(photo via by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images via espn.go.com)
Over the past month after being named to the Canadian Olympic team Spencer O’Brien has been getting her mind prepared for her big debut in Sochi. But things headed into more serious terrain in the past few days as Merika Enne crashed in her final jump during a practice session at Rosa Khutor Extreme Park – this right on the heals of the collarbone injury that ended the 2014 Winter Olympic dreams for Torstein Horgmo, a Norwegian medal hopeful. After all, O’Brien dealt with injuries all summer and fall, even seeing a sports psychologist every week. Plus the Sochi course nearly claimed her during a test run, too.
Luckily she's known for her reliability in throwing down solid tricks when push comes to shove, executing them with style. This poise recently scored her a bronze medal at the X Games in Aspen. She’s noticed slopestyle courses getting consistently bigger over the past few years and has watched fellow riders faced challenges in adapting to the Sochi course – but if there’s one thing she’s trained for its variables like these. As she prepped for her Russian adventure 33mag.com’s Drew Penner spoke with O’Brien about everything from her identity as a role model, inspirational family members and her arsenal of tricks.
Drew: How much has growing up by a mountain and learning to gauge snow conditions and other variable helped prepare for what you’ll face at the Olympics?
Spencer: I think the amount of time I've spent in the sport and the amount of time I've spent competing definitely helps. I learn from every event and every different kind of condition I have to ride in. There's always a lesson to be learned.
I really think that my experience and my knowledge with different conditions is definitely going to help me, especially leading into Sochi which is a place that none of us have ever competed.
How do you think this competition will compare to some of the other events that you've done in the past?
I think X Games is as close as we can get to the Olympics. I've been trying to talk to a lot of people who have gone to the Olympics whether for snowboarding or for other sports. You know, one thing everyone said is it's really a different ball game. It's a lot bigger and a lot crazier than any other sporting event out there. It's always a lot of pressure for me. I'm definitely preparing myself to be unprepared.
How much do you look up to your sister Meghann in terms of her snowboarding and also the native art she does? To what extent has that helped you push yourself?
Meghann's been one of the biggest inspirations in my life, for sure. She a big reason why I started snowboarding. She's the reason I started competing. I've always looked up to her as a snowboarder and, of course, as a person.
When she stepped away from riding to weave more, it was such a big decision for her. She's such a talented snowboarder. She gave that up because weaving meant so much to her. I honestly think that's what she's meant to do with her life is to create that art. It's really cool to see her have stepped away from riding to focus on weaving and to see weaving bring her back into the mountains.
She's filming for Marie-France Roy's movie The Little Things. She's going to have a part in that. It's just so cool to see her rekindle her love of snowboarding and enjoying both of the passions that are so big in her life. She's always been such a big inspiration of mine. I love that she just follows her heart no matter what.
Does having native heritage help give you a deeper understanding of what it means to represent all of Canada at the Olympic Games?
Ya. I'm really proud to be a native woman going to the Olympics. It's such a minority within our country. I just hope that I can inspire aboriginal youth to go after their dreams. Just know that everything's possible. It doesn't matter where you come from, or what family you're from. I really believe that you can make anything happen if you're passionate about it and you want it bad enough. I hope I can spread that message, especially to the aboriginal community, because it's something I'm really passionate about – getting aboriginal youth into sport, and sharing the love of sport with them.
Watch Spencer win X-Games Bronze less than two weeks ago:
What does a perfect day out on the mountain look like to you?
A perfect day on the mountain would be lots of powder, sun, no crowds and three or four good friends.
Your dad Brian seems like a huge supporter of your endeavors, so much so that he now lives in Whistler and has adopted the ski bum lifestyle for half of the year when he's not out fishing for giant salmon. How has that factored into your trajectory as an athlete? Did this create any pressure to compete?
I owe everything to him, you know? He loves snowboarding more than anybody else. Even if I wasn't doing what I do he would still be living in Whistler and still be riding park every day. It was really cool. He moved me to Squamish when I was in Grade 11 just so I could pursue snowboarding. He's sacrificed a lot for my career. I'm definitely where I am today because of him.
What would he say if you quit tomorrow and how has his attitude as a parent affected your career?
I mean, he'd be bummed that we couldn't snowboard together anymore if I quit. But if I just quit competing or quit being a professional snowboarder I don't think he would care. I think he just cares about us being happy and us doing what we love. That's why he's always supported me.
I know you like the backside rodeo 540s. Is that your favourite trick or is their a particular one you want to learn?
I'm trying to get that trick back. I learned it a long time ago and I still haven't put it in contest run. That trick has been very inconsistent for me. I'm also working on trying to get a switch 720. We'll see.
Failing those, what do you think will be one of the signature moves you'll want to bust out at the Olympics?
Definitely the frontside 720. It's kind of been my go-to trick for the last little while. I do it a little differently than all the other girls. I take off on my toes.
That kind of sets me apart a little bit. It's definitely one of my favourite tricks to do. It's really fun.
