RD (RESEARCH DYNAMICS) Brand Snow Skis:

RD (Research Dynamics): Mike Brunetto's Ketchum Garage Brand

Started in a garage, grew to 25,000 pairs a year, sold for one dollar — then Brunetto went back to making skis by hand.

TL;DR — For Collectors

Founded: 1975 (Ketchum, Idaho — in a garage)
Founder: Mike Brunetto — former ski racer, ski builder for Head, Dura-Fiber, The Ski, Lynx, and K2
Known For: Garage-to-growth American ski brand. Part of the Sun Valley ski-making ecosystem alongside PRE and Wolf Ski. The Coyote model. Sold for one dollar.
Collector Targets: RD Coyote, early garage-era models (1975–1982), any model with original graphics and Ketchum provenance.
Why It Matters: RD is the ultimate garage-brand story. Brunetto built skis by hand, partnered with Chuck Ferries, grew to a quarter million total skis sold, then walked away for a dollar when the company stopped being what he'd built. That story — and the Sun Valley ecosystem it was part of — makes RD one of the most narratively compelling American ski brands.

Overview

RD — Research Dynamics — is the quintessential American garage-brand ski story. Mike Brunetto, a former ski racer from Southern California who had already built skis for Head, Dura-Fiber, The Ski, Lynx, and K2, started making his own skis in a Ketchum, Idaho garage in 1975. Within a decade, RD was producing 25,000 pairs per year. Over its lifetime, the brand sold close to a quarter million skis.

But the RD story isn't just about growth — it's about what happens when a craftsman's brand becomes a corporation. When the company got too big for Brunetto's liking, he sold his interest for one dollar and walked away. After a detour into gold exploration in Nevada, he came back to Ketchum and started Wolf Ski — a boutique brand producing about 800 pairs per year with a 2–4 person staff. The man who built a 25,000-pair-per-year company chose to go back to making skis by hand.

History

1) The Ski Builder's Résumé (Before 1975)

Mike Brunetto came to ski manufacturing through an unusual path. A former ski racer from Southern California, he attended the University of Nevada before entering the ski industry as a builder — not a designer, not a marketer, but a hands-on ski maker. Before starting RD, Brunetto had already built skis for some of the biggest names in the business: Head, Dura-Fiber, The Ski, Lynx, and K2.

That résumé is important because it means Brunetto understood ski construction from the inside — not as an engineer reading specifications, but as the person actually laying up fiberglass, pressing cores, and finishing edges. By the time he started RD, he had worked with more ski construction methods and materials than most factory engineers ever see in a career.

According to Dick Dorworth's 1998 profile in the Idaho Mountain Express, Brunetto was also one quarter Cherokee and a genuine Renaissance man — a pianist, composer, farmer (he would later run a 600-acre farm in Montana), and wildcatter. The ski industry was just one chapter in a much larger life.

2) The Ketchum Garage (1975–1982)

In 1975, Brunetto started Research Dynamics in a garage in Ketchum, Idaho — the town at the base of Sun Valley. The name "Research Dynamics" reflected Brunetto's approach: every ski was an experiment, a refinement of what he'd learned building for other brands. The garage was small, the production was tiny, and Brunetto did most of the work himself.

This garage era produced RD's most collectible skis. These are hand-built, small-batch skis made by a man who had already built for Head, K2, and others — applying everything he'd learned to his own designs without corporate constraints. For collectors, garage-era RD skis (1975–1982) are the holy grail of the brand.

3) The Ferries Partnership and Growth (1982–Late 1980s)

By 1982, RD had outgrown the garage. Brunetto needed help — specifically, he needed marketing and distribution expertise. He went to Chuck Ferries and Tim Kohl, who were already partners in PRE and Scott USA, both based in the Ketchum/Sun Valley area.

The arrangement was natural: Brunetto made the skis, Ferries and Kohl marketed and distributed them. This was the same Chuck Ferries who had founded PRE — the first marketing-driven ski brand — and who had purchased Scott USA out of bankruptcy in 1981. Ferries understood how to sell skis, and Brunetto understood how to build them. Together, they grew RD to 25,000 pairs per year within a few years.

This period represents RD at its commercial peak. The RD Coyote became the brand's signature model — a performance-oriented ski that earned a cult following among advanced skiers in the Sun Valley and Western skiing communities. The Coyote's reputation was built on Brunetto's construction quality and the word-of-mouth credibility that came from being a Sun Valley local brand.

4) Sold for One Dollar (Late 1980s–1990s)

By 1988, Brunetto and Kohl had ended up with all of RD (Ferries had moved on). But the company that Brunetto had started in his garage had become something he didn't recognize. In his own words to journalist Dick Dorworth: "It ended up not being the company I started out with."

The paradox was brutal: the bigger the company got, the less money Brunetto made. Eventually, he was losing money. So he sold his interest in RD to Tim Kohl for one dollar — and walked away from the brand he'd built from nothing.

After a period of gold exploration in Nevada (the wildcatter in him), Brunetto returned to Ketchum and started Wolf Ski. Wolf was everything RD had been in the beginning: a small operation in a Ketchum industrial park, 2–4 person staff, producing about 800 pairs per year. The first Wolf ski was the Makwai (described in Dorworth's profile as a Blackfoot word for wolf), followed by the Cold Smoke (Blackfoot for powder snow) and Black Smoke. Brunetto had gone full circle — back to making skis by hand, on his own terms.

5) The Sun Valley Ecosystem

RD's story can't be separated from the broader Sun Valley ski-making ecosystem of the 1970s–1990s. Within a few blocks of downtown Ketchum, you had:

PRE — Chuck Ferries' marketing brand (K2-manufactured)
RD — Mike Brunetto's hand-built performance brand
Wolf Ski — Brunetto's post-RD boutique brand
Scott USA — Purchased by Ferries, headquartered nearby

These brands were interconnected through personal relationships, shared business partnerships, and a common geography. Ferries and Brunetto weren't just business partners — they were part of a Sun Valley community of ski racers, builders, and entrepreneurs who created an entire micro-industry in a small Idaho mountain town. For collectors, understanding this ecosystem adds context to every RD, PRE, and Wolf ski.

Collector's Guide: Key Models

Model / Line	Era	Construction	Collector Notes
Garage-era models	1975–1982	Hand-built composite	Pre-partnership originals. Highest collector value. Extremely scarce.
RD Coyote	1980s	Performance composite	The iconic RD model. Cult following among Western skiers. Most recognized RD ski.
Partnership-era models	1982–late 1980s	Brunetto-built, Ferries/Kohl marketed	Peak production era (25,000 pairs/year). Quality construction, wider distribution.
Post-Brunetto models	Late 1980s–1990s	Kohl-era production	After Brunetto sold for $1. Less collector interest without the founder's involvement.

Why This Brand Matters

RD matters because it's the purest garage-to-growth story in American skiing. Mike Brunetto didn't have Olympic medals (like Ferries) or corporate backing (like K2). He had a garage, a lifetime of ski-building experience, and the Sun Valley community. He built RD into a real brand — a quarter million skis sold — and then walked away for a dollar when it stopped being the company he'd started.

That story resonates with collectors because it's about authenticity. RD skis from the garage era are hand-built by a master craftsman. RD skis from the partnership era are that same craftsmanship scaled up with Ferries' marketing genius. And the one-dollar sale is the kind of detail that turns a ski brand into a legend.

Museum Collection Posters / Prints

If you love the history behind vintage skis, you'll probably enjoy our destination-style Art Deco ski posters too. They're original LongSkisTruck™ designs printed as museum-quality giclée art — built for collectors, offices, ski rooms, and cabins. See the full collection here: Museum Collection Posters.

Frequently Asked Questions

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Who founded RD skis, and what does RD stand for?

RD was founded by Mike Brunetto in 1975 in a garage in Ketchum, Idaho. RD stands for "Research Dynamics." Brunetto was a former ski racer from Southern California who had previously made skis for Head, Dura-Fiber, The Ski, Lynx, and K2 before starting his own brand.

What is the connection between RD, PRE, and Wolf Ski?

All three brands were part of the Sun Valley ski-making ecosystem in Ketchum, Idaho. When RD outgrew Brunetto's garage in 1982, he partnered with Chuck Ferries and Tim Kohl — who were already running PRE and Scott USA. Ferries and Kohl handled marketing while Brunetto made the skis. After selling his interest in RD to Kohl for one dollar, Brunetto started Wolf Ski, a boutique brand producing about 800 pairs per year.

What was the RD Coyote?

The RD Coyote was one of RD's most iconic models, popular among advanced skiers in the 1980s. It was known for its performance-oriented construction and became a cult favorite in the Sun Valley and Western skiing communities. Vintage Coyotes are among the most sought-after RD models for collectors.

Why did Mike Brunetto sell RD for one dollar?

As RD grew to 25,000 pairs per year, the company became something Brunetto didn't recognize. In his own words: "It ended up not being the company I started out with." The bigger the company got, the less money he made — and eventually he lost money. He sold his interest to Tim Kohl for one dollar and walked away. After gold exploration in Nevada, he started Wolf Ski — returning to small-scale, hands-on ski making.

How many RD skis were produced?

At peak production, RD was making approximately 25,000 pairs per year. Sun Valley Magazine reported that RD "would eventually sell close to a quarter million skis" over its lifetime. These are modest numbers compared to major manufacturers, which makes vintage RD skis genuinely scarce — especially early garage-era models from before the Ferries/Kohl partnership.

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Got Vintage RD Skis? I Want to Hear From You

If you have a pair of vintage RD skis — especially Coyotes or early garage-era models — I would love to see them and help document their place in ski history.

Particularly interested in:

Garage-era models (1975–1982) — pre-partnership originals
RD Coyote (any generation)
Any RD with original graphics, bindings, or documentation
Skis with provenance connecting to Mike Brunetto or the Sun Valley community

Email me at: mike@longskistruck.com

A few quick photos from your phone are all I need. Include the model name, length, bindings, and anything you know about where the skis came from.

This collection is currently being curated. New pieces are added as they are authenticated and cataloged. Contact mike@longskistruck.com for availability.