Carbondale-based MountainFlow Eco Wax irons out deal on “Shark Tank”

Peter Arlein had the sharks chomping at the bit earlier this month on an episode of ABC’s “Shark Tank.” Pitching his MountainFlow Eco Wax, an eco-friendly and biodegradable wax for skis and snowboards, the Carbondale skier walked away with a six-figure deal including two investors.

“I thought they did a great job,” Arlein said after the airing, which he watched for the first time himself along with other viewers. “Every section of it was engaging, and I didn’t look like a dummy, which they could have made me look like if they wanted to.”

Rather the opposite, Arlein’s product was the final pitch to the sharks in the hour-long episode and featured a commercial cut to build suspense while the sharks fought, of course.

With Daymond John — self-titled “Chocolate Powder” for his on-snow skills — presenting a deal for Arlein to consider, Barbara Corcoran and Kevin O’Leary also teamed up for a potential deal, creating a mostly civil discussion among the sharks.

“That was great because then they’re not focused on grilling me, they’re just grilling each other,” Arlein said, adding that he was mentally exhausted after the pitch and negotiations.

While Arlein was worried going in that the five sharks wouldn’t understand the ski wax industry, he was pleasantly surprised to see a lot of them were skiers themselves.

Arlein even tried to offer a personal ski outing to seal the deal.

“Very nice, Peter, but everybody wants to ski with me quite honestly, that’s how good I am,” Corcoran rebutted.

Part of John’s counter to Arlein was the potential of signing on his friend, Lindsey Vonn.

“It’d be awesome to have Lindsey on board, obviously, but for me it was hard to sign onto a deal when neither of us had talked to Lindsey,” Arlein said after a weekend full of phone calls and texts, as well as packaging up some wax. “I just didn’t want to get locked into something that may or may not happen, that was my biggest concern.”

In the end, Arlein navigated a negotiation with Corcoran and O’Leary — even after Corcoran admitted she looks at people’s faces when they walk in and makes a first impression, which she was not overly impressed at first with Arlein’s skier vibes and mustache.

“I took it in stride,” Arlein said. “I think coming from her, it was a compliment. Ultimately, she invested and loves the product.”

The final details of the deal are still being ironed out — but Arlein said “they’ve been great to work with so far.”

Arlein’s offer of a ski day with the sharks is still reportedly part of the deal.

“And I’m going skiing with a big smile on my face,” Corcoran said to close the show.

“I think we can do some amazing stuff here,” O’Leary added.