“I grew up with skiing as a constant thread throughout my life,” Toni recalls. “I first learned to ski at three years old at Charlotte’s Pass, where my family would spend a week every winter. My dad was really passionate about skiing. He actually only learned it in his twenties but fell in love with it and even did ski seasons at Mt Buller in the 80s.”
Dad discovered the Interschools competitions and signed the family up. “It’s funny looking back now, because Pymble Ladies’ College has a huge ski program today, but back then it was literally just my family and two others,” she laughs. From those early competitions, her parents noticed her talent and enrolled her in the Devo Program at Perisher Winter Sports Club when she was 11. Later, she moved to the Thredbo Ski Racing Club. Her teenage years became a rotation of Sydney, Jindabyne, and Europe, racing with the Australian Children’s Team and then the Australian National Junior Team until she was 21.
During those years, her father also started an import and distribution business focused on European brands. “I grew up helping out where I could, attending trade shows, unpacking boxes, listening to conversations about gear and retailers, and living with boxes of stock in the garage,” Toni says. Alongside this, she worked in retailers like Auski, Snowbound, and Inski while studying a Commerce and Marketing degree at university.
After retiring from racing, Toni stepped away from skiing completely for a few years. “It felt strange to have a break after a lifetime revolving around snow, but it was what I needed at the time. Then, in true all or nothing fashion, I decided I couldn’t live without it and moved to Golden in British Columbia, Canada. I still think Golden is my favourite place on earth. It’s the most beautiful place in the world – in my opinion. That’s also where I experienced skiing purely for leisure. I fell in love with the mountains in a totally new way.”
Back in Australia, Toni combined her passion for snow with her marketing experience. She started at Vail Resorts Australia as Perisher Marketing Manager and later became Brand Manager across all Australian Vail Resorts brands, including Perisher, Falls Creek, Hotham, and Epic Australia Pass.
“It was in this role that I met my now partner, Lucas Wilkinson. He owned a media company and had been working in content production in the outdoor industry for over a decade. His media company held the content production contract for Perisher, so we worked closely together. We became fast friends and professional sounding boards and stayed close even after I left Vail Resorts. Years later, we started dating and today we also run two businesses together.”
Inyo, Our First Business
Their first venture was Inyo, a marketing and media agency specialising in the outdoor industry. “Many of Lucas’ clients were already familiar with me, my marketing background and skillset, and they started asking whether we could take on marketing responsibilities as well as content creation. So, we did,” Toni explains.
“I’ve always believed that the right opportunities tend to feel effortless. Not in the sense that you don’t work hard for them, but they show up clearly in front of you, and all you have to do is decide whether you’re going to pass or dive in. With Inyo, everything just aligned.”
Kin Supply, Taking on the Family Business
The natural progression continued with Kin Supply. “My dad had been wanting to retire for years and had asked me many times whether I wanted to take over his distribution business. I always thought the timing wasn’t right. Then one day, Lucas randomly walked into my office and said, ‘Maybe we should think about taking over your dad’s business.’ He explained that it was a bit of a no brainer with our experience in the outdoor industry. Suddenly it made perfect sense and we decided to jump.”
The business was officially taken over and rebranded as Kin Supply in October. “The name is a nod to both of our surnames, Hodkinson and Wilkinson, and the fact that it’s a family business being passed from one generation to the next,” Toni says. “We’ve just ticked over our first month, and it’s already been a steep but exciting learning curve. Right now, we distribute brands like Lenz, Attiba, and Starling, and we plan to expand thoughtfully while honouring the relationships and reputation my dad built over the years.”
Jindy Life
Lucas and Toni now live full-time in Jindabyne. “Living in Jindy feels grounding and purposeful. Life here gives us direct connection to the community and the environment we work in. Both Kin Supply and Inyo benefit from being embedded in the culture of the Snowy Mountains. We’re not observing from afar – we live it daily. The pace, the people, the proximity to the outdoors, it all makes sense for the kind of lives and businesses we’re building.”
What’s Next?
Looking to the future, Toni says, “We want to continue growing Kin Supply by strengthening the brands we already represent and expanding our portfolio in a thoughtful, sustainable way. The goal is to modernise and evolve the distribution model while carrying forward the values and relationships that have been part of the business since my dad started it. For Inyo, we want to continue telling authentic stories for the brands we work with.”
And personally, Toni reflects, “Everything – ski racing, studying marketing, working in resorts, rediscovering skiing in Canada, building Inyo, and now taking over Kin Supply – has led me here. Living in the mountains and building something meaningful within the snow industry feels like the perfect blend of my past and the future I want to create.”
