Olympic Freeskier Bobby Brown is Totally Fearless
Olympic Freeskier Bobby Brown is Totally Fearless. Photo: Courtesy of Bobby Brown.
When I heard about American freeskier Bobby Brown, of course I wanted to know more. We have the same name — but the similarities end there. What he does on a daily basis, I can’t even imagine attempting. The fearless 23-year-old is known for flying through the air and doing flips and tricks in international slopestyle and big air competitions. He’s so good that he made freeskiing history in 2010 by becoming the first skier at the X Games to win two gold medals. But in a dangerous sport, the Colorado native has had to overcome some hurdles. Two years ago, he broke the same ankle twice but managed to make it to Sochi for the Olympics. At this year’s X Games, Bobby came home with a silver medal — and that was after a fall that left his helmet cracked completely in half.
Right before the Shaun White Air + Style snowboard and freeski big air event and music festival in L.A. this weekend, I had a chance to get to know Bobby. My 16-year-old son Duke, who is a big-mountain skier and fan, was on the line, too. Not surprisingly, both were out skiing and calling from chairlifts. Definitely a first for a Yahoo Beauty interview.
Bobbi Brown: Hi Bobby, meet my son Duke. I think you’re both on mountains right now.
Bobby: Yeah, I’m at Breckenridge. Duke, what hill you on?
Duke: I’m on 14 Gold Hill.
BB: Bobby, we should have gotten your mom to join us, too.
Bobby: [Laughing] That’d be sweet.
BB: I am so blown away by what you are physically able to do. It looks terrifying. How does your mom handle it? It must be so nerve-racking as a parent.
Bobby: At the X Games when I cracked my helmet, it was the first time I’ve seen my mom freak out. That was definitely not that sweet. But she’s been pretty chill about it the whole time, honestly.
BB: Your helmet was cracked completely open. Did you hit your head or did the helmet protect you?
Bobby: I got up and I was definitely dazed. It hurt a lot, but it was just the helmet. I went through the whole concussion protocol, and luckily I didn’t have one. My brother had another helmet, so it ended up working out just perfect, and I kept it going.
Bobby Brown does some crazy flips in his backyard with a GoPro Camera capturing the moment. Photo: Courtesy of Instagram @bobby_brown1
BB: How do you keep going after something like that?
Bobby: It’s been a long road back to the X Games and that’s where I wanted to be. It hurt a lot, but I was just sitting there thinking, I’m not going to let this end what I came all the way here to do. I was just superpsyched and just had to go back out there.
BB: Are you totally fearless?
Bobby: You know at the beginning of my career, nothing scared me. I felt like I was just bulletproof. But now big air is definitely kind of gnarly to me, and doing these tricks is kind of aggressive. So I’m trying to shift my career and figure out where I really want to go. There’s no room for fear when you’re doing these tricks. Commitment is totally key. You really have to go in full-force if you want to land it.
Duke: I’ve seen a lot of people get injured between the Olympics and the X Games. You breaking your helmet, Alex Schlopy crashing hard, and Henrik Harlaut breaking his collarbone. Is this just kind of something that you are noticing more of, and does it get in your head at all?
Bobby: Yeah, I mean, totally. When I was doing slopestyle, I was dropping right after Henrik. I’m at the start getting ready, not watching any of the footage, and then I hear on the radio, “Henrik’s out. He’s not moving. Get the ambulance.” I was just sitting there like, Oh man, I’m going to have to try a triple cork in the flattest light ever. Like, this is not what I’m hoping for. I don’t know if we’re hitting the physical limit or what, but you can’t really think about that. You have to prepare really well. Then once you go, you can’t let these variables change how you think.
Bobby Brown takes to the snow with his GoPro Camera to capture some awesome tricks “Getting booter crunk!” Photo: Courtesy of Instagram @bobby_brown1.
Duke: What are some current challenges you’re trying to overcome? What are you working on now?
Bobby: I’m trying to change my grip so I can do some weird stuff. Working on the rotations.
BB: Are you as confident off the mountain as you are on?
Bobby: Yeah, I’d say so. It all starts with everything off the mountain, and then it kind of translates on the mountain. I feel like skiing is just something I do. It’s not like totally who I am. I have a lot of other interests. So, I just want to live a balanced life, because for a little bit of time, it was kind of aggressive where I was only thinking about skiing. But the times that I’ve been successful are when I’m really spacing my life out and really balancing it really well.
BB: How long can you do the big air type of skiing? Is it something you can do long-term?
Bobby: I’d like to go to another Olympics. So, that’s kind of a goal of mine in the contest world, but then, I kind of want to transition into ski pow, and do film and that kind of stuff. So, hopefully I can keep it up for as long as possible, because it’s a pretty sweet life I’m living right now.
Bobby Brown “Backflip for the boys”! Photo: Courtesy of Instagram @bobby_brown1.
BB: What are your power foods?
Bobby: Besides my occasional Red Bull, I really try to stay away from sugar. I try to eat a lot of vegetables. I’ve come to learn over the injuries that what you put in your body is what you’re going to put out on the slopes and everywhere. So, to fuel that, I’m just trying to eat as healthy as possible.
BB: And how do you protect your skin when you’re outdoors in the cold always?
Bobby: I’d kind of like to really amp that up a little bit and really take better care of it because conditions and the elements are definitely pretty harsh up here. What I do is pretty much wear a facemask and sometimes forget to put on sunscreen and forget to take care of it. So that’s something that I feel like over the years might add up. So, I want to try and change that habit now.
BB: And what advice do you have for other kids who want to follow in your footsteps?
Bobby: One my favorite things to do, is to come out to Breckenridge and get to know all the little dudes. I did Team Summit growing up, so I love being part of that organization and getting them all stoked and helping them out whichever way I can. But my main advice is just to go out and have fun with your friends. I mean, that’s what this sport is all about. I can’t believe I actually have a job where I get to just go out and ride on the hill with all my friends and have fun. That’s how you get your success, just going out and really enjoying it. Obviously, set your goals and really go for it, but first and foremost have a good time. The school thing is huge ’cause I honestly didn’t put a lot of effort into that. That’s the one thing I always wanted to tell myself, do your homework and everything comes easy.
BB: And wear your helmet!
Bobby: Definitely!
Duke: Bobby, I hope to see you sometime on the hill.
Bobby: We should take some laps, Duke!
BB: Thanks so much for talking to me. I love that we share the same name.
Bobby: It’s a good one.
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