18
MAR/APR 2019
19
quick facts
Age: 18
Born in: Hood River, OR
School: HRVHS
Sponsors: US Snowboard Team, GNU Snowboards,
Spy Optics, Dakine, Dougs Hood River, Mt Hood
Meadows.
IG: @seanfitzsimons
Growing up in Hood River we’ve been fortunate enough to be exposed to a variety
of outdoor adventure sports. We all strive to enjoy these situations. Some more than
others. Which brings me to Sean. I’ve known Sean since I was seven years old.
And even all the way back then I saw a special thing about Sean. Sean has been
the most motivated person I’ve known since the day I met him. He’s always trying
to find a way to get rad somehow. He works so hard and he never loses sight of the
bigger picture, which of course includes snowboarding.
I've known Sean since I
was seven years old. And
even all the way back
then I saw a special thing
about Sean. Sean has been
the most motivated person
I've known since the day I
met him.
Sean was selected for the US Snowboarding Rookie Slopestyle Team in 2018. He
has been able to ride some of the best park setups anywhere and will be helped
by amazing coaches on the US Team. Now the sky’s the limit for Sean
- Wyatt Foley
When did you start snowboarding and skateboarding?
I started started skateboarding when I was five. I remember driving past the
skatepark when I was little and immediately wanting to get a board and try it out. I
went snowboarding a few times when I was 6 or 7 and didn’t make the full switch to
snowboarding until I was 8. I was just super hyped on the idea that I could basi-
cally skate during the winter. If it wasn’t for skateboarding I definitely would have
never started snowboarding.
Did you start out skiing first? How did your first time on a snowboard go?
Yeah I started skiing at 16 months old. My mom has pictures of me skiing down the
hill with a binkie in my mouth, haha. I don’t think my first time snowboarding went
super good. My very first memory snowboarding was at Cooper Spur one night, I
think I was around 6 or 7. I remember mobbing down the hill and catching my toes
so hard and knocking the wind out of myself so bad that I thought I was dying.
As a kid did you partake in any regular team sports?
I was super into lacrosse growing up. I started playing in kindergarten and played
all the way up to my sophomore year. My dad played lacrosse all the way through
college so he got me really hyped on it and coached almost every year I played.
He still coaches for the varsity team at the high school. I wish I could still play
lacrosse but I’m too busy with snowboarding these days. I have a ton of awesome
memories playing lax with the boys over the years.
When you were coming up as a snowboarding grom, who were some of the
people that you looked up to?
I feel like when I was coming up as a grom there wasn’t a ton of older snowboard-
ers on Hood that I was aware of. That’s mainly because most of my close friends
were skiers. I remember really looking up to Sammy Carlson as a grom. We would
see him in X-Games and just be so hyped because he grew up riding Hood. I
also remember looking up to Hudson and Hunter Knoll. I would see them ripping
around while I was lapping and just getting so psyched/star struck because they
were killing it and riding the same parks I was.
Have you lived in Hood River your whole life? Any great or bad memories
about attending Hood River schools? Any teachers there inspire you?
Born and raised baby! The majority of the teachers at the Hood River schools are
super cool and outdoorsy, but there are a couple I’ve had that definitely stick out.
My sophomore chemistry teacher Mr. Glane definitely inspires me. He’s a super
good teacher but more than that he really cared about how his students were do-
ing as people. I saw him in my class inspiring kids who weren’t doing well in school
to totally turn around and start caring about school and realize the importance of
keeping your doors open after high school. Yes he cared about grades, but at the
end of the day he was more concerned about how his students were doing in life
not just school. He made an effort to get to know all his students on a personal
level and ask how they were doing. Which I thought was really cool and it’s some-
thing you don’t see a teacher do very often.
Is Hood River a town that most kids just want to get out of when they leave
high school? Are you still in high school? Any plans for college or just snow-
boarding for now?
I mean yes and no. Obviously most kids want to leave Hood River after high school
to get out and see more of the world or go to college and make new friends. But
- Wyatt Foley
everyone is hyped to come back to hoody in the summer and after college live in
Hood River. I’m a senior in high school but I do online school through HRVHS. It’s
been super chill. It allows me to do my school work anywhere and on my own time.
I’m planning to go to college in Salt Lake next year either at U of U or Westminster.
I’m leaning more towards U of U though. I will probably do a couple online courses
so I could still be able to snowboard all winter. I’m not totally sure what school will
look like for me next year but I know I want to be in Salt Lake next winter.
What are the best things about Hood River? Anything that bums you out living
there? If you could live anywhere where would that be?
The best thing about Hood River is there are endless things to do there and a ton
of awesome people who are down to do stuff. In the summer you can start your day
off snowboarding at Mt. Hood, cruise back down to Hood River to go kiting, then
skate or mountain bike, then go to a cool cliff jumping spot to cool off. The only
thing that bums me out about Hood River is that I wish it snowed more in town dur-
ing the winter. If I could live anywhere I would live in Hood River, duhhhh. Ideally
when I’m older I’d like to do something like what Sammy Carlson does. I’d love to
live in Revelstoke/ Whistler during the winter and live in Hood River during the sum-
mer. I don’t think there is a place on earth better than Hood River in the summer.
Describe the scene at Mt Hood Meadows? What is the park set up like? Who
are some some of your riding buddies at home?
It’s funny, I go to all these insane mountains like LAAX and Mammoth but I’m
always so hyped to come home and ride Hood. I think its just ‘cause it’s home.
The parks at Meadows have been so good this year. They’ve been doing a really
good job of making the parks flow. The flow of a park makes a huge different. If a
park doesn’t flow well and you constantly have to stop or scrub speed it’s annoy-
ing, but in forest park everything flows together really well and you never have to
stop the whole lap. I’ve been seeing a ton of posts about the new Vista park with
the big jumps. I’m so psyched to head home and hit them. The spring park on
Vista at Meadows is always nuts. You start at the top with the big jumps then there
is a dope rail section that basically goes right into a fun boardercross course then
straight into the pipe. You get a super long lap with features all the way down it’s
insane. Shout out to Meadows park crew, they have been killing it the past few
years.
My riding homies when I’m home has always been Wyatt Foley, Reese Carroll,
and my brother Tucker when he’s home. I can’t say enough about these three. I
P: Neil Korn