Eddie Wall Sr.
Snowboard Pro Forum

Name: Eddie Wall Sr.

Date of birth: 1/24/50

Started riding in what year? 1995

Sponsor/s? Darkside Snowboard Shop, VT, Grenade Gloves, Gunny's Terrain Park

What snowboard related business activites are you involved in? Eddie Wall Jr.'s Dad

Where did you grow up? Philadelphia

Live now? Rome, PA

Fave places to ride? Snow Mountain, Scranton, Killington, Northstar-at-Tahoe, and Mammoth

Do you warm up each day before you ride? If so, what do you do to warm up? I never warm up, never strectch, don't want to get hurt. One time I tried stretching, and I do everything over the top, and I pulled my back out, so I said I'll never do that again!

How keep in shape in season? How keep in shape for snowboarding out of season? Year round I walk up a mountain with 65lb.- 90 lbs of lead weight (I'm a plumber) on my back in a backpack. It's 4.5 miles round trip. Takes me 1 hour 20 minutes. 5 times a week.
When I get tired I pretend I'm hiking the halfpipe, and my gait picks up.

I do it for my legs, snowboarding is all leg power, And I do it so I won't blow out my knees. Everyone I know has blown out there knees but me.

I'm a vegetarian, I eat fish. I've been a vegetarian about 30 years.

(Is it for health or for animals?)
For health. I started when I was a young hippie and it was a cool thing to do. And I just stayed with it.

Fave riding buddies? # 1 is my son Eddie Wall, #2 Mike DeStasio, and #3 all the park rats everywhere. I've been riding with Mike for 12 years. we met at Spring Loaded, at Killington.
(See Ed and Mike D. and the rest of the gang at Spring Loaded 2007 here http://www.snowboardsecrets.com/Articles/springloaded07.htm)

Who do you admire in snowboarding or outside and why? My son because of his good nature and dedication. And my wife who is supportive of my snowboarding (and spends a lot of lonely on weekends. at home) We've been married 35 years.

Do you ever get bummed out about your riding, and why? Not really. I love it too much.

Do you use visualization, and if so, how? Oh yeah. I always visualize the run and each jump before I start down the course. Either sitting or standing. That's why you so see many kids just sitting at the top of the course, planning their runs.

What safety equipt. do you wear, use for snowboarding? Just a helmet. I''ve had 4 major concussions. Started wearing the helmet after the 2nd conc.
I've had 2 concussions since I started wearing the helmet, both skateboarding. I stopped skateboarding 2 years ago, I want to save all my injuries for snowboarding. In one accident I split the helmet clean in 2, lining and all. If I hadn't been wearing it, I'd be dead.

As an older boarder competing. I was very self-conscious when I started competing at age 45. But I've noticed over the years none of the riders are consider my age. They look at my ability. Now my age is not a factor.

Where have you traveled to lately that you like? Northstar-at -Tahoe. I was there last week for the USASA Nationals, then visited my 3 grandchildren who live an hour away from there. I have 2 daughters with children. I have a 2 week old grandchild that we visited, and a 4 year old and 8 year old. All my kids are out in Tahoe.

Any guilty pleasures? Addicted to Bud Light and Winstons.

Have you done well in any contests lately that you want to tell us about? Just came in first in Nationals overall in the Kahuna Class.I competed against 10 people. Halfpipe 3rd, and Slopestyle first. Last year I came in 2nd in Spring Loaded (Killington) halfpipe.
(see Spring Loaded 2006 here http://www.snowboardsecrets.com/Articles/springloaded.htm)

Encouraging words for beginners? If you exercise, you're never too old. I listen to the kids, and I learn from them. I learn more from them than they learn from me.