TERRY KIDWELL: Rider Profile
Kidwell may not have been the first to do an air on a snowboard, but he was the first to do it right! Had Terry Kidwell not been around during snowboarding’s formative years, racing would have been the only outlet for progression. Instead of trying to touch the sky, riders would have succumbed to a bastardized version of the gate-bashing ski nonsense we all loathe.
Home Mountain: Homewood, Squaw Valley, Alpine Meadows, Northstar at Tahoe and Sierra at Tahoe.
Sponsors: StepChild Snowboards, Sessions, Vans, DaKine and Smith Optics.
Board: StepChild Terry Kidwell Pro Model.
Regular or Goofy: Goofy.
Boot: Vans.
Binding: Burton.
Career Video Credits: This is Snowboarding, Snow Shredders.
Career Contest Results: 4 Time World Champion Halfpipe titles and 3 Time Overall World Champion. 1st place US Open Halfpipe.
Who do you feel is the most influential rider of the last 20 years? Why?
Craig (Kelly) took the sport to a new level of riding when the sport was really starting to get big worldwide. He dominated the contest scene for many years and set the standards which all others would follow. Craig rode with so much style and could rip it up in any situation. He was one of the most focused riders I have ever meet. He set goals and achieved them in all aspects of life. Craig was a great all around rider and a true legend. Craig gets my vote for the best rider of all time. Respect, respect, respect forever.
When did you start riding?
1977.
What was the highlight of your career?
Winning 4 halfpipe World Championships and getting snowboarding’s 1st Pro Model in 1985.
Most memorable session?
Going to Livigno, Italy with Craig Kelly in 1987. The powder was great and the halfpipe was one of the best to date. I won my 4th Halfpipe World Championship. And it was my 1st trip overseas.
When did you realize that snowboarding wasn’t just a fad?
From the first time I made a full run in the powder without falling in 1977. The feeling was amazing and I believed that the sport would be big one day. I guess around 1988, snowboarding was getting really popular and was not just a fad anymore.
What is your take on snowboarding and how far it has come? Did you ever think it would progress to the level it has?
For me snowboarding was not just a sport, it was a lifestyle. Today, snowboarding is everything I dreamed it would become one day. Today’s riders are truly amazing athletes.
Where are your favorite places to snowboard?
Squaw Valley, Northstar at Tahoe, Sierra at Tahoe, Alpine Meadows, Jackson Hole, and Mt Baker.
Which photographers captured your riding best?
Bud Fawcett and Chris Carnel.
Favorite filmmaker to work with?
Defective Films.
Which product innovation had the largest impact on our sport?
Highback Bindings. It changed the way we could ride our boards in all snow
conditions. Combined with the 4X4 hole pattern to let you get the stance that suited your riding style, highbacks changed the sport forever and opened up the sport for better board innovations.
Are the values that our sport was founded on still apparent in the riders today?
Yes.
What do you feel is your legacy in the snowboard world?
Designing snowboarding’s first kick tail to allow switch tricks. Being snowboarding’s first superstar that progressed the sport with a skateboarding style instead of a surf style. From 1984 to 1987 setting the standards which all others would follow.
If you could change one thing about snowboarding today what would it be?
It seems like the original pioneers have been lost in the mix and a lot of the riders today don’t know who helped snowboarding become the sport it is today. Snowboarding is my life and to have sponsors get behind me again to help promote our great sport would be a dream come true.
What has snowboarding taught you?
Just to be myself and snowboard to the best of my abilities all the time. Working with the biggest companies in the industry has taught me to always give my best at anything I am doing in life. Never take anything for granted because things can change fast in your life. What was everything you lived for one day can become a thing of the past the next day. Always keep in contact with your friends and family and do fun things with them because one day you may never get to see them again. Just to be the best you can be everyday no matter what you’re doing.
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