Japanese sporting equipment maker Yonex has staked much on men's snowboard halfpipe world champion Yuto Totsuka, and one of the company's product developers is hoping the board that bears his name will establish the brand's bona fides worldwide.
Hirokazu Yaegashi works for Yonex, a company better known for its extensive lines of tennis and badminton rackets than for their snowboards, a market they entered in 1995.
Yaegashi sees the Beijing Games as a great opportunity for the brand to remake its image with the help of snowboarders it equips.