Interview: Snowboard superstar Aimee Fuller

Aimee Fuller is a bit of a snowboard rockstar. Who didn’t know that? But did you know that she wears lucky socks to compete, was one of the first girls to ever compete in Olympic slopestyle and she finds getting injuries just motivates her to try harder? I had a chat with Aimee as she was getting ready for her trip to Colorado for the Dew Tour on 11 December.

It was an honour to represent Great Britain in the first ever slopestyle team at the Winter Olympics. I was part of a four-man team — two guys and two girls. So to be a part of that was mega! The next Olympics? Oh yeah for sure, PyeongChang is definitely in my sight. I’m gonna do everything in my power to push my riding as much as I can the next few years, so I’m on form for the next Olympics and the qualification when it comes round.

I hurt my shoulders three times in the run up to the Olympics — I damaged my rotator cuff and separated my shoulder. The timing of it wasn’t great, but I was super motivated to get back to the gym and get fit, so I could get back on my board. I’ve also broken my coccyx and my collar bone. Neither of those were very fun. But it just makes me more hungry for it, because for whatever reason the injury happened, you just wanna get back up and try that trick again.

It’s amazing being part of the Red Bull family. They’ve got such a great programme and support system and it’s a real honour to represent them and wear the helmet. I’ve been on some amazing performance camps in the States and they’ve enabled me to really push myself and progress as much as possible in a reduced risk training environment. Their air bags and everything just create the ultimate setup for progression.

My advice for making it big style?! Anyone willing to get involved and compete at professional level, just ride as much as you can and every time you’re on the mountain, try something new — however big or small it is. I’d also say when you ride, don’t just think about trying to become a professional snowboarder, just go out and enjoy it. Push yourself as much as you can and everything will fall into place if you put the hours in.

I do a lot of gym work to keep fit for snowboarding. Explosive weight work, like squats and deadlifts, is important, because heavy weights prevent injury. I also do a good bit of running and cycling over the summer months to build up a good cardio base for the winter. And then loads of stretching. Flexibility is a real key component to preventing injury.

I have a pretty set routine I’ve been working on the last few months. So basically I have two days on heavy, one day on light. That’s when I’m at home and can get to the gym. For example session one is a whole series of squats, front squats and push presses above your head. So that’s kind of intense and then I would do skipping with a really heavy skipping rope. I do three sets of 40 of that and it’s absolutely brutal. I then finish off with press ups and core.

I try and keep my sessions short and frequent, so like 50 minutes to an hour. It depends on how long I’ve got to train. So when I’m at home I try and train six days a week and have one complete day off. On that day I’ll probably go for a mellow hike or a walk along the beach or something just to keep my body ticking over.

I wouldn’t really say I felt any difference between being a guy or a girl in the snowboarding arena. I think it’s pretty cool. You know on the World Snowboard Tour, there were the same size courses as the boys now, so I think there’s a lot of progression. It’s a really exciting time for snowboarding.

One of my favourite places in the UK is the Snow Centre at Hemel Hempstead. It’s a great location for me, ‘cause it’s so close to London and it’s one of the most respected parks in the country. Every Thursday and Friday they have an awesome freestyle night. If you’re not based near London, you can find a whole list of places to try out snowboarding on Go Ski Go Board. Basically, just go on there, tap in your postcode and it will tell you the closest places you can go and get involved.

It’s not expensive if you wanna give snowsports a try. On Go Ski Go Board you can have a taster session for a fiver* at your local dry slope. Just look on the website, do a taster, and then you can decide how to follow up afterwards. I think it’s really cool that’s in place.

I pretty much love all sport, so if there’s something going on close by, whether it’s football or skating, I love getting involved. The last two years I’ve gone to Bali to surf. I’m by no means that good at it yet, but it’s definitely something I really enjoy on the side. I also do a little bit of wakeboarding at a place called Cable and Wake just down the street from me. And often when we’re in the mountains in the spring and stuff, we’ll go down to the towns and play volleyball, which is a good laugh. I’m just generally a bit of a sports fanatic!

When I’m not riding I love cruising around going to nice cafés — just relaxing with the crew. I also love going to Woodward at Copper, Colorado. They have a great setup there for learning new tricks, like trampolines and foam pits. It’s real fun. When I’m home I love catching up with my friends, family and my boyfriend. I also love going on missions like little hikes. I spend a lot of time in the gym, as I enjoy keeping fit. And you can’t beat the odd night out on occasion. Every so often you just have to go out for a dance. But that’s not so much anymore, ‘cause I’m focussing on my training.

Weird habits? Yeah for sure! I wear lucky socks when I compete and I always sleep in my competition bib the night before a contest. It’s a bit of a ritual I’ve got into, a bit of a good luck thing, so I always do it now. There are other things, but let’s keep it at that!

Aimee’s website is chocca full of awesome videos and info on what she’s up to if you’re still hungry for more…

*Tasters vary in cost depending on the location and time of year. For the cheaper ones, look out for events and open days.