12/14/2016, STILLWATER, USA – Long-time KICKER specialist employee Steve Outhier has retired from the company.
Outhier is calling it a career after 23 years of immersing himself into the Stillwater Designs® framework, spinning the KICKER® message and bringing an award-winning sound to cars and trucks around the world. Outhier officially retired from full-time work on Nov. 28, but will remain on contract with the company through the first of the year to assist during the Consumer Electronics Show and the transition to 2017.
Gregg Allman’s Duane, Bowie’s Ronson, Joe Cocker’s Leon, Sir Elton’s Olsson – Outhier was exactly that to Stillwater Design’s founder and friend Steve Irby for most of his working career, beginning in the ’70s as the lead guitarist to Irby’s blistering keyboards in the regionally successful rock-band Moses. That relationship eventually led to Outhier’s hire in July 1993 as the Advertising/Public-Relations Manager for Irby’s flourishing mobile-audio and electronics company, once again taking the spotlight when called upon to get the KICKER word and image to the media and consumers.
“As a bandmate with Steve (Outhier) in the early ’70’s, I knew he was a music connoisseur, in tune with great sound,” recollected Irby. “And a gearhead! That’s the perfect combination for working at KICKER.”
Outhier concurred. “We knew each other in college, and music brought us together. That love of music – playing it, listening to it, working on gear to reproduce it – has always been a constant.
“It’s more than 40 years now; seeing a friend’s dream grow from his garage to where we are today, and getting to share in the adventure, has been a lot of fun,” Outhier continued. “Hard work? Sure. But mainly a lot of fun.”
Outhier led creative on KICKER ad campaigns and yearly catalogs during those years, putting a face on what was already one of the 12-volt industry’s top subwoofer and speaker brands. In 1993 he fine-tuned the message for KICKER’s original Solo-Baric® subwoofer, which used a single driver in a compact sealed box replicating a pair of subs performing in an isobaric enclosure. Then in 2000 he headed up the manufacturer’s appearance through the unveiling of the iconic Solo-Baric L7 square subwoofer (“20% more bass than its round counterpart”).
Since 2003 he served as the director for KICKER’s Product Planning team, assuring the manufacturer’s output goes from inception to store shelves every product cycle. He also headed up the process of gaining the numerous patents for KICKER’s products and technologies.
“The music store I went to as a kid had listening booths where we would listen to new records and do our best to learn the words and music,” Outhier said. “We spend hours there. Why they put up with us is anybody’s guess, but I think they saw we truly loved the mysteries we found hidden in those grooves. Working here at KICKER with good people who share that love, and having the opportunity to contribute to more kids uncovering those same (musical) mysteries, is a great way to spend the years.”
KICKER Performance Audio products, a division of Stillwater Designs and Audio, Inc.®, are available for the mobile and home audio aftermarket at authorized retailers worldwide, and also as Original Equipment for automobile manufacturers. Consumers seeking more information on KICKER or Livin’ Loud® may call the Consumer Information Line at 1-800-256-5425 or visit the brand website at www.kicker.com. Follow KICKER socially at Facebook.com/kickeraudio, Twitter.com/kickeraudio, Instagram.com/kickeraudio, or Pinterest.com/kickeraudio.
