Born
in Vail, Colorado, I learned to ski at a very early
age and have been involved in winter sports my whole
life. I moved with my family to Bend, Oregon in 1976,
and began snowboarding in Moon Boots, of which the
flex was determined by the number of wraps of duck
tape. I eventually evolved to Sorrels!
Growing up in Bend in the early years was the best.
Riding powder with my friends and having fun were
top priority. It's funny, that's still top priority!
Mt. Bachelor was a mecca for shredders in the early
years. I grew up chasing guys like John Caulkins,
Kris Jamieson, Chris Karol, Mike Ranquet, Todd Van
Belkum and Craig Kelly.
I began competitive snowboard racing as a junior in
the amateur ranks. Meeting with success at local events,
I moved on to participation in the Northwest Race
Series, where I won the majority of events, along
with my friend Tad Dobson, and was the Northwest Series
Overall Champion two years running.
In
the early years, of competitive snowboard competition,
boarders took part in all of the events which included
giant slalom, halfpipe, moguls, and slalom. Because
of the huge amounts of snow in the Northwest when
I was growing up, most of the alpine events (G.S.
and S.L.) ended up being banked slaloms, which were
a lot of fun. One of my favorite events was the famed
Mt. Baker Banked Slalom, which I won three times as
a junior/amateur. I think competing in all of the
disciplines early on in my snowboarding career really
helped me develop as a strong, all-around rider.
My
first big competition was the North American
Championship at Sunshine Village, Banff, Canada
where I placed second in the junior halfpipe
competition on my Sims Terry Kidwell. That spring
I traveled to Stratton, Vermont for my first
U.S. Open and finished second in the mogul event
to J.J. Collier and second in the slalom. Jeff
Brushie beat me by two seconds in the slalom.
At Snow Valley, California in 1989 I was named
the U.S.A.S.A. National Amateur Champion in
Slalom and Super-G. Shortly after I began competing
professionally on the P.S.T.A. Tour, as a sixteen
year old high school sophomore, and claimed
my first tour victory at Hunter Mountain, New
York, winning a check for $4,000. In 1991 I
became a full-time professional, and participated
in my first World Cup event in Garmish, Germany
finishing eighth in slalom.
This season marks my eleventh year on the World
Cup circuit. In that time I have had four World
Cup victories, three Grand Prix wins, five National
titles, a U.S. Open Victory and a sixth place
in the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano Japan.
I have had a unique opportunity of being a part
of snowboarding's evolution from wooden boards
with bungee strap bindings, and leashes that
extended from the tip of the board to your front
hand, to state-of-the-art equipment, and the
arrival of snowboarding competition in the Olympic
Games. Through all of this change, I still love
to snowboard. This is why I continue to do it!
I have been so fortunate to have met the best
of people in this sport, and to enjoy together
the best sport!"
Born
in Vail, Colorado, I learned to ski at a very early
age and have been involved in winter sports my whole
life. I moved with my family to Bend, Oregon in 1976,
and began snowboarding in Moon Boots, of which the
flex was determined by the number of wraps of duck
tape. I eventually evolved to Sorrels! 
In
the early years, of competitive snowboard competition,
boarders took part in all of the events which included
giant slalom, halfpipe, moguls, and slalom. Because
of the huge amounts of snow in the Northwest when
I was growing up, most of the alpine events (G.S.
and S.L.) ended up being banked slaloms, which were
a lot of fun. One of my favorite events was the famed
Mt. Baker Banked Slalom, which I won three times as
a junior/amateur. I think competing in all of the
disciplines early on in my snowboarding career really
helped me develop as a strong, all-around rider.
My
first big competition was the North American
Championship at Sunshine Village, Banff, Canada
where I placed second in the junior halfpipe
competition on my Sims Terry Kidwell. That spring
I traveled to Stratton, Vermont for my first
U.S. Open and finished second in the mogul event
to J.J. Collier and second in the slalom. Jeff
Brushie beat me by two seconds in the slalom.
At Snow Valley, California in 1989 I was named
the U.S.A.S.A. National Amateur Champion in
Slalom and Super-G. Shortly after I began competing
professionally on the P.S.T.A. Tour, as a sixteen
year old high school sophomore, and claimed
my first tour victory at Hunter Mountain, New
York, winning a check for $4,000. In 1991 I
became a full-time professional, and participated
in my first World Cup event in Garmish, Germany
finishing eighth in slalom. 