Jay England describes himself as ‘driving the bus mach V with his hair on fire.’ So when he sits down with me for a morning interview, gripping a Red Bull and placing an oversized iced coffee in front of him for later, I am not surprised to be assaulted with the force field of energy and outsized personality that has been the engine driving Thin Air Motorsports’ success for the past two decades.
With a brand-new shop and showroom at River Park Place near Truckee Rents, an inventory of every flavor of horse-powered machine you can dream of, and a crack team of mechanics, Thin Air is the undisputed center of the local motorsports world.
Everyone from local ski and snowboard film companies and professional athletes to weekend warriors come to Thin Air to repair their motorized toys, buy the machines that take them to remote backcountry film locations, or trade up to the newest technology in motorsports.
But in a windowed office that looks out onto a showroom floor chock full of a snowmobiler’s dream inventory of mechanical steeds, England explains that like many Tahoe success stories, Thin Air had humble beginnings.
After working at a sandwich shop and then a lift supervisor job, England’s restless energy drove him to start Thin Air in a side room at Truckee’s Napa Auto Parts with a $2,000 loan and $18,000 in inventory in 1992. When a Thin Air customer would walk through the door, England would leave his post at the Napa Auto Parts cash register to sell snowmobiles.
England obviously relishes talking about those early days. Thin Air may have been operating on a shoestring budget, but the company was in the middle of an electric period in snowboarding. England attended the premiere of the first installment of Standard Films’ now legendary snowboard film series, ‘TB1,’ in Mike Hatchett’s garage and watched as snowboard legend Jim Rippey pulled off the first backflip on a snowmobile. A 1990 Sims Terry Kidwell snowboard in the corner of England’s office is a relic of that period and a reminder of the deep roots Thin Air has in the snowsports community.
Since the Napa Auto Parts days, Thin Air has consistently grown — mirroring the evolution of snowboarding and motorsports in the area. Six years ago, they bought out Anytime Power Sports on East River Street and became an official Polaris, Ski Doo, and Sea Doo dealership.
And last spring, the move to River Park Place put Thin Air in a more visible and accessible location.
‘You always hear the old saying — location, location, location,’ said Thin Air co-owner Thor Schjelderup. ‘We did well [at our previous location] considering where we were located, but this spot is different. The exposure is a whole different level.’
With snowmobile technology developing swiftly, Thin Air finds customers come in to the showroom for various reasons — some looking for a machine to access backcountry stashes, some looking to tour on a snowmobile, and others seeking a sled that can launch huge kickers and cornices or climb steep walls.
‘The last five years we’ve seen a big acceleration of technology in performance of the machines and reliability,’ said Schjelderup. ‘You can get into some stuff now that you couldn’t dream of five or six years ago.’
Many snowmobile customers come in to get a sled that will help them access backcountry ski terrain, but end up falling in love with snowmobiling as a sport, said Schjelderup.
‘A lot of our business comes from the snowboarder world,’ said Schjelderup. ‘They buy the sled to access freeride terrain, but they end up riding the sled more than their board.’
Thin Air is known as a shop that rides what they sell. The mechanics and sales staff are dirt bikers and snowmobilers. But despite their high-octane choice of recreation, the Thin Air crew is not a crowd of irresponsible slednecks or destructive dirt bikers. England preaches respect of natural resources and fellow trail users to his staff and customers.
‘I think I have been a part of the evolution of motorsports in the region,’ said England.
Two decades after Thin Air became a business, England is still running the company with the boundless energy, enthusiasm, and customer service that have become trademarks of England’s staff.
‘I was taught by my dad that you do a good job of taking care of your customers and everything else will work out,’ said England.
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