If you’ve seen the cult classic movie, “Fight Club”, then you are already familiar with some themes the characters embrace –
- A routine opportunity to fight recreationally (think: physical outlet for competitive efforts)
- A chance to break out of the mundane, humdrum life and have ‘real living experiences’ (beyond just being a consumer that lacks a soul, that’s part of a soft and lazy culture)
- Development of strong bonds and camaraderie built through intense competition
In addition, there were generally two reactions to learning about Fight Club and/or interacting with one of its members:
- After watching one (fight) you want to join in
- Confusion from co-workers and colleagues as to exactly what it is they were doing (and why) on the weekend/nights
In a nutshell, before they spun out of control as a large anti-establishment group, the Fight Club members would participate in an activity that people outside of the club did not understand or even knew existed (remember the first rule of F.C.?), and then would show up for work on Monday or return to their families with a few bumps, cuts and bruises which would add to the confusion of their coworkers and friends who wondered what the heck they were up to.
Imagine this discussion in a typical office break room:
Carl: “So what did you do this weekend?” – Grabs a powdered donut.
SBX/SX Athlete: “I had 2 Boardercross races in the mountains.” – Fills up their coffee cup.
Carl: “You did what…what’s that?” – Munches on a donut dribbling some powdered sugar on his tie.
SBX/SX Athlete: “It’s snowboard racing” – Takes a sip of coffee.
Carl: “Wow, how long have you been doing that?” – Tries to dust off the powdered sugar.
SBX/SX Athlete: “4 Years.”
Carl: “That sounds dangerous.”
SBX/SX Athlete: “It’s fun and yes, there is some risk of injury, but that’s not something you really think about.” – Sips some coffee.
Carl: “So is that why you do all your gym stuff?” – Now somewhat embarrassed to be eating a donut.
SBX/SX Athlete: “Yep, you got it.”
Carl: “Ok, got to get back to my spreadsheets.”
SBX/SX Athlete: “Talk to you later Carl.”
Other than the fact that the athlete broke the first 2 rules of “Fight Club” (by talking about the weekend activities), and that I’ve substituted our SBX/SX athlete for a “Fight Club” member in the dialogue, that scene could have been right out of the movie. And it’s not too far off from what conversations on chairlifts, in offices, at school, etc. about our racing activities are like. It’s often difficult for observers to understand why we put so much effort, time and funds into racing and risk injury every time we line up at the starting gate.
Unfortunately the media hasn’t really helped foster better understanding of our sports by describing Boardercross (and Skicross) as the NASCAR of snowsports – this analogy is completely wrong by the way – and I can offer up a few sports that make for a much more accurate comparison (read more about this topic on a previous post). Even though these sports are, and have been in the Olympics since 2006 (SBX) and 2010 (SX), most people are not totally clear on what races are like and know even less about the athletes who compete in each discipline.
In fact, you might work or go to school right along side an athlete and not even know it… unless of course they show up on Monday morning with crutches or have to call off work due to a concussion they sustained over the weekend. Their racing pursuits are often unknown to others, or at best, their efforts to train and travel to races is a real head scratcher to ‘normal people’.
Consider that traveling to, preparing for, and equipping yourself for racing is an expensive and time consuming endeavor. Many pro and almost all amateur athletes have real jobs outside of the sport as they have to support themselves and their passion (they do not receive enough from sponsors, etc. to just be full-time racers). They regularly take off for a weekend (or a week or more in the case of Professional Level Athletes) full of racing, returning to the office, or job site bright and early on Monday morning.
I’ve listed a few pro and amateur athletes and what their real life jobs are. For some I’ve also included a few of their injuries and reasons for participating in racing:
US Boardercross B Team member Jonathan Cheever is a plumber in the off-seasons. Here he is in recent action at the X-Games.
He’s also a big part of the drive behind “SBX the Movie”, a documentary detailing the SBX scene and it’s athletes. Check out the movie trailer below:
If you’re not familiar with Boardercross, you probably won’t recognize anyone in the movie trailer (even the Olympic medalists). But if you participate in the sport, you recognize everyone and even know some personally.
John Teller, US Ski Cross Team member is an auto mechanic for the family business in Mammoth Lakes, CA and was the only SX competitor to represent the US at the Sochi Olympics. You can read an interview with him here. And check out his Vimeo Page.
Boardercross Pro, Nick Langkamp (Langkamp Racing) runs his own full-time, stone installation business, Premier Stone Installations. Injury list: broken wrist, concussions, shoulder surgery, broken ribs, knee ligament damage, ankle injuries, broken back.
Clients who research his name find out about his racing which sparks conversation about snowboarding. Most think it’s cool but don’t really know what SBX racing is all about. His employees and co-workers are extremely supportive; including helping the cause with donations and other aid and think that what he’s doing is awesome.
Ale Hakala, known to her work colleagues as a Research Scientist (Geochemist) for the U.S. Department of Energy, is also, at age 33, the current USASA Nationals Boardercross Champion in the Womens’ Masters Division (DaybreakCarve.com). Over the past few years, she’s also collected nearly 20 regional Gold Medals and a Nationals Silver Medal. Injury list: broken wrist, bruised tailbone, broken shoulder, knee tendon damage and a previous severe neck injury (prior to racing).
A desire to have a focus for riding and being inspired by watching Boardercross during the X-Games are what brought Ale to the sport. “The more I ride and race, and the faster I’m able to push myself while maintaining control of my body and board, results in one of the purest feelings of freedom that I’ve ever felt.”
“When I started racing, most people thought that all of competitive snowboarding involved a halfpipe.” Since starting racing in 2011, her friends and family have learned more about SBX and are extremely supportive of her efforts. In fact, her husband, Nick, even tried out a few races last year.
Anike Vanagas, in her 2nd full season of Boardercross Racing is a 21 year old, full-time Student from Canada. She’s been a multi-sport athlete her whole life and was excited to turn her favorite hobby into a competition. “I love racing down a different course every time and experience that adrenaline rush when you’re at the starting gates…”
She says that all her friends think SBX is such a sick sport and love to hear about all the places she’s traveled and how the races went. “I’ve never had as much support for a sport in my whole life.” Most of her friends are jealous that she gets to go snowboarding so much every year. Anike scored a Bronze Medal in 2014 at USASA Nationals in the Womens’ Jams Division.
So far we’ve got plumber, mechanic, home interior renovation specialist, scientist, student, how about adding insurance program developer and dentist?
Brad O’Neill, CEO at Golden Bee Advisors and Shawn O’Berry, Co-Owner of Smiles By Design, are Boardercross Competitors in the USASA Rocky Mountain Series, Mens’ Legend Division. Though both are in their 40’s, they’ve been riding since a young age (for them and snowboarding, ha!). Shawn got started racing “because the course just looked so dang fun!”
Both guys like the challenge of riding the course and feel the fun factor gets amped up when you have the added element of racing against a group of riders.
“Some people think it’s more violent than it really is – like a street brawl going down the slopes…but what I’ve found is that there is a lot of respect between riders and no one wants to see anyone get hurt…we’re there to push each other to do our best.”
So do our racing efforts line up with the movie themes listed earlier? Decide for yourself:
– Racing provides a regular opportunity to participate in intense competition. Preparing for racing (gym training, practice, etc.) and striving to be better each race gives an added focus to daily activities and SBX/SX athletes seem to have a certain passion for living that others may lack.
Photo VAST::vastaction.com
– Not that skiing or snowboarding at a resort is boring, but riding over challenging man-made obstacles at high speed and fighting to cross the finish line first are things you can not experience outside the race course. Most people’s reaction to riding through a course for the first time is “That was awesome, I want to go do that again!” It is almost impossible to recreate those sensations and experience the emotions and overall challenge of racing through activities beyond the sport. You’ve actually got to do it to know what it’s like.
– It’s typical for racers to high-five, or hug/give pats on the back, etc. and congratulate each other in the finish corral right after a race where they were just trying to beat each other through the course. Racers often share travel and lodging space with their competitors and the racing community is like a big extended family. At events you regularly witness coaches, competitors and families rooting for the success of their fellow athletes and colleagues. Does everyone want to win? Yes, but other athletes performing better means an individual’s efforts must be elevated to compete at the same or higher level.
**Quick point of clarification, though injuries and collisions do happen, they are not the result of intentional efforts to harm fellow competitors. Everyone wants to get across the finish line first and uninjured, otherwise they can’t continue racing or go back to work on Monday!**
Are you looking for something to train for, to provide more meaning to your snow sliding existence? Do you want to be part of a ‘semi-underground’ community that participates in regular, intense competitive activities? Would you like to fly down a racecourse all to the amazement and awe of chairlift riders passing by overhead? If your answer is yes, sign up for a local USASA SBX or SX Race in your region and see what it’s like – then you too can be part of the “Fight Club on snow”.
—Jeff Brier
