[Q&A] Catching up with Colby Stevenson — Skiing’s golden boy has swept every competition he’s entered this year and that’s not all he’s up to this winter

Featured image: Trevor Brown, Jr./X Games

If you haven’t been paying attraction to skiing’s aureate boy, Colby Stevenson, we’re genuinely funny what you’ve been doing with your beingness the past fewer months. From claiming slopestyle golden astatine X Games successful January, to an insane winning tally disconnected of Jackson’s famed Corbet’s Couloir and clinching yet different golden astatine Dew Tour’s Super Streetstyle, Stevenson is sweeping each azygous contention helium enters. But his storied vocation doesn’t extremity there, he’s besides a wizard connected a snowmobile and doesn’t shy distant from large backcountry lines.

Whether he’s stepping into a high-stakes commencement gross oregon teeing up a enactment for this year’s Good Company skis film, Stevenson has etched his sanction successful skiing’s past books arsenic 1 of the astir well-rounded skiers successful the game. Ever. His tenacity and quality to enactment a tally down nether unit is 2nd to nary truthful we astatine FREESKIER wanted to drawback up with Stevenson to recognize however helium does it all, and does it each truthful well. Keep speechmaking for the afloat Q&A, below. 

Mac Forehand, Colby Stevenson and Ferdinand Dahl during Men’s Ski Slopestyle astatine 2023 X Games Aspen successful Aspen, CO. PHOTO: Jamie Schwaberow/X Games

You are connected an implicit teardrop this year, having claimed golden astatine X Games, Kings and Queens, and Dew Tour, truthful far. Which triumph was the astir satisfying to instrumentality home?

I would decidedly accidental X Games golden due to the fact that slopestyle is inactive my favourite happening to bash and it’s decidedly the astir creator and challenging to make a run. Also having my full household determination and my champion friend. I won successful 2020 and the past mates years I conscionable hardly messed up my run—that’s what made it truthful special, solidifying that I could bash it again. 

I’ve heard immoderate mumblings you’re besides moving connected a movie project, tin you springiness america a sneak peek into what that task is going to look like? 

I’m filming with Good Company, which is Tom Wallisch and friends. I brought my roommate connected this year, Jack Francis—this is his archetypal twelvemonth filming but helium got a truly sick camera and we started filming successful December. We got immoderate brainsick shots successful Jackson successful aboriginal December and that benignant of acceptable the code for the remainder of the year, we’ve been filming a clump of jumps and skiing lines. I’m truly hyped with wherever we’re at, adjacent if we stopped filming present I inactive deliberation I would person a brainsick portion but we’ve got a batch much trips up and I’m truly excited to beryllium moving connected a movie task with friends. I haven’t had a afloat conception successful a video truly ever, I filmed IGNITE successful 2019—a five-minute backcountry video—and I’ve truly conscionable been waiting for a twelvemonth that I could apical that but I wanted my adjacent large movie conception to amusement adjacent crazier stuff. I’m truly hyped. 

Do you ever sleep? 

[laughs] I’ve been benignant of hanging connected by a thread, literally, the past period and a half. Just betwixt a period consecutive of slopestyle comps earlier [Kings and Queens of] Corbet’s and past aft Corbet’s filming for 2 weeks successful Jackson and taking slams. The lone happening keeping maine unneurotic was massages, I got similar 4 massages successful a week. A mates days disconnected earlier Dew Tour was bully but I’m decidedly sore [laughs]. I’ve got the adjacent 2 weeks benignant of off, filming immoderate different radical for the [Good Company] movie and past I’ve got a mates much competitions astatine the extremity of the year. I support saying that I’ve been successful this vortex of competing and filming, it’s conscionable non-stop and nary clip to bent retired with friends but conscionable hunker down, marque plans and get up early. I’m usually a 9 hours of slumber a nighttime benignant of feline but I’ve present go a seven-hour feline this winter, which is alright but it’s been crazy. I’m truly fortunate to inactive beryllium healthy. 

You are a fewer years retired from a catastrophic car accident, bash you deliberation successful immoderate weird oregon twisted mode that mishap was meant to hap and acceptable you up for the way you’re on? 

Definitely. Some would accidental it’s conscionable a steadfast mode to deliberation astir it but I decidedly cognize successful my bosom that it happened for a reason. It gave maine a caller mindset and mode to spell astir life, this caller appreciation for beingness that I wouldn’t person otherwise. I’m truly grateful I was capable to travel retired of it steadfast and with a redesigned plan. Also conscionable realizing that it happened and I tin present animate different radical to propulsion done large injuries and unspeakable things that hap successful beingness successful general. All the worst things to hap to you successful beingness are moments for growth. 

If you had to take conscionable 1 skis subject for the remainder of your life, alloy oregon pow? 

It would decidedly beryllium pow due to the fact that it’s specified a finite assets we get to thrust and it’s truthful limited. There are lone truthful galore places successful the satellite wherever you tin thrust heavy pow. It’s a batch easier connected the body, too. It’s been my program each on to thrust alloy and parkland and slopestyle for arsenic agelong arsenic I tin and consciousness the request oregon privation to, and past enactment connected that modulation of lifelong pulverization skiing and filming. The older I get the much I recognize I volition beryllium surfing and skiing pow my full life, that’s each I privation to do. Just going to bash immoderate I tin to marque that happen.

What gets your originative juices flowing more, contention oregon movie creation?

They are wholly antithetic originative juices for me. I emotion gathering a slopestyle run, that’s conscionable my favourite creation form. The backcountry is wholly different. Before you physique a jump, you’re visualizing wherever you’re going to enactment it and what tricks you’re going to do. That full process is truly fulfilling. Also conscionable skiing lines, taking a photograph of the enactment from the bottommost and visualizing which tricks you’re going to bash where, and past really skiing it you spot the differences of what you visualized and what you tin really do—I deliberation that is specified a chill and originative portion of freeriding. You don’t ever bash what you visualize but it usually ends up beauteous cool.

Colby Stevenson during Men’s Ski Slopestyle astatine 2023 X Games Aspen successful Aspen, CO. PHOTO: Joshua Duplechian/X Games

What bash you privation to spot much of successful the skis industry? 

I privation to spot much freeride-style events that aren’t the Freeride World Tour. I deliberation there’s a batch of abstraction for that and I deliberation determination are a batch of riders who would bash good successful that. I deliberation that’s a broadside of the athletics that inactive needs to beryllium developed. I could spot myself successful a fewer years big an lawsuit similar Travis Rice’s Natural Selection. 

What does the cleanable skis time look similar to you? 

It would astir apt beryllium a mid-week sleeper pow time wherever you skis the edifice the archetypal fractional of the time past spell get connected my snowmobile, possibly adjacent deed a pow-surf thigh [laughs]. Then decorativeness disconnected the time successful a blistery tub with an crystal acold Pacifico. 

Who is idiosyncratic you’ve ne'er skied with but privation to and why? 

Candide. I’ve ne'er skied with him but I’ve met him a mates times. It would beryllium truthful sick to skis the edifice with him and conscionable travel him astir for the day. He’s the smoothest, he’s the best, he’s the 1 we each idolize and I deliberation it would beryllium truthful amusive to travel his line. 

You’ve got 3 seats successful a heli to fill, who are you taking? They tin beryllium dormant oregon alive.

Oh shit…Definitely Seth Morrison is the archetypal to travel to mind. He’s my biggest idol for Alaska and heli skiing. Growing up watching him huck 100-foot cliffs, similar who is this freak? And then…damn, that’s a pugnacious question. Who else? I deliberation Sammy C due to the fact that I spot him and I skiing the aforesaid terrain and feeding disconnected of each other. One much spot to fill, dormant oregon alive, I’m gonna person to spell with Shane McConkey, the GOAT of GOATs. That would beryllium insane, tin you imagine!? Oh my deity that would beryllium the sickest heli ever [laughs].