JW: How does a kid from the TDOT jump to international stardom?
CV: I found that I liked skiing a ton after doing it some at the resort close to me called holiday valley. HV is about an hour away from me. From there I learned tons of tricks every weekend, but I really felt that I needed to ski more than 2 days a week and so did my rents. Even though it was ridiculously expensive, my parents pretty much spent everything they had to make it possible for me to go to a ski high school to pursue what I wanted to do. I can’t even thank them enough for doing that.
JW: Are you still at CVA, or have you moved on?
CV: I’ve definitely moved on. The reason being, some of my teachers were getting pissed off at me for leaving all the time and never going to class. I thought that was complete bullshit. It is a ski academy and I’m there to ski. I didn’t go there to be locked up in a northern boot camp in the middle of nowhere. I also had to live with prep racers that were so different than me, I just couldn’t handle it. Don’t get me wrong, the place has sick ski programs, especially the freeskiing one, which is the best out of all of them. The reason for that is Nate Mckenzie, he’s the best coach you can have for competition skiing and fundamentals.
JW: It’s been a little while since you won Superunknown. Give me a “ before” and “after” description of your life.
CV: the super unknown contest was sick for me. That comp pretty much started my shooting with level 1 and got me hooked up with Spy a couple years ago.
JW: Was the school’s administration at all supportive of your lifestyle changes?
CV: Yes and no, They thought it was cool that we just went out west, but it was hard to keep up with school. So they quickly did not support it.
JW: This winter you chose to participate in the halfpipe event at the FIS World Championships in Finland. With so many athletes shunning that governing body, how hard was your decision to sign up?
CV: So hard, I didn’t even approve of it, but with everything, you have to give it a taste before you disagree.
JW: You took home the bronze medal, which was dope, but it was obvious that there were some notable athletes missing from the event. How did you feel about the group that you were competing against?
CV: Everyone I competed against were my friends, so it was just like a normal comp but with FIS judges at the bottom.
JW: News of your podium finish, as well as Sarah Burke’s gold, got a lot of hype in Canadian mainstream media. People always get stoked on a winner, whether it’s moguls, GS, halfpipe, or ballet. Do you think this newspaper and television coverage helped to legitimize the sport in Canada? Also, has it helped legitimize your career in the eyes of your non-skiing friends and family, compared to, for example, an X-Games medal?
CV: No, nobody knows what I do where I’m from so I would say no. If I won the x games nobody would know either because we don’t get ESPN in Canada unless you have satellite.
JW: How would you relate that type of contest to the X-Games, in terms of media coverage, organization, intensity?
CV: It’s nowhere close to the x games, in my mind it’s such a small event because none of the top guys are there except Jon and the sick French team. Even the coverage is just shown in Europe.
JW: Is your long term goal Olympic gold?
CV: If I get the chance I’m defiantly going for the Gold.
JW: What do you think of the IOC’s ( International Olympic Committee) list of banned substances? Should a skier be stripped of his medal for smoking weed?
CV: They don’t really care about weed but they test you because weed can cover up other things that can enhance your skiing. But, hell no should a skier be stripped of his medal for blazing because 95% of the competition smokes weed anyway.
JW: Is the thought of Olympic success enough to make some skiers quit smoking?
CV: Not to quit, but stop for a while, yes. Anyone can stop to go to the Olympics.
JW: Better yet, would you ever use steroids to enhance your performance at a halfpipe event?
CV: Nah, that’s hard core…..
JW: I’ve also heard that you’re sponsored by a skateboard company. What’s up with that?
CV: No I used to get decks for free, but that’s it.
JW: Will skiers ever be as “ cool” as skaters? I think we’re trying way too hard.
CV: NO, our sport is way to inaccessible. You cant just go skiing, you need snow, mountains, expensive skis, boots, poles, goggles, clothes and then a car to even get to the mountain and finally pay way too much for a pass. Skating, all you need is a skateboard that is why we will never be “as cool.”
JW: Lastly, considering you’re answering these on Berman’s computer, how is Shanghai Six looking?
CV: So good!
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