We had the chance to catch up with Brett Conner recently and get his take on his last year in competition, the sport of skiboarding and where he goes next...it's a good time...

SkiboardPlanet:  So, hey Brett!

Brett: Hey Hershel, Its nice to finally talk to you bro.

SkiboardPlanet:  We've never met in person before so it's great to meet you. We want to get at a few perspective questions right off the bat. When did skiboarding start for you?

Brett: Well as most of us did ,I started on long skis. My best friend Josh taught me how to ski. Then when I was about 12 or 13 I started to snowboard. And I was a pretty good snowboarder if I do say so myself. Then my junior year of high school my friend Jason showed up with these little skis. I wasn’t too sure about them at first. But after about a week he was landing back flips in the park. And since I was inline skating at the time I could clearly see the relation, and I had to try it.

SkiboardPlanet:  And why skiboarding, what drew you to the sport?

Brett: Why skiboarding? That’s easy. Nobody was doing it. Or at least no one at my resort. Every time I would get on a lift with them on people were asking me about them. And some people would try to tell me what they thought were skiboardings limitations. They would say well they look cool but I bet you cant do this or you cant do that. It was that kind of criticism that pushed me to do what I had been told I couldn’t. I get that from my mom.  She was a bit of a rebel in her time.

SkiboardPlanet:  We all know you live in Colorado, tell us about some of your skiboarding adventures there...

Brett: Well my home MT is Killington. That place will always hold a special place in my heart. And I have had some of the most epic days ever there. There isn't much that can compare to riding during a nor’easter. They don’t call it the beast of the east for nothing. The terrain park was my first love on skiboards. But the park out here is insane. We have some of the biggest rails I have ever seen.  We have a pro section to our park called Dark Territory. You need a special pass to get in but its worth the extra 10 bucks to hit a 70ft jump. Adam works park crew so I always get the low down on when a feature changes.  It seems every year the big jump gets a little bigger. the first year I hit it it was only 60ft or so and last year it was 70. I wonder if it might reach 75ft this season.  I get people all the time saying to me “your not gunna hit that thing on those are you “ it tends to change a lot of minds when I go spinning off that monster.

And as for the backcountry, I always knew I could ride deep pow if it was steep enough but nothing I did in Vermont would prepare me for the steep and deep of the CO backcountry. You start to hike, then you keep hiking until you are above tree line. Its hard to breath at 12000 ft, but all that hiking is so worth the few minutes of glory. There isn’t anything like looking down a 45 deg pitch that doesn’t have a single track anywhere.  So you start the decent and your heart is pounding as you make the first turn and all you want to do is go as fast as you can while still making those turn that push a wave of fresh snow over your head. Your face get covered ”cold carl” and the only thing that shows is the smile that is so big if you don’t have chap stick on you risk splitting a lip. Big MT features are my absolute favorite. I love a good 30-40ft cliff. Not just the average launch but when you back flip off something like that its so cool to see the face of what you just left but its upside down. Dave Lynam and I were standing over "Nitro Rock“ (it’s the cliff from "Buggard Mouse”) and I turned to him and said I love this sport and dropped and just hucked back. It's so much fun getting upside down in the back country cause most of the time its like landing in feathers.

SkiboardPlanet:  And some of the back country shots we've seen of you, nice, who's the photographer?

Brett: I have to give props to big Ben Wannamaker and Derrell for most of the past shots that have been seen so far. But Chris Popovich and Adam Lynam are the main guys for the footage that will come out at the end of the season. We have been compiling footage of all of us riding backcountry. We have a telemark skier, snowboarder, alpine skier and of course yours truly on skiboards. We want to show that we can all be friends and who cares what you ride as long as you ride to have fun.



SkiboardPlanet:  When did you hook up with Revel8?

Brett: Well I met Greco in 2001, but it wasn’t until 2006 that I became the CO area on snow rep for revel8. He sent me some boards and I offered to house some riders to film for a week. So after the 2007 world cup in Romainia he sent Ben and Adam out to ride. I guess I didn’t really know that there wasn’t anyone who could drop a 30 footer and ride park on skiboards. I believe Ben's words were” You have to be the dirtiest all around skiboarder I have ever seen”. He relayed all this to Greco and before they even left I had been told I was on the pro team and I would have a pro model. Greco wanted to know what to call them and Ben just said ”he's the condor”. I don’t really know where he came up with that but it stuck.


SkiboardPlanet:  What was it like to get a product named after you?

Brett: It was all my skiboard dreams rolled up into one. Ever since I got my first sponsor Lunch Lady Industries, I dreamed of having my own pro model like Mike Nick. I always said one day it will be my name on a pair of boards. But it wasn’t a reality for me until the first time I saw someone else riding my boards and how excited they were to meet me. I signed a few boards in Romainia and felt like a movie star or something. I get fan messages on the SBOL Forum from people who bought my boards and just want to say how much they love them. With that said I just want to take sec to thank Greco. Without him I don’t know if skiboarding would be where it is today or where I would be today. We as skiboarders are for ever indebted to him for giving the sport so much more than anyone else.

SkiboardPlanet:  Ok, list 'em out, comps, special events, and placements...

Brett: My first comp ever was boarder cross at Stratton MT, VT, under the lights. I swept the field for 3 comps there until I got caught up in a crash with 2 other riders and took out a gate with my face. My next comp was "King of the Hill" Slopestyle at Stratton. I took 2nd behind a 16 year old named Andy Stewart. And, I never did lose a comp at Killington. There was a shop called Freds Free Ride and he sold all Line gear including skiboards. He would put on comps in the park and have a skiboard category. That’s how I got free boards from Line. The next couple of years I was hindered by an injury to my foot and a lower back compression. But that didn’t stop me from competeng. I took 8th in the pro division at the NY State Extreme Game Big Air, but something was gone. I seemed to have lost my vision in the air while getting inverted. I landed side ways doing a rodeo 7 and re-broke my foot. It took a whole season to be able to jump again. I didn’t compete again until the European open in Romania. I didn’t do all that well in rail jam but qualified 2nd in Slopestyle only to let the nerves of being in a final event again get the better of me.

SkiboardPlanet:  What's your favorite trick to pull?

Brett: I don’t know if I have a favorite anymore but I used to love big flat spins and switch misties.

SkiboardPlanet:  Rails or Jumps, (or Trees) and why?

Brett: I don’t really have a preference except for weather. If its snowing I prefer trees and backcountry but on the nice sunny days I love to ride park.

SkiboardPlanet:  We missed you at the 2009 US Open, but we now know that you'll be there for 2010, right?

Brett: I will be at the 2010 US Open, and as this will be my last big comp I want to do well. I grew up not far from Ragged so I have an army of family and friends coming out to cheer me on. Plus the greatest girlfriend a guy could ask for will be there.

SkiboardPlnaet:  Whats your focus for this years event?

Brett: My main focus for this years event will be to win the Cross event and medal in Slopestyle. I have some serious training to do if I want to beat Kirk Thompson in Cross. And, I will be up against some of the nastiest riders like Dave Lynam, Mark Carrero, Serge Maheu and Kirk T. in Slopestyle. So needless to say I will need to train hard if I want to stand a chance at beating those guys.


SkiboardPlanet:  A lot of these guys you mentioned that you'll be competing against you know from past competitions, right?

Brett: Well like I said before I think Dave ,Kirk, Mark and Serge pose the biggest threat to me standing on that podium with the gold medal around my neck. Ol' Kirk yellow boots is definitely one of the fastest skiboarders I have ever raced against. And little Lynam has been perfecting that double back flip so all I can hope for there is that he doesn’t land it . But don’t think that I wont come out swingin' with some new tricks and maybe my old slow switch misty….. we will just have to see.

SkiboardPlanet:  Let's get off the beaten path for a moment, you have other seasonal activites, whats up out of skibaording season?

Brett: Well I don’t really do any other sports but I have spent the last few summers in Jupiter florida. I have been triyng to learn how to surf. But the thing I do the most is spearfishing in the Jupiter inlet. It’s a whole other world down there. I have swam with sting rays, manta rays, manatee and even a few sharks. Seeing sharks while in the water is the only thing that gives me the same rush as standing on top of a big cliff .

SkiboardPlanet:  Ok personal life, what's going on with you, any big plans coming up, want to shout out to your girl?

Brett: Earlier I mentioned that this will be my last big comp. I turn 30 this year and I have lived the seasonal life for 13 years. 13 fun years but I would like to get started with the rest of my life. I have struggled with this decision before and always came back to the MTs and skiboarding hard. No matter how much my body hurt. But its better to go out on top. So my girlfriend Amanda and I are moving to Jupiter, FL with the intention of buying a house. I fell in love with that little surf and beach town I knew that's where I would end up .



SkiboardPlanet:  Want to give any advice to our readers about skiboarding?

Brett: Skiboarding is about you. Its about what just feels right. So Live it, Love it, Rip it.

SkiboardPlanet:  Thanks Brett! We're excited you'll be joining us this year, can't wait to see your performance!

Brett: This is gunna be fun. See ya Hersh...

(all photos courtesy of Revel8, SBOL, and Brett Connor)