Quitting

Touche Darryl -

Park has just become an arena for people's egos - does it really make you happy beating the shit out of yourself to learn something that a freakin 12 year old can do these days?! -

Wait until you suffer an injury (eg knee) that will put your skiing future in doubt. I guess you assume your gonna ski for the rest of your life, but what if you cant for reasons beyond your control?

We are so priveliged to be able to go out and enjoy the mountains...

So get out of the park every now and then and enjoy the mountains! THAT's why you ski!

 
taylor this is so true... i have been blinded from this fact for so long. all i want to do is go pro. and you now what i havent been having as much fun. now because of you, you saved my ski life and the fun in my life forever thank you sooo much man... u will always be one of my great friends... from st. clements till we die. thank you taylor for letting me realize...

- Drew
 
Not saying to get obsessed with it but keep at it, a friend of myne who is 17 skied for basically his whole life and in the park since they first came around about 8 years ago. Last year he went from sometimes landing 360's and couldnt slide a rail to now throwing down anything on rails and doing cork 7s and 5s as warm up tricks he loves every minute of it and i dont think he would rather be doing anything else... Keep riding the park if thats what you love to do and something huge could happen for you, dont force your self to do it or even if you do blow up your not gunna apreciate it nearly as much as most of the people out there

oh yeah great post to begin this
 
I had the dream of competing in the X. It was shattered when I saw the caliber.

Now, park skiing has a new meaning:have a great time with your friends. I dont care about spins, if I like 3's ill do them all day. Comps...if fun to meet 2 people and push the adrenalen a bit while getting better. The prize is always an extra, not a need.

 
yeah, I used to think I might be able to compete but now I'm old and get schooled on a regular basis by kids half my age. it made me feel like quitting a bunch of times but I 'm still learning new tricks, still getting better, still having fun and it relieves stress so I won't ever quit skiing. I wouldn't know what I'd do with myself if I couldn't ski. probably shoot myself.
 
Shit im almost 20 and i can barely 5. compared to probably 90 percent of this site i sucks balls and as cool as it would be to kill it and compete and stuff I am right where i want to be. i only got into the park scene last year so i like to think im progressing at a reasonable rate (i got up max 20 times a year, now hopefully itll change cause i live 2 hrs from tahoe) but i have so much more fun learning smaller tricks on smaller features rather than throwing like 10s off 70 footers. it gives me something to work for when my best trick is the occasional 5 off a 34-40 footer and i see kids a couple years younger than me like sammy and vanular throwin down hard i actually really enjoy watching it, makes me work harder not want to quit. whenever i meet a kid who can rip harder than me it makes me so excited that skiing is having an influence on the younger gen..it definately doesnt make me wanna quit. anyways just my 2cents keep throwin down hard youngstas of NS
 
I had a pass two years ago, only got up to the mountain 10 times. Last year I had no pass and only got up about 5 times. I totally burned out. I never thought I'd be able to go pro, definitely not in park or moguls, big mountain I could shred but I didn't have the time or commitment to do events all over the country to chase the dream. I don't know why I just stopped having fun though, its not like i pushed myself every day till I just got sick of it. I think I just got bored of the mountain I'd been riding so long. Although I did only start when I was 12. I think its all about riding with friends. This season was the first season almost all of my friends have passes, and I have been having a blast.
 
isnt it kind of in the back of everyones head, that someday if we work really hard, we will get a sudden burst of talent and go pro?

i think that thinking this way, instead of just focusing on the fun stuff, could be why our sport is the way it is.

any thoughts?
 
i dont know anyone that just skis to become pro. its all about getting up into the mountains and having fun.
 
Honestly, I've never EVER had the desire to go pro.

Even if they offered it to me, I wouldn't do it. As for "getting paid to ski". That's not true at all.

Sponsorship usually means you get some free shit.

Being REALLY good means you get comps subsidized for you.

Being REALLY REALLY good means that you get some trips subsidized for you. To get to this point, you're not getting paid to ski. You're getting paid to show up at shows and flic opening, and do some product pushing and if you're lucky do some product development. Only then will they subsidize you to ride the gnar.

Frankly, I'd rather avoid that shit, pay my $1000 a year for gear and pass and not be a bitch to the almight MAN. I don't want anything more outta skiing than that. Never have, never will.

 
yeah i agree i always see people in the park doing the exact same thing over and over again until they get it and i dont see the fun in that, like some things do take practice but if you're falling every time you try and 540 some jump then you should go do something you can actually do.

it should be about just having fun, and kids are gunna realize how much time theyve wasted if they just go to the park to "train" or something in hopes of going pro.
 
Your thread really hit home for me. I like to daydream about going pro and whatnot but I simply don't have the time right now or the ability. Luckily, skiing is super fun whether in the park or in the steeps or on the groomers. I enjoy park as much as the next kid but overall I just like skiing in general.
 
this thread makes a lot of sense. im only 15, and just starting out in the park, but i just wanted to point out that you cant ski forever, especially not in the park. even if you do go pro, it wont last forever. so whats really the purpose for killing yourself with hard work to become pro? you get to be pro, and then you get some money, commit yourself to training and comps, and then you get old and its all over and you havent really had any fun. so dont ski to be pro, ski for fun, enjoy it while you can, and if you get good enough to go pro, awesome, but dont forget why you are skiing in the first place.
 
It's sad how a lot of people take progression too far, and it almost becomes the only purpose to ski. I've seen a few people feel the need to go for the big time, just to get burned out, because all they're doing is spending time in the park, trying to be that next phenom. I have to admit, I enjoy comps and skiing park, but damn, I'll take pow over park any day (and this year has been exceptional for pow, so yay) but a lot of people won't. Park is a great thing to spend time in and progress, especially when snow isn't all that great, but it shouldn't be the only motivation to ski.

Even if I'm not skiing park in years to come, I'm just dreaming of a time when I can just travel around, as abroad as the far reachs of the world, or just as small local places with not much more than a lift or two. Skiing will never die, at least for me. Hopefully it doesn't for others, as well.
 
those few short paragraphs, sums up my entire way of life and how i react to everything that comes my way.
 
i really understand what your trying to say, ive never competed in skiing but im considering going to lord of the park in march and ive always really wanted to get an am sponsership or somthing for skiing but i really dont think im good enough and im not gonna quit if im not but i have always dreamed of being in a ski movie.

im 15
 
Good thread Darryl.

Ski for yourself. Do whatever it takes to have fun skiing. That ought to be the only reason you are skiing. Is for fun.

I am HORRIBLE compared to the majority of this site when it comes to park skiing. I have been around freeskiing for a long time now. I have been passed by so many people when it comes to skill level. But you know what? I could care less that I don't have the skills to rip the park a new one.

I'm just happy to get outside, in the crisp fresh air, and enjoy life to the fullest, and nothing gets me happier than that.
 
Interesting thread... I'll never be able to quit skiing... and I can't believe someone would want to quit a hobby type activity because they couldn't make a living at it!
 
this reminds me of an old ski bum i am sure many of us have all heard of...

...of course, that same spirit that warren miller had has lasted well into his old age

everyone, let's all get chill and be ski bums!
 
if it's pressure anybody feels to go pro or quit then just stop tuning in. It's hard to have fun when every video/mag/kid on the hill is trying to show you how rad they are and how not RAD you are. Just tune it out for a while, stop watching vids and reading mags and shut out the bad vibe some people send out. Just go out and ski and make the most of it. The funny thing is that in alot of ways being a pro skier is the worst idea ever. For all but the top 20% it's like throwing your entire future into a sport with no retirement plan, and even worse a sport with little recognition. It's like I wish I was Tanner because it would be sick to be able to jump so good, but where will is skiing really going to take him? The question is what is Tanner going to be doing when he's 50......he'll be rich and relaxing just like he would be if he got a real job and killed it. It's all about the cliche' soul bro rippin while you can---- on the real
 
One of the best threads I have ever read on NS.

And as many other has said. The primal thing why I ski isn´t to go pro, I have never even played with the thought about becoming a pro.use there are so many skiers that are so much sicker Mainly becathan myself, and so much youger. I´m just doing it for the love of it and because it makes me feel good and happy.
 
i quickly came to the realization ill never go anywhere with skiing. that wasnt the reason i did it. i do it because it's fun. a lot of people spend a lot of time comparing themselves to others to see how far they can go. it doesnt make any snse to me. i just like to go and try things and get better at what parts of skiing i like to do, not what everyone else likes. this includes when i skateboard. i can barely do a kickflip, but i like to do flatground stuff like primos, pogos, and fingerflips cause i like to do it, even though i rarely see others doing it.
 
A pro's typical life goes like this:

- Hit it big when you're 16, get sponsored.

- Do nothing but ski after 17, and scrape on by

- Break a couple of bones, and get a career ender by 25 yrs of age

- Figure out what the hell to do next

Very very few people stand out in this industry.

Everyone sacrifices a whole lotta crap to be where they are....and in the end, it ain't worth it to 99% of the population. It isn't worth it to me. I'd rather be good at a lot of things then great at just one.

A few people are "born with it" and rely on talent. [Tanner and Candide are rare breeds.] More have some talent, but make a living on the lifestyle. [Pollards and Seths of the world...who are sicke!].

I firmly believe that anyone can achieve anything if they really want it bad enough. Those of us "in the middle" are more well rounded than the people at the top of anything.

That applies to anything in life. Business, Education, any sport...etc.
 
but that's the thing about 'going pro'. tanner, candide, and jon are three out of millions - but becomming the next tanner isn't thought to be undoable.

it's like going to space. the dream presents itself as such a beautiful thing that the risks involved to try and make that dream a reality makes you have blinders on to everything else that is skiing.
 
Totally agree with everything you have said. I will never become pro and have always skied for fun, if it wasn't enjoyable I wouldn't do it as much as I try to (Scottish snow is generally crap and unpredictable). I accept the fact that I won't be able to a sw10 (or even a sw9) and don't care about it, it is about having fun not about how big you can go (although that is also fun).
 
i'm not sure how many of the people here actually do have some sponsors and what not... but here's my little, slightly different perspective...

i'm a pro women's telemark skier... sure i get product and every so often i get some cash from some very special sponsors of mine. and every once in a while i can get very irritated with the industry. as my so called pro title may suggest, getting support for being a woman, telemarker, in the park, is next to impossible... there is no market. add that to several nearly "career" ending injuries, and you could imagine some of my various levels of frustration.

i am glad i came accross this thread, because it expresses some very important points. regardless of how frustrating "going pro" can be it should never over shadow our love for the sport. even through all of my own difficulties, all i have to do is put away my phone, get away from the computer, and go out and take some runs... either by myself or with my friends... just go out and ski, and remember why i do this in the first place.

being a skier makes us who we are... we should never lose site of that.

 
dude you gotta check out meathead films, they show whats good in the east and ski some of the sickest backcountry you'll see. before them i stuck to glades and a bit of park but now im hiking Mt. Mansfield at Stowe as well as Big Jay all the time. i dont know how i used to live without it.
 
Damn,

Sorry for bringing back such an oldie, but it's just amazing how much things have changed in 5 years in the industry. I think it's really cool reading through all of those comments, it shows just how much freestyle has progressed.

Thoughts?
 
I was surprised at how many kids back then seriously considered going pro(reading though the comments)

Maybe ns had a more hardcore base of skiers back then, but I think most kids on ns today ski for the fun of it.

 
This was before stuff like Travelling Circus got launched, so basically "becoming a pro" was all they had to look up to I guess.
 
I guess you're right, but this thread isn't fucking revolutionary. This has been said a million times and I'm pretty sure the majority of people ski for fun anyway, so saying that you should ski for fun doesn't make you some visionary.

You're an absolute toolshed if you actually judge people on their ability to spin around in the air or want to quit skiing because you can't slide across a piece of metal that well. If you take a step back and realize how ridiculous the activity of skiing is maybe you can realize that in the grand scheme of things it doesn't fucking matter if you can spin around in the air and land on your feet better than some other guy, because you're doing just that. It's a goofy fucking concept that apparently gets taken way too seriously. If you haven't figured that out yet you're just a hardo.
 
Well, back when park skiing started, even the pros weren't that great at park. Obviously it's all relative to what has been done in before but technically speaking, the tricks required to ski at a professional level weren't unattainable if you put the effort in and went for it.

Now though... doubles, triples, super tech rail tricks. Professional park skiing is pretty much on a pedestal now as far as I'm concerned. It's a lot more daunting for a young teenager to aspire to be pro when a bag of doubles (and maybe a triple or two for good measure) are required of them to even make a name for themselves in the sport, where as in the early 2000's a switch rodeo 7 or an upright switch 9 or 10 could put you on top of the game as long as you could get the grab.

Professional park skiing is not at the same place right now as it was in the previous decade. Everything is at a way bigger level.
 
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