60 Years of Stoke | Brad Spalding & Thredboland…

Meet one of our favourites, Brad Spalding, aptly described as a “ski instructor-turned-artist-turned-entrepreneur” in just one of many newspaper articles he has featured in, is a Thredbo icon. Brad caught the ski bug at an early age and has been instrumental in the development of the Snow Sports School which he ran from 1993-2006…WOW!

However, Thredbo is just one of Brad’s many blank canvases that he choose to leave his creative mark on…Brad, is also a very talented artist. You may have seen his iconic Ski Instructor paintings in various locations around Thredbo and the Snowy Mountains or his famous portrait of Stuart Diver that hung at the prestigious Archibald Saloon in 2000. Brad draws most of his creative inspiration from the snow and the mountains and his paintings aim to immerse the audience in the windswept and weather-beaten landscape of the Snowy Mountains, incorporating natural elements such as using sticks and leaves to furrow incisions in the paint.

One of Brad’s most iconic and creative endeavors was the creation of Thredboland and the Thredbo animals; Syd the Koala, Pigmy Possum, Rocky Cocky, Eddy Emu, Ruby Roo, Wally the Wombat and Extreme Rat pictured hanging out below…all figments of Brad’s imagination that have now come to life.

Having grown up with the love of snow in his blood, Brad’s commitment to the development of the Snow Sports School, private lessons and in particular, Thredboland, has formed part of Thredbo resort’s foundation, and is much of the reason why so many people come back and progress at either skiing or snowboarding each year.

The Thredboland animals have been a loved part of the Snow Sports School since their introduction and have seen many smiles and hugs from children who have gone through the program. Each animal represents a different level of skiing or boarding ability, and they were cleverly designed as an interactive and engaging way to teach children not just about how to ski and board, but about the unique alpine environment and how important it is to look after it.

A jack of all trades, it wasn’t enough just to have made a contribution to the Thredbo on-mountain and art scenes; Brad opened his award-winning Wild Brumby schnapps distillery with his wife Monika in 2005. For anyone who knows the drive into Thredbo from Jindabyne, you drive right past the beautiful building that is the distillery and highly regarded Austrian-style restaurant surrounded by incredible sculptures…a must see for any guests visiting Thredbo. On your next trip, make sure you stop in and say hi…Brad will most likely being serving up his famous schnapps and is always open for a chat about Thredbo’s history over a couple cheeky shots.