MEMBER STORY
```
The "warmth" a caring banker-rider
brings to Lehman Stick
TERAI-CHAN / BRAND AMBASSADOR
INTERVIEWED ON MAY 23, 2026
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Known for her warm smile: 寺井夏実, better known as "Terai-chan."
```Golf in summer, snowboarding in winter — she's a working snowboarder who plays outdoors all year round.
She took up snowboarding after starting her career, and her competitive streak and friendly nature pulled her deep into mountain life.
Today, as a Lehman Stick rider, she supports the brand through social media and demo days.
Just having her at a demo day makes the atmosphere a little softer.
Terai-chan values what people feel and gives them a gentle nudge when they need it — she's an essential part of Lehman Stick.
```01. A competitive streak that led her to the mountains
```Terai-chan started snowboarding about six years ago.
It was thanks to Kuma-chan, whom she was dating at the time.
Today he's her husband, and a fellow Lehman Stick rider.
It was right when COVID-19 was spreading, and the drinks and get-togethers everyone used to take for granted were starting to disappear.
With less time to spend out with other people, snowboarding — a way to get moving out in nature — became a new way to spend her days off.
"Since we couldn't really go out drinking anymore, it was like, 'Okay, let's go snowboarding.'
We went riding pretty much every weekend."
Little by little, Terai-chan got hooked on a sport she'd never really tried before.
What drew her in was a thrill she couldn't get in everyday life.
"I love the rush of riding at speeds you'd never hit in daily life, and the floating feeling of riding on powder.
I've always been competitive, so it was fun to feel myself getting a little better at a brand-new sport.
The Lehman Stick crew have been riding for years and a lot of them are really good, so just keeping up with them is inspiring."
Looking back on Terai-chan's life in sports, it all started with tennis, which she played from early childhood through university.
Influenced by her mother, she started going to a local tennis school at age four.
She says there were times she wanted to quit, but she kept going for years.
"There were times I wanted to quit.
But I could never quite find the courage to.
My parents had spent money sending me there since I was little, so I think I felt like I couldn't just give up halfway."
Her words show someone who sincerely honors the opportunities and care others have given her.
These days, she's also hooked on golf as her summer sport.
She got serious about it about two years ago and says she sometimes already breaks 100.
"Before I knew it, I was playing outdoors in both summer and winter.
If you asked me what I love about golf, I might just say, 'Beer tastes great out in nature' (laughs)."
02. From a chance meeting to Lehman Stick
```What connected Terai-chan with Lehman Stick was a chance link through a mutual acquaintance.
After she started working, she mentioned to an acquaintance that Kuma-chan, whom she was dating then, snowboarded. The acquaintance said, "I know someone who's really into snowboarding too," and introduced them.
That person was Taiga, who would later start Lehmans.
She wasn't involved with Lehman Stick from the beginning.
At first they were just friends who rode together, and each winter she spent more and more time heading to the mountains with the same crew.
One day, Taiga told her, "Next year, I'm releasing an original powder board."
"As it happened, I was planning my first trip to ride in Hokkaido the following year.
I was riding a regular twin board back then, but the price was reasonable, so I thought, 'Maybe I'll get a second board.'
I was told shipping wouldn't get it to me in time, so I remember going to pick it up in person at the parking lot where they were doing the inspections (laughs)."
Terai-chan got her first Lehman Stick board about one or two years after she started snowboarding.
She bought the early model, the "Akasaka."
She's been riding Lehman Stick ever since.
She started out simply riding the boards as a customer, and before she knew it, she'd become a rider supporting the brand.
```03. The easygoing vibe at demo days
```Today, Terai-chan supports Lehman Stick by providing video footage for social media and working as staff at demo days.
At demo days, she's often at the check-in desk.
"When lots of people show up at once, the other members can't always handle everyone.
So I'll ask, 'Which board are you interested in?' and explain the boards' features and design.
I enjoy getting to talk with so many people, and when someone I talked with that day ends up buying a board, it really makes me happy."
People come to demo days for all sorts of reasons.
Some want to try the new models for themselves.
Some want to talk directly with the people who make them.
Some have done their research online and already have a model in mind.
And some just happen to pass by, get curious and drop in.
"I think my role is to understand what each customer is looking for
and give them a gentle nudge."
For people who already have a model in mind, she adds a few words so they can go ahead with confidence.
For people who aren't sure which model to choose, she carefully asks what boards they usually ride and what kind of riding they enjoy.
Listening to them, she works out together which board might suit them.
Rather than rushing to sell, she tries to get to know the person first.
That attitude creates the easygoing atmosphere at demo days.
```04. Listening and advising: skills from banking
```On weekdays, Terai-chan works at a bank, advising individual clients on investments.
She's worked at the same company for nine years, since graduating.
The investment trusts and insurance a bank offers aren't physical products.
So simply explaining what a product is, one-sidedly, rarely helps people understand its value.
"With investment trusts and insurance, you can't see the product itself, so how you explain it really matters.
Instead of doing all the talking, I try to listen to the client's thoughts and worries first, so I can make a proposal that really fits them."
There's one client from her career who stands out in particular.
At first, she says, they were negative about investing and didn't really listen to her proposals.
Even so, she met with them again and again.
What were they worried about?
How did they think about their future?
What were their values when it came to money?
Through conversation after conversation, trust grew, and in the end the client started investing — and is still a client today.
Banking isn't just about selling products.
It's about understanding someone's background through conversation and explaining things in words and an order they can easily accept.
And it's about supporting them so they can take a step forward once they're truly convinced.
Being there when someone changes their mind,
and giving their future a little push.
The listening and advising skills she's built at work also come in handy when she talks with people interested in Lehman Stick at demo days.
At the bank or in the mountains, what Terai-chan values doesn't change.
First, listen to the other person.
Then, work out together the option that truly suits them.
```05. A real-world perspective as a female rider
```At Lehmans, Terai-chan also brings a perspective unique to female riders.
She started snowboarding later than the male members and hasn't been riding as long.
That's exactly why she understands the worries of people who are just starting out or choosing their first powder board.
Things that are obvious to advanced riders are often a mystery to people with less experience.
Board length and flex, stance setup.
Whether they're skilled enough to ride a powder board.
Which model suits the way they ride.
Because she's progressed step by step from beginner herself, she can talk through those questions on the same level.
Instead of rattling off technical jargon, she shares in her own words how a board actually felt to ride.
Her down-to-earth words help many riders, women especially, choose a board with confidence.
Not showing off skill,
but sharing the fun in her own words.
That's one of the roles Terai-chan plays at Lehmans.
```06. Value for money that makes limited days off richer
```When we asked what she loves about Lehman Stick, Terai-chan answered without hesitation.
"The value for money is unbeatable."
With prices rising in recent years, snowboards have gotten more expensive too.
Boards over ¥100,000 are no longer unusual.
"Even as prices go up, they're really particular about materials and keep pursuing easy handling and fun on the snow, while still keeping prices down.
In that sense too, I think Lehman Stick is one of a kind."
For Terai-chan, value for money isn't simply about a low price.
How much fun can you get for what you pay?
Can one board become a reason to try new conditions or a new style of riding?
By spending less on a board, can you get to the mountains one more time, or stay one more night?
Thinking about all of that is what Lehman Stick means by value for money.
"Just like everyone else, I work on weekdays and enjoy snowboarding on my limited days off.
Lehman Stick keeps prices down, so I'd love for people to use what they save on a board to go riding even one more time and have fun."
How rich can you make
your limited days off?
When Terai-chan says "unbeatable value," she means not just the price and quality of the product, but the days off it makes possible.
```07. The "warmth" she brings to Lehman Stick
```Terai-chan isn't the type to lead the brand by being the loudest voice in the room.
She doesn't grab attention with flashy riding or bold words either.
Even so, when she's at a demo day or on the mountain, people naturally gather and conversations start.
She greets first-timers with a smile and takes her time listening to them.
For people who can't decide, she doesn't push — she offers a few words so they can make a choice they're happy with.
Her presence creates a warmth for the brand that performance and price alone can't.
Being there for people.
That's Terai-chan's strength.
So that Lehman Stick stays more than just a snowboard maker — a brand close to people, where people connect.
As a female rider, a banker and a working snowboarder, Terai-chan will keep giving lots of people a gentle nudge.
```Quick Q&A profile
```- Main stance Regular
- Stance width I mount my bindings without measuring, so I honestly don't know (laughs)
- Bindings SALOMON DISTRICT PRO
- Boots Burton MOTO
- Home resort None — I like riding all sorts of places
- Favorite spot The contrast of blue sky and snowy mountains on a clear winter day
- Happiest moment Eating something delicious (laughs)
- Signature move Making everyone drink! (laughs)
How it feels to try snowboarding for the first time.
```How it feels to be unsure which board to choose.
How it feels to want to get to the mountains as often as possible on limited days off and a limited budget.
Drawing on her own experience and the skills she's built as a banker, Terai-chan carefully supports each of them.
The peace of mind that board performance alone can't deliver, and the warmth that grows between people.
That's also part of the value Lehman Stick wants to deliver.
Being there for every rider,
making working people's days off even richer.
Lehmans Member
Terai-chan
Interview and text: 安井一輝