about mental health, resilience and navigating life when everything changes overnight.
After Australian ski legend Steve Lee suffered a devastating stroke in 2020, Layla found herself stepping into a role she never expected - becoming her father's primary carer while rebuilding her own life at the same time.
Layla shares the realities of caregiving, anxiety, burnout, identity loss, recovery, self-care and the lessons she's learned through one of the most challenging chapters of her life.
The conversation also explores mental health within snow sports and seasonal communities, including post-season blues, burnout, the pressures of mountain life and the importance of community when times get tough.
If you're struggling, supporting someone who is, or simply need a reminder that you're not alone, we hope this conversation resonates.
❤️ Check in on your mates.
Mental Health Resources
Lifeline Australia
Beyond Blue
Suicide Call Back Service
Headspace Australia

#OnlyFriendsOnAPowDay #MentalHealth #LaylaLee #SteveLee #SnowSports #Skiing #Snowboarding #FallsCreek #MountainLife #MentalHealthAwareness #Resilience #Community #Wellbeing #AustralianSkiing #CheckInOnYourMates
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In this episode, we sit down with Coen Bennie-Faull - freeride skier, coach, and founder of a next-generation freeride program.
Coen shares his journey from a non-skiing family in Melbourne to building an international career in skiing, including:
 Early exposure to skiing and progression through Hotham 
 Seasons spent chasing snow across Canada, Japan, and Europe 
 The impact of skiing in Jackson Hole and stepping into big mountain terrain 
 The role of mentorship and community in accelerating progression 
 The evolution of freeride skiing in Australia 
 Building a pathway for young athletes to compete globally 
This is an honest and insightful conversation about passion, risk, and building a career outside traditional pathways.
#onlyfriendsonapowday #freeski #freeride #australianskiing #jacksonhole #skiinglife #snowlife #mountainculture #skiaustralia #skicoach #nextgeneration #powderday #sendit #skiingcommunity
Support the show
Thanks for listening, stay frothy and have fun!