M: What did you eat for breaky?
B: Scrambled eggs, left over mashed potatoes, ham, toast with jam, 4 cups of coffee, chocolate muffin, and a banana.
M: Wow, That’s a pretty bad ass breakfast, do you eat like that everyday?
B:I wish, but I wasn’t working today, so I put the time and effort into a big breakfast/ lunch.
M: Lets talk about the past for a minute.
B: How far back are we going here?
M: Lets start with the first time you rode a snowboard.
B: Winnipeg Manitoba when I was probably about 11, It was a black snow bindingless shred with a rope and a handle, snurfer style. It was down a river bank.
M: Did you stomp?
B: Heck ya.
M: When did you get on a waxed board, and where did you learn to ride?
B: The following winter I got my first real shred, and spent the next two years building mini jibs and jumps on the riverbank with Mitch. Then my family moved to Penticton BC when I was 14.
M: So I take it you threw down at Apex for a couple years before moving to Whistler?
B: That was the home mountain; I got to know all the hit runs.
M: When did you decide that Whistler was going to be the place to hang your shred stick?
B: haha, My buddy Mitch and I decided that we’d be living in Whis when we were still shredding the riverbank. I think I was in grade 6, checking out a Snowboard Canada mag when we decided to make the move. I moved to Whistler with him in the summer of 2005.
M: I suppose that the riding has been going quite well for you since then, describe one of your most memorable days for us.
B: Hmmm, that one is tough, I have had so many good days of riding living here in Whis, last season I bagged over 230 days on the shred It’s hard to pick just one out. I guess any day riding in sled country with the crew.
M: Who would you call up on any given day?
B: Tristan Jeswiet, Shayne Zwickle, Mitch Gillespie, Karen Burt, or any of the Voleurz boys. I guess it depends what I feel like shredding that day.
M: So when did you get a sled, and how did that affect your riding?
B: I got a sled when I moved here in ’05. Sledding has definitely broadened the spectrum of my riding, and has gotten me out of the park and into riding natural features more. I love the challenge. It’s a lot more difficult then I thought it would be…
M: The backcountry has a lot to offer, so what usually runs through your mind when you venture into new zones and assess the terrain?
B: Always keeping my head up, I’m paranoid when it comes to avvy’s, I am also looking for anything that could be fun or different to shred. I like riding things that aren’t generally ridden, silly tree gaps and jibs.
M: Have you had any close calls?
B: With avvy’s? I’ve seen avalanche debris with ice blocks the size of the average car, and I’ve let small ones go, ridden slough and such. I try to be pretty careful… knock on wood.
M: What has the summer shredding been like for you this year? I understand that Camp of Champs had a pretty bad-ass park this year, did you have a favorite line?
B: Camp of Champs was amazing!!! Best I’ve ever seen it up there, they added a new lane this year with 2 decent sized tables in a row. I had a lot of fun riding that line. But the entire set up is good, and always well maintained.
M: Last year you had an endless winter by hitting up Snowpark in NZ, what was that like?
B: New Zealand was amazing, and Snowpark is one of the most fun places I’ve ridden, it’s really small but they do a good job. The scene down there is super relaxed, everyone is having fun, and I met a lot of great people. I can’t wait to go back one day!
M: So with no endless winter for you this year, what’s going on with you for the rest of the summer?
B: Skateboard, work some construction to save up as much money as possible for next winter and maybe head down to Hood at some point.
M: Life can be hard hey?
B: It’s always tough…
M: Who has been good to you this year?
B: Billabong, Atomic, Electric, Freerideboardshop.com, The Voleurz Family, and Karens Mom for taking care of me when I was injured
Braden has a full part in the up and coming Voleurz video ‘More for the Astronauts’, which is set to debut this fall. The crew will be touring across Canada to share the love in October and November. Stay tune to voleurz.com for more details.
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