About Us
FROM THE OLYMPIC PODIUM TO YOUR TEAM
Founded in 2016 by Olympic medalists, NAGANO has established itself as a global leader in the design of sports equipment and custom technical clothing.
Our expertise has taken root in the speed skating, with the development of cutting-edge sharpening and profiling products. Over the years, we have expanded our manufacturing catalog to cover the entire skating equipment, up to performance and technical fabric.
Today, NAGANO is recognized as a global leader for its sharpening products made in Quebec, and we manufacture for retailers present in all countries where speed skating is practiced.
Since the early 2000s, NAGANO is at the heart of high-level sport with products cut-resistant and abrasion-resistant, used in high-risk disciplines such as speed skating, hockey, alpine skiing, bobsleigh, luge, motocross, karting, and even NASCAR.
This expertise allows us to offer advanced protection solutions for athletes of all levels.
Our development is based on a continuous research and development, in collaboration with elite athletes. We are proud to present high-end collections for all sports combined, designed from our fabrics, patterns, and models developed according to our knowledge and the experience of high-level athletes.
Thanks to our expertise in sublimation, we master the art of selecting and integrating high-performance, aerodynamic, flexible, comfortable, and cut-resistant fabrics, suitable for both Olympic sports and team sports.
Our products are developed by elite athletes for the athlete in you, based on real feedback from those who are on the field and have been testing our products for years.
No matter your needs for technical or performance clothing, NAGANO supports you with tailored solutions and the know-how of elite athletes.
In addition, we created the NAGANO Academy to share our knowledge and expertise with the sports community. Our Academy, fully dedicated to speed skating, offers training camps in Canada and Europe, combining passion, work, and learning. Every year, more than 1000 young people and coaches participate in our activities. We are proud to contribute to the development of the next generation and to pass on the experience gained at the highest level.
Our mission : combining innovation, passion, precision, and performance for today’s and tomorrow’s athletes, continuing to push the limits of sport. We believe in sense of belonging between teams and athletes, and the strength of sport as a driving force for overcoming.
Our vision: to be a Canadian leader in the sports team apparel industry, by establishing high standards of excellence, innovation, and partnership.
Want to know how Nagano was founded? Quickly read our blog article here .
Now, who is behind Nagano?
Rich from his high-level speed skating athlete career, François has always shared his passion for his sport, both with the youngest and with the best skaters in the world.
It all started in Quebec where he was a skater but also acted as a coach for beginner skaters at the Quebec club. Over the years, he participated in numerous national training camps where his efforts in his sport led him to the Nagano Olympic Games where he won a gold medal in the 5000-meter relay.
Subsequently, in the summer of 2005, he participated in organizing the Lake Louise training camp dedicated to athletes from all sports preparing for the Turin Olympic Games. It was one of the main events of the Canadian Olympic Committee's 2005 Olympic Excellence series.
With his experience as a high-level athlete, as well as his passion and quest for excellence, he chose to work full-time with the Canadian national short track team from 2012 to 2016 as an equipment specialist. During this period, he participated in all training camps with the team, even accompanying them to the Sochi Olympic Games.
Since 1998, he has shared his knowledge in schools, for various organizations, and of course for speed skating clubs, addressing important themes in the sport such as attitude, stress, and emotion management.
More recently, he co-founded with Éric Bédard the company Nagano Skate, which is now positioned as an international leader in speed skating equipment. Indeed, in addition to the many clubs in the province that have the chance to benefit from his expertise as an international leader in equipment, several national teams now trust Nagano Skate, including Canada, Russia, Japan, Great Britain, China, the United States, France, Italy, Kazakhstan, Germany, the Netherlands, Korea, and many others. Several skaters and clubs in the region as well as internationally now benefit from his consulting services.
Éric Bédard's journey is marked by experiences that are as inspiring as each other. Always driven by his passion for speed skating, he has made his mark over the years in this exciting world.
It all began in Ste-Thècle in Mauricie in the early 80s where he engaged in short track speed skating first as a skater but also as a coach while continuing to work on his personal training. It was in 1995 that his efforts paid off as Éric made his entry as a skater into the Canadian national team. It is indeed with his teammates from the national team that he participates in 3 Olympic Games (1998-2002-2006) and wins not one but four Olympic medals.
After the 2006 Turin Olympic Games, he will hang up his skates as a skater to put on those of a coach. This opens the doors to the German national team where he serves as head coach from 2008 to 2010. It is also with his German skaters that he experiences the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games, but this time with a different role and reality. Italy, for its part, closely following his work, will also enlist Éric's services to propel the skaters of its national team to greater heights. Thus, to prepare the Italian skaters for the Sochi Olympic Games in Russia, Éric packs his bags again and spends 4 years with the Italian national team as head coach from 2010-2014. With the help of his accomplice Kenan Gouadec, they return from the Sochi Games with 3 Olympic medals for Italy, including Arianna Fontana, the most decorated female athlete in Winter Olympic history.
France, not wanting to be left behind, will offer him a head coach position in turn. His time in France will be short as he returns to Canada to take on the role of director of the high-performance program at the Oval in Calgary until 2018 when he returns to Quebec. Indeed, it is as the coach of the men's national team of Canada that he will return to where it all began for him: in Quebec.
Since 2020, he has been putting his passion and rigor to work for the next generation as he is the head coach and manager of the Sports-Studies speed skating program at the Académie les Estacades in Trois-Rivières. Alongside his coaching work, Éric continues to conduct research with the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières in order to further specialize in athlete development aimed at high performance.
Surrounded by partners specialized in high-performance sports, he founded in 2016 with one of his teammates from the Canadian national team, François Drolet, the company Nagano exclusively dedicated to the promotion and development of speed skating. Over the months and years, other partners with the same goal will join them, namely to develop programs and products that allow skaters to achieve extraordinary breakthroughs.
Thus, his years of experience, observation, and research combined with his contacts, but above all the desire to always go further, ensure that his business partners and he are able to achieve the highest standards of excellence in speed skating, but most importantly, to ensure that the passion is passed down from one generation to the next.
It was at the Turin 2006 Olympic Games, accompanied by Éric Bédard, that the youngest member of Canada's men's short track team won his first Olympic medal. He took silver as part of the 5,000 m relay team. A few years later, he delivered a remarkable performance at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, winning gold in the 500 m and the 5,000 m relay within a span of 30 minutes. He is also the only multiple gold medalist from Canada during those Games. Then, at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Games, Charles won his 3rd Olympic gold medal in the 1,500 m. This provided a balm for an experience that demonstrated the champion's admirable resilience.
It is remembered that in 2018, the Pyeongchang Olympic Games were not easy for Charles, but with his strong character, he managed to regain his composure and helped Canada win the bronze medal in the 5,000 m relay. This 5th Olympic medal placed Charles tied as the most decorated Canadian in history. Nothing less. No rest for the champion! Indeed, just two weeks after his return from Pyeongchang, in front of his fans in Quebec, Charles became world champion. An achievement that no Canadian had managed to accomplish in 20 years!
After this incredible performance, Charles does not rest on his laurels and doubles his efforts to consolidate his achievements. He demonstrates extraordinary perseverance to remain the consistent athlete and formidable skater that he is today.
Still passionate about his sport and eager for victories, he certainly does not plan to stop there! He has the experience and determination to continue his momentum all the way to the Beijing 2022 Olympic Games.
At the end of his speed skating career, Charles would like to give back to the speed skating community that has allowed him to fulfill himself and assert himself as one of the greatest Canadian athletes.
Thus, it is within the framework of the Nagano Academy program, of which he is a co-shareholder, that he will continue to promote his beloved sport. Of course, several other projects, both with Nagano and with other partners, are to be expected for our champion!
Thus, by joining the ranks of Nagano, Bruno has chosen to leverage his management skills. He brings expertise and rigor to the company, allowing Nagano to offer the services we know it for. Bruno manages orders, inventory, logistics, transport, and the website to provide impeccable customer service. A major ally in carrying out various follow-ups, Bruno demonstrates extraordinary efficiency. He responds to all requests, whether they come from a club in the province of Quebec or as far away as South Korea! He wants every customer, every skater to have an answer to their question and takes pride in doing so with extraordinary efficiency and speed.
His passion for travel and different cultures naturally comes from the energy Bruno expends to promote Nagano internationally. We must admit that these efforts are not in vain when looking at the results obtained in recent months.
For everything to be perfect, Bruno should trade his hockey skates for speed skates... it's a story to follow!
It must be admitted that his academic training in electromechanics of automated systems and industrial maintenance and construction mechanics has solidified his way of designing equipment dedicated to sports and high-level performance.
Always looking for challenges, Patrice has passed on his passion for sports to his daughter, who now rides in his wake. Indeed, it was in the summer of 2021 that Patrice and his daughter will launch their own bike brand.
Patrice Cauchon and Nagano, an association dedicated to success!
Kenan progressed as an athlete in cycling and short track speed skating until 2002, combining stints at the national training center in Calgary, and with the French national short track speed skating team. Following his career as a high-level athlete, he naturally turned to studies in exercise physiology in Montreal, where he completed his Master's degree in physical activity science with a specialization in assessment and training in 2008. During his studies, he remained very active in his favorite sports as a cycling and short track speed skating coach, as well as in physical and technical preparation for professional hockey players.
Until his departure for Europe, he remained very involved with the sports community at the University of Montreal, notably as a trainer and evaluator at the kinesiology clinic.
In 2011, the Italian Olympic short track speed skating team recognized his great expertise and retained his services to oversee the team's preparation for the upcoming Olympic Games. A task he shares with Éric Bédard. Over the years, and with the collaboration of Éric Bédard, he partners with CONI (Italian National Olympic Committee) and FERRARI to work on the development and improvement of speed skating products. And the results are impressive! Together, they returned from the Sochi Olympic Games with 3 Olympic medals! This was at the time the largest Olympic harvest ever seen by Squadra Italia. This Italian adventure continues for Kenan first in the role of head coach, then as technical director, until the Pyeongchang 2018 Olympic Games, from which the Italian team returned once again with 3 medals, including gold in the 500m.
Kenan has now moved his base to Australia, where he continues his involvement in a technical advisor role with the Italian Ice Sports Federation, and continues his journey in high-level sports as the performance director at the New South Wales Institute of Sport, where he manages a diverse portfolio of Olympic sports including diving, sailing, and also the Australian national winter sports program.
In conjunction with his Australian activities, Kenan brings to Nagano his varied experience and great skills in high-level sports. Thus, thanks to the partnership developed over the years with Éric Bédard and the other members of the Nagano team, and being driven by the same passion for speed skating, he helps to promote the company, positioning it as the world leader in the development of equipment and specialized training in speed skating.