The founder and owner of Skater Powerboats in Douglas Mich.,, Peter Hledin still travels to various events celebrating his vaunted 50-plus-year-old custom high-performance catamaran brand around the country. He still holds Skater-loving fans spellbound when he speaks in his soft, raspy voice. A man of few of words. Hledin is direct and sometimes even a little salty. He does not suffer fools, period, much less gladly.
But when the 76-year-old talks, smart people who want to get smarter about boat-building shut up and listen. Because he knows what he’s talking about.
Still, hands-on as he is with day-to-day operations at the company, Hledin can’t be everywhere. So Michael, his 36-year-old son, often represents the Skater brand in his father’s stead. He did so as recently as last weekend during the sixth annual Invitational Skater Fun Run in Southwest Florida. Skater national sales manager Tony Cutsuries often joins him, and the two make an excellent team.
And by the way? The younger Hledin is a damn fine representative. He is personable and engaging. He’s more approachable that his often-charming father simply because, while he carries the family name, he is not the Peter Hledin. He is not the founder of high-performance powerboating’s best-known and most coveted catamaran brand.
As Michael Hledin has matured, he has become relaxed and comfortable in his role with the Douglas, Mich., company. Working from renderings created by his father, he has “his” first Skater catamaran, a 26-footer. The hull mold for the new model is complete.
For Skater fans, having another Hledin entrenched in the family business is a very good thing. Though it does not guarantee continuity through succession, it hints at the possibility creates cause for optimism.
“That’s definitely part of the goal, to keep the brand going strong and grow it as much as possible,” Michael said. “It’s been going very well lately.”
A videographer and video producer, Matthew Hledin often his joins his cousin at Skater-centric events, as he did last weekend in the Sunshine State. And if Matthew Hledin is in town, there’s a good chance his dad, Scott—Peter’s nephew—is with him to represent the family brand. All three gentlemen are rightly proud of the work done by the family patriarch.
Brand reps don’t get any better than this family trio.