Jake Carney – Surviving as an Am

Jake Carney, this time last year that name would probably not mean much too you but that all changed on December 1st 2015, when Simple dropped Deadkind. Not often does one edit get so much attention, well unless you're Candide of course, but Deadkind was an instant classic and introduced the world to the skiing of Jake. I've known Jake for a while now and I have been trying to get an article out featuring him for a long time but with the followup success of Simple's Sovereign this past Monday, I thought it was finally time for you to all get to know Jake a little better.

About this time last year I had the idea for a series of articles featuring up and coming riders, who Newschoolers should know about. I asked around town who I should feature and one name kept popping up, Jake Carney. Pretty much everyone I spoke to said Jake was someone to keep an eye on and would be perfect for the article.

Unfortunately that series of articles never happened but I kept in contact with Jake and we have been trying to get this article out for almost 5 months. I admit it's all on me, other work commitments have meant I've not had much time for writing but if anything I actually think in this case that will only be a good thing. For articles like the Pro Rider Setup's I did last year, although I knew most of the guys I really only spent maybe 1 hour max with them getting info for the article. This is not the case with Jake, over the season I have seen Jake a lot and that is in no small part down to just how rough he is on his gear, more about that later, and it's been really cool to see how Jake has progressed. I finally sat down with Jake this week to discuss how his season has been going and what we can be looking forward to in the future.

Originally from Squarmish, Jake's has been living in Whistler since he was 17, and he has really been making the most of it. Despite having no sponsors, Jake has been working just as hard on his skiing as anyone. Being an AM is very different from being on a team. Break a pair of skis and a new pair don't magically appear, and unfortunately for Jake he is harder on gear then probably any one I know. This season alone he has broken five pairs of skis... five! Going through that many skis is obviously not cheap but Jake has at least been getting help along the way.

Jake started the season on a setup which may be familiar to some of you, yes that is Edollo's old setup. Jake met Henrik in Australia last summer and Henrik gave him two pairs of his old skis and bindings and even his old Full Tilts. Hookups like this is really what has kept Jake on snow this season, and luckily he has been helped by quite a few people along the way, something I really like to see in the ski industry.

Just some of Jake's broken gear.

Riding used skis is never ideal though, especially for someone as hard on gear as Jake, but getting cheap deals on new gear can be hard but luckily not impossible. Some of you may have seen that Ninthward are back and Jake was lucky enough to get some fresh new skis and I was interested to know how that came about.

Jake: Conman (Connor Warnock) was my way in, he used to ride for them way back in the day so when they started back up he jumped right on board. He shot them an edit of mine, and I guess they were into it. I'm really happy with the skis.. Hopefully they hold up for the rest of the season though haha. But honestly some of the raddest skis I've ridden, I'm really stoked to see what they do in years to come.

The new skis look really nice and luckily for me, Jake has said I can take the skis out for a test, so look out for a full review coming soon. But even with cheap deals you still need money so I asked Jake where he has been working this season.

Jake: I've had 2 jobs for most of the season. My full-time job is at the Brewhouse, slanging zas, and I was working at the landfill just out of town running a loader and pushing garbage around. I also work the fire and ice show a couple times a month, but I wouldn't really consider that work.

His Granddad owns the garbage collection company that operates in Whistler and Jake started the season off working there to pay his way. That is real commitment to skiing, working as a garbage man is probably not many peoples dream job but if it meant Jake could ski, he did it. It's not all bad though, Jake actually found a new pair of Salomon Guardian bindings at the dump, so hey do the shitty jobs and sometimes you get rewarded.

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It's not just Jakes skiing skills which are on point

If there is one thing that has really helped Jake this season, it's Deadkind. The response he got from it was amazing and you can see it has clearly given him the confidence to go even harder, but how did it all come together?

Jake: I didn't really know Ryan too well before this season, just seen him around a bit. He messaged me in November asking if I wanted to do some filming, all the homies he normally shot with were in CO. I agreed and we met up for an afternoon, and like a day or two later he sent me Deadkind haha. He's a real rad dude though, super talented and dedicated, I'm stoked on everything he's done so far and am exited to start our next little project.

Jake Flying above Jarrad McCarl. Photo Jarred Martin

It's worth noting that we did this interview after Sovereign was released so by the sounds of it there is more to come from Jake and Simple. Hopefully they are planning on finishing the season in a big way, and judging by the snow in whistler right now we could be in for a long one, which is good news for everyone. So what can we look forward to from Jake?

Jake: I'm headed down to Breck tomorrow for a couple of weeks, just to get out of the bubble and breathe some fresh air. I'll be in Whistler all spring and maybe head to west coast sessions if I can get the time off work haha, then hopefully heading down to Aus for their season.

Tom: Any goals for the rest of the season?

Jake: I don't really have any crazy goals, but mainly put out some good quality content, ski as much as possible, and have fun doing it haha.

"Have fun doing it" that sums up Jake very well. I have seen Jake quite a bit this season and he is always in a good mood, even if he has a brutal hangover and has been skiing in the rain he is still smiling. He may not have the latest gear of even any real outerwear but Jake is making the most of every day and most of all having fun doing it.

Ski hard, play hard.

Hopefully a few years from now Jake won't have to be working to ski so much. His skiing speaks for itself and his attitude will help him go along way, so hopefully this is just the beginnings of what Jake has to come, but enough serious stuff, now for the important questions.

Tom: Favorite movie? (Hollywood and Ski)

Jake: Pulp Fiction and All I Can.

Tom: Favorite Album?

Jake: Dark Side of the Moon.

Tom: Favorite post riding food?

Jake: Sushi.

Tom: Favorite tricks? (Rail and Jumps)

Jake: Sw lip to Sw and Zero spin.

Tom: Whistler or Blackcomb?

Jake: Whistler after a big night out, Blackcomb every other day.

Tom: Any final shoutouts?

Jake: Shoutouts to Ninthward, One T Apparel, Oyuki and all the homies.