Monique Hyman
Snowboard Pro Forum

Name: Monique Hyman

Date of birth: 12/03/1987

Started riding in what year? 1994ish

Sponsor/s? Smith Optics

What snowboard related business activites are you involved in? I'm the Marketing Director of the University of Utah Snowboard Association. I used to work at a little snowboard shop in Vermont, but now that I'm in Utah for college, I've surrended to the corperate monster of Zumiez. It's a good job, big selection in the stoor...props to Zumiez for sure.

Where did you grow up? I was born in NYC, lived there for 7 years and went to VT every weekend to ride with my family. Then I lived in Minnesota for 2 years followed by CT for 4 years then to Vermont (my love) for highschool. I took 3 months off of my senior year to live in Truckee, CA so I could ride Northstar. Vermont may not have the best snow, but it will always be home for me.

Live now? As of now, I'm a freshman at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, UT. I live on campus which is ok but hopefully I'll be able to move closer to the mountains for next year.

Fave places to ride? Well even though Stratton isnt as fun as it used to be, it's still my home mountain so I love it and the people that ride there. Shout out to Bromley VT as well (I was there everyday after school for my highschool's snowboard team practice and they hooked us up with free passes so thanks!) Northstar was AMAZING last winter but I can't wait to ride Brighton and Park City this winter!

Do you warm up each day before you ride? If so, what do you do to warm up? Its always a good call to stretch before riding, seriously I like stretch everything. Every muscle in my body needs waking up so I like to just jump up and down to get the blood pumping and all that. If you fall with out stretching first, theres sooooo much more consequence which most people don't realize. Stretching is also a good call because it just makes you all around steezier when you ride, stiff style suuuuucks! Oh and it's always a good call to stretch after riding too, it just feels soooo good if you're sore

How keep in shape in season? How keep in shape for snowboarding out of season? In the summer I try to keep active, its really important to keep your indurance up because hiking is hell if you're out of shape. I don't have a specific work out routine for the summer, most of my training is pre-season hiking. As soon as theres a bit of snow on any mountain, me and my friends always hike up and set up rails. Hiking is a really good way to stay in shape and pre-season jibbing is always a good time with friends.

Fave riding buddies? I like riding with people that are better than me because it makes me push myself to keep up. I like riding with people that I feel comfortable with so I know that if I fall they're gonna be there to help me up and push me to try again. I love riding with other girls too, there definately needs to be more girls out on the mountain. As much as I like being pushed when I ride, it's also nice to have the group of friends that you can just mess around with on the mountain. BUSTED MUFFIN all the way!

Who do you admire in snowboarding or outside and why? So here's where I'm really torn... I have to give props to Jake Carpenter for creating Burton which all of you know has pushed the progression of snowboarding but it kinda sucks that Burton has a bit of a monopoly in the industry, I'm not really down with that. But still I have to say thanks for making snowboarding all that it is today. I also admire every female pro/ girl thats trying to go pro, especially girls who aren't afraid to be girls. There needs to be much more of that.

Do you ever get bummed out about your riding, and why? Sometimes I get scared to hit a certain jump or rail or try some trick which always bums me out. Fear is a major obsticle for me and I'm sure it is with everyone else. Theres a lot of stuff that goes on in your head when your standing at the top of a run in for a 50ft booter or a hand rail with concrete steps on both sides, everything that could posisbly go wrong runs through my head. Sometimes I feel sick to my stomach and wonder what I'm thinking but then when I go for it, I get that weighless feeling and then I remember that nothing makes me feel as good as that.
How do you fix it? Just breathe deep. When I'm scared I tend to breathe very lightly which cuts off oxygen to the brain and makes your muscles feel weak and all that. I take a bunch of deep breaths because oxygen=energy. Confidence is also really important. Skill is key, but a lot of it is mental. I know that if I tell myself that I'm going to fall, its no surprise that I'm going to fall. I just remind myself to commit to whatever trick I'm goin for and convince myself that I can do it.

Do you use visualization, and if so, how? When I'm scared I see myself falling in all the different ways possible and it's really hard for me to block that out sometimes. I try to focus on smooth landings so I try to picture what I'm going to do. I focus on where I have to ollie and what to do in the air if its a jump or where im going to land if its a rail. I also picture what my arms are going to be doing because flailing is cause for disaster.

What safety equipt. do you wear, use for snowboarding? I don't wear a helmet as much as I should, I definately need to work on that...

If you're pro, when did you decide to “go pro” — and what happened to get you there? I'm not pro but hopefully I will be in the near future

What have you read, listened to seen that you liked lately? TRASH ATTACK all the way! Hit it up, it's a new snowboard video and everyone should watch it! Support east coast riders because they're killin it.

Where have you traveled to lately that you like? Northstar-at-Tahoe has some of the best rail/box set ups so it's definately worth the trip, plus Truckee is a really fun town.

Any guilty pleasures? I like singing! haha no really, I almost tried out for American Idol but I lost my voice before auditions. Hey who knows! Maybe I could have been the next Kelly Klarkson! (but I think I would rather be the next Kelly Klark)

Have you done well in any contests lately that you want to tell us about? I was top female rider in Vermont for high school comps in previous seasons, but so far this year I've only been in 1 comp: I heart box (rome snowboards) and I got into the mens finals (top 18 out of over 100 riders) and I won for the girls

Anything that not many people know about you that you would like to share? I'm scared of heights! I love snowboarding but sometimes I get so scared on chairlifts if theres no bar. I went to Mammoth when I was in 9th grade and I was on a lift with no bar with my friend Lindsey and she was bouncing us up and down...I dont think that I have ever been that scared in my life!

Encouraging words for beginners? Your butt will hurt in the beginning but just stick with it, seriously, snowboarding is such an amazing sport you just have to give it a chance. Oh and NEVER put your wrists down when you fall because thats like the most common breakage for beginngers.

Advice you want to share? Never give up on your dreams. I know that sounds wicked tacky but seriously... when it comes to your dream, you cant put anybody infront of you. It's hard to decide if the sacrafices are worth the prize but just remember, you only have one life to live so never let anything stand in your way. There's always a way so just DONT give up.