What we found is that 'HMK' is an abbreviation for the snowmobiling term “highmark.”
Before moving to the Pacific Northwest and starting HMK (originally known as HP Boots) in 1999, company owner Kirk Zack lived in the Upper Midwest and was one of the early adopters who exposed skiers and resorts to the up-and-coming sport of snowboarding.
As per Powersportsbusiness.com, during a fateful trip to the 4th-annual Winter X Games in Mount Snow, Vt., he spoke with many snowmobile athletes who were wearing snowboard-specific boots on their machines. After some market research, he created his first Highmark boot prototype and pitched it to Polaris. Alas, the OEM declined the offer, telling him nobody would pay more than $100 for a pair of boots.
Zack says that rejection was the best thing that could have happened, as it was the impetus for he and his wife, Sherie, to start a company that has now been growing steadily and shifting perceptions of the snowmobile gear market for nearly 18 years.
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