Broken femurs are nightmare injury for most skiers.
How is the recovery going?
I definitely dont recommend breaking your femur, to anybody reading this!
Even harder than an ACL or anything else.
Im glad to be at the end of it.
https://www.instagram.com/p/ByBlTLblvzo/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
How has it changed your plans?
Im still planning on competing in all the contests that I had planned to before the injury.
I also hope to be working on the film project that I was working on.
So did the injury actually come at the right time in a way?
Sometimes its good to have those resets, where you have to slow down.
Its not been fun, but it has been good for me to go through the process.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bwky0HiAlUe/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Let’s rewind to the Audi Nines.
Was it nice to be at a more relaxed event, rather than the mainstream Olympic stuff?
I think it depends on your personality.
Some people love that: hype at all times.
In the spotlight and everybody wants to know what you have to say.
I can just be me.
Growing up in Reno, did you grow up skiing in Squaw?
I started out at a tiny little resort, outside Reno, called Sky Tavern.
I was always like: I wanna hit those!
By then it was when CR Johnson, Tanner Hall, and Candide were crushing it on skis.
My dad let me join the freestyle team at Alpine Meadows and it was like wild-fire after that.
I competed in moguls for a couple of years.
I was never very good at moguls, but I always had a love for halfpipe and slopestyle.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BvwfqKZggmF/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Why did you specialize in halfpipe?
I didnt specialize for a long time.
I competed in Big Air, Halfpipe and Slopestyle.
Theres something about the pressure of that, thats hard.
You dont have to let fear run your life.
it’s possible for you to take something thats scary and just get a little better at them.
I give a shot to train well and do things in a calculated way.
How friendly was your rivalry with Kevin Rolland?
Definitely a friendly rivalry.
I wasnt bitter, but I was like: oh man!, a little chapped about that.
I respect him, hell win or die trying and I respect him so much.
Hes got the heart of a lion and hes super-passionate about skiing.
We both respect each other, but of course, I always want to beat him!
As a family-man with faith, does that make you different from most other skiers?
If anything, I think Im somewhat misunderstood.
Im not a bigot, I dont force my views on anybody.
Im a 29-year-old with an 8-year-old daughter and a 5-year-old son.
Is that a little crazy?
Did I expect that to be the way my life went?
No, but it went that way and Ive just embraced it and I love it.
Im living my most joy-filled life, because of my kids and because of my faith.
Id never force that on anyone though.
Haha if I had to choose right now?
Still skiing, for sure.
I cant turn that side of my personality off completely.
For me, the focused-element to competitive archery is really appealing.
Will we see you compete in the summer Olympics then?
Thatd be a really cocky claim, but its a dream that I would like to fulfill.
Id love to go to the winter and the summer Olympics, but thats a super-long-term goal.
The meat we eat is almost exclusively something that my wife or I have hunted.
We do the butchering ourselves, we really believe in the food-side of hunting.
Im not that into the trophy-side.
Its sustainable, hunters were the first conservationists.
Hunting is sustainable, its almost the most sustainable way to get meat you possibly can.
Game meat, for me, was always the best, by a fair margin.
So it makes sense.
Obviously, its something I enjoy anyway, but it also makes sense.
Ok, the big question: Olympic Gold or X Games Gold?
Oooh, thats a tough one!
The reality is, for skiing to grow is a good thing for everybody.
In terms of respect for the sport, X Games is a really close rival.
Theres no harder event to win than the X Games.
That might be 12 Americans.
Whereas the Olympics youre limited to a 4-man-field from each country.
Thats the long answer, the short answer is: I dont know!
Plans for next season?
Well do a bunch more backcountry shooting or park.
Just a bit more focusing on the style-side of things.
Davids Favourite:
Trip:Japan.
Anybody that likes to ski soft snow will end up in Japan at some point.
Trick:Backflip on jumps and Alley-oop flat 5 in the pipe
Track:Sweet Virginiaby the Steel Wheels
