Life as Levac

At the age of 24, Priscilla Levac has already spent the past few years raising the bar for female riders everywhere. Last season the French-Canadian wonder won the Slopestyle at the U.S. Open, placed first at SG’s Queen of the Mountain competition, took second at both the Vail Sessions and the Roxy Jam and was named Snowboarder’s Female Snowboarder of the Year. In February, Levac and Drake Snowboard Bindings debuted the first female Pro Model binding. Watch her part in Kidsknow Productions’ Love/Hate and you’ll understand why Mikey Leblanc and other riders compare her style to Mark Frank Montoya—a compliment that she's hesitant to accept. Levac’s riding style, defined by composure and authority, coupled with her quiet and unassuming nature, make Prescilla one of the raddest girls in snowboarding today.

We caught up with Priscilla from a hotel room in Colorado (she had to call back with a calling card because of a $1400 cell phone bill)…

I have to ask...how the hell did you get a $1400 phone bill?

You know what, it's not even from talking too much, it's from choosing the wrong plan. I have a Canadian cell phone and all this stuff is so confusing to me. I called AT&T and told them what I was doing and they just told me the wrong plan. I didn't have many US minutes and they ended up being $4 a minute. I almost cried, I don't even use it that much!

Fair enough. So, how's this season going?

So far it's been a slow start for me, as far as filming and shooting photos. I did well in the Roxy Jam, second place, but other than that I haven't been doing too well in contests. I started filming a couple of weeks ago and that's all coming together now. I've been in Mammoth since November because it's been bad [snow] in Whistler. I went to Tahoe for a little and now I've been in Salt Lake with my brand new Snowmobile! It's been really fun and hopefully I'll get a lot done in the next few weeks. And, I'm healthy!

Last season you blew up the competition scene. How would you say that your competition results compare to your part in Love/Hate (Kidsknow Productions), as far as opening doors for you?

Definitely the video part has opened more doors because I was pretty much the only girl who had a video part and it was a sick video. I think I gained a lot of respect in the industry for doing that. It's what I'm most proud of for sure. As far as contests, the Open was really big. I'm stoked when I do really well at a contest because it's really good money, but I don't think I get nearly as much recognition as with the video part.

What do you think of Love/Hate as a whole?

I think the movie is a lot of fun to watch. It's really entertaining and has good music but I have to admit that I think there are a lot of handrails. I would say that a lot of people think that as well. I'd like to see more backcountry stuff for sure but it's still one of my favorite movies to watch especially since I know all the guys. We had a lot of fun filming it but next year we're going to focus a lot more on backcountry so it should be really REALLY good.

How much influence did you have on the filming locations or the editing?

< i>I chose what I wanted to hit but I didn't have anything to do with the editing or the music or the shots that were included. I had 100% trust in them to make it something I would be proud of. I know they're really strict on what they have in their movies. It was a little frustrating at first but I just put my trust in them and it worked out well. I'm really happy how it turned out.

You've described yourself as an over-thinker. Tell me about stepping to the double kink or that goal post rail.

The kind was the gnarliest thing I've ever done. It was totally a mind game. When I'm about to drop into something really scary where people are waiting for me and it's really important I kind of turn of my brain and say "Screw it. If I die, I die. If I don't, good." Then I accept to take the risk and just kind of go. I just stop thinking, which is what I need to do. Just say "dropping and 3,2,1" and go. You can't wait up there.

Did you get the double kink on your first try?

Third try. I ate a lot of shit on the first two tries!I think a lot of times people don't really realize—everything looks so easy and smooth when you see a perfect video part. When you see someone falling really hard before they get their shot it puts it in perspective. Otherwise it looks so easy and it's really not, it is scary and there are real consequences, so when people see that it makes the shots seem more worthy.

Before the stage when you just have to say “screw it” and go for it, do you tend to visualize?

I always picture the worst-case scenario and see how bad I can get hurt [laughs]. I visualize my trick but I get freaked out how bad I can get hurt, I think about that a lot.

I've remember a quote from Mikey [Leblanc] that says he does the exact same thing.

I thought I was crazy to do that because it's obviously not a good thing to do. But I guess it's pretty normal you just have to be able to see yourself land it too.

You said last year that one of your goals for this season was to do less negative thinking and be less critical of yourself. Are you achieving your goal?

It's harder than I thought. I think right now I'm in a really good mental state. I've worked hard to be more of a positive thinker and to see myself stomp instead of getting hurt. Only just recently have I been starting to feel it. At the beginning of the year I wasn't doing that well with it. It's just mind-games all the time and it comes down to practice. It's taken longer than I thought but it's finally starting to work. I'm sorry, I'm trying to explain [in English] but it's hard for me, I'm French Canadian.

So you didn't grow up in a bilingual family or learning English? I wouldn't have been able to tell.

No, I didn't learn English till I moved out West. I think I was 15. I didn't speak a word of English when I moved to Whistler and no one spoke French so I didn't have a choice. I had to get a job and learn the hard way since there was no one there to help me. I learned really fast.

You moved from Quebec to Whistler, but not for snowboarding?

Right, I started riding in Quebec when I was about 14, right before I went to Whistler, but I didn't really learn until I was in Whistler. My aunt lived there and when my mom went to visit her she fell in love with Whistler. My mom bought me a plane ticket to see how it was and after that I didn't' want to go back to Quebec. Basically we sold the house and moved a year later. But we only stayed for a year. We had to go back to Quebec so that I could finish school. I tried to do correspondence classes but it's too hard especially in Whistler.