Arvada company will cover the Olympics - with sunscreen.

• Author: COUCH, JAN
• Position: Rocky Mountain Sunscreen's 2002 Winter Olympics deal - Brief Article

DAVE ERICKSON CUT A DEAL WITH THE RED CROSS that he hopes will save lives this February when Salt Lake City hosts the 2002 Winter Olympics.

Erickson's Rocky Mountain Sunscreen will team up with the Salt Lake chapter of the American Red Cross to distribute and sell the company's sun protection products throughout the Salt Lake metro area. Thousands of Red Cross volunteers will be supplied with the product as well.

It's a great affiliation -- the Olympics -- and it should add to Rocky Mountain Sunscreen's reputation as a protective cream crafted to save your skin at altitude.

But for Erickson, his product is more than a business, it's a cause.

From the high-fashion model flaunting a dark bronze, to the raccoon look sported by so many skiers who are careful to protect their eyes but not their skin from the sun, Erickson sees not just a customer but a potential convert.

"There's no such thing as a healthy tan," he says. "If you have a tan, then you've got damaged skin."

Erickson, who is president of his Arvada-based company, began manufacturing Rocky Mountain Sunscreen in 1992, more than three years after enlisting a chemist to develop a product specifically formulated for use at high altitude. As such, Rocky Mountain Sunscreen is the designated screen for...