BIO
Name: Gretchen BleilerHometown: Aspen/Snowmass
Current Residence: Aspen/Snowmass/Carlsbad
Sponsors: K2 Snowboarding, Oakley eyewear and apparel, Aspen/Snowmass, Level Gloves, Giro Helmets, Nike, US Snowboarding, Harley-Davidson, Coke, go211.com and Mission skincare
Local Resort: Aspen/Snowmass
Years Snowboarding: 15
Set-up: K2 Eco Pop, K2 Affair Boa boots, and K2 Auto Agogo bindings
Stance/angles: 21.5” Wide 18 degrees in front and –6 degrees in back
PRO TEAM - 
GRETCHEN BLEILER
GRETCHEN BLEILER
What’s your middle name? Elizabeth with a Z
Morning person or Night owl? I like Mornings for sure
Favorite Holiday? Christmas... hands down Christmas
Two things you never leave home without? A big bag of receipts (because I always tell myself I’m going to be productive on this trip and am sure I’ll have plenty of down time to get caught up…still hasn’t happened to this day, but I keep bringing them anyway) and my retainers (gotta keep those teeth straight)
If you had to eat the same thing for the rest of your life, no exceptions...ever...what would it be?
An everything bagel with butter.
Where is the best place to eat in Aspen? Topper’s for dinner and The Big Wrap for lunch, Jour De Fete breakfast burrito for well, breakfast
Top five music makers you listened to this summer?
Santogold, MGMT, SilverSun Pickups, Vampire weekends, Scissors for Lefty (all great albums)
How many days did you spend at home this year? Not enough
Books or magazines on the airplane? Both, but lately it’s been magazine’s
What do you drive? Lexus RX Hybrid
If you were offered one free wish what would it be?
A cleaner, healthier planet where polar bears weren’t drowning.
Name your poison? Extra dirty martinis
Who did you look up to as a kid? My brothers
Best trick you can do that is not on a snowboard? Fire blowing
What’s the best trick you can do that is not on a snowboard? I can blow fire pretty well
Favorite non-snowboarding activities...besides blowing fire: surfing
When did you start snowboarding? What got you started? My family moved to Aspen when I was 10 years old. I went to a school where in the winters, everyone would go up on the mountain together every Wednesday afternoon to ski, snow shoe, telemark, short ski!, snowboard whatever you wanted…..so one of those Wednesday’s a bunch of friends and I took a snowboard lesson. I had wanted to learn because my two older bros were snowboarders and I was always the little tomboy trying to do whatever they were into!
What are you looking forward to this season? Last year a lot of my season was dedicated to traveling and filming for Oakley’s all girl snow, skate, surf film called Uniquely. That movie took me around the world (literally) riding in Japan for three weeks and then straight to Russia for two. This year I’m really looking forward to pushing myself even more in the backcountry but hopefully sticking to one or two places. When you travel so much it’s really hard to get better because you constantly need to adapt to your new environment before you can even get back to where you were the place you were last. This year I also felt like I was just learning and wasn’t able to ride to my full potential. I felt like I was building…..building experience, building confidence. So I’m really excited to have a good balance this year between contests (this is the year the US has to earn quota spots for the Olympics through the FIS World Cups) and shooting photos and riding in the backcountry and hopefully reaching my full potential.
As far as what I want to accomplish in snowboarding? I would love to go to the Vancouver Olympics. And I would love to continue to ride powder, shoot photos and film like I did this season. I also want to make sure I have those just for fun snowboarding trips like I did this year at CMH with Transworld; those are the trips that make your soul smile :)
With the Olympics coming up in 2010 is there any special preparations you are taking next year? The year before the Olympics is the year every country has to secure their quota spots for the Olympics. This means the US riders have to go out and earn the maximum spots available to our country to better insure each of our chances of actually getting on the Olympic team. The year of the Olympics (the 2009/2010 season), regardless if you got a spot for the US or not, each rider has to qualify, through the US Olympic qualifying process which are the Grand Prix’s, for an individual spot on the team. This means making it to the Olympics is a two-year process!
You traveled all over the world filming for the Oakley video “Uniquely” what was your favorite stop? Why? I had never been to Russia before so that trip was the most memorable as far as experiencing a culture and country I had never seen before; we rode new terrain, ate different foods, drank vodka and went to the banya and got hit with steaming hot palms! But the powder in Japan was unforgettable!
Do you think it is important to have women’s specific snowboarding films? Yes of course! These films are providing another outlet for girls to have success in snowboarding. Before the only way to get a sponsor or judge how well your season went was through contests and thanks to these women specific films that’s just not the case anymore. These films are also getting girls into riding different terrain and raising the ability level all around.
Over the years you have won numerous awards, been on hundreds of photo shoots, trips, and experienced so much in your young life is there any certain moment that stands out above the rest? There are a few really special moments that stand out, the Olympics is one of them. I had dreamed of going to the Olympics since I was probably two years old. I worked my butt off to make it happen and learned so much along the way that when I got there I was ready. I get really nervous and I was afraid that because the Olympics meant so much to me, I would be too nervous to enjoy the experience, but that was not the case. My family and closest friends came to support me in Bardonnechia and even though I didn’t get to spend much time with them, knowing they were there screaming their hearts out and supporting me with all of their might felt so good. The day of competition was like magic, the conditions were so fun, the sun was out and the pipe was the best it’d been all week and then there was that dramatic Olympic music playing through practice! I had so much fun and rode better than I ever had without any regrets! It was a picture perfect Olympics, better than I had dreamed of.
How heavy is your ESPY award? Where you nervous when they called your name? Me nervous? Nah!!! Actually I was nominated two years ago so I knew that I wasn’t going to have to get up on stage even if I did win (they’re so many categories that they can’t have every winner come up on stage in a two hour show) which made it so much more fun….party time anyone!
How many days have you snowboarded in your lifetime? 4,376 days
You are extremely involved in supporting causes that save the environment, have a new Eco friendly outerwear line out this season with Oakley, and coming out with the brand new K2 EcoPop Snowboard next season...have you always been environmentally conscious? I’ve always spent most of my time outdoors, which is why the environment has always been important to me. Because of the success I have had in snowboarding I realize I have a platform to talk about causes that are important to me and our planet and it’s condition is obviously a major issue facing every one of us today. Not only does my livelihood depend on a cleaner world (you can’t be a snowboarder if it doesn’t snow anymore) but the way I see it is everyone of us makes decisions and actions that effect our atmosphere therefore everyone of us needs to be a part of the solution. Go to www.stopglobalwarming.org to learn more.
What are some things that you would like to see happen in snowboarding that can help protect our winters? It’s up to everyone of us to help the businesses and resorts we work with and support, do something about climate change and reduce their carbon footprint. I’ve worked with Oakley to create the first fully recyclable outerwear and will donate all royalties on that line to an environmental organization. Level gloves donates a percentage of all profits from their Bliss line to stopglobalwarming.org. And Aspen/Snowmass, as a resort, has been a leader in the snow sports world looking for ways to reduce their footprint since 1997 (check out www.savesnow.org). If you don’t know what the companies you’re with do for their carbon footprint, ask! And then take action.
If winter was to disappear what do you think you would do with most of your time? I would move to Costa Rica, pura vida!
How did the collaboration with Claw Money on your 08/09 Mix come about?
K2 has always been so innovative when it comes to reaching out of the box and doing fun, cool collaborations with different artists. Claw Money is a perfect example. She’s this completely over the top graffiti artist/fashion designer bringing elements of high fashion to the street; which is the Mix in a nutshell. So K2 contacted her to do a collab on the board and she was psyched! It’s not for the faint-hearted and that’s what I love about the board and K2. It’s so easy for companies to sit back and play it safe when it comes to graphics; K2 doesn’t sit back baby!
If you could give advice to young girls that are aspiring to be professional snowboarders what would you say? Make goals and then put 100% effort, both on and off the mountain, to turn them into a reality. Never forgot your original inspiration.
What is the worst injury you have sustained? Blowing out my knee
Being on the cover of ESPN magazine as the first woman action sports athlete is an amazing accolade to all of your hard work and success…has it all been worth it?
I’m a hard worker and I believe much of my success is due to that. There are lots of amazing snowboarders out there and lots of them prefer to stick to snowboarding. Because I’ve been doing it for a long time now, I guess I’ve taken interest in searching for more and it’s that interest and that drive that has opened me up to new opportunities. It’s also that interest and drive that keep me from having a lot of free time, which is a sacrifice. It’s worth it.
You also spent a lot of this summer commentating on the 2008 Olympic trials and interviewing athlete’s from different sports, how did it feel being on the other side of the microphone? Once you put a microphone in your hand and ask an athlete a question you automatically get this “you don’t know what it’s like to be me” look on their face as their answering the question. I know that look; I’ve given that look! It’s tough being the media, so from now on I’m going to be a lot more tolerant of them, the good ones (who actually know the sport you play and who you are) AND the bad ones (who don’t know anything about your sport or who you are), especially because right now I fall under “the bad ones” category!
Who are some people that inspire you? My Mom, because she lives a balanced life with style and grace. She does it all smoothly and easily and then has more than enough time for the things that matter most.
Tell us a little bit about your involvement in the K2 Alliance Program:
The program is a way to bring a voice to k2’s women’s line. The Alliance is a group of women from all different backgrounds, a variety of ages, and preferences, and styles of riding. This group gets together and tears apart graphics, the way boards ride, how boots fit, the way your high back fits your calf, among many other things! The final product is what’s on the shelf at the store and you can trust that it’s the best product out there because it passed the test for 6 different VERY opinionated women!
What is the best part of snowboarding? There isn’t a best part because it’s all good, but I love the feeling of landing a new trick for the first time. It’s the scariest feeling in the world not knowing what’s about to happen, but you push on, commit and land. It’s one of the most satisfying feelings in the world and definitely a reason why I love snowboarding.
Kamp K2? Kamp K2 was the shiz! Private Mt Baker session, what?!, hot dog tricycle races, Hells Bells…..need I say more?
K2 Snowboarding in one sentence: OMG K2 Snowboarding is the best EVER!
Goals for next year? Domination
