Discrete is a ski and snowboard brand founded in Salt Lake City, Utah, in 2004.
The Salt Lake City clothing company Discrete takes its name from a college class. Pro skier Julian Carr took Discrete Structures in his last semester at the University of Utah and liked the concept. He told the Salt Lake Tribune that "completely separate, not connected to anything" was "an awesome meaning to apply to a clothing company." Most of the products carry math or computer science names, so a beanie might be a TELNET or an ARCCOS.
Carr started Discrete in 2004. He had no startup capital, the Tribune reported, so he bought blank hats wholesale with money from serving at the Sky Box at the Gateway and stitched on the logo. Milosport in Salt Lake City became the first dealer in 2005. Carr, who holds a world record for front-flipping off a 210-foot cliff, turned the chairlift into his office and wrote email between runs.
The line grew past headwear into clothing, and in 2015 HyperActive Capital invested. By then Discrete was sold in more than 100 stores across North America, Zumiez among them. It is still based in Salt Lake City and run by the skier who named it after his homework.
The Discrete logo comes from the Tower of Hanoi, a math puzzle whose legend has monks moving 64 golden disks, with the world enlightened once the last move is made.
Their trail races were some of my favorite events, and you see their hats all over Salt Lake. These guys are great.
Alex
