i fully realize i'm looked up to by a lot of younger kids (i'm a shop-sponsored freeride mountain biker and almost always ride with a few younger kids every day), but i don't push social or religious agendas on them. i just act like i always do. i push myself, i'm hungry to find my limits and then extend them, i swear and get pissed off if i'm riding poorly, i drink beer with the older guys when we break from trailbuilding (i'm 19 and in the states), etc. i realize that these kids look up to me and that i'm a relatively controversial person (one kid's parents won't let him ride with me because i'm a paying member of NORML), but through all the bullshit and riding that goes on, i emphasize one thing- responsibility. that's really all that matters. sure, i'm underage and drinking beer, but i will take full responsibility if i'm caught. i love dropping 10+ feet off a ladder, but if something goes wrong, i'm not going to blame someone else for my poor riding. people are going to do what they're going to do- i just hope that i can help the kids who look up to me be responsible in what they do.
i know i'm looked up to, i appreciate that, but only thing i feel i have the right to teach the kids who look up to me is that they need to be responsible with the things they do. if they want to go to church or whatever, power to them, but taking advantage of my position in their view to spread my social, political, or religious agenda is wrong. they look up to me for my riding, not because i'm a priest. i can try to teach them a few things along the way that pertain to both riding and life, but pushing personal values on them is off limits. i wouldn't want someone pushing stuff like that on my kids, so there's no way i'm going to tell kids what they should think.
if you're using your skiing talent simply to scream about how awesome God is, that's quite a waste of talent.
