Tracing Influence: Six Skiers and the People Who Inspired Them | Salomon TV
Influence is kinda everything. It’s like (boom)... that’s what I want to do! I don’t think I could’ve crafted a ski career out of nothing. I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for that. - [Interviewer] What does influence mean to you? - That's a really hard question. - [Mali] Influence is what shapes you and brings you motivation and direction in your life.
- [Alexis] An influence someone that was a catalyst to what you're gonna do with your future. - [Cody] I look at my heroes that were the ones that drove me to this sport. You wanna live that life. You want to be like that person.
- [Emma] We know everyone on the mountain and the people who watched us grow up skiing there have all been influences in our lives. - [Alexis] I get goosebumps thinking about it, 'cause if certain people weren't there in my life, there's no chance I'd be where I am right now. - [Cody] I count those individuals that I had seen in the ski movies and seen in ski magazines as the only reason why I'm here. - [Emma] I mean, for me, it's been people who I am very close to.
- [Cody] Your hero and your influence is just the person that is your North Star, the person that makes you want to live a positive, impactful life. - [Alexis] There's never a question in my mind whether I should or shouldn't be skiing. There's a single answer to that, and it's absolutely. Mont-Tremblant was kind of the epicenter of free skiing for the east coast. That's where all the big contests were. And if you wanted to grow up and ski, you just had to look up to the peers above you.
It's pretty easy to be inspired. My dad was the assistant director of the ski school and almost every day, 'cause I was in the race program at the time, the instructor or coach would go to my dad at the end of the day, like, "Oh I lost your kid again. I'm sorry." And I always fled to the freestyle team, the mogul team, 'cause that was the only people that could jump on the resort.
And all I wanted to do was jump. - He was an active kid, a fun kid, but with a lot of energy We had to keep him busy, busy. - Mama! - [Louise] What? - Turn the camera off! - [Louise] Oh yeah. He was explosive. - [Alexis] I'd throw fits. I was a little shit 'cause all I wanted to do was not be in school and going skiing on the hill, and learning new tricks, and going off rails, and doing all that cool stuff.
I remember starting to see freestylers in Tremblant and then Philou came around and Philou was just, it was it. That was the only person I looked up to. He was just your local pro, and won the U.S. Open, was doing switch back flips, and all kinds of crazy stuff. (crowd cheers) - I was pretty much the only skier around here that could do 360s and back flips. And I was hanging out only with snowboarders.
So, definitely snowboarders got the influence on me because I could see them do tricks. They had so much possibility on a snowboard that we didn't have. On skis, if you could do a back flip, 360, or 720, it pretty much lined up what you could do on skis. So it kind of made me realize that there was more possibilities for skiing.
- [Alexis] I remember seeing him on the lift and you'd be like, pinpointing from like 300 feet away. You'd be like, "Hey, he's back home." And then I'd just be following around the park. And that was probably so annoying, but you know what? That inspired my whole life. It almost makes me tear up 'cause it's like, it's huge.
Yeah. I feel like he probably knows the influence he had on me, especially when I was a kid. You don't have a kid follow you all around the mountain and not know that you're kind of his idol. (chuckles)
But as life went on, probably not. I don't think I've ever told him. (Philou and Alexis laughing) - Oh my God.
Oh my God. Good to see you man. - Yeah, you too. Ca va? - Yeah. - Holy shit. - The next thing.
The next thing to come from Tremblant. He's my idol now. I think at one point in life, it was maybe the other way around, but he's definitely stepped up his game since the little grom that used to ski in the park here in Tremblant. And now he's ripping the big mountains and his movies are awesome and, yeah. Good to see you, man.
- You too, buddy. - I got a pretty good story about Alexis, actually. I remember skiing down to the Lowell Thomas chair and this little kid hits me on the leg with his pole and I turned around and he was about, I don't know, maybe a meter high. And he said, "You're Philou Poirier?" And I said, "Yeah." I said, "What's your name?" He's like, "Alexis Godbout."
Yeah, I heard about you. I know your dad. And he said, "I followed you in the park and you're not that good." (laughs) I don't know if he remembers that, but I do. And I thought it was pretty ballsy from that kid to tell me that, but then again, you know, I still remember it to this day.
So, it definitely left a mark on me. - [Alexis] I mean, I don't think I've ever told you that when I was a kid, but like, you're my biggest inspiration when I was a kid and basically, all I am doing, everything I do, so. - Oh my God, he's gonna get me crying. - [Alexis] When you think back, like how strong that drive was.
Like, I want to be that person and I'm gonna succeed at it. And all I could think of or breathe was skiing. Honestly, if I'd never laid under that big air jump when I was a kid and seen him switch back flip and do double back flips, and sevens, I probably wouldn't be doing this right now. I went from learning how to slide rails when I was like, about eight or nine and to doing switch 1080s at 14, which was the hot trick. And I was winning big air events with the pros and stuff, which just like, holy shit. If I pursue that, I could be that guy.
That was the big one over here, right? - Yeah, there was one on that pitch where that guy is. - But the one at the bottom. - And then there was one at the bottom.
The one at the bottom is where is one of the first step up style kind of jumps that we had. That's where I learned switch back flips, switch rodeo. - [Alexis] I was like seven and laying under the jump and watching everybody jump over.
And I remember you doing a double back flip with no shirt on. We had an article "Ski Press" after I won the Dew Tour when I was 21 and we were sitting together, they snapped a photo of us and it was like, kind of the mentor to the protege kind of. And I was like, "I've actually made it.
Like, this is fucking crazy. - Like Philou was to me, I eventually became that person in the park in Tremblant and then moved on and evolved my skiing out west in the big mountains. You have all the kids that follow you around the mountain and then you see a couple of them throw down and eventually one starts to stand out and then he becomes the local hero. I feel like that's what's going on with Phil Langevin right now. It keeps on moving generation to generation. And then there's the sort of like icons that pop out.
- [Philou] Now it's Phil. There's gonna be a kid after that. - [Alexis] The wheel is just turning. I mean, I'm very grateful to be part of that wheel. - [Kathy] Potatoes, spinach, milk and berries, and muffins for breakfast.
And heavy whipping cream! Can't live without it. We're going to the cabin. It's so fun. Okay, buddy, let's go. - [Mali] When your kid comes to you, graduating from college and wanting to be a ski bum and get a job as a waitress, my mom was so excited and supportive of me and I can't imagine that most parents are. My mom is more like my life mentor.
And ultimately I'm like, following her path. - [Kathy] I was strongly influenced by my Uncle Mike who took me skiing for the very first time. He literally strapped my feet to my mother's old skis, no edges, just wooden skis, and I loved it. And I just, at that point, thought I've gotta make this happen for me. I was born in Idaho. Then my parents moved to California for my school years and it was crushing to me.
I hated it. And after going skiing with my uncle that one day I decided I'm coming back to Idaho and I'm gonna be a skier. I went into nursing, not because I love people and wanted to help them, although I did, but I realized that nursing could pay a salary enough for me to live wherever I wanted to at any ski town and pay my bills myself Takes me about 10 slams what a man can do in one, hey. - [Mali] She never taught me how to wear makeup.
She never like taught me how to like, sleep in a bed with sheets. But my mom did teach me how to row a raft, how to pack food for a 28-day Grand Canyon trip. She taught me those skills. - [Kathy] I really was always just dragging her along so I could still go. I never made a conscious effort that I'm gonna introduce her to this or that.
I did make the conscious effort to take her to Jackson Hole skiing because I had such a fun time living there. And then she went Nordic. - [Mali] I didn't ski with my mom much in high school or college 'cause I was always Nordic skiing.
My goal was always to race in the Olympics or go on to race after college. She always wanted me to be a ski bum and was always sort of pushing me to have a little bit more fun. 'Cause Nordic skiers can be so rigid and stuck in their training and obsession, which I'm totally that type. Graduating college was sort of was like, "I wanna be a river guide and be a ski bum right now while I'm done with school, done with Nordic skiing, and try it out." My mom was definitely the inspiration and I think I followed her lead. So I moved to Crested Butte with her hand me down boots and skis.
- [Kathy] I think the years that she spent ski bumming just put so much depth into her life and it made her happy. - After my first year ski bumming in Crested Butte, my roommate, she was going to a freeride competition and invited me saying, "You'd probably like this." Sort of beginner's luck I think, but I ended up getting second, so it was a ton of fun.
The next year I took it a little more seriously. And that year I finished as the overall champion for North America. And so the next year I was competing on the Freeride World Tour, traveling around Europe. I didn't re-qualify that first year, but since then I've been enjoying learning as much as I can about skiing and moving more towards skiing more in the backcountry. I always thought I wanted to be a doctor 'cause I like medicine. And so I was like, "Well, once I'm done skiing, I'll go to med school and be a doctor."
That was my life plan. And then realizing it after a few years it was like, "I will never be done skiing. That is ridiculous." And so I then pivoted and realized that nursing allowed me to continue skiing as much as I wanted to and still follow a career in medicine. - I'm going to show you the poster that Mali signed for me at her Girl Crush premiere. "To mom: You have been my inspiration, my teacher, and a strong woman to look up to, plus a great mom.
I love you, Mali." That was great compliments from a daughter to her mother. Couple years ago, I was down skiing with her and we had this discussion. I just felt that some of the things she was doing were so dangerous and risky. And that's when she said, "Mom, I'm just kind of looking at you. This is what you've done your whole life.
And you're now telling me, 'Don't do this, it's too dangerous.'" And I remember at the time going, "Oh yeah, you're right." - [Mali] I think I really became grateful for my mom's influence in my mid-twenties and started to recognize the strength and female strengths she had given me. - [Kathy] I've never thought of myself as an incredible woman until she laid it out that because I've always been so independent and doing what I wanted to do that made her realize that she could be the very same thing. - [Mali] When you're young, you always think you know more than your parents and every year I feel like I'm reminded that, when I'm not sure of anything, my mom has lived so much longer and experienced so much more, that she's the person to go to for the answers. - [Robert] I remember watching all the ski movies from Whistler in Canada and I just wanted to go there and to live the same life that they did.
I think even my English is from the ski movies. That's how I learn my English. I'm trying to talk like Mark Abma basically. My name is Robert Pallin Aaring.
I'm from Leksvik in Norway and I'm a free skier. In Norway, everyone is cross country skiing from early age. When I went outside of my house in the wintertime, it was just a natural thing to just put on your skis and slide away. I guess I was about 12 years old when I started to be quite serious with this Nordic combined skiing, which is cross country skiing and ski jumping. My dad was really into it and he brought us to lots of competitions all over Norway. Nordic combined skiing is a quite serious discipline, but I always had that attraction to fooling around on the Cross country skis.
I even did a double front flip once and I ended up breaking my leg, which is not really good to say to your coach. "I broke my leg because I was fooling around." I did Nordic combined for over 10 years and I was quite serious with this. But when I was 20, my father died and a lot of the motivation ended with him. I decided to do one more year after that, just to give it a try.
But I remember particularly one day in the ski jumping hill when it snowed and that's not the best place to be when it's snowing. You're fighting against the snow instead of being in the mountains where you're enjoying the snow. The year after, I bought a pair of powder skis, and I remember watching all this Salomon Freeski TV episodes from Whistler in Canada. (laughing) - [Mike] On this week's show, Mark Abma and I are in our hometown, Whistler, BC.
We're gonna be using the lift. We're gonna head out in the backcountry and show you why the place we live in is pretty much the best place around. - [Robert] I remember some segments with Mark Abma, Mike Douglas, really made Whistler look like the Mecca of freeride skiing. In 2012, I moved to Whistler for one year and that changed everything. I was probably not the most talented guy, but I was never afraid to send it. I kind of found out that this is what I'm good at.
I can't quit this. Quitting this will be quitting my life. I remember watching all these ski movies and Mark Abma was the new wine. He was a bit more freestyle than the rest and throwing corks and sevens out in the backcountry.
And I think he was kind of my biggest idol. I tried to copy everything. I had the same clothes. I even had the same balaclava.
And even though I've been to Canada four times now, I still haven't met Abma. - [Mark] Hey, man. - [Robert] Hey, how are you doing? - I'm good. How are you?
- I'm good. - Nice, welcome. - Thank you. I'm Robert. - Mark. Yeah, nice to meet you. - [Robert] I'm trying to pinch my arm to kind of realize that I'm actually with Mark Abma.
- Cheers, bud. How do you say cheers in Norwegian? - [Robert] Skol. - Skol, of course. I should know that. - [Robert] Have you heard that before? True story is that the account I saw back then with you, Mike Douglas, that was pretty much what inspired me to come here and do a season. - [Mark] Well, I'm stoked to link up, meet with you, and ski with you.
- I'm for sure. I'm for sure super stoked. (laughs) - [Mark] I'm definitely super honored with having the opportunity to be able to do what I love to be able to do and inspire others and hopefully inspire them in a direction where they're chasing their dreams and living a healthier and better life than what they might have lived otherwise. - [Robert] If I met him five years ago, I would probably try to prove that I was good enough, but skiing with the Abma pretty much feels like skiing with the friend. - [Mark] Robert's living the dream.
He made it to Whistler to be able to ski with someone that he looked up to. And so I would only imagine that in five or 10 years, that Robert's gonna have the same opportunity to be able to go out and ski with people that looked up to him. - [Robert] It's crazy how someone you never met can affect the decisions you make in life.
It's a shame that my dad can't see me living this life, still having fun on my skis, which I think was the most important thing for him. I really think that he would be proud. - [Emma] I think all of my influences in my life have had an emotional connection with me.
And I don't know why that is, but yeah, my little brother, my ski coaches, I mean, for me, it's been people who I am very close to. My parents both met in Taos, which is a very kind of out there community. We all love the dirt in the mountains and being outside.
I mean, I would almost call my parents hippies, but not completely. My brother and I were skiing together all the time. He and I pushed each other all through our childhood and we would race each other down Al's Run. JC and I would go lap that together all day, every day. - [Page] I think that Jonclay and Emma have a language about skiing and backcountry at a level that I can't quite relate to.
- We did every category together. We went to every comp together. I always felt that I was following her. And I always saw her skiing as something to look up to and a goal to try and match.
And when she first made the change to big mountain, I totally followed her and I tried to do all the lines she was doing. - [Emma] Skiing, we were definitely competitive. And especially freeride skiing, like, he would go bigger than me. Then I would try to go bigger than him. And then just went from there, yeah. - From the beginning they started winning.
There were podiums left and right. And from then on, it just kept on going. They're both kids that will go big for sure. Go big or go home. - [Announcer] Emma Patterson on course.
Stomping it. - [Spectators] Oooh... Jonclay Patterson, bib number 52 (crowd cheering) - [Announcer] Emma Patterson, she has got a great run going on right now. (crowd cheering) Emma Patterson! (crowd cheering) - [Emma] He and I pushed each other. I've kind of thrived in that scene for a long time. I went to college on an academic scholarship and told myself I wouldn't be competing anymore.
I kind of dabbled in the freeride world qualifier through those couple years, but those were my first couple years in college. So, it wasn't my main focus. Jonclay had some big ski dreams.
He had aspirations and the talent to be a professional skier. When he was 14 years old, he decided to pursue that and moved to Crested Butte, where he was able to ski all the time. Shortly after, he won the North American Junior Freeride Championships. (crowd cheering) (horn blares) Absolutely blew away the field. And the next couple years he was invited to the Junior World Freeride Championships in Austria.
- [Jonclay] Definitely Freeride World Tour was what I was aiming for and I was fully going for it. And then I ended up hurting myself. - [Emma] The day after his last run on the World Championship face in Austria, he was skiing around with his buddies and decided to throw a double backflip.
- Flat light, couldn't tell the difference between sky and ground. Way overshot, over-rotated, landed, in a pretty bad compression. - Broken back, torn discs that will never heal. Those dreams of becoming a professional skier are over, I think. - It hurts, you know? That was such a big part of my life for so long. And the majority of my friends are still doing it.
And I think investing myself in school has been super helpful for that. - [Emma] Number one, thank you so much for giving me your spring break. - Oh, you're welcome. - And I know you're working really, really hard with school and it was a lot for you to get here for the week.
The way that you made me love skiing and the way that you approach everything in your life is extremely inspirational to me. And I wanna thank you so much for what you do in my life. I love you.
- Oh, thank you, Emma. - I love you so much. - I love you, too. - You're the best little big brother in the world (laughs) - That means a lot.
- It's true. - And it's pretty crazy to hear that coming from you, who's gotten so much success in the sport. - Thank you, Jonclay.
- Yeah. - [Announcer] Emma blazed her way through the qualifiers last year. She's got the skills. She's got the bag of tricks and she's got the fire. She's gonna kick her run off here right now.
Neil, Emma Patterson, on course. - [Emma] my career took off for the Freeride World Tour after I won the North American qualifiers. That was really hard for me to go on tour without him. We had always, you know, thrown around the idea of being this brother, sister duo, and just being able to travel the world together and ski, was a dream of ours.
He had a huge say in my going on tour. And a lot of that was for him. And he really supported me and I would call him before every single competition. And I would talk through my line and he would give me his thoughts, and not even consulting with him on what I should ski or what I shouldn't ski, but really just looking for his encouragement in telling me that I could do that. And I could ski those lines.
- I think having somebody that close to me and seeing their success has been incredible. Of course, I'm a little bit jealous, but she absolutely deserves it. She deserves every bit of that success and it's incredible to see, and I'm so proud to see what she's doing and how she's skiing. And I'm very excited to see where she goes with it. I never really had one favourite idol but always several influences.
As I began to make it in the ski world, I started to meet them and some became friends. It's fantastic when you discover your idols and childhood influences are also good people. It's really awesome. I never imagined that I could become a pro skier because my family wasn't in it.
I didn't even think it was possible. But everything happened very very quickly. 'Bon App' was a French freeskiing web series that was a hit for 10 years. Fab and Victor shared their adventures and fun with friends.
They put a video contest on the internet and I was working with my father on the farm but there was an opportunity to enter this video challenge. And so I said, "Come on, I have to try!" 'Generation Bon App' was because we were old. We began to think that with 'Bon App' we had done pretty much everything. And after building this big thing it was cool to search for the people behind us who wanted to do the same. Through 'Bon App', we did the video challenge to let them showcase what they could do and to help them directly access the pro skier life with some budget and equipment.
I made a video, but I did it pretty fast. And then I went on a trip, and while traveling I received an email that I'd won. Then everything went very fast. After my trip I met Victor & Fab, and that was magical. To meet people who you have always dreamed of meeting, at a time when you don't expect it, It's amazing.
— So, do you remember or not? The first episode? — How old were you? I want to know. It was a bit later on. I was maybe 15 years old.
It was when I quit alpine skiing and I started freeskiing with my buddy Mathieu. To be honest I watched the first five seasons. I watched all of them.
I identified with you guys. When you're young, you need to identify yourself with people or things. — I won't look at you the same now that I know I influenced you.
— Yes. Same for me. I really didn't make 'Bon Appétit' with the idea of influencing anyone. The idea was to make 'Bon Appétit' fun. To make something that didn't exist when we started skiing. They didn't know it at the time, but Victor and Fab making 'Bon App' gave me a love of skiing in all conditions. The first time we met in Les Ménuires, it was nice to have all this gear for the first time in my life.
And to meet you. — Did you get starry-eyed Yeah, definitely. — Why? Was it the first time I made fun of you? — Did we live up to your expectations? Yeah. Frankly, I said to myself yeah, those guys are cool.
I've never thanked them but I don't know if I want to. Come on! Thank you! Oh, a big hug! This is such a pain in the butt for you, right? Without 'Generation Bon App', and without Fab and Victor, it's certain that today I wouldn't be making ski movies, and I wouldn't have this life with skiing. That is obvious. In the beginning, there was this aspect with Fab and myself where we were like mentors.
He had everything to learn. And then afterwards, he invited me to be in his film. So clearly, we came full circle.
And finally the student surpasses the master. Gaëtan now has more experience than I do on the great faces of the high mountains, which have become his specialty. It's great. He has made it. Now, we are colleagues.
- [Connor] In Lakota, (daku wakan skan skan) means there's something sacred and mysterious that moves through everything. For the same reason why miracles happen, the seasons change. And so there's just an element of life you can't explain.
And sometimes it's being in the right place at the right time. Sometimes it's being just the right person for the job. And sometimes it's downright luck. I'm Connor Ryan.
I'm born and raised in Boulder, Colorado, but it's more than Boulder, Colorado to me. It's the southwestern edge of the traditional territory of my people, Lakota people. I'm a professional skier, but I think, like, usually when I say that, I put Lakota before that. (sings in Lakota language) It's really my cultural identity that pushed me to become a skier. And I think that's kind of unconventional, but the more I have the opportunity to share with other skiers about it, the more I think the commonality becomes apparent between what Indigenous people understood from spending so much time on the land and what skiers are getting to tap into, spending so much time on the land. When I first skied as a kid, it clicked for me really fast.
I remember being on a black run for the first time and following my dad to dip off through the trees, just a little bit into fresh powder. And that feeling for me just like lit me up. When I was about 10, I was like, the fifth grade year was the last year I got to ski. My dad ended up losing his job that year. It went from like, my dad could take me skiing to like, now we're using food stamps.
It was always kind of this idea that my dad put in my head of like, "Oh, someday I'll get things back right financially and I'll take you skiing again." For the next decade I think I skied two, three times maybe. You know, my mom got divorced again.
My family was going through tough times and in order to just help my family pay rent, kind of fell in with the wrong crowd. There was a time I was driving with one of my best friends and we were driving up past the ski resorts in Colorado. You know, he was like, "Oh man, how would people look at us if we were there? Like, that's not a space for you and me." A few months later, he ended up getting arrested and going to prison. For me, that moment was kind of a wake up call in my life. I saved up my money for the rest of that summer and did everything I could to get a ski pass and a pair of skis, and get up on the mountain.
And it was something I kind of did for both of us. I had a chip on my shoulder and plenty of duct tape on my jacket, and I just wanted to beat these rich guys down the hill. I wanted to prove to them that I belonged there too. And passing them felt like the best way to do it. The next year, a friend sent me a link to this group called Natives Outdoors. They'd made this Instagram post saying "Calling all Native senders and defenders."
And nothing had ever struck me quite like that. Len, the founder got back to me and was like, "Yeah, I'd love to find a way to work with you somehow. Can we go skiing?" One day he shoots me a text like, "Hey, I want you to come ski out by Moab with my friend Cody and I." And I didn't know who his friend Cody was, but okay. Maybe there's some cool skiing up in those mountains and maybe this Cody character will be a cool guy. So we pull up and I go to shake hands with the, you know, people that we're meeting up to ski with.
And I realize that the Cody that Len has been talking about is Cody Townsend, to me, the person who's like the greatest skier in the world. - This like skinny looking dude in a Prius who got stuck in the mud for like an hour. - A little awestruck and ungrounded. - We start skinning out and it was pretty immediate that I realized like, this kid's like really smart and really passionate. - [Connor] And they're like, "Yeah, we're doing this 50 Project thing."
And I was like, "Wait, this is the like, 50 Project? - [Cody] And then we're on the skin track and he starts singing. (sings in Lakota language) It's really beautiful. And it's kind of moving and kind of let some time pass. And I asked him, I was like, "Well, what was that song?" And he is like, "Oh, it's a Lakota tradition of asking for passage in the mountains."
- That's true, but also it's a Hanbleceya song where like the words kind of translate to like, "Creator, help me out. I'm in over my head." - [Cody] And from that moment on, I was like, I want to listen to every word this kid says, because there's a depth of history and a depth of knowledge of these mountains and these places that I don't know about that he might have some answers for. - [Connor] That next fall, when the episode came out, I was like, "Dude, can you mentor me? Like, I don't know what the hell I'm doing, but I wanna do something with skiing." And he kind of paused in this moment and he was like, "I'm gonna help you get into skiing because I think you're gonna make it if I don't."
And I was like, "What do you mean?" He was like, "I don't want you to just make it in spite of me. I don't think there's any stopping you. And I don't want to be one of those guys along the way in your story who's, you know, one of those dudes that was chasing down on the hill." And that to me was maybe the biggest thing he could have ever said.
- [Connor] What's up, man? - How's it going? Good to see you. It's been a minute. - [Connor] For real.
- How was the drive? - [Connor] Pretty good, man. It's been beautiful at least. Yourself? - [Cody] Yeah, a little longer these days. - [Connor] I like to assign so much, purpose to what I do, but there's a part of me that's always like, "Is this actually a native thing to be doing?" You know? - Like just being out here? - Yeah, just skiing as a whole. Native folks, we struggle knowing like what our place is and what our identity should be and things like that. And there's a lot of validation in knowing someone that you idolize the most within the sport can see the things that you see in it.
And so those first signs of like, "Yeah, no, you're not..." - [Cody] Yeah. You're not. - "You're not the only one who feels this way."
That's a really big thing. And being able to speak up in a larger context. - No, that makes sense. I, for me, it was like, "Oh, what I've been feeling has stories that are like 20,000 years old." - [Connor] Right? - [Cody] I always looked at it as not me mentoring him, but feeling like it was gonna be a very reciprocal relationship.
- [Connor] I wanna like, reframe what it means to be a skier. And I know that's kind of like a crazy thing to say in a lot of ways, but for me, I want to see a time where the skiers who get the most attention are not just the ones who charge the hardest or do the most flips or spins or whatever. I want to see a world where the skiers who are celebrated the most are the ones who are doing the most for their community, are doing the most for the mountains themselves, are representatives of who you become spending all this time in these landscapes. - [Cody] When I look at the people that have inspired me in my life, sure, they might have some athletic talents because that was the way that you got to be on the top of the sport. But those people that bring something more, like a Shane, who creates a welcoming, inclusive culture in the way that he approached the sport, that to me was almost the most important part of Shane.
I see that in Conner. Like I see his impact that he's had on me and what I want to do with the rest of my life in this sport. I'm like, if you can multiply this by thousands, you are going to change the sport for a long time. - [Cody] Influence hasn't changed. I think influence keeps passing from one generation to the next.
- [Kathy] She learned things from me that I was never even trying to teach her. - [Mali] It's the strong people in my life that have continued to influence me through my life. - [Connor] I feel like a lot of regular people who really love the mountains and didn't see how they fit in to what they can do to represent their community or stand up for the place that they love, they feel seen when they see me. - [Andrea] You know, she's so strong. She did so many things on her own, but to have a little piece and bit of maybe showing her the potential that she can be, it's spectacular.
That's what I live for. - [Mark] They were more than just great skiers. They were role models and they put a lasting impression on me that made me want to be a better person. - [Alexis] There's probably another kid that I don't know about in Tremblant or somewhere else that's motivated by, let's say, Phil, right now, and might be the one taking on the torch in like five, six, seven years - [Andrea] All of a sudden we have all these little shredder girls. - It just makes me so happy to see that and see what my inspiration, as my ski coach's inspiration, has done and will do for these younger generations of skiers.
- [Cody] The ones that are changing the world for the better, they'll make their mark. They'll leave their legacies and the next generations will take it and run with it.
2022-12-10 11:50
