Nick Goepper talks X Games gold, sugary cereals, celebrity gymnasts and the state of freeskiing

A week after departing Aspen, Colorado with an X Games gold medal, Nick Goepper sits silently eating his breakfast. We’re seated at a table in The Grand Country Deli, a small eatery and convenience store located within Mount Snow’s Grand Summit Hotel in West Dover, Vermont. Typical New England tchotchkes line the store shelves: postcards, keychains and a half dozen varieties of maple syrup. A deli counter sits in the rear, serving up one of my favorite breakfasts in the area. Should you find yourself here, you’d do well to order the breakfast burrito.

Our group consists of Goepper, Windells Academy’s Kerry Miller, Mount Snow’s Matt Gebo and filmer Dylan Demers, in addition to Ian Burson, Ian’s father Chad and friend Gary Showalter; the latter three coming from Carson City, NV after Ian won a contest that netted him two days of skiing with Goepper, as well as a full gear setup from Goepper’s sponsors. The conversation jumps around, switching from plans for the next two days and the recent January thaw, to the quickest way to getting Ian’s new skis mounted. Goepper is subdued and focused, making small talk but not much else; not what you’d expect from someone who’d just claimed one of freeskiing’s top honors and the bragging rights to go with it. The group finally finishes their meals and departs. I’d spend the next two days following Nick and the Carson City crew around Mount Snow’s Carinthia Parks, hot lapping through the resort’s parks, watching Goepper sign autographs for fans in the base lodge and photographing the contingent before I’d be able to sit Nick down for an interview. When I finally did, here’s what he had to say on everything from sugary cereals, celebrity gymnasts and the state of freeskiing today.

So I’m going to start off with some quick questions… Cocoa Puffs or Lucky Charms? Lucky Charms for sure. I’ve loved them since I was a kid. My parents never bought sugary cereal, but whenever I would go to my grandparents in Michigan for holidays, my grandmother would always buy them for me, she was a saint for that.

Your little secret? Yeah.

New Zealand or South America? New Zealand. Never been to South America, but New Zealand tops all.

When was the last time you were there? I was there last August and September.

Hood or Whistler? Hood.

Favorite book? Favorite book? [Pause] The Lone Survivor by Marcus Luttrell. It’s a book about a Navy SEAL who… gets separated from his contingent in Afghanistan and has to do all this crazy, heroic stuff.

Favorite musician? Are we talking like musician? Or rapper? Or…?

Whatever’s in your headphones? I mean, it really changes day to day, but right now I guess I’d say Kendrik Lamar.

If you were to have a trail named after you, what would it be called? A trail named after me? [Laughs] [Pause] Goep’ Dog’s Fun Park.

Would you rather attend the Super Bowl or the World Series? Super Bowl.

So coming off of XGames gold, how big of a whirlwind has it been for you? It’s been a massive whirlwind. The last week and a half has been really busy with interviews and signings and all that kind of stuff. My sponsors are really stoked and I’m really stoked and my family… I mean, it’s really been an amazing experience so far.

Have you had any downtime? Yeah I’ve had some downtime. My only downtime, really, is when I sleep. [Laughs] But, um, yeah I’m hanging out on airplanes and stuff so I guess I’d call that downtime too.

So your story is the kind of story that the media loves to eat up; small town kid growing up skiing a small hill goes on to win one of, if not the largest, freeskiing competitions out there. Are we going to see you on Ellen anytime soon? Ellen? I don’t know about being on Ellen, I guess I would love to… We’ll see, I mean that might be something for next year. [Laughs] We can see how my agent can do. I guess that’d be cool.

How many interviews do you think you’ve done between now and then? Probably at least 25 to 30.

Who do you think was the biggest media outlet? Biggest media… I would probably say ESPN right after the X Games. They took me to one of their major studios and had me interviewed by this cute Australian girl. I think it went on the air after the event.

Is it fair to say that standing up on the podium was perhaps the greatest moment of your life? Yes, that is absolutely correct. That was… almost a tearful moment. You know, especially with my coach there, my mentor, and my family watching. It was definitely one of the highlights of my life.

Who was the first person you called? The first person I talked to on the phone after I won, besides my parents, was one of my best friends back home. His name is also Nick, he’s got a twin brother. That was really special to talk to him right afterwards.

Obviously competition was tough with Henrik and Woodsy rounding out the podium; Bellemare and Håtveit sitting just outside the top three. What was it like competing against those athletes? It was nerve racking, for sure. It was really tough, because they’re all such great skiers and they all get really creative and technical on the course. That day was really anyone’s contest; anyone could have stepped up and won and it just so happened to go my way and I’m really excited about that. I think with a lot of strategizing, a lot of hard work, I think that could stay that way in the future.

That kind of brings me into my next question. ESPN loves their records, whether it’s whatever record Shaun White is currently holding or what not, the whole “three-peat, four-peat…” You’re part of what they’ve categorized as the “quirkiest event,” where nine different skiers have won nine gold medals in nine years. Are you worried that streak will continue? Yes and no. [Laughs] I’d like to end that streak next year, that’s one of my major goals. I can’t wait for this summer to just to do as much skiing as possible up at Mt. Hood and hang out at Windells, but yeah, I think that streak could change next year. I definitely think it’s possible.

So now you’re here in Mount Snow for the week. How has Mount Snow helped you out in your growth as an athlete? Well, skiing here at Mount Snow is a lot of fun. I love the parks here and also the people on the East Coast, and New England in general, are just so… they’re a lot more down to Earth and genuine than I find out West. Especially the kids, the kids are just so much more stoked and just really… really excited to see pro skiers and things happening on their home mountain, and I don’t really see that in the western states as much. I got my big break here when I was thirteen. I did my first major pro contest, the Mount Snow Open, and it was an eye opening experience. I was really intimidated. The conditions were pretty good but the jumps were huge. I mean, I’m this little thirteen-year-old trying go off these jumps and lay down my best run. But yeah, that was definitely an experience. I’d say Mount Snow has done a lot for my career.

Leaned back, just havin’ a day. Carinthia Parks at Mt. Snow.

One of those kids that we were talking about who was really stoked to hang out was the contest winner Ian Burson. How was that, this past weekend, hanging out and skiing with him? Yeah, giving Ian Burson the chance to come out and ski with me for a couple of days was a real pleasure, just cause he’s a great kid, and he’s an awesome skier. His dad is fantastic. [Ian] just wants to ski, he genuinely loves to ski. He was yanking me off the lunch table every day like, “Come on! Let’s go ski! Let’s go ski!” You know, “Let’s get first chair!” He was really enthusiastic about it, and it was really fun to see that.

Switching topics. When you’re not on the hill, or gym, or trampolines, what are you doing? What is home life like? Let’s see, when I’m not on the hill I’m… Well, if it’s the summertime I’m either skating or surfing and in the winter, usually just chilling out, maybe bowling, hanging out with friends, going to the movies. Kind of normal teenager stuff.

Do you find that it’s kind of hard to manage or balance both the teenage lifestyle and the X Games gold medalist lifestyle? That’s definitely… you kind of have to be careful, because you can’t be a normal teenager and at the same time be an X Games athlete. You kind of have to balance the two carefully, but it’s definitely possible.

So if you weren’t a professional skier, what do you think you’d be doing now? College? What would you be studying? If I wasn’t a professional skier I’d be at a big school either playing soccer or studying, and doing extracurricular sports and hanging out with a good group of friends. Having a lot of fun. Having the time of my life.

What do you think you’d major in? Let’s see, I’d probably major at something along the lines of business and marketing. A little more practical than a lot of other majors. Like my coach [Mike Hanley], he almost has… he’s like one thesis away from a PHD in Medievel History. Super practical, right?

Do you guys have any sword fights, or rather, talk about the theory of sword fighting? He’s one of those guys that will talk your ear off. You ask him one question and he’ll give you a two-hour response.

So we talked earlier this weekend about your love of surfing. If your ski career doesn’t work out, do you think you’re going to make it as a pro surfer? Are we going to find you in either the Jaws or Mavericks lineup? I wouldn’t be a big wave surfer, that’s for sure. I’d be one of those technical, kind of small wave, air surfers.

If you had to travel anywhere in the world to surf, where would it be? I’d probably go to southern California, honestly. I love it down there and there’s so many sick beach breaks and points. I know a lot of people down there too, so it’d be there.

And where in the world would you like to go skiing that you haven’t? I would love to go skiing in either Austrailia or Japan. Both because they have different types of skiing to offer and also because of the place and culture too.

Are you a fan of sushi? No.

That might be a little tough for you. [Laughs]

So from skiing to surfing to gymnastics. You’ve recently shown up in a few photos with Olympic gymnast Shawn Johnson, which has lead to a few rumors circulating the internet that you two might be involved romantically. Is there any truth to those rumors? [Pause] That information has to stay, what’s the word, classified. That information has to stay classified as of this point. I can’t leak anything yet.

Am I allowed to write that? Yeah.

So then, are you dating anyone? I’m not dating anyone.

Are you currently filming with anyone? Or, if not, and if you wanted to, who would you like to film a segment with? I’d love to film a segment with just about anybody, but it’s about time and also kind of this next year and a half. I mean, as lame as it sounds, I don’t want to put myself at risk before the Olympics, and after the Olympics is when I want to start filming heavily.

With regards to ski films, what would you rather watch? Ski documentary or ski porn? Ski porn. I’m not one to sit through a story or something. I don’t want to see all the background footage and that nitty gritty stuff. I just want to see the tricks.

Who do you think laid down the best segment in this year’s crop of ski films? It really depends. You’ve got all different types of skiers. Backcountry, park and urban. I mean Tom [Wallisch] always puts together a good segment. I really liked Will Wesson’s urban segment in the Level 1 movie. I also liked Clayton Vila and Sean Jordan’s segments in the new Poor Boyz movie, WE.Those are really the only two movies I’ve seen this year. I haven’t seen the Matchstick or TGR movie.

Are there any particular segments in the past, you know, looking back, that’ve really inspired you? Or is there really anything out there that really inspired you? Well, when I was younger I watched Dave Crichton’s segment in the Level 1 movie Forward over and over and over again. That was my favorite film segment of all time, and that inspired me to go out and try new tricks and just have fun on my skis. What else inspires me? I really look up to a lot of athletes in action sports that have pushed their limits and made names for themselves. Some of them… Kelly Slater would probably be number one. He’s just the winningest individual, the most winningest individual of all time. Other guys like Nyjah Huston and David Gonzales in the skate world. Kevin Robinson in the BMX world. He’s got two kids and a wife, coming up on like 40, and he’s still winning X Games. It’s crazy. There’s a lot of things that inspire me. Fans too. My family for sure.

Who in the start house makes you nervous? Who has a run that makes you particularly worried as you’re about to drop in on course? Tom [Wallisch] definitely, every time has a run that you know is going to be fire. James “Woodsy” Woods has also been skiing super well this year and every time he drops in you know he’s going to pull out something crazy and something cool and also Henrik [Harlaut]. He’s got that nose butter and he’ll be doing it in all the contests this year. Every time he drops in, you’re definitely wiping the sweat off your brow.

An op-ed appeared in Powder Magazine written by Clayton Vila that puts forth the argument that filming segments is a better expression of freeskiing than say, competitions. How would you respond to that? I would 100 percent agree with him, that filming segments displays freeskiing in a better light than contests. I mean, there’s no questions asked that you can display more well rounded and creative and interesting skiing with filming, which is why after this next year or so I definitely want to dive into that and start doing more filming. You know, it really is up to the individuals of the sport. There’s the competitive side. You know, guys who want to go out and compete and do well, and there’s also the guys who want to film and film segments. I have the utmost respect to everyone who does both, who does one or the other, and I think it’s really up to the individual, whatever he/she has fun doing and whatever he/she enjoys success in.

Do you think that there’s something to the argument that there’s a “spin to win” mentality in today’s competitive freeskiing circuit? Yeah, definitely. I mean, I think any contest no matter what, as sad as it is to say, is “spin to win,” but I think it’s getting more creative and it’s getting more original with the grabs and the nose butters and the creativity on the rails, and I think it’s kind of toning down the spin to win mentality. But I also think that it’s still going to play a major role in the future.

Goepper lets ‘er fly at Mt. Snow

So obviously you’re up there in the ranks of some of the top freeskiers, which opens you up to criticism from both the professional side and the online forums. What would you say to people who have specifically targeted you and have criticism, saying that you could be called “an aerialist who grabs?” [Laughs] Well, that’s true. [Laughs] I’d say all competitive skiers are. An aerialist who grabs? I think everyone is an aerialist who grabs. What then, are we? I mean, we’re going upside down and spinning around on skis. What more is there to it? You can call it whatever you want. But myself? I am having the most fun going out and skiing and progressing myself and flipping upside down every single day, and I love it, and I don’t really care what people have to say as long I’m having fun and I do every day.

Because my follow-up question to that would be, “Does it get to you?” Do you ever find yourself skimming the forums or seeing the criticism out there? Does it ever hurt to read? Well, to those people who just go on the internet and hate, I mean, I really have no comment. It really doesn’t bug me at all. I know that I’m living my dream and I’m doing what I love to do: Skiing every day with my friends, and that’s really all that matters.

With the recent passing of Caleb Moore, and before that Sarah, and before that CR and Shane McConkey, the national media focuses its attention on the dangers that lie within the realm of action sports. And you know on our side, we say that it’s just inherent. Do you think our sport is sometimes too dangerous? I think there are a lot of dangerous aspects to freeskiing, but I 100 percent believe in how you prepare and how you train for it. If you’re attempting a skill or a feat that you have no business doing, then that’s when things go wrong. But you know, sometimes you do have freak accidents. I think people like to emphasize that in action sports because it’s got that ‘extreme,’ you know, reckless vibe to it. I think it happens in all types of different sports: soccer, baseball, football. I mean that stuff too, you have freak accidents. You know, it’s all about how you prepare and how you train for it and how your body and your skill-set is ready to take on some of the different things that we do as action sports athletes.

One of the biggest news stories in recent months has been Lance Armstrong. Doping and coming out like that. Being an Olympic hopeful, do you think that would ever seep into the ski scene? Do you think that would ever come out that there’s doping or stuff like that? No, I do not think doping would ever be an issue in skiing because skiing isn’t the type of sport that you would need super human strength and ability to do it. It’s more of a really meticulous skill that you acquire to do flips and spins on your skis. You don’t need brute strength to do it, so I don’t think that would ever be an issue in skiing.

Let’s wrap it up with a happier subject. Tell me about your upcoming season? What are you psyched about? I’m really excited for the near future because I’ll be doing a lot of traveling, going to new places and meeting new people. Really focusing on staying healthy and keeping my mind in check and just having the most fun possible.

Is there anyone you’d want to give some shout outs to? All my sponsors for helping me along the way and all the folks here at Mount Snow. My family and God.

Photos by Dan Brown