after the successful introduction of race sweaters, jacobs added ski pants to the catalog offering. one of the earliest creations was a navy blue racing pant with yellow striped pads extending from the knee to the hip. his son billy mentioned that skiers were calling them “spider” pants, due to their spider leg-like appearance. jacobs recognized this as an opportunity to have a powerful, lasting name and logo associated with his products, and renamed the company. a passionate sports car fan, he borrowed the spelling with a “y” from the ferrari spyder. the early mail order catalogs included race pants, padded sweaters, vuarnet sunglasses, bent downhill poles and other racing accessories. for two years, spyder operated out of jacobs' kitchen. at the end of two years, sales were in the six figures and his kitchen was too crowded.