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Linde Werdelin
Morten Linde and Jorn Werdelin are two avid freeskiers from Denmark who have been skiing since they were 6 years old. They almost never missed a season. In 2002, they decided to leave their corporate jobs behind to build their own business. Linde Werdelin was born. Instead of running a chalet or organising ski holidays, they came up with an unusual business idea that would lead them through the toughest industry challenges to create a new market space and break the mould.
Morten Linde and Jorn Werdelin
They’ve created the ultimate Swiss-made luxury sports watch and a digital Land Instrument for use in high-altitude mountain sports to provide guidance and protection for its owner. We spoke to London-based Jorn Werdelin about how they did it.
What was your business idea?
We wanted to build Linde Werdelin as a company that would stand the test of time, that could last as long as we should both live and beyond. I was in Finance for over 10 years and that world didn’t make sense to me anymore. The idea of doing something with our passion for skiing didn’t come straight away though.
So how did it come about?
It was totally a functional idea. Twelve years ago, I went skiing in Val d’Isère and was caught in bad weather. I skied off a cliff without guidance and broke my back in five places.
When you’re out there in the mountains, you appreciate the notion of pushing the boundaries without putting yourself in danger.
Based on that, an idea formed. An instrument that gives you all the readings that you need when doing high-altitude mountain sports to avoid getting into dangerous situations such as freezing level, temperature, air pressure, altitude, avalanche warning, and frostbite warning, etc.
Weren’t there similar products on the market?
Exactly. So, we needed to come up with a product that would be much better and had a unique selling point.
Morten and I grew up together so we communicate very well. I could get him understand the idea of an instrument straight away. He has designed luxury watches for the likes of Tag Heuer and his background in product design and development really enabled our unique product concept to come together as Linde Werdelin.
Which was?
We brought together the very best of traditional Swiss watchmaking and craftsmanship with innovative Danish design and avant-garde technology. A stylish sports watch that can be worn with or without a clip-on mountain sports digital instrument.
It is safe to say, we have pioneered one of the few truly innovative concepts on the sports watch market.
That sounds complicated enough. Was it difficult to develop?
Like you would not believe!
Our concept was so different, it was hard enough to get people in the watch business to understand what Linde Werdelin were trying to achieve, let alone having to tackle the technology side of things to make the two work together.
We wanted to produce something of top quality. People up in the mountains would rely on our instrument for accurate readings. There was no room for errors; it could be a matter of life or death. You would not believe the number of prototypes we had to produce, the amount of tests we had to perform and the tinniest adjustments we had to go through to make things perfect. It took four years alone to develop our first watch and instrument.
Did it ever cross your minds to give up?
No. I probably asked myself everyday what I was getting myself into. It was not easy to say the least. But there was never a moment when we wanted to give up. You keep telling yourself to give it one more day. Day after day, month after month, and somehow Linde Werdelin is still here. We have been accepted by the industry and recognised by a cult following. Our watch has won major design awards and has sustained extreme conditions to summit The Everest and to reach the Poles, etc.
Sounds like a passion and persistence should pay off.
You have to have that spirit. You have to persevere. You have to believe doing things differently may not be easy but that’s who you are and you will come out winning by breaking the mould. You go back to the old to create and experience the new. You push the boundaries by finding a way, not by taking uncalculated risks - and that’s the spirit of freeriding.
Maybe more of us will find new business ideas from the mountains.
There’s no doubt. There are already many new opportunities coming out of the freeride world.
Where can we see the Linde Werdelin watches and instrument?
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