Age: 14
Nickname: Hookie
Home Mountain: Perisher & Moiwa (Japan)
Years Riding: 5
People You Love to Ride with: Valentino Guseli, my brother Jye, Austen Sweetin, Scotty James, Taker, Su Yi Ming
Favourite Trick: Back dub 10 & deep powder turns
Stance: Natural
Music: Hip Hop (Travis Scott) and making my own music
Supporters: Mum & Dad, Quiksilver, Oakley, GoPro, Rhythm, Flight Centre, Boost, Skullcandy
Who inspires you? Scotty James and Takeru Otsuka. Scotty’s a legend Aussie rider whose work ethic is ridiculous and his ability to remain at the top while everyone is gunning for him is just super impressive. I met Takeru early on before his X Games victories and he was so good to me, helping me with training and just a really nice guy. He also works crazy hard.
Outside of snowboarding, who influences your attitude? Julian Wilson because of the way he approaches everything – training, competition, family. He’s super professional, humble and knows how important family is. I was also really impressed with an interview I saw with Metro Boomin. He was explaining how he could have gone down the “cool” path of taking drugs as part of his music career, but he just wanted to focus on the music and show others that you can be successful in the industry without falling into that trap.
Where will you be in five years? I really hope to be balancing some of my best results in international competitions, and freeriding big mountains. I’d really like to be filming in some out of the way places I know of in Japan, and I’ve always wanted to ride at Bald Face Lodge – that place looks INSANE!
What fills your time apart from snowboarding? Surfing has always been a big part of my life so I try to do that as much as possible, and lately I’ve gotten into golf. Super fun and frustrating at the same time, I think it’s definitely helping me with patience and perseverance. I’m really loving making music as well. It’s a good creative outlet and it’s something I can do all the time whether I’m travelling or at home.
Describe your ideal day? My ideal snow day is waking up in Japan with my brother, its dumped 2 feet of fresh pow overnight and Taro Tamai calls us up to say we’re freeriding a local spot. We have a katsu curry after riding, hit the onsen, and stop in at the Milk Kobo for a shu cream on the way home. Some time in front of the fire with my family at the end of the day, and then jump into bed ready to do it all again.
Where’s your favourite place to ride? If I’m riding park it’s Perisher and Cardrona. They have the best parks and good people to ride with. If I’m freeriding, it has to be anywhere in Japan. I do a lot of hiking when I’m over there so it’s always special to get first tracks and ride untouched powder.
Best result this winter? I didn’t get a chance to compete during the Northern Hemi season as it was cut short by the coronavirus. Last season I won the Australian Junior Slopestyle series at Perisher and also had a great day winning the Big Air at Thredbo with the highest score overall out of all divisions. I’m not sure whether I’ll get the chance to compete this Southern Hemisphere winter with all the COVID stuff going on…hopefully the organisers can work something out.
What’s your plan for the upcoming winter Down Under? I’ve only just found out the resorts are opening, but I’m still not sure what is happening with the parks so we haven’t been able to finalise anything. We’re doing our best to get a training plan together so if there are any comps on, I’ll be ready. I’ll definitely be heading down to ride at some stage, and look forward to getting back on snow and catching up with my mates.
