Earlier this winter, Poor Boyz Productions set out to find some of the best up-and-coming skiers the United States had to offer. After receiving dozens of 90-second video entries, the public was tasked with voting for their favorites. Those votes were combined with the scores of an esteemed judging panel that included FREESKIER’s editor-in-chief Henrik Lampert. When all was said and done, Owen Leeper, Giray Dadali and Ian Hamilton were named “The Undiscovered.”
In addition to each winning $5,000, the trio will be flown to Chile for an all-expenses-paid film shoot with Poor Boyz and FREESKIER magazine. We caught up with the winners to get their thoughts on their victories.
The Winners
Giray Dadali
Age: 25
Home Mountain: His father’s homemade rail park in New York
Favorite Trick: Wibbity Wabs ollying gapers
Giray Dadali grew up in western New York before making his way to Salt Lake City, Utah in 2008. A crash in March of 2013 nearly ended his ski career, but thanks to the High Fives Foundation, Giray has made a full comeback and now has his own “bro model” with his ski sponsor, J Skis. A veteran in both the park and the pow, Giray’s video impressed the judges with its mix of storytelling and action footage. “He was number one on my list,” said PBP founder Johnny Decesare. High praise, indeed.
Ian Hamilton
Age: 23
Home Mountain: Montana Snowbowl
Favorite Trick: Double Misty 1260
Ian Hamilton grew up in Missoula, Montana and has been making his way up the ranks of the slopestyle contest scene from his current home in Salt Lake City. However, lately Hamilton has been focusing more of his energy into the backcountry and is looking forward to testing his skills in Chile. FREESKIER editor-in-chief Henrik Lampert praised Hamilton’s trick selection in his submission video, giving high marks for the double misty into a pow landing and the switch right dub 10 in the park.
Owen Leeper
Age: 29
Home Mountain: Jackson Hole Mountain Resort
Favorite Trick: Flatspin
The most big mountain-focused athletes of the group, Owen Leeper hails from Jackson Hole by way of Aspen, Colorado. He’s made a name for himself over the last few years through a variety of hard-charging web edits that have racked up thousands of views on freeskier.com. Leeper is also the founder of the startup pole company Bold Poles. Of Leeper’s video, FREESKIER editor-in-chief Henrik Lampert remarked, “I’m already envisioning Owen sending it down south.”
The Q&A
FREESKIER: Hey fellas. Congrats on the win. Well deserved. What was your favorite trick in your edit?
Giray: It was either the first 360 over the double stager or the flat spin tree tap. The flat spin tap was just so well filmed and there were trees immediately after that would have rocked my dome if I fell, so I was stoked to ride away from it.
Owen: One of my favorite days of the year was when I got the shots on the backcountry kicker. That’s the day I learned the double flatspin.
Ian: That’s a hard question because I liked a lot of the shots in my edit. I would say top three were the dub misty 1080 into pow, because it was my first double ever into pow. The switch rightside double rodeo 1080 was also a highlight, because I just learned it this season after lots of hard work. And lastly, the double stager pillow shot because it was in Montana on a super deep powder day skinning with some of my best friends.
FREESKIER: How does it feel to take the win?
Giray: It doesn’t feel real. I’ve been in zillions of contests growing up and would never even win a damned raffle. There were so many talented skiers that had entered, and other people had way more public votes…honestly I just gave up hope for my submission. When I heard that I won I got goosebumps.
Owen: I thought the judging could go either way, but knew I had a chance. It makes all the time and effort of filming worth it.
Ian: I am blown away; there are so many good skiers out there, so it is always daunting to enter a big video contest. It kind of seems like a shot in the dark most times. I am still in a bit of shock because it has always been a dream to film with Poor Boyz, travel the world and heli-ski. So, getting to do all three of those things at the same time this summer is going to be epic.
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