Sponsored: The stories behind the skiers

On this week's episode of the "Sponsored" podcast, the last of season one, host Mike Powell interviews Rory Silva. If you've been regularly listening to "Sponsored," Silva's name is one that has frequently come up. He was among the top echelon of skiers before a lack of business skills caught up with him. The type 1 diabetic and Mammoth native is now living in Southern Oregon, where he was fulfilling DUI obligations. Show Notes: 2:30: The trials and tribulations of getting a DUI 5:45: Health choices and Diabetes 7:30: Growing up and having Plake around 11:00: Rory and school 12:30: Getting sponsored, how does that happen? 15:00: Superpark, being a professional skier, and movie parts 20:00: Ninthward 24:00: The end of making money in skiing for Rory and what is he up to now? 27:50: Deadabetic ski edits

On this week's episode of the "Sponsored" podcast, host Mike Powell interviews French Canadian Marc-Andre Belliveau. In 2006, Belliveau was one of the top skiers in the world. He was featured regularly in Teton Gravity Research films for his progressive style. His sister, too, was an Olympic hopeful. One day they were skiing together and she broke her back. "I felt really responsible for my sister when she got hurt," he says. "I remember the phone call to my dad to tell him that she was all fucked up. And his reaction was feeling that I was responsible for her accident because we were doing crazy shit. I got really bummed out. I started to feel really shaky about skiing. I actually thought I wasn't going to ski anymore. But she was the first one telling me, 'Yeah, it was bad luck. You don't want to quit skiing just because I got hurt." Belliveau continued skiing. Then, in 2006, he lost his way on the last day of a trip while filming for TGR and broke his T12 vertebra. He has been paralyzed since. "I felt ashamed that I kept going skiing," he says. "It's a dangerous sport. You feel selfish. The things you do can hurt other people. When I got hurt, it really hurt my friends, my parents, and yeah, the word that comes to mind is just being selfish." After Belliveau's injury, a number of high-profile skiers died while skiing, including 10 people that he knew. Belliveau says he has always had a hard time making the right choice. "I'm not bummed out that I chose skiing as a way of life. But I'm very bummed that I skied that run," say Belliveau, who recently gave up drinking and smoking. "I've had a hard time... I've been struggling a lot the last ten years."

Mike Hattrup Show Notes 1:30: What is Hatt up to and how has his season been 2:45: Getting a knee replacement 3:40: Growing up Hattrup, sports and getting into skiing 8:00: Filming with Stump and making the US Ski Team 10:00: Blowing his knee for the first time 13:00: Blizzard of Ahhs 15:30: Plake’s legal problems 18:00: How did the movie change his life 20:00: Working in house at K2 22:00: Developing skis and working with Shane McConkey 27:00: Questions from Stump

On this episode of the "Sponsored" podcast, Canadian Olympian Matt Margetts joins host Mike Powell. After years pursuing halfpipe competitions, Margetts has joined childhood friends including Riley Leboe, Joe Schuster, and Mike Henitiuk in filming "Seeking Nirvana." The award winning video series—last year it won Best Editing at the 2016 Powder Awards—is a whimsical tribute to creative filming and fun, stylish powder skiing. Transitioning from the stunt ditch to fields of powder has been welcome change to Margetts, who often had a hard time meeting his own expectations in the finals of big events. "I have an issue with things not working out or not going my way," he says. "If it's something as simple as not doing a run that I wanted to do that I know I can do or falling when I know that I can land I just snap and get super bummed on myself. I was one of those guys that could pull it off in practice or pull it off in qualifiers and then try and go balls to the wall in finals and shit would hit the fan. I couldn't quite figure it out... that was the hard part about it. I worked with a few different people and just couldn't get the answers I was looking for. I couldn't get a solution." For Margetts though, as his career turns away from competition and back toward where it started, nothing beats skiing powder with his friends—even if there is less money in it. "My whole ski career, if you can call it that, has been on the dirt bag side of things, trying to slum it to make ends meet here and there so I can keep doing it, but I love it, and I want to be able to continue to do it for as long as I can," he says. "It's pretty damn fun."

On this episode of the "Sponsored" podcast, Kim Reichhelm, one of the original badasses of freesking, joins host Mike Powell. Reicchelm is candid about her upbringing with a stern father and her current rock and roll lifestyle. The veteran ski racer, commentator, two-time World Extreme Ski Champion, and the figurehead of the highly successful "Ski With Kim" camps, Reichhelm discusses how she was made fun of at school, but found herself through sports. "All of my confidence came from sports because I was a horrible student," she says. "I was dyslexic, I had difficulty reading, I really, really struggled in the classroom and the playground was where all my confidence came from. I was respected." Reichhelm was also one of the first skiers to turn herself into a successful brand, and she talks about how she had to choose between ski racing and having fun. For her, the choice was easy. "I had to say I'm either going to win the tour, or I'm going to quit. I wanted to win, and then I realized that in order to win the tour I was going to have to drink less beer and focus on ski racing and not traveling around to Miami Beach between ski races, so I decided to stop racing." For Reichhelm, who always followed her heart, it couldn't have worked out better.

On this episode of the "Sponsored" podcast, Colston VB talks to host Mike Powell about the struggle to make it as a professional skier. The two discuss Vb's role on Bravo's reality TV show, Timber Creek Lodge, which he was conflicted about appearing on. "Within skiing I really focused on not selling out," he says. "I really focused on staying super core and not doing the cheesy Instagram stuff and not compromising myself and I wanted to be talent first. A part of it was funny and part of it was to take a break and enjoy it. I'm really happy I did it." 2:00: Growing up in Rossland, BC, in a ski bum home 6:00: Colston's career 9:55: Overcoming money issues and living life to its fullest 11:30: Sponsors and Jeff Schmuck helping him out 12:55: Being a professional, getting an agent, and learning lessons 16:10: The biggest moments of his ski career 18:25: How did he get into reality TV? Does it kill skiing? 22:30: Being semi-famous in a digital world 23:45: Questions from fans of the show 26:00: Money in reality TV and what’s next in skiing, TV, and life

On this episode of the "Sponsored" podcast, Pep Fujas, one of the most influential skiers of the 21st century, joins host Mike Powell. Known for his seminal segment in Session 1242, his role in Nimbus films, and his successful pro models, Fujas, who grew up in a yurt in Oregon without electricity or a phone, is also the father of two young daughters. The two discuss balancing fatherhood and travel and Fujas' influence on skiing, including the pole-less style he helped lead. "Sometimes we'd drop the poles and you just get to experience a different way to move on the mountain," says Fujas. "Your hands are free, you can feel free to brush the snow, and since you're not thinking about having the poles in your hand, you can move in a lot of different ways and it starts to refine your movements, starts to quiet everything down, because if you have really erratic hand movements, it just looks terrible, and it's really hard to make skiing look without poles look really good. So I think it was just another way to express yourself on skis and it was really fun and we didn't really care what anybody thought." 1:51: Recap his season travels as a father of two children under 2 years old 4:15: Life has totally changed for Pep in the past three years 6:22: Growing up in Oregon, in a yurt 10:30: How did he get into skiing and what else is going on in life? 14:55: Boarding school, moguls, and competition 17:20: What skiers did Pep look up to? 18:35: How did the sponsors find him? 21:12: Pro models and the money he made 23:22: How did Nimbus come together and what did that entail? 25:31: Dropping his poles, HellBents in the X Games 28:35: What is the focus of his ski career these days and getting dropped by Oakley

"It's hyper awareness. I am like charged particles, and I'm sharing with my surroundings, like part of this rich, interconnected web," he says about his airs. "There is no empty space. So the moment I leave a cliff I'm connected through the air, the trees, the ground, my skis, the wind, and when I land, it's a seamless integration, because I actually never left any connection to that energy level that I'm vibrating with." :55: The 100 footer Julian posted on Insta and the thought process behind hitting big cliffs 3:10: Growing up in SLC and skateboarding 8:10: Getting into skiing in the 8th grade and team sports 10:30: University of Utah 13:15: His big picture vision 15:50: What he thinks about the folks who say he doesn’t stomp his landings 22:15: The process behind launching Air Jordan as a single hit 26:45: Meeting Jamie Pierre 31:40: Do the records mean anything to him? 33:30: The founding of Discrete Headwear

On this episode of the "Sponsored" podcast, host Mike Powell interviews perennial Freeride World Tour contender and former champion Drew Tabke. Tabke is one of the most outspoken athletes on the tour, and the two discuss how to grow the exposure of what is skiing's most exciting competition and why Tabke returns year after year. "I really do believe in what we're doing," says Tabke. "Sometimes it's epic and sometimes it's not, but it's almost always worthwhile." 1:00: How has your season been so far? 2:30: The early years in Hawaii 4:20: Moving back to Park City 5:30: Skiing in High School 10:00: College and competing 11:15: Life on the Freeride World Tour 18:00: What needs to change on the FWT? 21:15: How has his approach to safety changed in the past decade? 24:00: What has kept him on the FWT instead of filming? 26:30: FWT reality show is the future

2:43 Life in Arizona 3:44: Growing up in Pennsylvania wakeboarding and skiing 6:00: The end of team sports 8:32: Killington Mountain School 9:12: Skiing, wakeboarding, and the US Open 12:29: The early challenges for women in the beginning of the modern twin tip era 15:55: The photo shoots that had nothing to do with skiing 18:48: Was she able to make a lot of money skiing? 19:37: Head injuries led to retirement 21:42: ABC’s Superstars and winning it 23:26: The controversy she started with the E-Sports world

This week on the "Sponsored" podcast, freeskiing legend Skogen Sprang stops by to talk with host by Mike Powell about his career as a competition and film skier, his style and versatility. "I did look at it as you should be able to ski every aspect of freeskiing," says Sprang. "You should be good at all these things. And I just enjoyed it, too. For me, always the big mountain and powder and backcountry stuff has been the pinnacle goal of being in the mountains, enjoying it, creating cool looking shots, or images, really just being out there and enjoying the mountains and the soul aspect of that, but then I equally love being out in urban areas and getting creative with some setup and getting technical and playing around in the streets, sliding metal. That's equally as fun just in a totally different way." 1:47: Moved to Park City for the U.S. Team 3:08: Growing up with two brothers and how he got into skiing? 5:26: Switching to snowboarding 7:49: Moving to Tahoe to become a pro snowboarder 10:40: How did he get on Line Skis and what were things line in the late 90s? 17:22: The style of his skiing and skiing everything 20:27: Competition mindset 22:19: The highlights of filming 24:22: The injury 26:53: Starting a valet business 28:43: Head Coach, U.S. Slopestyle Team

Over the past 10 years, Elyse Saugstad has been one of the most influential skiers in the sport. In 2008 she won three out of four Freeride World Tour stops and was the overall champion. In 2013, she won Best Female Performance at the 2013 Powder Awards. She continues to produce On this episode of the "Sponsored" podcast, hosted by Mike Powell, Saugstad shares her inspiring story. Saugstad grew up as a downhill racer in Alaska, which she credits with developing her ski style. "You start to get used to that speed and the fear that can come along with downhill," she says, "and I think then that that just naturally transitioned into how I freeride." After moving to Squaw, Saugstad ditched law school plans. "I moved specifically to Squaw because it has the best skiing and the best skiers and I can afford a pass there now, so that's where I'm going to go. There are so many good pros around and you start to realize, 'Hey, maybe my skiing is at the same level as these guys. Maybe I can give this a go. One thing led to another and the next thing you know I'm a pro skier and I'm not going to law school anymore." Ever tough, smart, and passionate, Saugstad is also outspoken about creating more opportunities for female skiers. She discusses women's issues in skiing as well as setbacks she experienced for being an advocate. "Being a squeaky wheel definitely hurt with a big sponsor in particular," she says. "Like, 'hey, let's do more women's stuff, hey let's pay attention to women. Check out this market. And I'd write letters to the sponsor, and give statistics of why the women's market is important to pay attention to, and eventually, I just got downgraded in my status and then eventually cut." Saugstad goes into detail on the the growing women's market and what needs to happen for its continued growth. "The more visibility there is on women," she says, "the more we're going to see women doing really cool things."

On this episode of the "Sponsored" podcast, host Mike Powell interviews Lexi duPont, a Sun Valley, Idaho, native, film skiing regular, and a 17th Annual Powder Awards "Best Female Peformance" nominee. The two discuss growing up the daughter of a K2 Performer mother in Sun Valley—she began ski racing at age 2—and politics. "Now with all the political bullshit that's happening in the States, it's a better time than ever before to stand up to use our voice to give love and educate ourselves on what is happening out there," duPont says. Though her family is no longer part of the operations, the company duPont—yes, that one—is a publicly traded company that generates $25 billion in revenue. Lexi duPont discussed how she has learned to use her last name for good. "For a while, I had this stigma of this last name, and I was kind of embarrassed by it and didn't want anyone to know, and it wasn't until recently that I really owned that last name and used it to go against those principles," she says. "DuPont company did some really terrible stuff to the environment, but I think by having that last name, I'm in a position of power to show that even if you're brought up with that name or those influences, you can still make choices for yourself to better the world instead of taking advantage of it." DuPont has had to address a lot of haters in skiing—those who think she's only where she is as a result of being born into the duPont family. "I've had people tell me the only way you've made it in skiing is because you're a duPont," she says, "and you can pay for your own heli time and you've just paid your way to get this far, and that just really strikes a chord with me, because one, I might have this fancy last name, but you don't know anything about me, or where I came from, or how hard I had to work to get to this point ... You know what? This is the sick reality that I'm living right now that I've made for myself, and that comes from a line of choices every single day to pursue happiness and fun no matter what."

Aaron McGovern was known for sending it. Violent crashes were known as "McGoverning." In the bar, he was known for getting wasted and picking fights. McGovern was constantly flirting with "the edge of destruction." Sometimes it worked—he filmed over 20 segments and appeared on 15 magazine covers. And sometimes it didn't—he has a long list of injuries and arrests. Now sober for 10 years and a freeskiing coach at Squaw, McGovern has a newfound joy of coaching, which he says gives him as much happiness as anything. On this episode of the "Sponsored" podcast, Aaron McGovern shares his never boring story with host Mike Powell. McGovern is candid about his past. The two talk about why he was always pushing it. "You really can't learn unless you're there, on that edge of destruction," says McGovern. "Anyone can ski down a groomer, but to learn what you can possible handle and ski through and live, you have to send it. If you're not falling, or not on the edge of destruction, you're not learning." Powell and McGovern also talk about the state of professional skiing and McGovern's love of working with kids. "I just love coaching. I get the same feeling when a kid makes the podium doing a freeski comp than if I was on the podium," says McGovern. "I've banged myself up so much doing this stuff that at least I can pass it on to someone else hopefully."

Pro skier David Lesh is known for his controversial promo videos. To say he is misunderstood may be an understatement. This week on the "Sponsored" podcast, host Mike Powell has an honest conversation with Lesh about his life story. Lesh talks about growing up in India, English being his third language, blowing a lunch date with President Obama, getting kicked out of school, and his long list of felonies. Lesh even had to remove an ankle bracelet in order to compete in an event in Michigan. "One comp I went to drove up to the UP and had to obviously cut my ankle bracelet off because one, I couldn't put a ski boot on, and two, I was going to leave the state anyway. Full well knowing that the consequence for me cutting off said ankle bracelet was two weeks in jail when I got back. I actually ended up getting third in the comp." Lesh, not one to shy away from the more damning details of his criminal life, also talks about a motorcycle chase. "My goal was to stop doing all this crazy stuff but—we were hopping freight trains and taking a road trip around the country for a few months and I made the mistake of buying a crotch rocket in Santa Cruz, and I was driving it up the coast to Portland, where I was going to move, and I got in a high speed chase at 140 mph. I wrecked the thing, and got away—didn't get in any trouble. But it took me about 9 months or so to rebuild it and I still hadn't gotten insurance. [Then] I was driving it around in Portland [and police tried to pull me over.] I got away, but they set up a police net and brought the dogs in and they almost ripped my head off. I was hiding in a bush in someone's backyard. I got caught for that. My parents told me to go fuck myself. I had no money for a lawyer at all. I got stuck with a public defender. I was 18. I spent a bunch of time in jail. A really bummer deal. So now I'm a felon. I can't technically own firearms... I actually got a glock right here."

One of the original rail skiers, Frank Raymond joins "Sponsored" to discuss all he learned through skiing and what he's up to now. Show Notes 2:30: The real world 4:00: Getting into skiing 6:00: Focusing on skiing 7:00: Quitting racing 9:00: Sponsors 11:00: Movie parts 12:20: JF 15:50: Felix Rioux gets Frank on K2 17:23: Are you making money in skiing? 18:40: Retirement 20:00: How he planned the season out 21:00: Top 3 moments of his pro career 22:44: Maude Raymond 24:27: School 27:00: The benefits of a real job

Once labeled a ski model, Caroline Gleich is open and honest about all she has done to become a respected ski mountaineer. 1:11: Busy early season 2:00: Getting into skiing in MN 3:40: Small in stature 7:12: Moving to Utah 9:15: Ulmer hired to mentor 10:15: How did you get your first sponsor 12:00: The face of skiing in Utah 14:00: How did she get into climbing? 15:00: 2013: The year of Caroline 15:47: Andrew McLean 16:45: Getting back into climbing with Liz 18:00: Challenges of being small 19:30: The gender issue in skiing 20:30: A non-traditional path to finding success 22:44: Who pays the bills? 25:00: What’s on tap for 2017 "I always had this greater vision for myself, and along the way everyone told me I couldn't do it—I was too small, I wasn't strong enough—but eventually you kind of have to decide what you're capable of and not listen to anyone else," says Gleich, in this episode of the "Sponsored" podcast. Gleich and host Mike Powell also discuss gender biases in snowsports. "There's still so much implicit bias about what a small woman can do," says Gleich. "In snowsports, we still have a really long way to go as far as gender equality. At the end of the day, I think my actions will speak louder than any of my words. I do want validation and would love more recognition about my accomplishments, but at the end of the day, I'd rather just do the thing and let my actions speak for me." In addition to being a ski mountaineer, Gleich is known for her perpetual high energy. "I'm just so grateful in my adult life to keep my body in motion. Growing up, sitting through school was always really hard for me," says Gleich. "When I'm in the mountains, I'm just so overjoyed to be there. So I think just having the energy and the stoke, it was really helpful to have that burning desire."

On this episode of the "Sponsored" podcast, Karl Fostvedt talks to host Mike Powell about pursuing his dream of being a professional skier at all costs. "I always wanted to be a pro skier. I've always wanted it and have been working for it." Powell talks to Fostvedt about how he finagled his way into a variety of contests, including how he showed up to Cold Rush unannounced. "Cold Rush had this crazy sketchy railroad feature, and nobody wanted to hit it. Pep (Fujas) rolled through and I had noticed that nobody was hitting that thing and rails have always just come naturally to me. I had asked him to let me into the competition and there was nothing he could do, so I was like, 'Hey man, can I please just guinea pig that rail?' I think he had a sigh of relief, like, he didn't want to hit it. I think I had my powder skis on at the time and never hit a rail on them, but I was feeling a little pressure from a childhood hero and decided to send it and ended it up greasing it up and landing it perfect. Right after that, everybody started sessioning it. Show Notes 2:00: Problems at the border 4:20: Growing up 10:30: After High School 15:00: Relationship with ON3P 19:00: Getting into Dew Tour 23:00: Detroit 28:00: Tamashii Project 32:00: Hollywood 40:00: What’s next

Clayton Vila is one of the hardest working and most accomplished street skiers in the world. On this episode of the "Sponsored" podcast, Vila and host Mike Powell discuss how he got into street skiing as a kid from Rhode Island, and the consequences of pursuing creativity over competition. "The K2 team had a bunch of dudes and none of them competed," says Vila. "These people are backing people who are just doing what I want to do and skiing with the utmost integrity and pushing skiing in other ways beyond competition, which was why it was like, 'wow, if I get in with these dudes I might be able to make it." In addition to being one of the most influential contemporary skiers in the world, Vila is also a filmmaker (at the 2015 Powder Awards, Vila took home Movie of the Year for his role starring and producing For Lack of Better. He now lives in LA and works on the show "Scandal," but he has no intention of not skiing urban. "It may be one of the more wearing sports mentally, in terms of the work ethic, and just being in crappy cities, being in hotels, it being negative 20 in Minnesota filming your friends and your fingers are falling off and you have nothing to show for it at the end of the day," says Vila. "That whole thing wears on you, but I don't see myself stopping anytime soon." Show Notes 2:00: Last Season 4:00: Block Island 5:00: How did Clayton get into skiing on an island? 6:00: Waterville Valley 11:05: Meeting the Stept Crew 13:00: Getting on K2 15:55: It’s not about skiing 19:20: Injuries 22:30: Filmmaking 24:29: Finances 26:30: Powder Awards Movie of the Year

On this episode of the "Sponsored" podcast, Glen Plake comes on for the third and final part of his conversation with host Mike Powell. The two talk about the dawn of snowboarding and how it was pitted against skiing as a marketing ploy, but in the beginning, it was all about just being in the mountains and being creative. Glen Plake Part three Show Notes: 1:00: The beginning of snowboarding and how Plake was involved 7:25: Skiing and how they use athletes 9:49: The old guard of skiing 11:26: Hotel and Resort Ski Areas 12:40: How Plake’s skiing has evolved 21:50: Down Home Tour 25:30: The promotional machine of Plake 29:23: The Guatemalan Persuader 38:15: Rory Silva