038-039 Waxing & Aimee Full_Layout 1 30/08/2011 12:06 Page 039
Aimee Fuller exploded onto the UK snowboard scene in 2008 by winning both the Women’s Junior Slopestyle and Halfpipe at the British Snowboard Championships. From then on there was no looking back and in a few short years Aimee had risen up the ranks to be able to compete at the highest level of snowboarding. In 2011 Aimee threw it down at some of the most prestigious events on the freestyle snowboard calendar, these included the Euro X Games, The Burton European Open, O’Neill Evolution and The Arctic Challenge. Aimee is widely regarded as one of the most exciting prospects in women’s snowboarding, a true global superstar in the making. We’ve got together with Aimie and asked her a few questions:
TSA: Last season you got an invite to the European X Games alongside Jenny Jones, I guess that’s the biggest comp you have ever done. How was that experience for you? Aimee: Euro X was really fun, it was a bit intimidating, as I had never ridden so many big jumps, it was great though having Jenny there as she has been and won it 3x ha! I want to go back though and step up my game! TSA: Not wanting to put any pressure on you but it’s pretty safe to say the snowboard world sees you as the future of British Female Snowboarding. How has being close to Jenny Jones who is at the top of her game and riding with her so much affected your approach to snowboarding and the snowboard competition circuit? Aimee: Ha! No pressure! having Jones there, is great, she is a good friend and super fun to hang around with not only that she has set a path for female snowboarding, it has affected my approach as she has proved anything is possible, it doesn’t matter where you come from, at the end of the day it’s how much work you want to put into it and you will reap the benefits. TSA: You have a bit of a history of action sports prior to snowboarding. Motocross seems to have been a pretty important part of your life for a long time, I heard you started riding Motocross bikes aged 6 and you even managed a second place finish in the British Championship when you were 8. What was it that made you step away from Motocross and into snowboarding? Aimee: Yep correct in thinking that, I got a quad bike when I was 4 and my first motocross bike when I was 6. I loved it as it was something I could do with my Dad and Granddad as they both used to do it, however I had a pretty bad slam when my mum was watching and she really didn’t like me doing it anyway. So just over time I have gradually moved away from it and I sold my bike just 2 years ago. My mum never stopped me from doing it, but understandably it’s not the kind of sport you want your 8 year old daughter to be doing with 30 other guys on the line up! TSA: I might be wrong but I can imagine Motocross being pretty much a male dominated sport, did growing up in that environment help you when you arrived in snowboarding as that is still pretty much a male dominated sport? Aimee: I didn’t really notice the male domination coming across from motocross as that is so heavily male dominated, I have found that there is a great girls scene in Europe and the UK, I have met so many cool friends to ride with and I think that’s something that is hard to come across. Plus all the guys are super encouraging and push me to try new stuff. Last year Jack Shackleton used to call me a massive fassy if I didn’t go off the pro line with the guys, and that made me get involved and included me in the session. TSA: You arrived on the UK scene with a bang appearing almost from nowhere. What was it that made you decide to take your snowboarding to the next level, from just riding for fun to making it a lot more career focussed? Aimee: I have always just done snowboarding for fun, and I still do, I get such a buzz when I go away. I didn’t realise that it was possible to do it at the next level and then when the opportunity came I was so stoked and I have just made the most of it. TSA: It seems to me looking from the outside that the combination of being a pretty solid part of the Roxy family and working with Hamish and Dan from the British Freestyle Team really helped you progress at a massive level over the past 2 seasons. Do you think this is true and if so in what ways did that help you? Aimee: Dan and Hamish have been great support over the past 2 years, I went full time on the GB team last season and before that I was on the junior team. Ham is really good on the technical side of tricks on the mountain, and Dan has been there and helped me out and advised me at contests! Also Lesley McKenna my Roxy Team manager is such a legend, she is at a lot of the comps and is always helping us as team. She is such a wealth of knowledge; she has been to the Olympics 3 x’s so a massive thanks to all 3 of you, I wouldn’t be here without you.
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TSA: I guess the question everyone wants to ask is about the Olympics. With Slopestyle now part of the Olympics how important is this to you personally. I don’t mean for your sponsors or your family I mean for you directly. And do you think it will change the competitions you enter and your whole outlook on the sport? Aimee: Right now I see the Olympics as any other contest; the only difference is it’s the OLYMPICS! But it would be all the same people I ride against in a normal comp. I don’t specifically go and train for each contest I go to, I am going to just stick to my game plan, which is to keep learning new tricks and progress as much as I can, and If I am on form and the opportunity comes, I want to go, It would be so cool to go and represent the country, meet all the other GB team athletes and as well be there with friends and all my other riding peers but in an Olympic environment. TSA: So what does the coming season hold for Aimee Fuller? Aimee: I have lots of little goals, I want to progress in my own riding, film some more with Lipstick productions, do some TTR contests, maybe try and get a good world ranking, I have never focused on that before, I finished 12th last season in the Slopestyle rankings. TSA: Final question from Chris Orchard, who wants to know why you speak with a Scottish accent when you are drunk when you haven’t ever lived in Scotland.? Aimee: Ha Ha! sure you didn't mean Shannon?! ;) That’s so not true! I live in Belfast, so that’s my attempt at putting on a northern Irish accent. Maybe it comes across as a little Scottish.
Name: Aim ee Fuller DOB: 21/0 7/1991 Home Tow n: Belfast Sponsors : Roxy, Van s, Bliss by L evel, Ski Star C halets and TSA
Weapons of Choice Board: Ro xy Eminen ce Bindings: Roxy Team series Boots: Van s Aura Goggle: R oxy Iris Jacket: Bro oke Pants: Rac hel 5 pock et
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THE BIG INTERVIEW
AIMEE FULLER
Aimee Fuller Photo: Matt Georges/Roxy