WhiteGold™ — The Ski Wax That Won Olympic Gold and Got Terry Hertel Kicked Out of the Industry
In the history of ski and snowboard wax, no product has a story quite like WhiteGold™.
It won Olympic gold medals. It was adopted by the most influential snowboard team in the world. And it made the ski establishment so uncomfortable that Terry Hertel was told, bluntly, to leave the industry.
This is that story.
The Formula That Changed Everything
WhiteGold™ was developed by Terry Hertel as part of the All Temperature® system — a formula engineered to perform across a broad range of snow conditions without requiring temperature-specific selection.
At a time when the ski wax industry was built around color-coded systems requiring skiers and technicians to carry multiple products and match formulas to precise temperature windows, WhiteGold™ offered something different: one formula that worked in all conditions, with consistent, predictable glide from first run to last.
For recreational skiers, that was a convenience. For competitive athletes and their technicians, it was a revelation.
Burton Snowboards and the WhiteGold™ Era
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Burton Snowboards was the most influential force in competitive snowboarding. Its team of elite riders — Craig Kelly, Mike Jacoby, Nora Brandon, Jeff Brushie, and others — were defining what competitive snowboarding looked like at the highest levels.
They were also using WhiteGold™.
According to Terry Hertel, Burton's team riders adopted WhiteGold™ because it delivered something their previous waxes could not: consistent, reliable glide across the variable conditions of competitive snowboard events. The formula's all-temperature performance meant technicians did not have to guess at conditions or carry multiple products — WhiteGold™ handled whatever the mountain delivered.
The results spoke for themselves on the competition circuit.
Calgary 1988 and Lillehammer 1994
WhiteGold™'s Olympic story is one of the most remarkable in ski wax history.
At the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics, WhiteGold™ technology contributed to gold medal performances — results that put Hertel Ski Wax on the map at the highest level of international winter sports competition.
Six years later, at the 1994 Lillehammer Winter Olympics, the story continued. WhiteGold™ was again part of the performance equation for athletes competing at the Olympic level.
Two Olympics. Gold medal performances. An independent American wax company from outside the established European ski industry supply chain.
The establishment noticed.
The Industry Pushback
When an independent product begins outperforming the established system at the Olympic level, politics follow.
According to Terry Hertel, the success of WhiteGold™ at the Olympic and World Cup level created significant friction with established industry players who had long controlled race wax supply chains, technician relationships, and the informal networks that determined which products got used at the highest levels of competition.
The pushback was direct. Terry Hertel has stated publicly that after major racing successes connected to WhiteGold™ technology, he was told by leadership tied to the ski establishment to "get the fuck out of the industry."
That is what happens when an outsider disrupts a deeply entrenched industry from the inside.
The Suppression That Followed
For years after the Olympic successes, WhiteGold™ and other Hertel products were largely invisible in mainstream ski media, retail channels, and race room conversations — not because they stopped performing, but because the established industry had the power to control what skiers heard about.
Large companies controlled advertising budgets, dealer networks, magazine coverage, and race exposure. Independent innovators who threatened the established order often found their products quietly sidelined regardless of performance.
WhiteGold™ survived because the skiers and technicians who used it knew what it did on snow. Word of mouth kept it alive through decades of industry suppression.
Social Media and the Resurgence
The rise of social media changed the equation. For the first time, independent manufacturers could speak directly to consumers without going through the gatekeepers of the traditional ski industry.
Terry Hertel has used YouTube, social media, and direct-to-consumer channels to tell the WhiteGold™ story to a new generation of skiers and snowboarders who never had access to it through traditional channels.
The response has been significant. Super HotSauce™ — the current expression of the All Temperature® system that WhiteGold™ helped establish — became the #1 Amazon bestseller in its category with 20,000+ units sold in 2025.
The Full Story: Download WAXFAX
The complete WhiteGold™ story — the Olympic victories, the Burton connection, the industry pushback, and the decades of suppression that followed — is documented in WAXFAX, Terry Hertel's comprehensive book on ski wax history, science, and industry politics.
It is available as a free PDF download. No subscription. No gimmicks.
⬇ Download WAXFAX FREE — The Full WhiteGold™ Story
A Note From Terry Hertel
WhiteGold™ is the product I am most proud of — not because of the Olympic medals, but because of what it proved: that an independent American company, working outside the established European ski industry, could develop a formula that outperformed everything the establishment had to offer.
They tried to push us out. We stayed. And the skiers who found us never left.
— Terry Hertel, Founder, Hertel Ski Wax
Experience the Olympic heritage. Shop WhiteGold™ — 1988 & 1994 Olympic Gold Medal Wax →
The current flagship: Shop Super HotSauce™ — #1 Amazon Bestseller, Made in USA since 1972 →