Current Issue - Ross Powers Interview

Ross Powers makes more money, rages harder and pulls more chicks then virtually every other pro snowboarder out there. And he was doing this before he won the gold in Salt Lake. How can such an industry afterthought as Ross Powers, the pipe jock, be such a player? Hell, Ross was even referred to by one of his team managers as being nothing more than a, "hero to the weekend warriors." So, while our whole industry was writing Ross off as a straight-laced do-gooder, he was quietly going about his business, riding hard, partying harder and enjoying the spoils of victory well outside of our media's scope. This nice guy was finishing first on and off the slope while the Mack Dawg's of the world kept things moving and shakin' by focusing in on the Kevin Jones's of our sport. Meanwhile everyone else sat around waiting for the anointed one, Haakanson, to come out of his cave du jour and grace the halfpipe devotees with his fleeting presence. By just riding and biding his time Ross, wasn't making any waves or conjuring up an image that would give him "core" credibility. There weren't any doo-rags, dyed hair, hesh mulletts, tattoos etc... Well in the post-SLC golden world of Ross Powers, not much has changed and everything has changed. He is still the same "aw-shucks" Vermont country boy; mild mannered, soft spoken, polite and respectful, that got a free pass to Bromley because his mom worked there. He is also still the same wide-eyed grom that couldn't believe his luck when multi-time U.S. Open Champion Andy Coghlan gave him gloves. He pays tribute to this memory by holding snowboard camps for local Stratton kids. He is also still the same good friend to guys like Adam Petraska and Charlie Cavanaugh whom he started riding with on the Green Mountain Series. And he is still the same talented park rider that beat Peter Line and Todd Richards with switch backside sevens and various corkscrew spins to win the 1998 X-Games Slopestyle title.

Yet a lot has changed. Ross has gone from living very comfortably off of a mid-six figure income to entering a dead heat with Shaun White to see who will be the first pro rider to break snowboardings' million-dollars-a-year income barrier. Ross has been featured in national publications like Sports Illustrated and USA Today. He has appeared on David Letterman, The Today Show, The Weakest Link and The Best Damn Sports Show, met the president a few times and signed tens of thousands of autographs for adoring fans. Many of these followers have never even seen snow firsthand.

Now Ross's little world of anonymity has been revealed and millions of people somehow feel entitled to a piece of him. Keep in mind that being the best snowboarder in the world has driven three of our sports' greatest into self-imposed exiles. Where are Haaken, Lynn and Kelly now? If the pressures our sport placed on these three icons made them retreat how could this avalanche of mainstream exposure possible keep Ross rooted and as accessible as always?

• Name: Ross Gerard Powers
• DOB: 2/10/79
• Height: 5'9"
• Weight: 175 lbs.
• Years Riding: 15
• Years Sponsored: 11
• Home Mountain: Stratton, VT
• First Board: Burton Elite 130
• Stance: Regular
• Width: 22"
• Front Angle: 15
• Back Angle: 6

Can anyone go bigger in a halfpipe than you did at the Olympics?
I hope so, but until the halfpipes get a little more consistent then it is probably going to be pretty hard. That day the weather was amazing and the halfpipe was in awesome shape thanks to Pat Melandowski. We had this huge crowd behind us. It was the time to just go for it and it all worked out for me. At events after the Olympics people were going there just to see how I'd do. It has been weird at a lot of the events because I haven't had any sleep or I am just going there to have a good time. . .

Click here to subscribe and get the full story!