After their first lesson together, Mike Bartasuis quickly became Ira Riklis’ ski instructor. And as the two got to know each other better, they found a real camaraderie between them and they soon became good friends. The friendship continued after Mike left his job as instructor and pursued other opportunities in Vail. And the two continued to ski together whenever they could.
Mike decided he wanted to operate a ski shop and went into partnership with another person to open Tech Sports in Lionshead. It was actually a confused situation since Ira Riklis had hoped to be Mike’s partner in the venture and had sent money for the purchase of the shop. Eventually everything worked out. Mike’s new partner couldn’t support his ambitions for growth. When the opportunity arose for Mike to buy another store, he and Ira teamed up to create the Charter Sports chain which they’ve since expanded to include a number of shops.