Candide Thovex is 39 years old. For the people in the back, I’ll say that again. Candide Thovex is 39 years old. The flying Frenchman has been skiing for far longer than I have been alive. To say that he has benefited skiing is to say that oxygen has merely helped out us humans. Skiing as we know it today would not be what it is without Candide’s influence. He was the young gun that completely changed the game with Mike Douglas, JP Auclair, JF Cusson, and the rest of those associated with the New Canadian Air Force. From the other side of the globe, Candide came down like a masked vigilante, breathing new life into the world of skiing.
As a lone skier in a park of snowboarders, he helped pioneer the world of freeskiing. It’s easy to take what seems so available for granted, but 20 years ago, skiers hardly had the tools to even a jump. If it wasn’t for Candide, and the few pursing the craft like him, there would have been no call for twin tip skis, no ground breaking invention known as “reverse camber”, and no cultural shift that pushed skiing in an entirely new direction. We are incredibly fortunate to be able to watch an individual such as Candide perfect his craft while simultaneously defying what time demands of us. No aging for this animal. You can bet the farm that Candide will be back with more tenacious action this winter.
