If you haven’t seen Liam Brearley’s name yet… get ready. With a handful of big results over the past few seasons, Brearley has his eyes set on the 2026 Olympics and most snowboarders have their eyes set on what he will be doing in them. A part of the new Canadian guard lapping the slopestyle course, Liam is hoping to keep up the reputation set by the likes of Mark McMorris, Darcy Sharpe, Mikey Ciccarelli, Max Parrot and just about every Canadian slope rider before him. With his Olympic spot already locked up, we thought we should get a chat in for his first official interview with the mag. Enjoy.

Where are you at right now?
I’m just in Ancaster, just hanging out. It’s ike Southern Ontario, near Toronto. 

Is that where you’re originally from?
No, I’m from Gravenhurst. So it’s like Muskoka, like kind of a cottage area, two hours north of Toronto.

Big name slope guys are normally from the western part of Canada, aren’t they?
Actually, not really. There is a few. Mark’s from Saskatchewan, which is like the middle. Darcy’s from out west… but then you know like Max is from Quebec, which is kind of close to here. And then Cam and I are from Ontario. So is Jasmine. Lori’s from Quebec too, and Nick and Frank.

Where’d you grow up riding?
Mount St. Louis. Have you ever heard of it?

I believe so, but never been.
Yeah, it’s just a little hill, but they had pretty good rail and like kinda thick park growing up. They don’t have much anymore, but yeah, it was a nice little spot. Just a tiny hill, you know five minute laps. 

When did you start riding?
I just skied a little bit with my family when I was younger. And then I always wanted to try snowboarding. So my grandparents got me a snowboard for my seventh birthday. And then I just got some lessons at Mount St. Louis and then went from there a little bit on my own, and then started riding in the park the next year. At the end of that next year, I was riding in a park one day and Elliot Catton actually came up to me and he was like, hey, you should join Simple Snowboarding. That’s the team I grew up riding on. And so the next year I ended up joining Simple and I was on that team for, I don’t know how many years, probably like something like eight years. And then moved to like NextGen and the national team after that. But now Elliot is my coach again. So kind of crazy story actually.

Wow, so you were sponsored since around ten. Who are you riding for now?
I’m writing for Yes Snowboards, Red Bull, Smith…

Been on Smith for a bit?
No, it’s actually pretty new. That was this fall. I just got on Smith, they kind of reached out, it’s been great. 

You have an X Game’s medal on your record, right?
Yeah I do, I won knucklehuck last year. Okay and

What about on the World Cup circuit?
Yeah my first podium was like 2021 or, I think it was, Calgary. I got third. And then I have two seconds and a first in the World Cups at Corvatsch. And then last year I won that as well. And then this year I won the world championships, which is also at Corvatsch.

Congrats on the recent world championships. What do you think is your proudest moment on your board so far?
I would say maybe the one that kind of meant the most, as I got a whole experience, was Youth Olympics because that was like a big deal for me. I ended up getting three medals in that. And my family flew to Switzerland to watch that one. So they were there for everything. And like, that was just like a kind of, not like a breakout moment, but like the biggest contest result I’ve ever gotten at that point.

At 17, most guys are starting to specialize a little bit more. What gave you the confidence to go slope, big air, and a halfpipe?
Actually, it just happened to be an opportunity that came up for me to ride pipe. So I was in slope and big air. That’s what I qualified for. And I was hyped to get the results in those. And then I just happened to get into pipe because they didn’t have a ton of people competing in it. And I learned like three or four tricks in the practice right before the event and then ended up landing like a decent run and ended up third somehow. I’m definitely not at a competitive level in halfpipe, like at world cup level. Chaeun Lee could definitely do all three, but he focuses more on pipe.

Winning Laax had to feel pretty good as well.
Yeah, I would say that’s like probably the other biggest one, like in terms of results. And Laax is such a sick event and it’s been going on for so long. It kind of means more to the snowboard community.

What’s it like going up against guys that you’ve obviously watched your entire life? Were you a big contest fan when you were growing up?
When I was younger, just anything. I’d watch anything and everything on YouTube or whatever. But definitely a lot of contests, like mostly like watching contests because, you know, that’s what the other kids would talk about. Sometimes I think about it like, oh, I was watching you on TV like 10 years ago wishing I would be there one day. It’s kind of weird to think about.

You’re aiming, obviously, for Italy to be your first Olympics coming up?
Yeah, technically, I went to Beijing as an alternate. So I got to practice and ride the course and the big air jump, but did not compete.

Okay, I think I remember you ripping around with like Judd or something then, too. He was an alternate there as well, right?
Yeah. It’s definitely lucky to have that experience. It’s cool to be there and see what it’s like, all the media, how the Olympics works, because it’s so different from anything else we have in snowboarding. It kind of prepares me a little bit for this winter, hopefully. I kind of know what’s coming and I can prepare for it a little bit better.

Are you sitting pretty well with a spot on the Canadian team?
Yeah. So Cameron Spalding and I both have like pre-qualified so we’re locked in.

Congrats. What was the criteria that let you pre-qualify?
For our team, you need two podiums and a top 10 at 900 point events or higher. And then you also need a top third of the field in the other discipline. So big air.

What do you like better, big air or a slopestyle contest?
Definitely more of a slopestyle guy. I’ve always ridden a lot of rails, and I love them, so that’s a big part of it, but also putting everything together is… not more difficult, but I don’t know, I just like the idea of slopestyle better. And honestly, I can’t do a lot of like the bigger spins that are going down in big air these days. So like, that kind of adds to it a little bit.

Dude, you’re only 22. If you can’t do them, that’s getting a little absurd.
I know, it’s insane. Like these next few years, there’s gonna be like 21s and 23s. I’m kind of interested to see where the contest scene goes. Like the spins that are happening now are just insane. And, you know, cause it’s a judged sport so that’s the way it has been going. I think we should start building some really unique features that limit rotations. It’s nice to have a jump, don’t get me wrong, but if it’s just that 16, 18, or like 19s or whatever, it’s so hard to differentiate between people because then everyone ends up doing the same spin. I’m not knocking the builders at all or the judges or anything like that. But, you know, we build creative features and then people kind of end up finding a way to ride them like a normal feature and it kind of takes away the creativity. So I think we just need features that  force you to like do something completely different or at least like limit the tricks that can be done on it, you know.

Is there any snowboarder you think likes big air more than slope?
Oh yeah, a lot of them do. I’d say it’s pretty 50-50 in the World Cup scene.

Who’s your favorite snowboarder outside of the contest scene world if you’re super into rails?
That’s a hard one. I really like Benny Milam.

You’re not sticking with any of the extremely famous Canadians from your area?
Well, at the moment, it’s Benny Milam for sure.

What’s been your favorite slope course over the past season or two?
I always really loved Corvatsch. I think I have fond memories, obviously because of the results, but I like when there’s like a quarter pipe and in a slow style, it definitely sets people apart. And yeah, Laax is always pretty good. They always have some unique features and they’ve had a quarter pipe for a number of years as well.

Do you have any, you got any major hobbies outside of snowboarding?
Yeah, so I used to, I’ve kind of stopped now because snowboarding is taking over, but I competed professionally in wakeboarding for a few years.

What do you do in the summer to kind of chill out?
I like to play golf. I’ve gotten into it a lot over the past few years. I think it’s like, also a big mental game. So it’s good to practice that sort of stuff as well.

Already traigin for next year?
I’m taking some time off to chill and golf right now. I think it’s pretty important to take breaks so that you’re more motivated when you come back to boarding.

Do you have aspirations to go out into the film world as well?
Yeah, I definitely want to get into it, just with competing there is not enough time really to go on like long trips with crews.  I really want to do my AST soon and get into the backcountry but you know, I don’t want to like barge in on people’s filming or be a nuisance to anyone so kind of waiting a little bit for that. Maybe after the Olympics hopefully I’ll have a little bit more time. 

Yeah, you gotta go enter a contest where you can win a nice sled.
Yeah, that’d be great.