Marchese: The Beginning

Unique partnership makes Marchese available to everyone

One look at elite long track and short track speedskating and you'll find Paul Marchese's name. The #1 boot maker in ice skating with 58 Olympic medals on his skates, Paul's knowledge and experience are unparalleled. CadoMotus and Marchese Racing have begun a unique partnership, one that makes Marchese's famous boots available and affordable for everyone. The Marchese ONE is the first result of this collaboration, and there is more to come. We get to know the passionate boot maker a little better.

This is Part 1 of a 3-part series...
Read more in Part 2 - Marchese: Secrets of Success

Paul Marchese, as US Speedskating Skate Technician, talks trackside to Apolo Ohno
Image courtesy OhnoZone.net

58 Olympic medals won... and counting

Paul Marchese’s involvement in Speedskating began relatively late in life by skating standards, at age 15. It was around the same time, however, that he built his first pair of skates for himself. As Paul’s own skating progressed to National level, he made the first pair of what evolved into the current Marchese design – a design that has been worn to 58 Winter Olympic medals... and counting. Other National skaters wanted to try Paul’s boots, so he began making more. “When I finally decided to give it a go, I had a response from most of the National team immediately.” Marchese Racing’s very first international sale was to a huge Japanese skater, Ishihara. “He loved his Marchese boots. That opened the door for Asia, and then came Europe.”

Korea's Kim Dong Sung on Marchese
Image courtesy Jerry Search

The deeper you look, the more you see

He combined boot-building with his own skating until 1993 when he retired from Elite-level racing to build boots full-time together with wife Liz.

Before retiring from elite-level racing, the custom boot-making business had begun to gain a lot of momentum. “But it was my interest in coaching that fueled my continued involvement in the sport,” says Paul. “My desire to share with others what I thought I knew, made me look deeper into the technical requirements of the sport.” Paul delved increasingly into the technical intricacies of ice Speedskating, discovering ways that equipment innovation could complement those needs. “The deeper you look, the more you see.”

More famous faces on Marchese
Images courtesy Jerry Search

A few years after concentrating his efforts on the business of skate design & construction, Paul picked up racing once again – this time as a Master, and began coaching at a local club in the mid-1990s. His coaching involvement grew from there, with Paul now the head coach of Saratoga Speedskating – one of the most dominant teams in the US. He is also the Skate Technician for USA Speedskating, and travelled with the team to the Salt Lake & Torino Winter Games in 2002 & 2006 – working with skaters like Parra, Fitzrandolph, Witty, Ohno, Hedrick, Cheek and Davis.

'09 World Sprint Champ Shani Davis on Marchese
Image courtesy AP Photo

Husband-and-wife team Paul & Liz have garnered an impressive list of their own Speedskating achievements alongside those that have been achieved on their famed custom boots. Paul has won numerous National & North American titles in short track, long track and marathon, as well as Masters long track World Championships. As an inline skater, Paul has won indoor, outdoor and marathon races. As a Masters skater, Liz won National & North American titles in both short- and long track.

Paul Marchese (shouting) coaching alongside Anglea Seulean, Nancy Swider-Peltz, Kip Carpenter and Bart Veldkamp
Image courtesy Andrew Love

Paul Marchese's famous customs
Image courtesy Jerry Search

The sensation of speed

Paul has continued his fascination and love-affair with all things Speedskating. “There is something about the silent fluid glide as you move at high speed on the ice…” Like many, he craves the sensation of speed, the thrill of close passes, and the apparent impossibility of angles achieved as a skater leans through the turns. “It’s addictive.”

This is Part 1 of a 3-part series...
Read more in Part 2 - Marchese: Secrets of Success