Drew Neilson, the only North American riding for Burton's snowboard cross team, had just come home from a shopping spree at IKEA when I phoned. Since I'd caught him off guard, he admitted to killing Shaun Palmer and painting his toenails for good luck.
MountainZone.com:
Drew, when did you start riding?
Neilson:
I started riding well over 12 years ago. It all started with the James Bond movie — I'm not sure which one it was — either
A View to a Kill or
Octopussy when he breaks the front ski off the snowmobile and rides down snowboard-style. Tom Sims and Steve Klassen did most of that riding and I was sold from there. I started boardercrossing about three or four years ago.
MountainZone.com:
When you bust out of the start gate, what's it like sailing over that first kicker, shoulder-to-shoulder with five other riders?
Neilson:
Well, I don't know, most of the time I'm in front so I don't have to worry about it, but sometimes I'm behind and it's probably one of the craziest feelings. It's like anything else — it's a big rush and you just hope you're with people who are going to hold it together and not do something silly in the air, like push you or drift sideways across the course. It's a pretty intense feeling.
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| "It was pretty funny — it was definitely Haakonsen and we all had a good laugh about it...." |
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MountainZone.com:
Have you guys ever been clocked during a race? How fast are you going?
Neilson:
I don't see them much anymore, but they had a speed trap one year at Big Bear — the first year I went there. Out of the first corner we were at 55-58mph and I think we average anywhere from 40-50mph down these courses. It doesn't look as fast on camera, but you probably saw the US Open footage. The camera on that gave you a better idea of how fast we are cruising down that course.
MountainZone.com:
Didn't they use a helicopter for that? Who jumped out of the gate early because they couldn't hear?
Neilson:
Terje was right next door to me in the gate and the helicopter was coming over the top and all of a sudden, the next thing I know, he's (Terje's) flipping out the gate in front of me, then the gate drops. Xavier (Delerue) and Philipe (Conte) were on their way but they stopped...I think first of all because it was Terje and they also realized that he was hung up sideways in the gate — hanging out the front of it. It was pretty funny — it was definitely Haakonsen and we all had a good laugh about it.
MountainZone.com:
I always see you pacing around the start area before a race. What's up with that?
Neilson:
A whole bunch of Ginseng is coursing through my veins and I'm jumping out of my skin. Actually, I'm trying to stay warm and keep my body moving — keep the muscles flowing so they don't cease up and so I can get a good pull out of the start gate. I'm trying to keep the blood flowing so my muscles will be working when I need them to.
MountainZone.com:
How do you train during the off season?
Neilson:
PlayStation — I mean, around here (North Vancouver) I've got lots of good mountain biking at my disposal so I do quite a few downhill drops. I swim a bit and I do work out — not quite enough, but I try to as much as possible. I just try to maintain a healthy body by doing activities rather than just going and pumping away at the gym. I guess you could say that I have to be doing something outside in order for me to be happy working.
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"I killed Palmer — Palmer's dead. I'm going to say that right now, Palmer's dead...." |
MountainZone.com:
Do you have any superstitions?
Neilson:
Oh yeah — I think every racer has their superstitions. I always have these things on that I wear usually that I've won in before or that have a specific meaning to me — just lucky charms. My girlfriend used to paint my toenails purple before races because I started winning when she did one time, so we went with that for a little while. Maybe we'll start with a new color this year.
MountainZone.com:
Whatever works, huh?
Neilson:
You get pretty funny looks when people look down at your toes and you realize that they think you're a weirdo. I'll be at the gym in Whistler, sitting in the steam room and when I look around everyone's looking at my toes. It's a little hard to explain.
MountainZone.com:
What's the worst job you've ever had?
Neilson:
That's a tough one. I'd have to go with dishwasher at Silverstar. Actually, I used to work in a parking lot on weekends up at Silverstar Mountain a long time ago. One day I stood up there for three hours in -60 degree weather. It was unbelievable. I've never, ever done anything so bad in my life.
Looking back, I'm really lucky that I don't have to work for a living anymore. I did a lot of odd jobs when I was a kid, starting when I was 14 — summer jobs and after school. I didn't go to college right away so I worked in kitchens and I did landscaping. All sorts of stuff - retail, you name it. Jack of all trades, but you know what they say, not qualified in any of them.
What happened to Palmer? He hasn't shown his face since you guys collided during the '00 X Games.
Neilson:
I killed Palmer — Palmer's dead. I'm going to say that right now, Palmer's dead.
MountainZone.com:
No shit?
Neilson:
Actually I just received the footage from X Games about four days ago and I've been reviewing it and yeah, I kinda took him out accidentally. It wasn't, of course, on purpose, it was a split second decision. I just tried to go around him, and the trajectory that my board took off on compared to his was not as parallel as his as I thought they were, so I kind of anlged into him a little bit. I don't know. It's racing, but it was mostly my fault I think. I'm feeling bad about it and I'm hoping Palm will come back and give me another shot at him.
MountainZone.com:
What's it like racing against him?
Neilson:
It's so fun — it's always good. I've gotten to know him a little bit the last couple years. We hung out a bit in Laax two years ago and just really enjoy hanging out, and I guess you could say trash talking on the course with him, just doing stuff that he likes to do for fun, even though some people think it's arrogant kind of talk, it's stuff that he likes to hear. I saw him at the X Games this year after he won the skiercross and he walked in with his gold sequin suit and all his gold medals around his neck and I walked up I looked at all his medals and I said, "Oh, those are really nice. It's too bad I'm going to have to spoil them with a silver tomorrow." He looked at me and he was like, "Get lost you little punk." But he loves that kind of stuff, 'cause it's fun. He makes me go faster 'cause I want to beat him so badly. Everyone wants to beat Palm so I think when he's around people ride better.
