testimonials

"As Division Manager of Blizzard Sport USA and personally responsible for all Blizzard product related issues, it is my responsibility to make sure that our products look, and more importantly, perform at the highest level. I have been on the product side of the industry for many years now, many of them with Mike. One thing I have learned during my time is just how crucial proper ski preparation is to the performance of any ski. The foundation of my knowledge has come from Mike. Something that you once said has always stuck with me and I have found it to be absolutely true, “Ski preparation is the easiest way to make a bad ski perform great and a great ski perform badly.

We, at Blizzard, have fully embraced your proven SkiMD ski preparation methodology and it has resulted in the tremendous on-snow success of our products at all performance levels. Your system has helped to produce back-to-back “Gear of the Year” awards from SKI Magazine and get the “Buzz” going on a brand that was stagnant just 2 years ago.

​Mike, please keep doing what you do so well, because you are the BEST of the best. I have been fortunate to learn from you and look forward to continuing to do so in the future."

"Factories strive to put out a well-prepared ski. However, when 2-3000 skis are being produced daily it is simply not possible to achieve the optimal tune. Mike's years of industry development, production and ski preparation experience quickly becomes evident when one rides his SkiMD system. A good factory tune allows a ski to perform well. Mike's tune brings the skis to life. It's that simple."

"We never knew how much of a difference shaped skis made until Mike re-tuned them for us. The difference was night and day - easier to turn, much better edge hold, and great snow feel. At first we'd still occasionally let someone else work on them, usually when we were traveling. They were never the same until we took them back to Mike to be done correctly again. While Mike's work costs more than the $20 special near the mountain, his work lets us make the most of the $80 lift ticket. We don't let anyone else touch our equipment anymore. Thanks, Mike for taking my family's skiing and riding experience to a whole new level!"

"When it comes to preparing a ski and maximizing its performance, NO ONE has the experience of Mike at SkiMD. Before the racing season begins I require that all of my athletes have Mike start them off with a "variable free" preparation. This eliminates potential problems as the season progresses. I have experienced first-hand the remarkable difference in ski performance after Mike has worked his magic, and I believe his tuning is essential for every level of skier."

"I have known Mike deSantis, owner of Ski MD for almost 20 years and during that time his work with ski and snowboard tuning has always been state-of-the-art. Mike's base grinds have resulted in numerous Olympic and World Cup medals and my recommendation is, if you want the absolute best results, employ the absolute best hands."

"Ever since I had Mike put his World Cup Tune on my race skis, I have shaved a full .5 seconds off my race times on a 28 second course, which is the equivalent of 1 or 2 handicap points on the NASTAR system...what a huge difference! I would recommend to anyone that has not had their skis tuned in the last 12 months to have them tuned by SkiMD. You don’t need to be a racer or even an expert to enjoy the difference a SkiMD preparation makes! Thank you!"

"SkiMD makes me money. All ski manufacturers today produce an excellent product. So, as a ski representative it is imperative to me that my product stands out from the rest of the pack. The SkiMD System transforms my demo skis into gold medal winners that outperform my competition. After skiing on skis prepared by Mike, retailers consistently comment 'This is the best ski I have ever skied.' With the SkiMD tune, I confidently know my product skis better than anything on the hill, no questions. If you want your skis to perform at their best and the way the manufacturer intended them to, you owe it to yourself to go to SkiMD. Mike, you make me money. Oops! I just gave away my secret."

"Mike is the Man."

​"If you are really into your skiing (free ski or race), you definitely owe it to yourself to get a real-tune from a true professional. As an athlete, racer or a coach, you're always searching for an advantage. I would equate the break-through you'll experience with one of Mike's tune's, to that of a properly fitted and canted boot with good foot-beds. Mike will turn your skis into speed machines that will perform better than they ever would coming out of the production line or the factory race room regardless of the brand. You KNOW your skis will only make you faster and more confident. You'll essentially eliminate one BIG hurdle straight away, and will likely have an advantage over your competition if you are racing. When I first got on a SkiMD prep, I could not believe the difference. Instantly I could trust the ski to to behave in a predictable way, which allowed me to achieve much better angles and generate much better power out of the turns. With that came significantly better faster race results. Equally important, having my skis dialed in made me enjoy free-skiing more, so I now have Mike prep my all-mountain free skis and race skis the same way. If you visit or talk with Mike, you'll know how "into" his work he is. Here is a guy with a lot of pride in his workmanship and a ton of passion for skiing and ski preparation. Mike actually goes to the U.S. ski distributions and sets up and calibrates there machinery! This is the guy I want setting up my boards for the season.... Which leads me to the biggest benefit of all; once they are set up in the Fall, they can be more easily maintained throughout the course of the season with minimum work." "Thanks for all the great and continued years of service."

"While racing on the World Cup circuit, I was lucky enough to have Mike tuning and preparing my skis. He has a knack for making skis fast. Mike is passionate about his craft and has always been dedicated, conscientious, and very focused on every detail. It's a rare find and a great opportunity to have someone with Mike's experience, knowledge and skill available to the retailer. Thanks so much Mike, for all of your hard work during our "Ski Team days."

"I have known Mike since I was 13 years old while attending Stratton Mountain School. Later, I was fortunate enough to have worked with Mike on the World Cup. Mike has a work ethic like no other and his attention to detail is amazing. His techniques were always innovative and he studied his craft. My skis were always prepared perfectly. Working with Mike, I had the confidence that my equipment was tuned to perfection. This allowed me to concentrate on skiing as fast as I could with no equipment variables! Today, I continue to send my skis to Mike all the way from Park City, UT!"

"For me skiing has always been about what I feel as opposed to what I think. Over-analysis of technique or equipment always killed that feeling for me. Mike was a pro at interpreting what I was feeling on snow in order to create the fastest and best handling skis for me. Mike's knowledge and intuition helped me to be a World Champion, and that was 12 years ago! Since then his development of the SkiMD System, allows not just racers, but all types of skiers the opportunity to enjoy a level of performance usually reserved for the elite, which makes Mike's product unsurpassed at the retail level."

"I got out on the Dobermann's this Saturday. It was a firm fast day of early season man-made at Killington, and I've gotta say that your tune was amazing. I've skied a lot of planks with a lot of different shop tunes and hand tunes, and yours was hands-down the best I've ever met.

Fast, smooth, responsive, very predictable, and plus I was smoking past everyone on the flats because of whatever magic wax you use. Really felt like I could trust the edges to respond predictably when I got edge pressure on the outside ski early in the turn. There was plenty of very firm ice and it was amazingly easy to set an edge into it.

This was just a free skiing day, no gates, and I can't wait to get them in the course. And I'm looking forward to taking the other pair of FireArrow's out too.

Money well spent.​"

"Mike's tuning enables me to initiate my turns with ease, giving me total control, which has increased the speed and efficiency of my race runs. As a result, I can trust my skis 100%, and that maximizes my performance and confidence as an athlete. Mike's experience and expertise has been invaluable to my skiing career. If your goal is to get a leg up on your competition, Mike is worth every penny!"

"With nearly twenty years in competitive snowsports, Mike deSantis has contributed to a great number of Olympic, World Championship, and World Cupskiing and snowboard medals. Mike's credentials are well established. We at DOMINATOR exclusively rely on Mike for our grind work, and he brings a lot more than grinding expertise to the table, He has been a top level competitor, an alpine coach, a World Cup Serviceman, Director of Racing and Product Development, and finally a retailer giving him great insight into all aspects of snowsport competition. What sets Mike apart is his willingness to to work as hard for any junior racer as he did for his USST athletes, giving every customer a level of service usually reserved for top athletes. Unlike some "grind guru's" who are here today and gone tomorrow, Mike has been in the industry his entire adult life. I, personally have collaborated with him for well over a decade. Mike is someone you can build a long-term, productive relationship with. I can't recommend Mike highly enough, for both the quality of his work and his professionalism."

"The race preps Mike has provided me with have been so important to my success, and I know that he is the only one in the country to offer his World Cup winning structures to any athlete that wants a true advantage. Mike's system for race ski prep is the only one I can really trust to be 100% correct."

"Mike deSantis is, hands down, the foremost expert on ski preparation that I have encountered in 15 years in the ski hard goods industry. His approach to tuning skis makes the skis AND the skier perform better."

"Mike's tune has made me more confident on tougher terrain. I know that my edges will always engage, always hold and never, ever slide out. I will never waste a precious ski day on skis that are not tuned by Mike. And I'm not kidding."