François Feuz, 1944-2020

Ten years ago, my Swiss friend Francois suffered a bad fall and broke his neck while skiing in Val Thorens, France, and instantly became paraplegic.

I had met him for the first time when he was selling Head products and while he frequently visited the Avoriaz ski school, where I worked, in the early 70s, while still living in the French Alps.

Ten years later, I had the privilege of working with him during my years with Lange ski boots, as he was hired as the brand’s sales manager for all of Switzerland. Since that time, we regularly stayed in touch, met each time I attended ISPO, the Munich sports show, and called each other regularly.

You see, Francois not only had the skiing bug, but also that of mountain and road biking, tennis and golfing. A year after his accident, I went to visit him and his wife Mary-Jo, at their beautiful home overlooking Lake Neuchâtel.

A dedicated sportsman, Francois was also a determined “go getter” who never gave up whatever the circumstance, and most importantly always was “Mr. Positive” no matter what happened. With him, the cup was always guaranteed to be half-full!

A good friend of Jean-Claude Killy and Didier Cuche, a former Swiss ski racer, he never, ever complained about his station in life and showed the same passion for the his family, friends and the sports he loved.

He passed away yesterday morning surrounded by his family for a last good bye. We will all miss him an awful lot!