DOB: 1987
YEARS SNOWBOARDING: 12 and counting!
FAV NS BOARD: Chairman 165X
LOCAL SPOT: Chamonix
MOTO: I think it will be alright..
IN YOUR OWN WORDS: I guess I had the best of both worlds growing up between Australia and Chamonix. In Australia as a teenager, it was thanks to my mum being willing to drive me the 3hrs to Mt Buller every weekend that I got to spend plenty of time riding park. However, it was whilst living back in Chamonix that I got a taste for real mountains. Pretty soon it was powder that I went to sleep thinking about, not the park, and I was spending full winters in Cham.
For me the mountains here have so much to offer and are great for my style of riding and what I enjoy doing on a snowboard – you can hike or split to steep, serious glacier terrain in the morning and be back in another area bombing cliffs, riding chutes and getting creative on perfect natural hits in the afternoon.
The only downside to snowboarding for me is my ability to break boards – I’ve never had one that lasted a season, and one year I got through six! Last year I started riding the Never Summer Raptor after Sascha recommended it and the 3yr warranty gave me confidence in the build quality – it turned out to be a super good move – I’ve finally found an unbreakable board which is incredible to ride. It inspires real confidence, any drop feels stomp-able and any line rideable, and it always comes out on top in rocky encounters. I’m looking forward to more of the same from the new Chairman!
I’ve previously stayed fairly clear of the competition scene as it doesn’t really stack up to what I love about freeride, but after doing a couple of the qualifiers I’ve realised that they make you push your riding level, particularly in terms of reading the mountain and picking lines, so this year I’ll be signing up to a few more and hoping I can perform when it counts.
I’m really stoked to be joining the NS team this year, and will be getting out there and riding hard every day I can. Let the snow fall!
