started snowboarding for the same reason a lot of kids start doing things: my two older brothers did it. Chas Guldemond (slopestyle Olympian and two-time X-Games medalist) used to babysit my brothers and me. He was a student at Waterville Valley Academy then. He just seemed like another big brother. Mainly his supervision involved driving us to the skatepark. Our connection with Chas reeled us into BBTS, headed then by legendary former US Snowboard team coach Bill Enos. When I turned 11, I started school at the Academy. At 13, I enrolled in an online school, but still trained with the Academy. We would basically just snowboard in the morning or afternoon, and whatever half of the day we weren’t snowboarding, we did school work. I always looked up to the older guys at the Academy – Sam Hulbert, Brandon Reis, Ian Thorley. When I was starting there, they were still snowboarding at Waterville, and they were just like real-life action figures. Being in New Hampshire can feel a little removed from the professional snowboard scene around the world, but having those riders at Waterville seemed like a privilege. Some of the tricks BRE NDAN HART you see riders do in snowboard videos almost seem impossible, but then we’d see them done in person. Being exposed to that every day showed us that pro snowboarding wasn’t just what happened in movies or on TV. When I started to compete in pro-level contests, I was completely starstruck. I’d have to practice alongside riders I’d idolized for years. With only a handful of practice runs and then two attempts to put down a clean string of sometimes-terrifying tricks, I had to learn to deal with the combination of pressure and control of fear. Nothing I've done since has been as intimidating. The most memorable moment in my career was when I was 16 and won the Gatorade Free Flow Tour in Huntsville, Utah. The year leading up to that contest, I had broken three bones: my arm and both clavicles, one of which required surgery. During my recovery, I would just daydream about learning new tricks, and as soon as I felt strong enough to ride again I started learning them right away. When I won, I’m pretty sure my doctor hadn’t officially cleared me to ride. Whenever I am forced to confront struggles now, I think back to the determination I had at �� NEW HAMPSHIRE’S FAMILY RESORT that moment and what can be done with optimism, motivation, and a disregard of doubt. Now I’m following snowboarding in a different path. I got a degree in communications from Plymouth State. I’ve done an internship with Snowboarder magazine and as a digital media coordinator at High Cascade Snowboard Camp at Mount Hood. I’ve also been learning French, and I plan to start a Master’s program in digital media in the Alps. No matter where I go, I still see the community I made when I was at Waterville. We all, one way or another, keep in touch. Snowboarding guides you in similar directions that way. ABOUT BRENDAN At age 22, Hart has already spent a lifetime on snow. Raised among snowboarding legends, he rode with Waterville’s BBTS and Waterville Valley Academy before launching onto the pro circuit. Now he’s forging a career of another sort, still with roots buried in snow. Some of the older guys at the Academy were like real-life action figures. Seeing them do some of their tricks every day showed us that pro snowboarding wasn’t just what happened in movies or on TV. I GROWING UP IN THE VALLEY’S SCHOOL OF SNOWBOARDING
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