Meet Robin Gianakopoulos

Today we’d like to introduce you to Robin Gianakopoulos.

Hi Robin, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I’m a multi-published romance author and mom of three. The idea for PondoZ was ‘born’ in early March 2020 when I met up with my husband in Vail for a ski vacation after he’d been there for a week on his annual guy’s ski trip.

We all know what happened around then! Vail was one of the epicenters of Covid-19 arriving in the USA, and my hubby and all the men he’d traveled with got sick. He decided to head home right after I arrived with our young adult kids, who live in Colorado. I helped him pack up his skis in all the clothes, towels, bungees and rubber bands he always used to protect the tips, tails and bindings while in transit. I felt exasperated at how long it took, especially since he was ill, and practically yelled, “There has to be a better way to do this!”

Back at home, I got busy figuring out what that ‘better way’ could be. I attended a three-day cut-and-sew workshop in North Carolina and learned a lot about products and sourcing. Then my young adult kids, who are skiers and snowboarders, helped me brainstorm the designs. I contracted with a manufacturer in North Carolina and created several rounds of prototypes before we felt satisfied with our final products. And that’s how PondoZ protective products were created! They protect tips, tails, and bindings from getting the edges dinged, or damaging the top sheet of someone else’s gear, while in a bag, car box, the back of a pickup truck, inside on a car’s upholstery, etc. On a roof-rack, they keep silt and crud from damaging expensive gear.

They’re literally slippers for skis and snowboards. Their name comes from the Greek word for bedroom slippers, pandoufles because our family is of Greek heritage and wear pandoufles at home.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
We didn’t have products to sell until the end of November, which was a bit late to be getting started. We should have started creating awareness and marketing them before we had them in hand, which was a mistake. Frankly, that’s something we’re working hard to learn how to do right now so we’ll be ready! The other issue is that, as much as I love our North Carolina manufacturer, and customers like that they’re made in the USA, they’re expensive to produce. So that’s something we’re going to have to address for this coming season.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am a firm believer that we can reinvent ourselves more than once, and feel that I’m proof of that. I have a journalism degree and worked in advertising and advertising sales for about ten years until I decided to do the stay-at-home-mom thing. After a few years, I felt a calling to learn how to write romance fiction and embarked on that quest. I made a number of aspiring writer friends, read a lot, wrote a lot, attended workshops, and after fits and starts, finally was capable of writing fiction good enough to be published by a traditional publisher. I had no idea how competitive that world is when I started! Still, I found an agent and sold to Harlequin Mills & Boon, the largest romance publisher in the world. I’ve sold over 700,000 books internationally, and feel proud of that.

However, like many others, I had some tough years where I had to help my aging parents while I still had kids at home. After my father died, my mother was my responsibility as she didn’t drive. After a few years, her health declined and when she passed, my brother (and only sibling) unexpectedly died the following day. Very hard to get through that, with having to go through her house, the one my brother and I grew up in, all alone. Getting books written to deadline got harder and harder and after I finally got the house cleaned out and sold I hit some hard burnout. I knew I had to take a break from writing and regroup.

It wasn’t too many months later that the idea for PondoZ protective slippers was born, and it’s been an interesting journey so far! I hope that I’m an example to anyone who thinks they’re too old, or it’s too hard, to start something new. I’ve done it a few times now, so I know that anyone can if they’re willing to put in the work.

How do you think about happiness?
Being with my family makes me the most happy, without a doubt. Secondly, I love being outdoors, which includes the joy of skiing on the amazing, beautiful Rocky Mountains. I’m not as skilled at it as the rest of my family, but we love being together on the mountains. I love connecting with readers and now, with PondoZ customers. Another thing that makes me happy is keeping a joyful curiosity about the world, because without that, we simply stagnate, which is something I hope to never do!

Pricing:

• Ski slippers are $99, including the detachable carry strap
• Snowboard slippers are $89, also including the detachable carry strap
• Ski bindings buffers are $39

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.pondoz.com
• Instagram: pondoz_gear
• Facebook: pondoz

Image Credits
Kellen MacDonald Soona