This post is part of a series of interviews with pro riders.
The focus is predominantly on snowboarding gear (this is a website all about snowboard gear after all!) but there some other questions just for fun.
This week’s pro rider gear profile features Jamie Anderson.
QUICK BIO: JAMIE ANDERSON
Jamie Anderson is the undisputed Slopestyle champion.
With 2 gold medals at the Olympics (at time of writing slopestyle has only been in Sochi and Pyeongchang, so she’s the only woman to win a gold in slopestyle at the Olympics to date) to go with 4 golds, 5 silver and 2 bronze medals at the Winter X Games. Not to mention the various titles she has at various opens. Calling her career illustrious would be an understatement!
She’s been at it since she was 15 and still has the drive and ability to top the World Snowboard Tour Rankings in Slopestyle (at time of writing). And not half bad in the pipe (pun intended!) either. She may not ride the pipe anymore, but she is, in this writers humble opinion, still the best on the slopestyle course.
Jamie Anderson Interview
- How Long Have you Been Competing Professionally in Snowboarding?
I started at 15.
- What Discipline(s) do you compete in?
When I was younger I did all the events, now I focus on Slopestyle , big air and back country riding …
- Snowboarding Profiles is a gear site, so that’s what we care most about here – how important do think it is to get your gear right?
Very important! Being comfortable on the mtn makes a world of difference!
- And for those young riders out there aspiring to be professional snowboarders, what do you consider the most important thing to being successful? Practice? Belief? Desire? Confidence? Gear? Good coach? Good physical shape? Likely a combination of the above, but what would be the single most important thing in your eyes?
I think having passion and drive! Anyone is capable, it’s a matter of how hard to work and how much you love it! I think a combination of fun, focus and ambition will get you far! On and off the snow…
- Getting back to gear, what do You think is the most important part of your equipment to get right? Snowboard? Bindings? Boots? Outerwear? Safety Equipment? And what would be your 2nd and 3rd choices as to what’s most important?
Haha it’s all pretty important as you need quite a bit of gear to be able to shred! Definitely number one is your board, I ride a GNU Jamie model, then bindings boots and outerwear is clutch too! I use Oakley outerwear , goggles and helmets and I love there stuff, I truly feel it’s the highest quality!
- In terms of the snowboard, what do you think is the most important factor or factors – the thing that can make the biggest difference to the feel and performance of the board? Camber Profile? Length? Width? Sidecut? Effective Edge? Flex? Weight? Base? Graphic 😉
Definitely dependent on what your looking for… I like to use a more aggressive camber board because I like the strength and stability… but if you’re just cruising I would suggest the Ladies Choice from GNU, it’s a more chill board with reverse camber and magnetraction, it’s a fun all around board! For back country I love the GNU Free Spirit. I’ve been working on the design the last few years and it is so cruise in pow. It’s a short wide board and has a really long nose so you can chill and mob through the pow!
- What gear is your go to right now? Board? Bindings? Boots? (can choose multiple)
I love my boards! They’re like magic carpets to get you all over the mtn and the world! It’s been such a Privilege to work and design boards with gnu, the quality is next level and they’re manufactured right in the US using sustainable materials and proudly being a waste free facility!
- And finally, where is your favorite place to snowboard?
Tahoe and Whistler!
Big thanks to Jamie Anderson for participating in this interview.
And I can’t argue with the plug for her boards either. The men’s equivalent of the Pro Choice (GNU RC C3) and Ladies Choice (GNU Rider’s Choice) that I’ve ridden are sick boards for sure! Some awesome graphics on the 2021 models too.
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