The Alexis Godbout Profile
This article originally appeared in the October 2010 issue of Freeskier Magazine. For more from this issue make sure to pick up a copy at your local newsstand.
Words by: Shay Williams Photos: Erik Seo
Alexis Godbout isn't an overnight success: He's been the next big thing for years. The Quebec native was plucked from the masses by the benevolent hand of Salomon at the age of 14, and he's been on the tip of everyone's tongue ever since. Alexis is a grommit turned legitimate pro, churning out breakthrough season after breakthrough season, as well as appearing in Pléhouse, Matchstick and Poorboyz films. He has lived up to his hype. Alexis proved long ago he was a premier slopestyle rider, but the last two years he has cemented that status, without the use of double corks. Now with talk of bringing double- upside down maneuvers to the table, Alexis will take another step toward the top, something he's been doing his whole career.
FS: In English, you have a girl's name. That confuses us. Yeah I know, I know. Now I take the "s" out of my name so it's Alexi instead of Alexis. It's kind of annoying though.
How is your mustache coming along? My mustache is actually shaved right now because all my friends hated it, but I'll let it grow back for the winter. Winter time is mustache time.
It seems like you've been blowing up forever. How did that happen for you? When I was 14 I got picked up by Salomon International so I could travel and stuff. That helped me get my way around and get known a lot more. Mainly Salomon people and Charles Gagnier helped me out.
Last year you did well in slope without doubles. What are your plans regarding doubles next year? Oh, don't worry, I've already got them ready to go for next year.
What are your predictions for next year's slopestyle competitions? Similar to this year but we'll probably see unnatural doubles and stuff like that. I don't think triples will be thrown in slopestyle, but we'll have to see.
What are your thoughts on triples? I was almost ready to try one this summer, but I didn't find a jump. Sammy's jump was really scary and he pulled it off but I didn't have the balls to do it.
Is style gonna be tougher with all the doubles in next year's competitions? I think it's going to come down to grabs and little things to do well in slopestyle. I'm going to try to be more technical but also grab well and be stylish.
Are you going to ride pipe at all in the future? This summer in New Zealand I'm going to. But I want to concentrate more on rails and jumps.
So the idea of the Olympics isn't pulling you over like it will with some people? Some people definitely will. I don't necessarily have four years to decide, but I have some time. If I do get into it, it'll be next summer, for sure. We'll have to see.
What is Alexis' plan for cleaning up the oil spill in the gulf? Some Quebec wisdom? We don't really talk about that stuff up here, but I'd say just get a big vacuum and vacuum it up.
