Name:
Tom Wallisch
Age:
29
Hometown:
Pittsburg, Pennsylvania
Sponsors:
Bose, Full Tilt Boots, Gnarbox, GoPro, Line Skis, Marker Bindings, Monster Energy, Shred Optics, Slytech Protection, Seven Springs, The North Face
Tom Wallisch is a household name in the ski world. He took the Internet by storm with his Level 1 Superunknown edit in 2007 and hasn’t looked back. Since then, he’s topped major contest podiums, put out incredible film projects and worked to develop various pro model products with his sponsors. Taking all of this into consideration, we wanted to give him the time and space to reflect on his past in “Lasts.” See what the Pittsburgh native has to say as he propels himself through another big winter.
If someone was spending their last day on Earth, I’d tell them to ski in Japan. One day of deep pow, friends, sushi and sake is all you need. When I visited Rusutsu Resort, you could shred pow all day, enjoy the luxury of ski-in-ski-out access, then spend the evening drinking Sapporo and sake and hitting up the water slide. The vibe in Japan is just too good.
The last perfect backflip I did was a Jerry-style side-kicker off the main jump in the Windells Lane this past summer. Nothing like laying out a perfect backy, having tons of time to spot the landing and just stomping.
The last time I really scared myself on skis was during our shoot at Seven Springs last season when I was attempting to break the world record for longest rail slide on skis. After three days of attempting the record and over 300 tries, I was very scared of the potential for failure. I wasn’t scared of the trick, the slide or getting hurt, but just scared of failing. We had invested so much time, money and effort into building this rail and if I wasn’t able to grind it, it would have all been in vain. This fear of failing really helped push me to get back out there and work harder.
The last time I crashed super hard was at the B&E Invitational this past season. I was having an awesome time at the event and really just taking it easy and having fun. But I ended up going to slide around the coping on a bowl-style feature they had built and totally misjudged the speed. I fell into the center of the bowl and twisted my leg in a crazy direction; it felt like I had ripped every ligament in my knee. I ended up with just a ruptured MCL, which was a huge relief.
The last lesson I learned was during the fall, when I learned that I should seriously consider sticking to skiing. I crashed pretty hard on my mountain bike in Park City and ended up with a small fracture in my neck. Just when I thought I was starting to figure it out, I crashed, flew over the handlebars and landed on my head like a serious Jerry.
The last time I jumped for joy was a few weeks ago while celebrating an epic, game-winning corn hole shot at The North Face athlete summit in Moab, Utah. It was such a cool event, and awesome to hang out with athletes from all the different sports: climbers, runners, skiers, snowboarders, everyone. With all of those competitive people in one place, there were some exciting corn hole games, for sure.
The last good concert I went to was Nas, playing in Aspen during Winter X Games a few years back. It was probably the most fun I’ve ever had at a show. He’s always been one of my favorite artists so I was just stoked to hear some of his music in person. The concert took place at Belly Up in Aspen, which is a pretty small venue, and we were right up front, slapping fives with him during the show.
The last exciting thing I bought for my dog, Derek, was an epic new winter coat so that he can go on winter hikes and not shiver. He’s incredibly small and tends to have trouble getting around when it’s deep, so he needs some gear. We’ve almost lost him a few times.
The last piece of gear I recommended to someone was my pro model, the Line Tom Wallisch Pro. I spent a year and a half testing 20-plus prototypes, trying to figure out what makes the perfect park ski and after working with the engineers at Line, I finally found what I wanted. The ski can literally do it all in the park but it crushes all over, too—it’s sturdy and durable. I’m so proud of it and am continually telling everyone I meet about it.
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