A dream job for anyone who likes beer and snowboarding!

In telltale ski-town fashion, Aaron Smiley made his way from Nederland, Colorado, up to Breckenridge in 2008, seeking the mountain life that many of us do. Planting down at 9,600 feet with his best friend, they rolled immediately to a job fair, looking for something that would earn them some cash and time to ride. Breckenridge Brewery took in his companion, but for Smiley, it was a hotel down the street. 

The tale of the ski bum is never glamorous. For decades, post-collegiate frothers have been migrating to resort towns and counting their pennies after scrubbing dishes, toilets or returned rental equipment. There’s something to say about the charm of ski-town living that keeps the cycle going, and for Smiley it was no different than for the rest of us. The opportunity to be on the mountain as much as possible solidified his local status and gave him the time he needed to take a shot at the Freeride World Tour qualifying events. 

While working at the hotel, Smiley was able to ride constantly, and he found himself steering away from the local slopestyles and rail jams. “I love riding park; I still do [it] all the time,” he says. “But I was getting into big-mountain riding a lot more, and it kind of took off with the Freeride World Tour and IFSA, and there was a path to actually do it competitively while getting to ride things that nobody else gets to ride.” 

He found his way into the FWT qualifiers after being nudged by a local skier friend to try out a contest in nearby Taos, New Mexico. Baited by the style of the contest and the community surrounding it, Smiley continued to follow the freeride circuit, entering two-star and four-star qualifiers in hopes of making the international tour. 

“One of the best things [about the FWT] is meeting up with the same people who are doing the same thing all over the United States,” Smiley says. “We all come to the same places, and everyone knows how to ride at that certain level. Then you get to enjoy the camaraderie of everybody who can shred really hard.”

Post-COVID, he left the hotel and found himself at Breckenridge Brewery, where he now holds it down as a brewer and server. “I went across the street to the Breckenridge Brewery and was like, ‘I don’t care what job you have. I’ll take it right now,’” he laughs. After years of putting back end-of-day pints at Breck Brew, Smiley has found a sense of family on the other side of the bar, backed by full support to continue following the FWT qualifiers. He found the work to match the play, establishing himself as a key ingredient on the brewing team. Touting the community feel at the brewery, he says, “If you can last your first few months there, you’re pretty much family.” With the flexibility to take time off work when event season is in motion, Smiley has been able to continue competing while making a full recovery from five surgeries over the last four years. 

He’s doing it for the love of it, and his dirtbag approach to travel is evidence. Year after year, the Canadian stops are the highlight for Smiley. “It’s kind of like one of my big vacations,” he says. “Some people go down to Mexico; I love going up to Canada and shredding.” Heading to Revelstoke and Golden is nonnegotiable for him, and his budget travel style is what makes it happen. His Canadian routine is dialed, like he’s got a secret recipe for dirtbagging. “I’ll go up there and rent a van,” he explains, “stop at Walmart and grab an inflatable mattress. Then I’ll go to the thrift store, grab a couple things and go live in the van up in Revelstoke and Kicking Horse for two to three weeks.”

Despite some difficult conditions and competition-run blunders, like a lost goggle lens, a rogue rock landing on his board and a disqualifying turn around the course boundary, Smiley was able to pick up some points in the second half of last season, but narrowly missed the cut for finals. “I got a little hungry. I was really close to getting in,” he says, hoping to give next year another shot. 

When he’s not hitting the FWT qualifiers, you can catch Smiley at Breck Brew, events like the Peak 10 Classic or collaborating with us, getting creative on the Snowboard Mag brew. With his no-frills approach to the sport, you can say Smiley has it locked in, putting snowboarding first and centering the rest of his life around making it all happen. About his Breck Brew family, he says, “My boss, the head brewer, understands the love of snowboarding. Why did we move here? Is it to work? We can live in Oklahoma to work. We live up here to enjoy it, and if it’s a good powder day, we can come in a little late, go out for a few more laps—that’s why we’re here.”