Photo: Cole Barash
Photo: Cole Barash

As one of our sport’s naturally gifted superstars, a few years of following the routine of “standard-pro-snowboarding” proved enough for young Jake Blauvelt. With little more than a strong faith in his intuition, Blauvelt quit his high profile sponsor to focus on his vision of snowboarding.

Since then he’s progressed on his own terms, and in doing so, has proven that he had a far better grasp of the big picture than most people realized. In a sport where success is often measured by predetermined parameters, Blauvelt catalogues his achievements in terms of happiness — an altogether more sustainable model and one that suits him well.

He might be my favorite snowboarder right now. He’s got the prowess of Håkon or Nico – so fast, so light. In the next five years I bet he will really show the world just how great he really is.
–Travis Rice

“I feel a lot of people are stuck in this rat race where they believe they have to work, work, work, and one day it will all pay off. I have to disagree. I don’t think it has to be that way. I think you can make things work day to day and be happy all the time. Why is there this final goal that so many are striving for? Will you ever even get there? Why not realize that you can be there already if you want to be.

See Also: Spirit of Snowboarding with Travis Rice

“It’s like constantly chasing the storm or being preoccupied with what trick this guy did… all that kind of thinking does is leave you unsatisfied, and it will follow you wherever you go. Slow things down and always try to be aware of what’s going on NOW. That’s something I try and do every day of my life. It’s something I’m by no means perfect at, but at least by trying to stay aware instead of being so wrapped up in some other scenario in my head, I become a bit more conscious about the choices I’m making. In turn, I’ve found I’m just plain happier moment to moment.

“Some people in the professional snowboarding arena relate how good their day was to how many shots they got. I can say I used to be that way a little when I was younger because I was just following the pack. Once I started steering the boat things changed. Now, I base the success of a day judged on how many laughs we had together and how much fun the crew had. It shouldn’t be all about the shots; it should be about having fun – the rest of it will fall into place if you understand this, it does most every time.” – Jake Blauvelt