WCSN Blogs

It seems like just yesterday I was in Aspen with my fam, riding powder, and playing with puppies and presents. But A LOT has happened since then. I launched my my new website www.gretchenbleiler.com (GO CHECK IT OUT AND DON’T FORGET TO SIGN UP FOR NEWS AND UPDATES ON THE BOTTOM LEFT HAND SIDE OF THE HOME PAGE). I was on the cover of ESPN The Magazine (such an honor and a TRIP!), I won the XGames halfpipe!, went to the snow sports trade show in Vegas to help sell my new line with Oakley, “The Gretchen Bleiler Collection”, went to California to finalize the new drawing designs for Fall 2009 line…..and have recently spent the past three weeks in Japan. And no, it wasn’t for a foreign exchange program.

This winter I’m filming for Oakley’s all-girl video project and Japan was our first trip. We spent two weeks on the North Island of Hokkaido, riding neck deep powder off the side of the roads (hiking in powder that deep is not easy my friend….at one point I thought we might drown) and on the resorts of Furano and Asahidake. After about 10 days of riding, we headed to Tokyo to experience Shibuya (for it’s shopping and famous cross walk), Harajuku (for more shopping and serious style), and Asakusa (for it’s temples).

Then everyone headed back home to the US and I……stayed in Japan for my third week; seriously turning Japanese at this point and quite honestly going a little crazy because of the brain washing repetition of some of the noises and sounds of this country….check out my go211.com profile for the videos to prove it.

The Nippon Open was next on my list of things to do and I was really looking forward to a new environment (Alts Bandai resort on the main island) with some of my great friends and a familiar contest routine. Filming in Hokkaido, and I believe filming in general, is a totally different head game then what I’m used to; it’s hard to get shots, it’s a lot more hiking and building and driving then actual snowboarding, and group dynamics can be wearing. So I welcomed this week with open arms! After a few days of every kind of weather you could ever imagine, the sun came out and the pipe shaped up for finals. I had a really fun day of riding and ended up in second place. I love warm, sunny, spring time days like these, they get me so excited to learn new tricks and just RIDE!

And here I am now on an airplane from Narita Japan to Moscow, Russia…..once again while all of my friends head home to the US, I carry on deeper and deeper into what’s totally unexpected and foreign to meet up with another group! This is where the title of this blog comes into play. This is my first official trip around the world and I am doing it in about 30 days! Aspen to Idaho to Japan to Russia to Miami to Vermont back to Aspen…..all one trip…..one very long, exciting trip in every sense of the word!

It’s that time of the year again….Christmas songs, lights, trees, holiday cheer and really really really cold weather that makes your nose turn white, or at least mine does…. I’m in Breckenridge today and will be headed back to Aspen for some relaxation, Christmas shopping, cookie baking and champagne this afternoon!

The past couple of weeks were crazy fun; photo shoots, commercials, new sponsors, powder, photographers following me around documenting every second of my life for three days, family, friends, really good food, snowboarding, learning, struggling, smiling, laughing, frustration and even winning! It’s really nice to be back on the US Team program; I missed my “on the road” family!

We were totally hooked up for the Grand Prix this past week, with Chef Matty O and Jeremy preparing the most bomb meals on the planet for the entire team. This was not only delicious but it also created a family style environment with home cooked smells and a place for everyone to hang out with one another, aren’t we so spoiled?! I’m confident that this atmosphere helped me in overcoming some head games that I tend to play with myself this early in the season and win the first Grand Prix of the season. It was also so amazing riding with ALL the girls again, Miss Hannah Teter is back and I’ve missed her charging, fun free spirit!

What have I been up to? Mucho.

I’m now flying back to California from Munich. My last 8 days were spent in Germany and Austria with Oakley for a media trip in Munich and a 3-day all-girls snowboard camp in Hintertux, Austria. We had such a fun crew; the ever entertaining and beautiful Miss Anne-Flore Marxer, Silvia Mittemuller, who has the all-time best pout in the business, Liesl Holtz our ringleader and Alex, Oakley’s new German snow sports marketing manager fondly known as Mr. Muscles because he always carried our luggage, loaded the car, drove the car and partially because we wanted to make him happy because he said “yes” to every one of our requests, and believe me there were quite a few with this group.

During a photo shoot in Munich, Silvia, Anne-Flore and I got to act out a childhood dream. Except in my case, it’s a current dream especially after this shoot. Anne-Flore was a circus performer, Silvia, an ice cream scooper girl and I was a cowgirl, enough said right?! This was my top 5 photo shoot of all time for sure. I mean, how often do you get to be professionally made up to look the part of your dream? Only in my photo, I looked way more glamorous than I ever pictured myself being as a cowgirl. The look was dark, sort of tough, stylish saloon girl meets cowgirl, and I loved it; and I learned how to throw a lasso pretty well too. The photos will turn up in the book Useless, which is a book that blurs athletes and fashion. It’s given out in Europe’s major snow trade show of the year in Isbo … so be sure to look for it this January/February if you happen to be there!

On to the all-girls camp portion of the trip. Raddler, wellness center, bread and cheese. Shredding in the snow, sun and fog, schnapps (see attached photo), motivated, open minded and progressive girls, our token men photographers, filmers and organizers (see our boys attached), new friends, schnitzel, late nights, and table/bar dancing (see attached photo) and singing pretty much sum up the three day camp … and, oh wait, of course the YEEHAA, which if you needed to describe this experience, that one sound alone would work just fine.

These all-girl sessions are so inspirational and make such an impact. When a girl is put in an encouraging and comfortable learning environment, it’s so fantastic what can be accomplished and the confidence that is gained. And when a woman is confident and happy, the world REALLY is a much better place. I bet our guys on the trip would agree! But seriously, I actually heard this before I left for Germany when I was in NY for the annual Women’s Sports Foundation dinner (see attached Stanton Shade girls photo with Chelsie Memmel gymnast, Jessica Mendoza soft ball, Amy Stanton of Stanton Shade who represents all of us, myself, and Angela Ruggero, ice hockey). We were told that when women are confident, they’re naturally happy and when they’re happy, they create a warm and kind family environment. And when kids grow up in this kind of environment, then they too tend to exude general positivity and confidence in their lives, which affects others, etc. It’s like the phrase “pay it forward,” and I think camps like these are doing just that through snowboarding.

So thanks to Oakley for really making a strong women’s initiative in everything from their apparel and eye wear to getting girls out onto the mountain and encouraging a healthy and active lifestyle. And thanks to all of the girls for such a great experience to start the winter season. YEEEEEHAAAAA!

New Zealand is such a wonderfully peaceful place. After traveling for about 20 hours, I have finally arrived in Wanaka. I’m three days later than everyone else on the U.S. team (because of the Teen Choice Awards), and so I traveled alone and have been hanging out at our house for the past few hours by myself as everyone is still up on the mountain practicing for the World Cup that’s on Friday … Yikes!

Anyway, when I arrived I was wearing leggings and a long sweater — not exactly winter attire, but I was coming from sunny California and I had the idea in my head that it wasn’t going to be too cold here. I was right, it’s not too cold here; but it’s also not warm, and the little leggings just weren’t cutting it and I was chilled to the bone.

You see, NZ is not too keen on this thing called central heating. They also seem to build their houses and buildings with very little, if any, insulation. So it’s like being in a cement block with a little space heater to keep you warm … my one problem with this country! So a hot tub was the perfect solution! And this is where I found serenity.

Sitting in the hot tub, which is this typical, ultra-hip, simplistic NZ-style setting of course, with the warm sun beating down on my face in the cool air, I closed my eyes and listened and heard absolutely nothing. After being in Southern California for an entire month, this was music to my ears … silence. I missed it here. In fact, I have missed living the simple life in general. I love Southern California. Well, let me rephrase that: I LOVE the beach life. If it weren’t for the beach and the waves, I would not be a Southern California girl (hate traffic, superficial personalities, superficial boobs, etc.). I am, at heart, a small-town girl. I love simplicity and silence and the rugged mountains, and it’s good to be back!

What an amazing life I have. So grateful to be here, and I am so excited to have an amazing couple of weeks of shredding, peace and quiet, flat whites, fresh food and friends. Ole!

The Teen Choice Awards are coming! I have been nominated for the Best Action Sports Female category for the Teen Choice Awards coming up this Sunday in L.A. Normally this show is reserved solely for the likes of the latest and greatest A-list celebs. However this is the first year that the “Action Sports” category has been added to the roster of awards, which is a great thing for all of us “action sportsters.” It really does show that action sports are making a big impact on kids.

Action sports really have become a strong representation of style and self-determination. And in a world that seems to be run by Paris Hilton and Britney Spears gossip, we all can use a lot more positive reinforcement as to what independence and style really are. Which is why it’s a tremendous honor and gift that teenagers are looking to us … along with Paris!

When you are in it, sometimes you forget what it’s like to be an outsider looking in. Sometimes you forget the inspiration that people get when they’re watching an athlete hurtle themselves to new heights.

I went to the Summer X-Games a couple of weeks ago and I was inspired. Seeing skateboarders drop into hit a 70-foot gap jump and then go directly into hitting a 27- foot quarter pipe left me spellbound. When did skateboarders start doing snowboarding tricks and how come no one told us (snowboarders), is sort of how I felt.

I left L.A. feeling a little polluted from all of the glitter, you know what I mean, but really inspired — thanks to the Summer X er’s — to really get jamming on being the best snowboarder that I know how to be. If Bob Burnquist can drop into a 70-foot gap jump switch on his skateboard, my limit perceptions have been changed, in fact I need to take a tip from Bob and get rid of my box all together! And Shawn inspired me to keep working on my surfing hobby because you never know; maybe I could be an X-Games summer medalist one day too!

I guess these are the exact reasons I’ve been invited back up to LA. Watching action sports athletes fills kids with dreams, ideas and goals just like actors and actresses do but just in their own powerful and independent way.

I’m back in Carlsbad after a whirlwind of bro downs, face masks, weiners and winners, a huge quarterpipe, a not quite 22-foot halfpipe, really bad judging and unequal prize money! Oops, was that last part out loud?!

Overall, it was a great event. I’m like a new woman out there. Seriously, I feel like Madonna, you know? I pushed myself in all three events. I was really excited about the way I rode during the QP event. However, the judges did not agree. That’s fine. Sometimes you win, and sometimes you get robbed. In the pipe, I decided not to do any of the tricks I usually throw in a contest in order to get to the top of the podium, and I substituted smooth tricks, amplitude and bit of style (what I’d been working on all spring). It paid off, and the judges rewarded me with the first-place prize of $5,000. Unfortunately, this figure just so happened to be exactly half the amount the guys were getting! This came as a shock as most legitimate contests these days reward equal prize money: The X-Games, the entire Grand Prix circuit, The U.S. Open. Why all of a sudden is the Burton Abominable Snow Jam treating the women differently?

It’s ironic because I was just chosen to be a part of a Nike campaign where I was talking about how fortunate I have been to have grown up in a sport where the pioneers, who were both men and women, fought to lay an equal playing field from an early stage, something that not too many other women athletes can claim. And here it’s July 2007, and Burton’s handing out $5,000 less to the women than to the men.

I guess even snowboarding is still living in the “real world,” where this is somehow accepted. It’s too bad. This is exactly the reason why people need to get behind foundations like The Women’s Sports Foundation, which is fighting and has been fighting to make a change in this world, because this mentality is just not right or acceptable. The women are riding the exact same halfpipe, they’re pushing themselves just as hard, falling just as hard and are hiking just as fast as the men to get back up to the top in order to try and go bigger and spin faster than they did the run before.

In other news, I got to ride a Harley V-Rod while I was up at Mount Hood! Now the V-Rod is a serious motorcycle, my friends! Actually, it’s so serious I think you have to go check it out here because I am still proud of myself for riding it!

Not bad for the first bike I’ve gotten on since my Rider’s Edge Course in Grand Junction, which consisted of riding a light, sporty Buell in a high school parking lot! But it really blows my mind how these bikes are so beefy and mean-looking but once you get on it and ride, it’s smooth and so easy to manage and maneuver. Definitely hooked on the biking thing, especially when you can go out with friends! Thanks Ann and James for the ear-to-ear smiles!

Hello hello. So you would think with this being my “offseason” and all that I would be able to blog at least twice a week right? Well apparently not!

If you’re wondering what it is that I actually do during this time of the year, here is a quick run down, with pics!

Review first Oakley prototypes of Gretchen Bleiler Collection. Yes I do get my very own GB Collection with Oakley for fall 2008! I’ve been collaborating all winter with Oakley design to create a whole collection of outerwear and accessories; it’s going to be so HOT and warm! But more on that later…

Two-week surf trip to Dominical, Costa Rica for um…cross training!

Back to Aspen for my big brother, Chad’s, engagement party. It was a fun filled weekend of eating, drinking, rafting, eating, drinking and eating.

Then to Portland for a Nike catalog photo shoot. This time it was yoga, running, and chilling by the bball court in Portland, so keep your eye out for the Nike catalog coming your way soon.

After Ptown it was straight to CA for another opportunity with Nike, but this time it was for a new TV and Internet ad campaign based around women and sports. I was in the company of many amazing women athletes including Mia Hamm, Gabrielle Reece and Picabo Street, among others. This is going to be a super powerful campaign and I was very honored to have even been a part of it. So again, be on the lookout!

Next was a trip up to the Level Gloves headquarters in Stowe, Vt. I just signed with Level Gloves this past season so I was overdue for a trip to meet the entire crew and to start collaborating on my own signature glove (due out fall 2008, are you noticing a certain theme here?!) as well as help with feedback on their all new Women’s specific Bliss Line. Charlie, Bruce, Jason, Mauro and Valter are all great people and really care about making great gloves. Not only that but they’re going to donate a percentage of all of their Bliss glove sales to the effort to stop global warming!

We also stopped by Bud Keene’s camp, 45 North, that’s also based out of Stowe. It’s a skate/ dry land snowboard camp, but it has other sports others sports, with all different types of skate set ups, ramps that shoot you into foam pits, and trampolines. It really looked like all of the kids were tearing it up and progressing so nice work Bud and crew! And thanks to the Level Crew for such a great trip!

I was fortunate enough to have my very own two-day private Rider’s Edge training course with Harley Davidson in Grand Junction, Colo., next. Harley Davidson is a new sponsor of mine, and I can’t even begin to tell you how thrilled I am about this because one, I love riding, and two, because I’m getting a beautiful, brand new Harley Davidson Nightster! All the guys at Grand Junction Harley Davidson were so welcoming and encouraging, a lot like snowboarding actually! My rider coach, Tom, whipped me through the course in two days and I departed with my motorcycle license in hand, a lot more knowledge and respect for the road and a crazy urge to get out there and ride! A very special thanks to Scott Lindsay, Tom Jackson, Jane Jackson for taking pictures and getting me a chocolate cake for my graduation! Harley Davidson and the whole crew at Harley Davidson Grand Junction!

A quick shoot with Aspen/Snowmass for next year’s ad and now I’m in Oregon snowboarding again! We’ve got a quarter pipe, halfpipe and slopestyle contest coming up Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Summer riding, got to love it!

Ciao

Today is my second day of riding since Park City! For all of you who wonder what we snowboarders do in the “off season,” it’s this: Photo shoot, product meetings, photo shoot, photo shoot, product meetings … photo shoot! And when I say photo shoot, I mean the kind where I’m not riding!

After NYC, I went to visit K2 in Seattle for a week. The first half of the week consisted of hanging out with the K2 team and shooting seven ads for next year’s marketing in the magazines. The ads are hilarious and involved a lot of costumes, scenarios and fun (let’s just leave it at — I rode a mechanical bull).

That crew came and went, I stayed, and in came the K2 Women’s Alliance, a group of six women who cover a wide range of personalities, professions and ages who have been brought together to create the best women’s products out there. Check it out at www.k2snowboards.com. We spent our days together shooting (it would just be weird at this point if there wasn’t a photographer around!) and nitpicking every single last detail about the look, fit and performance of all of K2’s women-specific boards, boots and bindings. This is an amazing group of women, and even though we all have totally different lives and backgrounds, we all have a common love of snowboarding. And when we come together for these meetings, we have an amazing time.

Then, it was off to Santa Cruz for a mix of business and pleasure. It just so happens that Giro, my helmet sponsor, and Chris’ (my boyfriend) family are both based in Santa Cruz. So after spending the weekend enjoying the warm sun and the below freezing temperatures of the surf, I headed into Giro for product review meetings, a few photos (imagine that!) and also got started working on graphics and color ideas for my signature helmet next year! All I can say is that it’s going to be hot, so keep an eye out for it next winter!

Now I’m in Oregon with the U.S. Snowboarding Team, which brings us back to why I’ve been snowboarding for the past two days! We will be sessioning our very own 22-foot transitioned halfpipe for the next week at Hood Meadows. The weather is perfect, the pipe is perfect, and the conditions are soft. This is the best camp that the team has ever put on, so I know we’ll be seeing a lot of progression taking place all week. I’ll be sure to fill you in with pics and the latest!

New York was BUSY and FUN! The Drift photo shoot went great — two full days of shooting with Elena Height, Jacqui Berg and Alexis Waite for a 12-page feature.

The whole crew was really fun to work with. Everyone was young and cool, and I’m sure that there will be some great photos coming out for the mag, so keep your eyes out this fall! I also managed to do some damage on the shopping front. When you’re on a roll, you’re on a roll and there’s no sense in cutting back when you’re in NY!

I stayed two extra days after the shoot in order to have meetings and get some work done with my cultural mentor, Amy Stanton (cultural mentor is our term for someone who represents an athlete … a.k.a., an agent). If you’ve been reading Kara Lynn’s blog, you’ll know that Amy Stanton is the Stanton in the recently formed Stanton Shade agency; Sheryl Shade being the Shade.

These women are smart, passionate and are doing some great things in the sports world by representing mainly women athletes. So Amy, being one of the most determined and productive people I know, had jam-packed every single second of those two days with meetings for potential projects, sponsors and self promo opportunities, etc., etc.!

It also just so happened that while I was in town, Steph Davis, one of the world’s top women rock climbers who is also represented by Stanton Shade, was in the city doing a slideshow to promote her new book called “High Infatuation.” So Amy, Sheryl and I went to her slideshow, and it was mind-blowing! It’s so fun to be involved with this group because all the athletes have become this clan who keep in touch with each other and are constantly being updated, by Sheryl and Amy, on what everyone’s up to and accomplishing. It’s a really cool little family of kick-ass women athletes!

I also made friends with Mateo Ambrose, who was the makeup artist for The Drift shoot, and we ended up doing a separate shoot together with a friend of his named Andrew Zaeh, who is a photographer and senior visual director for Atlantic Records, and another friend Barrett, who is a stylist. This was just for fun and something for all of us to have for our own promotional use. Mateo and Barrett put me in the craziest outfits that I LOVED but would never have the nerve to wear in public, and we had a really fun fashion shoot! This was a highlight because the guys were all fabulous. We got some really fun, great shots, and I got to play dress-up with Prada pumps, Chanel cuffs and David Yurman! Thanks Mateo, Andrew and Barrett!

It’s been a great spring so far. Tricia Byrnes and I drove to Park City to ride with Ricky Bower and Ellery Hollingsworth. It wasn’t a team camp, just a time to ride with friends in the warm weather and soft conditions. I had plans to go to Mexico for my birthday but decided with only about a week or so left in the season, it made more sense to take advantage of the snow while it was still there! We spent three days riding and it couldn’t have been more perfect, we even apre-ed after riding the first day, margaritas and nachos outside with the warm sun and live music, it truly felt like Spring Break 2007! Ha. Every one was pushing one another and we all left Park City sore, happy and with a few new tricks in our bags! Can’t wait to go ride again!

I’m now on a plane on my way to New York for a photo shoot with The Drift which is the women’s magazine insert in Future Snowboard Magazine. I’m also doing a project with ESPN The Magazine called “Jock’s Eye View,” where I document the behind the scenes of my life for a week with photos and video — it should be a good week to document being in NY on an all-girls shoot!

I’m reading the most amazing book, which you can buy at Starbucks right now, called A Long Way Gone, Memoirs of a Boy Soldier. While I was in Park City, I finally watched the movie Blood Diamond. Although I usually go out of my way to avoid watching movies filled with violence and death, I knew it was important for me to watch because it was a real story. After seeing the movie, I was deeply moved — like I knew I would be — and while I was at Starbucks decided to buy this book because I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about the boy soldiers that were portrayed in this movie. Ishmael Beah was born in Sierra Leone and this book is his haunting personal account of losing everything he ever knew to attacking rebels, being forced to roam his country alone and always running, and then finally out of hunger, survival, and the need to be a part of something, becoming a soldier in the government army capable of brutal acts. But through UNICEF Ishmael was removed from the front lines, rehabilitated and now lives to tell the story to educate others about what is still going on all over the world; it’s estimated that there are currently about 300,000 child soldiers fighting in the more than 50 violent conflicts worldwide. This is a must read and something we must not ignore so please READ IT!