The Powell Movement

Cody Townsend has been at the top of the ski food chain for over a decade but he wasn't supposed to be a skier, he was born into a football family with surfing and skiing habit. Well, Cody bucked the family tradition and chose skiing over team sports. He became one of the best of his time, married another one of the best skiers of our time, has created brands, projects and so much more. Another do...

Anne-Flore Marxer is a lightning rod for change and the first Euro I've had on the show, and she's super Euro..  She spends her life fighting for equality…being the squeaky wheel is something that she's really good at and I'm sure every event organizer and Team Manager has heard her polite wrath.   On the podcast we talk about her new movie "A Land Shaped by Women, her long snowboard career and he...

Shane McConkey was the most influential skier of all time, but he was so much more than that.  Husband, father, funniest guy in the room, product visionary, goofball….there are so many words but none of them can truly describe who McConkey was.  On the podcast, I head to Squaw Valley for his signature snowlerblade event, take you through what that looks like, and talk to a variety of people to get...

Dale Rehberg is a living legend in the snowboard world.  In the early 90's he, and a few other legendary names, brought a style to snowboarding that was visibly influenced by skateboarding.  While not accepted at first, it quickly became the norm and Dale's fingerprints will forever be tied to the evolution of the sport.  But Dale's snow story doesn't stop with being an athlete and we talk about h...

Jen Hudak spent the better part of the past decade standing on podiums, hoping to make it to the Olympics and fighting for equality in skiing.  And while her life has transitioned to life coaching and desk work, Jen is still involved in the skiing as an ESPN analyst who als represents one of the few female voices found in the meetings and on the air at the X-Games.  We talk about the lack of women...

Will Wesson is a 32 year old X- Games Gold Medalist that doesn't do contests.  He also happens to be the most popular pro skier that you've never heard of (if you're over the age of 35).  Hailing from the East Coast, Will is the quiet athlete in the pioneering webisode series, The Traveling Circus, a show documenting the style and travels of Will and his longtime bff, Andy Parry.  Will made it to...

David Lesh is a hustler that's living every ski bros dream.  He' an athlete, a bachelor, a successful entrepreneur...who really knows how to live.  Along the way, he's pissed a lot of people off, traveled the world, bought a lot of toys, has been to court too many times and has also hung out with Obama.  While people assume he was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, that's not the case.  Love h...

While Trevor Kennison may never become a household name, he caught the attention of the snow world last week during the Kings and Queens of Corbet's event.  Travis Rice and Caite Zeliff may have won the money but "Riders Choice" winner, Trevor Kennison, started a new life.  Five years ago Trevor had a life-altering injury that put a hard stop to life as he knew it.  While Trevor doesn't know what...

Marie-France Roy is a French-Canadian Snowboarder/Activist.  She is very polite, nice, smart, and passionate about making a difference.  Her path to success went from the backwoods of rural Quebec to the booming metropolis of Whistler.  Along the way she has competed, traveled the world, and now, is focused on her true passion, the environment.  Marie-France Roy Show Notes: 2:00:  Nicknames, growi...

Gnarly Charley Ager is one of the biggest mysteries in skiing.  He came up from no-where to set the ski world on fire with his loose, sometimes scary style and switch landings that were way ahead of his time.  As fast as Charley's career evolved, it disappeared in the same speed.  Charley walked away from skiing and into some personal issues and injury that we discuss on the podcast.  The good new...

Chris Booth's career started as a competitive skier from Australia who was ready to take North America by storm.  But doing that is next to impossible while you are focused on your studies and don't spend a ton of time training.  Eventually, Chris graduated from contests to the backcountry, became a lawyer, and realized that the law life was not for him.  He went on to become one of the most impor...

Russell Winfield is back for round two of the podcast.  While a lot of Russell's snowboarding career was travel and good times, we talk about some of the times that weren't so fun; the business ventures he was a part of, some of his crazy stories, and his pro model with Offshore Snow Shapes.  It's another fun one with a legend forefather of snowboarding.  Do not miss this one. Russell Winfield Sho...

Aaron Blunk has been competing since he was 8 years old.  When he was 10, he left the junior division, went to the open class, beat everyone and watched his much older competition leave the competition scene.  He never understood that it was because he was so young and good.  His career progressed to moving away from home to focus on the dream of being a pro skier and he's made that dream come tru...

Josh Malczyk is one of the most influential behind the scenes players in the world of skiing.  His brands, Line and Full Tilt, have achieved cult status and are arguably reached the mainstream these days.  Josh's path to his desk job involved a lot of skiing and a lot of working for free.  Nothing in life is handed to you and Josh's story is a great example of how to make things happen in a world...

Kye Petersen was born to be a skier.  His father, Trevor Petersen, was the ski mountaineer that all the skiers were talking about and whistler was home.  What looked to be a ski fairy tale of a life for Kye,  all of a sudden wasn't…Trevor was killed in an avalanche in France.  Kye was six years old.  The podcast is the story of a kid, who once had a lot of attitude, finding his way, for the most p...

Mike Powell is me.  Strange for me to have myself as a guest on the podcast…..But you've been asking and I'm going to deliver.  High Fives Foundation Founder and good friend, Roy Tuscany takes my role as host as we walk you through my life from a 30,000-foot view.  Roy did his homework and some good stories come out and more of my story will come out in future episodes.    Mike Powell Show Notes:...

Eric Jackson spent half his life chasing his older brother around, the other half, he's spent chasing powder.  There have been highs and a lot of lows, mostly related to injury and sponsors, in Erik's snowboard career.  But like his snowboard style, he powered through everything.  The podcast is a refreshing chat with a dude who seems like he has figured out a lot about his life and who he is.  Er...

Tanner Hall is arguably the best skier of all time.   From contests wins to video parts, Tanner has continued to re-invent his game for over 20 years.  This 100th episode is a look into Tanner's life, career and all the things that make Tanner Hall, Tanner Hall.  It's not always pretty and his emotions get the best of him sometimes, but Tanner Hall is one of the G.O.A.T.'s and his story is one tha...

Anna Segal came to America with a dream of ski greatness.  This determined Aussie had some raw talent, but was never the best skier on the mountain, but she outworked everyone.  The combination of the talent she had and the work she put in to develop that talent even further, took her to the top.  And while there were a lot of tears and breaks along the way,  Anna made her dreams come true.  Now A...

Russell Winfield is a legendary snowboarder.  He came up on the East Coast and lived a pretty charmed life.  From his comfortable upbringing in Connecticut, he went to private school in the city and lived a double life as a snowboarder.  And snowboarding took over and took Russell all over the place…just like he is on the podcast.  We talk race, snowboarding, choices, and life.  There will be a pa...

Callum Pettit's early life was spent in the shadows of his little brother's pro ski career.  While the brothers were a package deal for sponsors, Sean Pettit was the draw.  Eventually, Cal and Sean's sponsorship paths went separate ways, which left Cal figuring out what was next.....Which was new sponsors and a blue collar career compared to Sean's white collar lifestyle.  Throughout it all, there...

Robin Van Gyn has been a pro snowboarder for over a decade.  She didn't get on a snowboard until she was 16 and it was full speed ahead from there.  From riding the Olympic Park in college to graduating to Backcountry riding, Robin is one of those people that bring an attitude that's always fun.  She's one of those rare people that raises the stoke level every time.  On the podcast we talk a lot a...

Tom Wallisch is first return guest to The Powell Movement and there's a reason for that…..He's Tom Wallisch…..He sits on the board of directors for the US Ski and Snowboard Team, he's all about giving back to the sport, he's a living legend, and even as he's gotten older, he's kept his finger on the pulse of all ski media while continuing to  create his own. Wallisch always makes for an entertaini...

Mike Douglas is a living legend in the ski industry.  He's known in the ski world as "The Godfather", he was one of the behind the scenes leaders of the New Canadian Air Force, a group that takes credit for the development of the first modern twin tip.  Nowadays, he's still a paid, pro skier but his focus is on filmmaking and his production company, Switchback Entertainment, has been killing it fo...

No event compares to Red Bull Rampage.  If I tried to describe how insane it was, I wouldn't be able to do it justice.  What I was able to do was talk to 12 riders, and some legends to get the inside scoop on the venue, the athletes and the history of an event everyone must see in person at least once. Rampage Show Notes: 5:05: Cam McCall 9:33: Derek Westerlund 16:32: Josh Bender 18:10: Kurt Sorge...