I know a lot of people who aren�t big fans of Simon Dumont. Most of those people don�t know him, and none of them are friends with him, but I�ve still heard them call him every bad name in the book. I�ve known him for quite a while now, and I�m always quick to defend him when people bring the hate. That�s because I feel like I know the real Simon. He�s extremely generous to the people that show him love and respect, and not afraid to be the opposite to those who don�t. He�s upfront, honest and not afraid to tell you what he thinks, and he�s always there for his true friends. Yet, the ongoing yin-and-yang opinion towards him has always made me wonder why a lot of people haven�t seen that side of him. Some might say he�s misunderstood, or that there are actually two sides to him, but I don�t think either are the case. I think it�s because most people haven�t had the opportunity to hear what really thinks, and what really matters to him. Last week, I sat down with him to try to rectify that situation. I didn�t want to interview him about partying or what kind of car he just bought or his rivalry with Tanner, as has been done so many times before. I wanted it to be more of a conversation between two friends about how excited he is about his new company, his thoughts on the future of skiing and how he wants to contribute to it, and how much it would mean to him if he could win a gold medal in the Olympics - Jeff Schmuck
photo: Jeff Schmuck
�So, what�s up with Empire?�
�Well, the best thing is, it�s not just one thing. If I can say anything it�s a more of a company that�s rider-based, rider-owned and rider-influenced. I don�t just want to go out there and make tons of money, obviously that�s the key in the end, but I want make something unique, something cool, and something everybody can be stoked on. I just want to add my own feel to it. I did the logo and I�m pretty psyched on it and now I�m moving into getting product samples. So people will see it soon enough."
�What kind of products are you going to be producing?�
�The products will be endless. I will be starting off with something and from there I want it to go into every field. The possibilities are endless, and that�s one of the reasons I�m starting this company. Let�s say somebody wants to make skis. They�ll make skis and a bunch of t-shirts and stuff, but I want to be able to do more than that, and go in any direction. One year I might say, �Hey, I want to make shoes this year,� and I�m going to make the coolest shoes and put all my effort into it. I think the company is going to take off."
�So you won�t just be focusing on one thing.�
�Exactly. I�m looking at someone like Oakley. They started twenty years ago selling bike grips out of the back of a truck, and now they don�t have bike grips anymore. Since then they�ve done sunglasses, goggles, outerwear, streetwear, shoes, and a bunch of other products, and they just sold for 2.2 billion dollars.�
�Who�s going to be running the show?�
�I�m going to have a big part. My best friend from my hometown who has his business degree and my agent will have a huge part in it as well, and I figured I needed people who are really close to me who I can trust, and my mom works super hard so she�s definitely going to be on board too.�
photo: Jeff Schmuck
�It says a lot about your character to have people you care about and want to give back to you running your company as opposed to stealing an executive-type of guy from say Target or Oakley, which I�m sure you could do.�
"Yeah, and at the same time I want it to be unique. And I feel like an executive guy might go too buy-the-book and say things like, �Yeah, this is what�s cool right now, so let�s do that.� I�m in the industry, I know what�s popular and try to have an idea of what�s cool, and I take everybody�s opinion into account. Jake is in the demographic I�m looking for so his is a good opinion to have, my mom is pretty hip and into things and she�ll do whatever it takes to see this succeed, and Michael (his agent) is in the industry all the time, talking to all the core companies, so I really value his opinion as well. I value everyone�s. Even all the kids on Newschoolers. Yeah, they hate a lot but at the same time they have really good opinions on what�s cool and what�s not. And I do plan on selling outside the ski industry but I want to keep it freeskiing-focused. I want to help give the sport more of an identity and that�s the main reason I started this company.�
�Any plans for a team, or will it just be you for the first year?�
�Nothing�s official but I have three athletes that I know of that are into it and one Euro guy that if I could get, it�s going to be ridiculous team-wise. All in all, I�ve got some good things going on, and I wish I could tell you everything right now but I can�t, because that�s how I want to market the company.�
�Fair enough. So when are products going to be available for sale to the public?�
�I�m getting my first samples in the next few days, so people might actually see what I�m coming with in Switzerland at the Freestyle.ch. All I can say is really soon. Definitely by the fall.�
�It�s just going to be internet sales for the first year right?�
�Yeah, just internet for the first year. I�m planning on doing a lot of limited edition type of stuff, because I think that�s the coolest. When I go into a shop and see something that not many people are going to have, I want it twice as bad.�
�So the shops that want it will have to wait till next year?�
�Yeah, this time next year. Internet sales will be the right way to start things off. Just so people can go on my website (www.empireattire.com) and check out some cool stuff, there�ll be a bunch of content up there and whatnot. It�s going to be sick and I�m super excited.�
photo: Felix Rioux
�There�s a rumor going around that on top of everything else, you�re starting a shop.�
�I actually just bought a commercial building in my hometown and gave my sister all the leeway to open up a store. She�s really into fashion and so I said, �Okay, if you want to open up a clothing store, open a clothing store.� I�ll have the Empire offices in there as well and plan on selling my product in there as well eventually.�
�And what�s up for this winter?�
�Hopefully keep the comp scene rolling and stay in the loop. I want my X-Games medal back real bad. I saw Tanner skiing in New Zealand this summer and it was ridiculous, so I�m pretty excited to compete against him.�
�Speaking of that, in the intro to the halfpipe section in Yeah Dude, it was really nice to hear you say how important it is for you to push the sport in the right direction and how badly you want to see it in the Olympics. A lot of kids haven�t had the opportunity to see that side of you, and they just hate on you and assume you�re in it for the money and call guys like you and Jon sell-outs for riding for companies like Target and J-Lindeberg.�
�That�s ridiculous. Money is important to me because what a lot of kids don�t understand is that when guys like me and Jon are pushing thirty, we might not be making as much money as athletes and we might not even have jobs. I hope that�s not the case but it�s likely that there�ll be seventeen-year-olds doing tricks we helped innovate bigger and better than us and the industry may toss us out in the cold as athletes. So it is important for guys like us to make our money now, but seeing the sport go in the right direction is very, very important to me, and that�s why I want to see halfpipe in the Olympics so bad. And anyone that doubts what the Olympics would do for skiing and says it would be the hugest sell-out just doesn�t know what they�re talking about. Just look at what it�s done for snowboarding and Shaun White.�
�Oh yeah, I forgot that you�re friends with him. What�s his life is like after the Olympics?�
�It�s insane. His whole life has changed. I�ll be in the airport with him and he has to go and hide out in the Delta lounge, otherwise people will maul him. Everyone wants a piece of him, and you know how it goes, once you sign one autograph you�re signing for hours. People that don�t even snowboard know who he is and they all associate snowboarding with him, and that�s because of the Olympics.�
�You know a lot of people don�t realize it, but there is still a chance for this event to happen in 2010 in Vancouver. It�s a small chance, but it�s still a chance.�
�Yeah, it�s dwindling down to almost nothing, but the announcement of halfpipe skiing being put on the Dew Tour is probably the best thing I could think of happening. The Honda Ski Tour is great, but it�s kind of a downer that there�s only two stops this year and that there�s going to be snowboarding in it. I�m going to do both stops, but I�m super stoked on the Dew Tour.�
�Yeah we were talking about that at the office the other day and how sick it is that they�re putting skiing on it. For all the kids out there that don�t know what we�re talking about, the Dew Tour is a pretty damn big action sports event sponsored on by Mountain Dew that�s owned and broadcasted by NBC. Can you give them a little insight as to what�s going to happen with it?�
�The announcement was made pretty recently, so I�m not too sure about the Dew Tour other than it�s official, skiing is on it. But NBC does put it on and that�s a big, big deal. It�ll give a lot more people a little preview of what skiing is all about and what�s going on. And I think there�s enough drama in skiing competition-wise to make it a really attractive show that draws a lot of ratings for the networks and that�ll help with the Olympics.�
�No doubt. You take a look at the X-Games superpipe and how ESPN broadcasts it on Sportscentre, which is a big deal for you guys and for skiing. They estimate that about two million people watch that every year, where as twenty to thirty million people watched the snowboard halfpipe in Torino."
�I know. It�s crazy. So if this whole thing with the Dew Tour goes well, and NBC is really stoked on it, there�s still a chance that they could go to the IOC and say �Hey, skiing halfpipe is huge,� and drop it right into the Olympics.�
�Yeah. A lot of people don�t understand that in some way, it�s the TV networks that truly run the Olympics. The proper protocol for a new event to be put in the Olympics is for the host city to be stoked to make it happen, the governing body of the sport, in our case FIS, to work out a judging system and start the worldwide grassroots circuit, before taking it to the IOC for approval for the Games, who then have to get the thumbs up from the networks that they want to broadcast the sport. It�s a lot of politics. I�ve conversed with a guy who is heavily involved with the organizing of the freestyle events at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver. He was telling me that when they went to the FIS Congress last year in Spain, they pushed for skiing halfpipe because it made more sense to them to have that event than skiercross, because the venue is already going to be there so it wouldn�t cost anything extra, and it was more exciting and targeted the youthful demographic that the Olympics have been losing but are starting to get back with snowboard halfpipe. But at the same time, he said they had to walk the line as the organizing committee, because it was more than obvious that FIS wanted skiercross to happen. He said all the North Americans and the guys from the UK seemed super into halfpipe, but that anytime it was brought up, the Euros wouldn�t even acknowledge the topic and would change the subject right away, and so of course skiercross got approved over us. So the way things stand, it seems like the only way this is going to go down is if the whole chain of command goes in reverse and NBC steps up to the plate and plops a briefcase full of money on the IOC�s desk and says, �We want halfpipe skiing at 2010.��
�Yeah, and let�s pray for it. I�m pretty sure that�s what happened with BMX in Beijing for next year. I don�t think that got approved until recently, and snowboard halfpipe didn�t get approved for the Olympics until over two years before 98.�
�Actually, I think it was more like a year and a half, but I could be wrong.�
�Really? See, that�s what makes me think it could still happen, and I�m definitely going to do everything I can to see it go down.�
photo: Felix Rioux
�What are you going to do personally to try to help the situation?�
"Anything and everything. Go to every halfpipe contest I can, compete the best I can and have as much fun as I can, because it the end that�s what�s most important in skiing. Every interview I do at every halfpipe contest from the X-Games to the Ski Tour I make a point of saying, �This is a push towards the Olympics. This event proves we have a structured event and that that we�ve got our act together and are working as hard as we can.� And I have people in my life from my agent to my sponsors working behind the scenes to help try to make it happen as well.�
�Douglas and I had a good chat about that a year ago and he was telling me that Troy (from Target) was planning on putting together a video of you and others skiing pipe and footage from the X-Games and whatnot to try to show it to Dick Ebersol (the president of NBC Sports) to show him what�s up. Which is pretty dope, considering not many people in the ski industry have the pull to have that sort of a meeting.�
�I�m pretty sure NBC would like to see it go down at this point, but another issue that has to get looked at it before it happens is the whole judging thing with FIS.�
�You know a lot of people talk about the whole FIS thing and what it would take for halfpipe skiing in the Olympics to work, with the judging system and all, and we could have a whole other conversation about just that subject. Although I feel like I know quite a bit I can�t claim to know as much about it as a lot of people. But it seems to me for this to happen, there�s going to be certain sacrifices that will have to be made on the athletes� parts, especially in the area of judging, and it�s possible that a few or a lot of athletes, like yourself or Tanner or Riddle, are going to get screwed hard by judging at FIS contests along the way in order to make this a reality, and for the event to go smoothly when it actually goes down. Are you willing to make that sacrifice?�
�Hell yeah. Because a contest is a contest and it doesn�t matter if FIS is judging it or not, there�s always controversy surrounding judging, and I don�t think I�ve ever been to a competition when someone hasn�t gotten screwed. It�s part of competing. And when it goes down, it�s not going to be random guys judging it, it will be FIS. And that�s okay, but we will all need to work super hard together to try to educate the judges and help them understand that the sport is unique and that�s why people come out to watch it and enjoy it.�
�So if it doesn�t end up happening in 2010, do you think you could still be there in 2014 in Russia?�
�If I could do it, if my body holds up, yes, because an Olympic medal is my top priority. It�s the next thing on my list. I mean, I want my X-Games title back so bad, but if I can get an Olympic medal�I�d trade all my X-Games ones for it.�
totally simon thats nike's approach for sure.
Though without hating on Dumont, it's comments like "obviously the biggest incentive was the prize money" in Yeah Dude that really portray him as being a selfish money grabber.
Now hell, i understand that we've all gotta make a living and that's all sweet, but fuck if i was on the honda ski tour i would be so stoked to be there skiing i wouldn't give a shit about the money...
You can't really call Dumont a sell out just because he competes and rakes in all kinda cash from skiing, it's the same as you or I getting up in the morning and going to work...the difference being we don't get to do exactly what we want like Dumont. There's so few people in the ski industry who actually make money so we immediately hate on someone and call them a sell out when they do...but realisticly, the more money that ends up in the ski industry, the better off we all are.
Halfpipe in the Olympics is a fantastic idea. Its cool for things to remain small and core, but the fact of the matter is that will not create survival for the sport. Skiing would flourish, and there would be so much more money in the sport for athletes and core companies. Parents wouldn't hold you back from participating, mountains could never plow their parks down...
Things just get so much more solid for us by being recognized as a legit sport.
i dont think ive ever heard a worse strategy in my life for a startup than "we're just gonna make whatever i want to! if i wanna make shoes, ill make shoes! yay!"
even if you succeed in completely altering your product line every year without completely broke due to infrastructure modification problems (wont happen) then it'll be impossible for them to keep from alienating people?
i doubt someone will be like "wow, i really liked empire skis and gloves! i think im gonna sit around and wait to see if they make skis and gloves again this year!"
not only will people not be loyal to the brand if they keep shifting their products, but think how pissed people will be if they actually like something Empire makes one year, and then that category of product is never made ever again...
what an irritating plan, that guy's got some real balls to think that people are gonna go along with this bullshit...i dont think im a dumont fan any more
Since Dumont is pretty much the posterboy of halfpipe skiing I'm glad to see he's pushing it in that direction.
i'm afraid of freeskiing getting huge i couldn't care less if we get more exposure. why is that so beneficial? i don't understand. Money? that shouldn't be a motivation at all money can be taken away from you, the love of skiing can't.
seeing that target ad in freeskier mag. made me really sad to see the sport become a part of the corporate. it made me sick
Though, as stated above, Simon´s company wont be round for long. What kind of immature way of thinking is that? Comparing Empire with Oakley. Come on! Get a hold of yourself.
you know what, what am i saying that sounds like a shitty idea. fuck haters.
nice souvenir!!
fuck the euros and hp...they have their HEADS so far up their asses, they think racing is still the only way down the mtn...(except Candide of course...)
aka the man
ya except Jon and Candide are treated like complete rockstars where they're from, even by people who don't ski.
However, if these people who are so stoked about it get their heads together, they create some momentum and get'er'dun. Somebody should start up an anti-olympics event for 2010. Base it at Grouse mountain or the other Van-city one. The sponsors and companies that could potentially benefit most should fund it. SET UP YOUR OWN DAMN HALFPIPE EVENT DURING THE WINTER OLYMPICS in 2010. PUBLICIZE LIKE IT'S THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST...anything NON-olympics will be catchy. DRAW THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE FROM ALL OVER. SHOW THE EXECS WHAT DEMAND THERE IS. If it works, you get a free ticket into 2014. If it doesn't, the sport doesn't warrant being an event, and everyone just chill and go eat some peanut butter.
All I ask is that you now call me the godfather of the event.
Verno, that is an awesome idea, have an anti-olympics halfpipe!
and doug, skiing will survive with or without Olympics. newschooling may change, insurance companies may shut down the sport but skiing will survive, and BC will always be there (until the world melts). The only other problem is FIS and spin to win and the bullshit of no style.
Interesting business plan though with so much diversification of its products..thats generally not too sustainable!
All thes best to him though
i think dumont is a great guy and the fact hes out there doing something to get us in says alot.
nice ryan, nice
Schmuck I like your matt harvey photo at the end!
And great article Schmuck!!!
And oh yeah, he wants to make a bunch of shit. Like tons of shit, all sorts of shit, not even skiing shit necessarily.
Are you looking for investors Simon? Cause this sounds like the greatest company ever!
I hope that skiings in the olympics because skiing can always be amazing. Its just what you make it.
"fuck the Olympics" who cares about the money and exposure ... freeskiing doesnt need the olympics...
verno hahah that made my day..frikkin hilarious.
id probly be there
Terje didn't want to go to the Olympics so he didn't, good for him. Those that did go were all stoked. Someone like Danny Kass now has the opportunity to benefit from both sides of snowboarding, pro events, and FIS comps like the Olympics.
Snowboarding is a great example of how a sport that has a life outside of FIS, can use FIS to their advantage (Olympic opportunity), Freeskiing is in a similar stage, it has a strong life of it's own outside of FIS, so all FIS can do for pipe at this stage, is offer more opportunities for athletes. Those who don't want to do FIS events don't have to.
I'm sick of people like you, who obviously would never have a chance in hell of going to the Olympics, shooting their mouth off trying to shut down the idea for all of those athletes who are actually on top of the sport and want to go.
I don't understand how people on NS could say "I don't want more exposure / more money / more ppl involved in the sport if it becomes a mainstream pro sport"? I mean, I use to be on NS a few years ago, my user number was like 15 000 something. Should I be mad at everyone that registers after me? Think about it for a god damn second! Everyone was stoked when NS had some great opportunities (cause it was going directly to you?) Don't get me wrong, I love NS and I do think it's good that it can grow, but it should just be the same for skiing in general!
Let's say, Seth Morrison, wich I think everyone will agree to say that he has pushed the sport, has been one of the most proefficent skier, one that kinda started all that "pro" aspect of skiing and probably never skied for the money. HOWEVER, I remember sharing ideas with him at some point and he was like "I can't understand how Tanner H. gets so much money. After a trip to AK and the travel money from my sponsors I can barely save up to 10 000$". I'm sure Seth doesn't ski for the money, BUT if he had more maybe he could go in AK, in Europe, South America and just travel everywhere to ski, film, enjoy!
Money is not about being a Sell-Out. I'm def. not a fan of the cockyness and the way I use to see guys like Dumont, T. Hall, Pete O., and all those gangsta kids out there. But you know what, who am I to judge without knowing them PERSONALLY. I've met Pete O. two summers ago at High North and every summer since then, I met Simon this summer and more recently in Montreal at IF3 and T. Hall at IF3 again (I even had to pick him up from the ground to get him in the bar) and you know what, I totally changed my mind about them. They're not as cocky as it might seem. Let's put it this way: they're not affraid of saying what they think and YES they might have a lot of confidence, but doing what they do, the way they do it, it's normal to have a lot of confidence. And even if they're arguably three skiers that can ski to live, I don't think they are skiing in order to raise money and just stop skiing after. Sure they want more money, get some luxury, but it would only help them to ski more (not less).
I already hear ppl calling me a sell-out. I'm not a pro, I probably never will and there's one thing you have to realize. How many skiers are out there, not only freestyle / freeride, but skiers in general? A TON! More than Hockey players. Is there more money involved in Professional Hockey (for North Americans). FOR SURE! How many people are saying "yeah I'm sponsored by Nike/Bauer or Reebok cause I'm just that good in hockey?" Honnestly, it's not common and trust me I've played a high level. Getting more money in the sport doesn't more "randies" getting sponsored. Oakley won't sponsor kids that don't know what they're doing. Big companies, with a lot of money, won't spend it for no reason. Top pros will get more $, sports will get more exposure, progression will just be faster and faster and you guys will just be able to say in 50 years from now "yeah I was part of the small community at that time!"
Props to schmuck.
Props to Simon.
Props to NS.
Props to everyone that skis, no matter if you are a pro, a soul-skier or an online (NS poster) skier!
that was my 2 cents!
I think skiing is fine the way it is people are already making good money look at jon,tanner, dumont, henrick, gurlain ect ect. I dont want skiing to be like snowboarding and to be cool in the mainstream then more kooks like you will do the sport and every one will sell out ride for massive compaies like target that use sweat shop labour to produce shitty good that fall apart for mass production, no hate on dumont he just wants to get paid but in the end. the bigger skiing gets the more people are on the hill the more rules and it will do the same thing freestyle did in the early 80s' crash and burn, history repeats its self... so FUCK FIS and there rules and national teams ...
as far as simon's company goes, i wish him luck because he's gonna need it.
i'm still undecided on olympic hp though. but comps have never really been my cup of tea anyway.
Yeah, that and some last place finishes in big mountain events (that anyone can enter) sure does guarantee that you are a better skier than myself or half the people on here. Because of course there's no chance that any of us came from a high-end competitive background right? If you only knew.....
Anyways, who gives a fuck if YOU think skiing is fine the way it is. You are not someone who would ever have a chance to go to the Olympics so leave the decisions about whether or not it should get in to those people with the skills to go.
But hey, I'm sure if "claiming" was in the Olympics you would have a decent chance....C'mon and back that shit up kid, let's hear some of your results from IFSA tour events....or from any FIS comp bigger than the Hotham Hammer or Abom mogul challenge...
You state that pipe should not be in the Olympics because we need to "learn from our history, the FIS killed moguls and freestyle".
You also state that pipe should not be in the Olympics because you don't want it to "be like snowboarding and be cool and in the mainstream"
So, the premise of your brilliant argument against the Olympics is that it will.... "kill the sport" and "make it cool and mainstream".
Sorry if I'm the only one who finds that to be an impossible contradiction....
Aussiepimp and tride... guys maybe take this bitching to PM's? I think you guys both have decent opinions, but you're just making it a flame war...
man we need like a flame war place where people vote on it. lol...
The people at the top of our sport are no different from anyone else.
Given the same chances/ability everyone whould make the same moves as these guys!
Good luck to em and keep pushing this SICK sport!!!
Seriously, when the nail is in the coffin for a 2010 OLY pipe event, you Vancouverites go up to Grouse/Cypress and take a well-written business plan. Getting sponsors is no prob for an event like this, because they're totally there already, but are getting very little exposure compared to the Cokes, Nokias and Samsungs of the world. Ya, unfortunately, you won't be able to get people like Mikey Douglas involved (I'm sure he's paid to pump Whistler Only), but you can get many other big names to come out and participate and pump the event. Every athlete would rather come to VAN for the olympics rather than watch it from hom. If I was in Van, I'd set up this event for sure. I'd charge $10 (incl. parking) to get some of the tourist cash there. Set up a hot dog stand selling $6 red hots and $4 cokes and call it a day. A pipe event would be the highlight of peoples' week. Freeskiing will thank you for it. Seriously. Someone champion this idea and get on it. Who's a big sponsored name based outta Vancouver?...or even Whistler, but not tied to Whistler? This is going to take the biggest names in the world to come together, but if LINE, K2, Solly, etc. get together, it'll get done. Those companies stand to prosper the most, and they know it, so they'll pitch in for an anti-oly event that's raising the stature of the sports that are their bread and butter.
If and when skiing is officially uninvited to the 2010 olympics, the best way to prove the mistake is by having the most legitimate skiing pipe comp at the same time, right in their backyard. In order for it work it would have to be planned very professionally and marketed extremely well. At the same time as boosting moral among halfpipe skiers and proving how big a deal halfpipe skiing is, it would also feel kinda like a union strike rally or something
im sure they would help you get your stuff out there
its more complicated and more harder than that start a compagny
tk
did you know in japan sony has so many different products that they dominate nearly every industry? they make everything from womens underwear to electric blankets to the tvs and video games we love here in the US. but a few years back they started to get major hate from the japanese people cuz their brand had oversaturated the marketplace.
im not ragging on dumont or his company, but i think he should think about what his products are going to represent before "going into every field."
plus he's really fucking hott
hes the shit yo
As for this Dumont idea, heck, man, it's worth a shot. Everyone knows that every business has like a 15% chance of succeeding. It's tough & you gotta want it BAD.
To all the haters, whether you like Dumont or not (I don't know him...but I don't like his image), it's way too easy to jump on the "Crap-Idea bandwaggon" cuz there's an 85% chance his idea tanks in the end. He's a skier just like you and I. Support the guy....if not with funding & purchases then with moral support.
Fuck, I hate haters. All you hater emo punks just oughtta get it over with: Get the Bitter Old Person tattoo on your ass now; don't wait for 70.
Hahahahha... thats some funny ass shit! You got a point man, how come we complain about the older people in skiing being too "stiff" yet we decimate one of our own for trying to do something new?
It's rampant in free skiing. I don't get it. It's like sitting at the top of a booter and laughing and pointing at a dude who just tried an S-rail for the first time and ate it hard....yet, you're at the top on your ass too chicken to hit the 'S' on your own. It's easy to point and make fun boyz, it's the one's who sack up and try shit (win or lose) that end up ahead. Whether Dumont has a good idea about business right now is irrelevant. At the end of this all, though, he'll know more than all you scared haters ever will. I give him props for trying.
I dont think to many people want skiing to go where shawn white brought snowboarding... olympics is a baddd idea for skiing
Welcome to politics Simon. The IOC like the UN is in the end affected by national votes not money. People in Alpine countries vote, they want their sports they win at to be in, governments set up their national olympic reps, they are political appointees, they vote accordingly.
NBC putting money in is great, and it might make some third world countries smell money and vote this way or that, but for the rest of the world the end game is "will i still get elected if "our" sport drops out of the Olympics (especially if it is replaced by a sport the USA lead with).
Yet i am still optimistic that freeski halfpipe will be in the 2014 Olympics, the IOC has been discredited for all time by the corruption charges of a few years back and the London 2012 (summer) Olympics plans to introduce more extreme sports including (in discussion) skate boarding, it will open the door.
And good interview as well, too bad some people didn't read the part where it talks about all the haters.
Any way, I think the olympics are a good thing, it might screw pipe skiing faster than without it but, let's be serious, there is a limit to how high and how many spins you can do in a pipe, and I think we are getting close to it as it is...
As for the compagny, might as well try it now while he's still making money from skiing, no point trying it later when he doesn't have his name to back it up and he doesn't have the money from the comps to back it up...
And good for him to be a sell out, if I could sell out like he does... meaning skiing year round in every country and doing what I want all the time, wich is what I do pretty much, but without the money being a problem, well there is no doubt I would put a big target on my skis.
That's my point, a bit long but well, it's no short topic anyway.
It you take skiing out of your interest/activity sector put it into your career sector. . .clearly you must want money, who works for free thats not volunteer work. Given the fact he is giving back in someway or another, hes not selfish.
Pushing for skiing in the olympics is big. Its not selling out in any shape or anyway. And olympics is not about money. Its about competing on a international scale and showing the world what you can do.
we skiers are elite.
but the name Empire.. is kinda played.
in my opinion it's a good thing if pipe will make the olympics. it's an opportunity for the sport to become more known and in this way getting more resources.
nice interview and keep on going Simon.
pushing our sport into the olympics will put it in the public eye, but face it, do we really want all that? freeskiing is a community that you actually have to get out there an participate in, not something you watch on the telly once every few years. i don't think that's really the direction we want to move in.