BROOKLYN, N.Y. — A near-fatal ski crash turned Victor Wiacek’s lifelong ardour for racing right into a mission to guard others. From that second, he got down to eradicate one of many sport’s most harmful and preventable accidents, founding VIX Safety and pioneering cut-resistant gear now trusted by World Cup athletes.
Victor Wiacek’s Mission: Turning a Preventable Damage Right into a Relic
Ski edges can slice like scalpels. The forces in trendy racing flip a small mistake right into a life-threatening laceration. This season in Alpine, the Worldwide Ski & Snowboard Federation (FIS) requires cut-resistant lower-body clothes rated three stars or larger—examined on the FIS machine—for Continental Cup and better racing.
For Wiacek, that new rule isn’t the end line. It’s the place the following chapter begins..
From Racer to Relentless Drawback-Solver
Wiacek grew up racing at Windham Mountain, pushed by what he calls “type-two enjoyable”—the sort that solely feels good if you’ve pushed previous worry and fatigue. As a university freshman, a seemingly minor crash turned catastrophic. His inside ski launched and shot in entrance of him, and he fell onto the uncovered edge. It opened his thigh to the femur. Coaches improvised a tourniquet with belts and a jacket. He misplaced a harmful quantity of blood however survived.
“I’m the final particular person you’d anticipate to be the security man,” Wiacek stated. “However I knew if I didn’t tackle this, it might mess with me for the remainder of my life.”
In a Brooklyn Workshop, A Customary Is Born
Again dwelling, Wiacek went to work in his father’s roofing store in Bushwick, Brooklyn. He taught himself to weld and constructed successive take a look at rigs to imitate a ski-edge lower—pace, angle, drive, friction, and temperature. He sharpened edges, struck material, logged outcomes, and iterated. He sourced tons of of textiles from world wide, narrowed them to a handful, then reverse-engineered what made the perfect swatches each protecting and wearable.
That garage-grade take a look at bench turned the seed of right this moment’s FIS protocol.
When FIS started early discussions on lower safety, Wiacek shared his design and knowledge. “They made a extra polished, extra ‘German’ model of what I welded collectively,” he stated with a smile. The end result helped allow the present star-rating system used to approve race clothes.
What the Stars Imply—And Why 5 Isn’t a Luxurious
FIS charges materials one via 5 stars primarily based on how a lot drive (in Newtons) a ski edge can apply throughout 20 centimeters with out “cut-through.” One star equals 100 N in three orientations (0°, 45°, 90°); three stars equals 300 N; 5 stars equals 500 N. The lower-body rule requires at the very least three.
Wiacek argues the hole between three and 5 stars isn’t incremental. “It’s magnitudes,” he stated. VIX’s latest textiles routinely go 5 stars; one material, he added, has examined to about 700 N in his validation, properly past the formal scale. “I wished to set a bar so excessive it stays there—even when I’m gone from the business.”
From Necessary Minimums to Useful, Sturdy Armor
Early cut-resistant choices usually felt like chain mail. Wiacek’s obsession has been to mix top-tier efficiency with real-world consolation—stretch, softness, and thermal manageability—so athletes will put on them on daily basis, not simply to fulfill a rule.
Adoption on the Prime—and Why the Dialog Modified
Curiosity surged after high-profile incidents put lacerations again within the sport’s conscience. “When Aleksander Aamodt Kilde obtained damage in Wengen, so many different tales got here out of the woodwork,” Wiacek stated. “Everybody knew somebody who had been lower.”
Wiacek estimates that roughly 68–72% of present World Cup athletes now use VIX clothes. All the Stifel U.S. Alpine Ski Crew raced in VIX Safety final season and can once more this yr. He additionally confirmed a partnership supplying VIX-made, co-branded base layers to the Swiss Ski Crew via X-Bionic.
Mother and father, Worth, and Perspective
Security gear can really feel like simply one other line merchandise in an costly sport. Wiacek takes a distinct view. “That is the one harm we will virtually eradicate,” he stated. He encourages households to think about lower safety as the identical form of safeguard as helmets and again protectors—tools that helps guarantee racers come dwelling wholesome after each run.
Contained in the Check: How FIS Certifies Reduce Resistance
In FIS testing, a cloth sleeve stretches over a silicone-covered metal cylinder wrapped with a skinny metallic foil and plastic tape. A sharpened ski edge travels 20 centimeters at a set angle and pace. A “failure” happens when the sting breaches the material simply sufficient to contact the foil and full {an electrical} circuit.
Wiacek respects the rigor however notes the system can flag micro-penetrations that wouldn’t translate to true pores and skin lacerations. His takeaway: construct to exceed the brink by a large margin.
Why He Retains Going
Wiacek calls perfectionism each his gas and his flaw. He channels it into supplies, knits, and garment building, at all times testing, at all times iterating. “Something price doing is price overdoing,” he stated. “If the usual is three stars, I wish to make 5 really feel like the brand new regular.”
Crew VIX: Small, Targeted, and World
In addition to Wiacek, all members of the present VIX group are new as of this season, reflecting the corporate’s speedy progress and renewed focus. His brother, Lucas, anchors gross sales operations and brings automation into ordering and buyer help whereas preserving a private contact. Brian, a longtime buddy and school roommate, leads advertising and communications, shaping how VIX connects with athletes and the broader ski group.
A variety of consultants from each business and academia, together with Wiacek’s father, have additionally contributed to VIX’s success—providing steerage on testing, supplies, and product design. Their insights have helped rework an concept solid in a workshop right into a globally acknowledged security innovation.
Wiacek continues to supervise R&D, athlete collaboration, and product improvement—nonetheless approaching every problem with the identical hands-on curiosity that first sparked the corporate’s creation in Brooklyn.
What He Needs Each Skier to Keep in mind
Edges lower. It’s physics, not paranoia. The FIS mandate—presently lower-body solely—is a crucial step, however Wiacek frames it as a cultural shift, not a checkbox.
“Put on safety as a result of it enables you to ski freer,” he stated. “In the event you can cease fascinated with ‘what if,’ you’ll be able to chase what’s attainable.”
