Cheryl and Mila snow day smiles.

Cheryl Maas

Mom, wife, snowboarder, Volcom, Nitro, Nixon, Vans, Celtek, Rockstar, slopestyle competitor.

Tell us about your family.
We’re a family of two mothers and two lovely daughters. Lara just turned 4 and Mila just turned 1 a month ago so their birthdays are really close. It’s lovely; it’s the best thing that ever happened to me. I always wanted a family from quite a young age. I knew I wanted to be a young mom so I could do a lot of activities with my kids and so far that’s what we do a lot. I’m very active with them. I really look forward to spending time with them. It’s hard when I go away and especially now the older one knows more what I’m doing and she asks if she can come along.

How has motherhood changed your life?
It’s made it very busy, that’s one thing that’s for sure! [Laughing]
And to juggle the snowboard career and the new life that I created, it’s been heavy but it’s been really worth it. It changed my mind in the way I snowboard. I even enjoy snowboarding more because it’s something you really do for yourself when you snowboard. When you’re with your kids you really love them and you do everything for them, so you don’t really do much for yourself anymore so when I’m on trips I really try to enjoy it as much as possible. I think for me this year really showed that I still have a lot to give in snowboarding. I really enjoyed it again so it’s very positive in that sense and on the other hand I try to keep injury-free. I don’t want to come home with a heavy cast to take care of the kids and stuff because then it’s fully me since I’m always away so much. So when I’m home I really have to catch up on my time of being there. So I ride with a smarter head, I don’t take unnecessary risks and I think it’s been a positive thing for me as well. I rode through a whole season and still have injuries to recover from but stuff that you can deal with. It’s been funny, big change.

Has snowboarding influenced the way you raise your daughters?
Most definitely. Because I travelled so much snowboarding, I’ve seen so much in the world and different cultures and that really inspired me to want my kids to grow up freely. I don’t feel like I need to push anything onto them. Personally I don’t care so much how they will do at school. I’m not worried about their futures in that sense because I quit school really young and I just travelled the world and I had snowboarding. I mean you gotta have something in life and what I want for them is to be stoked on something but I don’t care what it is, as long as they’re stoked on something. They can follow their hearts and that’s the main goal and it’s what I got from snowboarding — that if you follow your heart you can make your wishes come true. It will make you happy.

Your older daughter snowboards, at what age did she learn?
She was 2 years old. I didn’t do too much with her, she just slid down. Then last winter we did a bit more, she would go a bit faster down the hill. I’ve seen even younger kids on snowboards. I think it’s important that they can walk proper and run even and stand strong on their legs because their hips are still quite fragile. I put her on skis as well but snowboarding’s better than skiing because when I put her on skis she falls over and the ski just really tweaked her knee already. So that was the most scary thing I saw, thinking “Not the knees!” because I blew my knee two years ago. I would much rather have her on her snowboard than skis when we do snow activities. As long as they can stand strong, go for it!

What’s it been like for you balancing between being a mom and having a career in snowboarding?
For me it’s been great. Stine [Brun Kjeldaas, former pro snowboarder & 1998 Nagano Olympic silver medalist in halfpipe, Cheryl’s wife] gave me great support. I mean she’s been snowboarding her whole life herself so she knows what it means to me and she really gave me the freedom to keep doing what I love and being home with the kids when I can. I have the whole summer pretty much. You get quite a bit of free time as well if you balance it right. That’s been great but it’s been harder for us because I feel like the industry kind of wrote me off a bit in the sense of “Ok, well she’s a mom now, she’s probably going to quit snowboarding.” So I felt this pressure a little bit of course, especially after the second one. After this year I feel like hopefully I change people’s minds and show that I’m not going anywhere soon that I still do what I like to do.

You’re an anomaly in it because how many other pro snowboarder are there who are moms, who are at your level right now?
Yeah, I mean it’s hard because of course I’m lucky. Most girls, you have to give birth yourself and I didn’t have to do that and that’s what made me stay in the game. I still feel like … I don’t know, when Gigi had his kid, or Bjorn Leines or some of the guys, I feel like it didn’t change that much the way people looked at them and I feel like for me it’s a bit like, “Ok, well I guess you’re done because you’re a girl,” you know? “You’re the mother, so you have to stay home now.”

Do you feel like people’s minds are starting to open up and change?
I don’t know, I hope so. I’d like to think they’re like, “Ok, she still has what it takes to ride at the top level in the top 10 always.” It’s been hard; I don’t want to lie about it. It’s hard to have to work out all the time when you’re home and I don’t get to do the training that all the younger girls do now in the spring sessions. I gotta give that time back to my family. That’s the hard part, you don’t get to ride as much but I know that when I do get to ride that I love it like crazy and it makes me so motivated. It makes me want to put in every minute. Maybe that’s what keeps me sharp on my game because I know that I’m missing out as well.

Do you have some words of wisdom that you can pass on to families looking to raise kids who snowboard and live in the mountains?
I would tell them to be careful. What I’m most afraid of is the injuries that can happen and it’s not necessarily what they do but with other people around — there are so many idiots on the slopes and hills. They need to have their space as young little rippers so they don’t hit each other or get run over by some crazy ski tourist.

I think fresh air and being in nature is the best thing you can do for your kids.