Mark McMorris talks snowboarding, Saskatchewan and his new film, ‘In Motion’
Eric Gonzalez, September 29 2015 —
It’s been an interesting couple years for Canadian snowboarder Mark McMorris. The 21-year-old rose to prominence during the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics as he became the first Canadian to reach the podium, capturing the slopestyle bronze medal. Since then, McMorris has racked up two gold medals at the 2015 Winter X Games, taking his total medal count to 12.
McMorris and his brother Craig — a nationally ranked snowboarder in his own right — spoke at the University of Calgary ahead of the release of their film, In Motion. The Gauntlet spoke with them to find out about the project and their upcoming plans.
The Gauntlet: Tell us a bit about why you’re here at the University of Calgary.
Mark McMorris: We’re here at the U of C to speak in front of kids who chose to come watch us speak, so that’s pretty cool. We’ve done speaking engagements before where it’s more mandatory and the kids have to be there, so to see all the kids show up that really want to be here — it’s pretty cool.
G: You have a new movie out – In Motion. How did the project come together?
MM: We really wanted to make a movie with all our friends. I feel like throughout a season I go through so much with contests and trying to film and take photos and do everything, so I just tried to get friends on each trip and film good footage.
G: How has the reception for the film been so far?
MM: It’s been really good. The teaser came out two or three days ago and the amount of feedback has been insane.
G: Tell us about your hometown of Regina. What is the reception like when you’re back in Saskatchewan?
Craig McMorris: Regina is amazing. It’s always so fun to go back and visit because of all our friends that we grew up with and new friends that we’ve made since we’ve started snowboarding — everybody’s super stoked and really down to earth. Every time you go back, it’s kind of refreshing.
MM: You feel really at home. They’re really supportive of what we do, and they all follow everything — that’s the coolest part.
G: Are you guys Riders fans then?
MM: Very much so.
CM: Bleed green, brother. Bleed green for life.
G: Mark, tell us a bit about your last year since the Winter Olympics in Sochi — you’ve won two X Games gold medals since then. How do you feel you’ve progressed in the last year since Sochi?
MM: I feel like I’ve progressed in the fact that I’ve been doing new slopestyle runs, and switching it up. After the Olympics, the tricks have gone even crazier now. It’s just so mandatory to be doing triples and 12s and everything, so it’s been really fun to be a part of that progression. And it’s also getting really intense — you’ve got to be shredding all the time and staying on it.
G: What are your plans for the rest of 2015 and next year?
CM: I know it’s going to be big. A lot of energy.
MM: We’re probably going to film something and compete a ton. I’ve got a lot of contests this year. And just have fun — try to seek out the best snow we can.
View the full video of the McMorris brothers’ event below: