Requirements: Early Stages – watch professionals on tv, on video, or live; join a ski club – at school or elsewhere, PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE; compete in local ski competitions / Later Stages – contact the U.S. Ski Team and compete in the qualifying ski trials / Compete in European and American Ski events. Click video to learn more! Possibly become a professional ski instructor – contact the Professional Ski Instructors Association (PSIA) / If you want to get sponsorship market yourself (good video edits, YouTube publication, be known around the slopes as a good person and great skier, don’t become a nag, don’t be a jerk, be patient, let your actions speak for themselves, don’t name drop, be aware of your surroundings on and off the hill
Pros and Cons: Pros – Do something you love as a career, Becoming an instructor is fruitful – could gain possible wealthy, popular clients, Set your own schedule, Compete in world-wide events could make you famous. Cons – Sponsorship is tricky – a person/company puts their money into your performance, you need to build a good rapport with them, Injuries range from minor to sever – averaging on moderate to severe, Must live in a wintery climate to work continuously
Salary: $15,000 annually for unknown, European pros make more because it’s a recongnized sport, but professionals with huge sponsors can make over $1,000,000 annually
Professionals: Kaya Turski, Maddie Bowman, David Wise, Nick Goepper
▶ Special thanks to David Belanger, Kaz Yamamura, Mike Crow, Chris McLeod, Leo Zuckerman, Jonny Sundell, Jaxon Wong, Michael Apps, Angela Zhang, Kevin Gulbranson, Michael Chen, Vanessa Guan, Myrosha Daley, Sasha Barkans, Dylan Siggers, Ian Nelson, Ollie Jones, Hailey Elise, Keith Mewis, Canadian Wilderness Adventures, Thuggies (@theThuggie) and David Belanger again because he’s such a sweetheart.
