Q: When did you first start hitting street rails? Do you remember the first rail you hit?
I started hitting rails when I was about 14 years old. At the time, I was living in Montreal and it wasn’t on skis. My very first handrail was done on a skateboard. Probably the most scared I ever was hitting a rail!!
But my first ski rail was at my high school at the time. A-N Morin in Ste-Adèle, that school got and is still featured in so many movies! I was kind of lucky to go to that school. It was a simple down tube of about 20 or 25 stairs. I got to session that thing with my good friend and now ex-pro snowboarder Yan Dofin. Once that one was done, it was like “OK now let’s line them up and hit all of them!” Felt great to be able to hit big rails that I would only imagine hitting them when I was skateboarding.
Q: Who were some of your influences growing up? What segments would get you hyped to go ski?
Some of my deeper influences in the sport was for sure JF Cusson. I grew up skiing at Ski Chantecler in Ste-Adèle, and this was where he was skiing at the time. Also, someone a bit less famous is a long time friend of JF, Louif Archambeau, who invented many tricks… and later on people claimed them as the inventor. I am talking about the D-spin, the misty flip etc… These tricks were done before twin tips were invented! I was lucky to see the true start of Freeskiing.
Other than these 2 guys, Phil Poirier was a big part of my influence. All about having fun out there and dropping backflips where he could. “The big dog”. And of course Candide. Probably the best skier the world has seen, at least in my opinion. Didn’t copy anyone, does his thing and is still relevant to this day. Can’t forget Tanner as well. Never skied with a guy that give’r that hard on the daily. Can’t believe he is still coming out with projects every year. He has his heart into it and is the one rider who is the most true to the game. He will go down as the Muhammad Ali or the Maurice Richard of skiing.
And lastly, Pep Fujas. I mean, did you see his style? The guy invented switch skiing in pow. If you're not sure, check out the Oakley movie “Session 1242”. Still don’t understand why he didn’t close that movie.
Top segments to see / hype :
Tanner Hall - Happy Dayz
Anything from Candide
Pep Fujas - Session 1242
The entire “Idea” movie
Q: How did the whole no lips onto rails come about? Was it hard or scary at first?
The no lip thing came from skateboarding. My thinking was “If a skateboarder can switch kickflip back lip a 15 stairs… a skier can easily jump on one”. You just need to learn how to pop… But other guys prefered building an enormous jump and ride onto the rail. Same with having exposed stairs on street features. I took time to plow snow out of the stair sets to get the max “gnar” factor in. Just like skateboarding... 'cause after all hitting street rails came from skateboarding right??
I felt like they were taking the snowpark to the streets and not bringing skiing to the streets. Guys were like “Did you see my lip slide!!” ... ya… but where was the feature lol, was there a feature underneath all that snow???
Fun fact, it is sometimes easier to hit rails without jumps. Easier to keep your speed.
Wasn’t scary for me. Was just my way of doing things.
Q: Who would you film/shoot photos with? Would you mostly hit rails solo or with a crew?
For sure it was LP Sansfacon (filmer) and Felix Rioux (photographer). I wouldn’t have the same career without those.
I would hit rails with anyone from the area for sure. I wasn’t too cool with people coming from the US or other parts of the world... Only because I felt that QC riders had only rails... no big mountains, no pow, no nice parks, etc. I mean, if you go to Whistler and you ask a local to show you his best spots, he will for sure tell you to fuck off. Same with rails in QC.
Q: What is your favorite segment you’ve filmed? And some of your favorite shots you’ve gotten?
Bah... as a rider, it is very hard to be satisfied with a seggy. You always feel that you could have done better or you have more to show. Some of my better shots were in the movie “Save” from Plehouse. I have this DFD with a curve in the middle, that one was pretty cool.
There is another one I did for “Every Day is a Saturday” from Poor Boyz, it’s a DFD with many elbows and I did a blind switch up the opposite way of the elbow… but they cut that one from the movie… Still don’t understand why… probably a sponsor thing...
Q: Favorite street skiers past and current?
Favorite past street skier: JF Houle
Favorite current street skier: Phil Casabon.
They are the most relevant street skiers ever. Period. The rest are or have only been trying to keep up in my opinion.
Q: What do you think of Real Ski? Is it something you would’ve liked to be a part of if it was around back then?
For sure. I think it’s something I would have done good. Most of you don’t know this, but I mostly shot my rail segments late November, December and early January. The rest of the year I would only ski pow in Whistler or travel. So yeah, that would’ve suit me good. Filming a full street seggy was already what I was doing. It’s hard work, but it’s a good start to the season.
Q: Is there anything you would’ve wanted to accomplish during your ski career that you didn’t get to do?
Yes lol. Many things. As I said earlier, you're never really satisfied with your season 'cause you know you could always do better. But a lot of factors come into play. On one end you have to deal with injuries all season long, and on the other hand you have to deal with factors that are basically based out of luck: weather, timing, trips that go sideways, lost shots, etc. But what slowed down my “career” the most were the injuries. I got my first real injury when I was 19… dislocated shoulder. And it followed me all the way through my career. Fucks with your brain and confidence.
But mainly, I wanted to spend more time in the backcountry and ride like Pep Fujas. Stylish hits, “mini-golf” and riding pillows. This was the most fun to do and i didn’t get to do enough. I still catch myself daydreaming of hitting pillow lines.
Q: Do you think street skiers get enough support and recognition in the industry?
No. Hell no. Companies don’t understand the power of the image of a freerider compared to a comp skier. I mean, if you don’t win X Games, you are basically forgotten and you got to wait for the next X Games comp and hope things go your way. But a guy like Casabon will always draw the attention of your core consumer year after year because of his image, style and vision.
Take for example Max Hill. One of the best street guys the world has seen. Super core image, everyone loves him and is waiting for his next “move”, but never really got the credit he deserved from the industry. Again, the industry is looking for the next podium boy, the next Tanner, the next Harlaut, but never understood what they already had in their hands with Max. Noboby spent a minute or understood the power of Max. But I guess that’s what you get when you hire your “friend” as a team manager. The most team managers were not in there to grow the company or the sport, they were in there to look cool. But there was some very good team managers that knew what they were doing. These guys are still around and moved up the ranks. The bad ones are long gone.
But to be honest, not too many freeskiers in all categories out there are getting their fair share of the pie. It's a passion sport more than anything.
I started hitting rails when I was about 14 years old. At the time, I was living in Montreal and it wasn’t on skis. My very first handrail was done on a skateboard. Probably the most scared I ever was hitting a rail!!
But my first ski rail was at my high school at the time. A-N Morin in Ste-Adèle, that school got and is still featured in so many movies! I was kind of lucky to go to that school. It was a simple down tube of about 20 or 25 stairs. I got to session that thing with my good friend and now ex-pro snowboarder Yan Dofin. Once that one was done, it was like “OK now let’s line them up and hit all of them!” Felt great to be able to hit big rails that I would only imagine hitting them when I was skateboarding.
Q: Who were some of your influences growing up? What segments would get you hyped to go ski?
Some of my deeper influences in the sport was for sure JF Cusson. I grew up skiing at Ski Chantecler in Ste-Adèle, and this was where he was skiing at the time. Also, someone a bit less famous is a long time friend of JF, Louif Archambeau, who invented many tricks… and later on people claimed them as the inventor. I am talking about the D-spin, the misty flip etc… These tricks were done before twin tips were invented! I was lucky to see the true start of Freeskiing.
Other than these 2 guys, Phil Poirier was a big part of my influence. All about having fun out there and dropping backflips where he could. “The big dog”. And of course Candide. Probably the best skier the world has seen, at least in my opinion. Didn’t copy anyone, does his thing and is still relevant to this day. Can’t forget Tanner as well. Never skied with a guy that give’r that hard on the daily. Can’t believe he is still coming out with projects every year. He has his heart into it and is the one rider who is the most true to the game. He will go down as the Muhammad Ali or the Maurice Richard of skiing.
And lastly, Pep Fujas. I mean, did you see his style? The guy invented switch skiing in pow. If you're not sure, check out the Oakley movie “Session 1242”. Still don’t understand why he didn’t close that movie.
Top segments to see / hype :
Tanner Hall - Happy Dayz
Anything from Candide
Pep Fujas - Session 1242
The entire “Idea” movie
Q: How did the whole no lips onto rails come about? Was it hard or scary at first?
The no lip thing came from skateboarding. My thinking was “If a skateboarder can switch kickflip back lip a 15 stairs… a skier can easily jump on one”. You just need to learn how to pop… But other guys prefered building an enormous jump and ride onto the rail. Same with having exposed stairs on street features. I took time to plow snow out of the stair sets to get the max “gnar” factor in. Just like skateboarding... 'cause after all hitting street rails came from skateboarding right??
I felt like they were taking the snowpark to the streets and not bringing skiing to the streets. Guys were like “Did you see my lip slide!!” ... ya… but where was the feature lol, was there a feature underneath all that snow???
Fun fact, it is sometimes easier to hit rails without jumps. Easier to keep your speed.
Wasn’t scary for me. Was just my way of doing things.
Q: Who would you film/shoot photos with? Would you mostly hit rails solo or with a crew?
For sure it was LP Sansfacon (filmer) and Felix Rioux (photographer). I wouldn’t have the same career without those.
I would hit rails with anyone from the area for sure. I wasn’t too cool with people coming from the US or other parts of the world... Only because I felt that QC riders had only rails... no big mountains, no pow, no nice parks, etc. I mean, if you go to Whistler and you ask a local to show you his best spots, he will for sure tell you to fuck off. Same with rails in QC.
Q: What is your favorite segment you’ve filmed? And some of your favorite shots you’ve gotten?
Bah... as a rider, it is very hard to be satisfied with a seggy. You always feel that you could have done better or you have more to show. Some of my better shots were in the movie “Save” from Plehouse. I have this DFD with a curve in the middle, that one was pretty cool.
There is another one I did for “Every Day is a Saturday” from Poor Boyz, it’s a DFD with many elbows and I did a blind switch up the opposite way of the elbow… but they cut that one from the movie… Still don’t understand why… probably a sponsor thing...
Q: Favorite street skiers past and current?
Favorite past street skier: JF Houle
Favorite current street skier: Phil Casabon.
They are the most relevant street skiers ever. Period. The rest are or have only been trying to keep up in my opinion.
Q: What do you think of Real Ski? Is it something you would’ve liked to be a part of if it was around back then?
For sure. I think it’s something I would have done good. Most of you don’t know this, but I mostly shot my rail segments late November, December and early January. The rest of the year I would only ski pow in Whistler or travel. So yeah, that would’ve suit me good. Filming a full street seggy was already what I was doing. It’s hard work, but it’s a good start to the season.
Q: Is there anything you would’ve wanted to accomplish during your ski career that you didn’t get to do?
Yes lol. Many things. As I said earlier, you're never really satisfied with your season 'cause you know you could always do better. But a lot of factors come into play. On one end you have to deal with injuries all season long, and on the other hand you have to deal with factors that are basically based out of luck: weather, timing, trips that go sideways, lost shots, etc. But what slowed down my “career” the most were the injuries. I got my first real injury when I was 19… dislocated shoulder. And it followed me all the way through my career. Fucks with your brain and confidence.
But mainly, I wanted to spend more time in the backcountry and ride like Pep Fujas. Stylish hits, “mini-golf” and riding pillows. This was the most fun to do and i didn’t get to do enough. I still catch myself daydreaming of hitting pillow lines.
Q: Do you think street skiers get enough support and recognition in the industry?
No. Hell no. Companies don’t understand the power of the image of a freerider compared to a comp skier. I mean, if you don’t win X Games, you are basically forgotten and you got to wait for the next X Games comp and hope things go your way. But a guy like Casabon will always draw the attention of your core consumer year after year because of his image, style and vision.
Take for example Max Hill. One of the best street guys the world has seen. Super core image, everyone loves him and is waiting for his next “move”, but never really got the credit he deserved from the industry. Again, the industry is looking for the next podium boy, the next Tanner, the next Harlaut, but never understood what they already had in their hands with Max. Noboby spent a minute or understood the power of Max. But I guess that’s what you get when you hire your “friend” as a team manager. The most team managers were not in there to grow the company or the sport, they were in there to look cool. But there was some very good team managers that knew what they were doing. These guys are still around and moved up the ranks. The bad ones are long gone.
But to be honest, not too many freeskiers in all categories out there are getting their fair share of the pie. It's a passion sport more than anything.
