A great brand is only as good as the people who are part of it. Meet the team that runs the show every day – answering your phone calls, chatting with you on the site, responding to your comments on Instagram, and most importantly, bringing you the incredible adventure experiences that are available on our online marketplace (thanks to our amazing trip operators). Feel free to hit us up at any time on @heli to ask any questions!
Lida Tozzi
Marketing Associate
Since starting mid-June (only a week ago), I’ve mainly been responsible for writing copy, managing a couple of our Instagram accounts, designing creative content to be used across our channels, and helping out with the blog – it’s been busy yet rewarding! Although I’m fresh to the team, I can already say that I love the spirit of adventure which can be felt in everything we do. I’m constantly taking steps toward fueling my life through adventure and working with Heli is bringing me that much closer. On weekends you can find me running, hiking, climbing, taking photos, trying a new recipe, and in the winter, snowboarding the powder Colorado has to offer. After moving from NY to CO back in September, I’ve been overwhelmed with new firsts in the outdoor adventure realm.
Axel Bhandari
Analyst
My role at Heli, along with providing support wherever and whenever needed, is mainly in profile and package creation, inventory management, as well as being one of the forces behind our electric Tik Toks. I have worked for Heli for about a month, starting at the end of May. My favorite part of working at Heli is how much of a team dynamic we have. I am from Greenwich, Connecticut, but currently, I am in Los Angeles as a student at USC. I’ve been skiing ever since I was little. I spent all my winters, until I went to boarding school, at Stratton with family. My other main hobby is cooking. I love cooking anything and everything, especially foods from Asian cuisines. It was my grandmother who got me into cooking at a young age. I have traveled around the world, having lived in LA, Connecticut, and Hong Kong, but my favorite trips have to have been the ones to Phuket, Thailand. I love the culture of Thailand, mixed with the amazing islands and volcanic formations of Phuket and its surrounding islands.
Spencer Hutchins
Sales and Platform Analyst
I am a Sales and Platform Analyst here at Heli. I have been with Heli for almost a year now and enjoyed every minute of it. My favorite part of working for Heli is the team atmosphere. Everyone is very driven to help each other and to grow the company. I grew up in upstate NY and currently live in Boulder, CO. I moved to Boulder to go to the University of Colorado where I recently graduated from. Part of the reason for coming to Colorado was my love of skiing and the outdoors. Once I got to Colorado I began skydiving which is now one of my favorite hobbies. I am constantly looking for the next adventure.
Willy Doremus
Sales and Platform Analyst
As a sales and platform analyst, my primary responsibilities revolve around supporting our operators with software assistance and setting our customers up with experiences of a lifetime. I have been working at Heli for just over a year now. My favorite aspect is the culture of the company and everyone’s passion to revolutionize the adventure travel space. Growing up in Aspen, CO I have always been drawn to the outdoors. Personally, there is nothing better than rushing up Highlands Bowl early on a powder day. In the summer you will find me hiking or on the golf course. It is so difficult to narrow down one place as my favorite, but Lake Powell will always hold a special place in my heart. Right after graduating from CU Boulder, I rented a houseboat with 11 of my closest friends out of Bullfrog Marina. The 5-day experience without service or WiFi proved to be the perfect transition from our college lives into our professional lives.
Alex Ford
Community Manager
I run Heli’s communications, including our social media, blog, and newsletters. I’ve been on the team for just over 2 years now and have loved every minute. I’m also Heli’s resident fishing expert and have traveled all over the world to fly fish. For me, Argentina has got to be my favorite all-around fishery. There is an incredibly diverse array of species and fishing opportunities, plus plenty of wine at lunch!
Kim Brennan
Inside Sales Manager
I joined Heli as Inside Sales Manager in January 2020, after a decade with the Whistler Heliskiing team. I work with guests from all over the world, helping to find the right adventure for them and their group – specializing in heliskiing and mountain biking. Getting people stoked and being a part of someone’s once in a lifetime or unforgettable experience is so rad. I was born in Australia and moved to Whistler, Canada in 2003 – which is still where I call home, and I feel so lucky to be able to say that. Living in Whistler, biking and skiing with my friends is most definitely how I like to spend time. Fun fact – I learned how to drive stick in an Alpha Romeo GTV race car on a farm track as a kid and had dreamed of pursuing driving professionally while growing up (I still like to drive fast!)
Brandon Darnton
Director of Brand Partnerships
Jack of all trades and master of less than I would like to be. Aiming to always improve. At Heli, my primary function is operator partnerships. For example, video conferencing with adventure lodges to assist them in getting the most out of the Heli marketplace and operator software. In broad strokes, my role is to support adventure travel businesses we partner with in as many ways as possible.
I’ve been with Heli since the summer of 2016, back when Andy and I were working out of coffee shops in New York City and hitting wind sprints on the East Village outdoor track at lunch. Looking back, it feels like it was so long ago and yet just like it was yesterday all at the same time!
When it comes to activities I enjoy outside of the office, I think the legendary Colorado mountaineer Dolores LaChapelle conveyed it most eloquently: “Everything I know, I have learned from skiing powder.” I would like to personally add to that equation: “surfing clean waves at sunset or foiling under a light breeze at mid-day”. For it is here, in these moments of nothingness, both fleeting and eternal, where my monkey mind stops jumping for a minute to sit down and have a banana.
Ethan Fischer
Director of Product
I’ve been involved with the Heli team since 2016 but made it official in 2019 when I became the Director of Product. Most days I work with our developers to create the marketplace and software that powers the business, or you can find me brainstorming with the marketing team. I love the fact that I get to work with my friends every day, and have permission to be genuinely myself at Heli. I currently live in Vermont, but spend a good part of the winter in Utah. My wife and I have finally realized our dream of being fully remote and able to spend time in the two places we love. We get to enjoy quality spring skiing with our friends out West before heading back East to spend summer days on the lake or mountain biking.
Matt Glazier
Partner
I have been at Heli from the very beginning. I started off as an ambassador leading a group of friends on one of the very first Heli sponsored trips to White Wilderness Heliskiing in Terrace, BC. Since then, I have helped everything from sales and fundraising to marketing and everything in between. It has been amazing to see how Heli has evolved from 2015 to today with the company at an upside inflection point. While all of us share a passion for adventure and for connecting like-minded travels, at the core the best part about Heli is the team of warriors assembled. It is very rare from my experience to be surrounded by a group of such motivated and experienced peers who get things done which translates into both professional and personal success.
My main hobby is skiing and I have been fortunate enough to have gone on my eighth heliskiing trip this past year. I have a passion for traveling broadly and hope to continue checking off my destination bucket list. My favorite place so far has been the Fjord of Norway – a truly stunning experience and something I think everyone should experience. The combination of the culture, the food, and the natural beauty is unmatched and not to mention the outdoor experience opportunities are endless.
Clark Winter
COO
Currently, I am the COO of Heli. I have been involved with Heli since its infancy when Andy and I wrote the initial business plan in my old office in October of 2014 over a game of backgammon. My favorite part of the business is helping people live better, more fulfilling lives through adventure travel. I am originally from New York City, but I am half Spanish, half American. I moved to Europe full-time a few years ago and currently live in Milano, Italy. Beyond the outdoors, I am passionate about music and photography, spending much of my downtime discovering new music for DJing or taking pictures of my surroundings. My favorite place I’ve ever traveled to is Black Rock City. Cliche perhaps, but there is a spirit and energy in this place as people gather each summer that I have never come across anywhere else in the world.
Brock Strasbourger
Co-Founder
I have been involved with Heli dating back to when I sat next to Steve Aoki’s doppelganger at a dinner party in NYC. Fast friends and Andy’s vision led to co-founding the most badass company I could have ever imagined. On a daily basis, I’m an accomplished soundboard and love that Heli continues to push the entire team both personally and professionally. In a parallel universe to Mister Heli, I too spent 4 years on the EM Fixed Income desk before fully transitioning into entrepreneurship, startups, and tech. Marketplace businesses have become one of my specialties and Heli is #3 on that list. Originally from Aspen, I’m a lifelong skier and athlete enjoying the expanding horizons that Heli is driving me into. Two of my favorite trips have been — (1) Sail to Ski where we sailed on catamarans into the Arctic above Norway from island to island, fishing for our food, and skinning for 7 days with 23 hours of sun and (2) a team trip to Turks & Caicos to kite, hang, explore properties, and visit new partners. One of my favorite regions/locations is up near the Himalayas outside of Chengdu near the Tibetan border — unbelievable topography and seemingly unexplored, remote terrain. Super cool. All of which you can book with us! I’m looking forward to our next evolution and personally am eager to progress my kiting, hit my 100 dive mark, and reignite my surfing. Very proud of our wolf pack we continue to build
Andy Culp
Co-Founder / CEO
I serve as co-founder and CEO of Heli, responsible for inception of the company in 2015 and all operations through the present day. In the early years when there were just a few of us, I found myself doing just about everything, while today I find myself serving more as part player and part coach to our team of 12. My favorite part about my role is that we have cultivated a truly unique and dynamic culture with a diverse and hungry team of individuals who mean the world to me; sharing this experience every day is an absolute blessing. I was born in Tarrytown, New York and spend most of my childhood through high school in Darien, CT. After graduating from Colgate University in 2007, I moved to Vail, Colorado for 18 months which was an extremely important period of personal growth and personal brand development. I then spent 10 years in NYC working as an emerging markets trader for 4 years before taking the red pill and committing to being an entrepreneur. With Heli in a good place, I moved to Aspen, Colorado in May of 2019 where I am currently a resident. I am extremely passionate about backcountry skiing, kitesurfing, total fitness, photography, learning new languages…and more ;). The favorite place I’ve ever traveled to is British Columbia, the mecca of heliskiing. I don’t think there is any other place in the world that I’ve constantly returned to so many times or can say that I absolutely need to go back to other than BC.