It was a baptism of fire, he remembers. “My first day of work, I had to take a flight to the US. I went to a camp at Mount Hood, I talked to dealers… For me, starting from a fancy design firm and going through this, it was pretty amazing. I was about 25 years old, so for me it was a great opportunity to meet a lot of people and travel.”

After five years with Northwave, he was poached by Burton to take up a role as Boot Designer, which then became Design Director for all hardgoods, and eventually involved a permanent move to the States and the establishment of a central creative office for the brand. As well as Burton boards, boots and bindings, Anon goggles and (now defunct) RED helmets were also part of his remit. “That was a giant project; just the boards, I don’t even remember how many board graphics we had!” An eventual move back to Italy meant vacating the big chair, but through his own design firm he was able to continue working on the boot line. By the time he finally parted ways with the brand, he’d been involved for 20 years. It was time for a new challenge, and an offer from the Nidecker brothers fit the bill.

“I said, ‘honestly, either we can improve those boots, or we can make something totally different. We can do an evolution, or a revolution.’”

For Maurizio, the decision was a no-brainer. “They’re all young, you know, and they believe in product. So they always want to come up with something cool and something new.”

This was a fresh start in more ways than one, as he took it upon himself to be the new broom. While it didn’t involve any transcontinental trips this time, the first day on the job nonetheless proved to be eventful: “I went to their office and we went through their boots. I said, ‘honestly, either we can improve those boots, or we can make something totally different. We can do an evolution, or a revolution.’ And then I said that time is really short, but we should do a revolution. I thought that Nidecker needed to show a little more of what it’s able to do.”

There’s no doubt that quizzing the team riders can really reap rewards – but it’s only the first step of Maurizio’s process, and one that’s not without its challenges. “I want to hear their comments, their feedback, their ideas, for sure – but when we discuss with the riders they always have, you know, crazy directions. But they make you think.” After those conversations, it’s back to business: talking to distributors, reps and dealers. “I hear the problems with the market, or the problems with our product. And I put all this information together.”

“When starting out on a design, he pictures himself as a customer in a store, and focuses on the three qualities of a boot that are the most likely to pique his interest.”

As an artist first and foremost, the final piece of Maurizio’s equation won’t come as much of a surprise. When starting out on a design, he pictures himself as a customer in a store, and focuses on the three qualities of a boot that are the most likely to pique his interest. Two of them are weight (it’s got to be noticeably light) and out-the-box comfort – but before they can even get to the stage where they’re picking it up, let alone trying it on, it’s got to look the part. “You want to have the attention of the clients, of the riders. So with the aesthetic, you want to make a boot with cool colours or designs or features, so people get close to your boots and get interested.”

Indeed, when you take a deeper dive into the Nidecker line, there are grace notes of artistic detail everywhere. His fondness for repeating patterns (as used elsewhere in his art, including on past snowboard gear projects) appears every so often, such as in the raised interlocking hexagons on the toe of the Altai boot, as well as the chevrons on its upper cuff. The former, it turns out, is part of a wider design theme applied across the range. “If you look at all the new Nidecker boots, every one has a different toe construction, but there’s no stitching. It’s seamless because we want to have a perfect fit with the binding toe straps.

“On the Altai, we came up with this idea of rubber print; basically, they spray-paint rubber on the toe. I wanted to show that technology in the design language, and a repeating pattern was a good way to do that because you make the toe look totally different, and people get interested and ask questions. That’s the main goal for me.” As for the cuff, it’s a bit more straightforward. “We just picked a cool material! We do a lot of research on materials, but I also believe in the look, the aesthetic. It’s a very important part of the product.”

Speaking of visuals, for someone who often employs a full colour palette in other areas of his work, how does he feel working in a market that is perhaps second only to priest socks in its lack of variety? He seems philosophical about it, and recognises that the riders have spoken (“the black colorway is 80% of the market. So you can’t really give up to the black ones!”). That percentage is even higher where high-end freeride boots are concerned, which explains why there’s only one Smell The Glove-esque design for the Index. While he does have an outlet for experimentation with the more jib-friendly Rift, he’s also found a different way to scratch that particular creative itch.