Ross Rebagliati and Snowboarding | Revisited
History of the 90s
Kathy Kenzora
4.7 • 610 Ratings
🗓️ 18 February 2026
⏱️ 34 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Snowboarding exploded in popularity during the 1990s, but its road to legitimacy was anything but smooth. On this episode of History of the 90s, Kathy Kenzora traces the rebellious roots of snowboarding, from outlaw status at ski hills to its mainstream breakthrough and eventual Olympic debut. Joining the show is Canadian snowboarder Ross Rebagliati, who made history at the 1998 Nagano Games by winning the very first Olympic gold medal in the sport. Together they trace snowboarding’s wild early days, the cultural clashes with the skiing establishment, and what it was like to stand at the center of a sport redefining winter athletics. It’s a deep dive into how the 90s helped turn snowboarding from counterculture to global phenomenon.
Guest info:
Ross Rebagliati
Instagram: @rossrebagliati98
Show Info:
Instagram: @that90spodcast
Email: 1995podcast@gmail.com
Tik Tok: 90spodcast
Substack: @historyofthe90s
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hey there, it's Kathy. I just wanted to let you know that you can listen to History of the 90s |
| 0:04.7 | early and ad-free on Amazon music included with Prime. Nearly 30 years ago, a new sport was introduced |
| 0:12.1 | at the Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan. After an explosion and popularity throughout the 90s, |
| 0:18.6 | four snowboarding events were added to the 1998 games, |
| 0:23.0 | men's and women's giant slalom and half pipe. At the 2026 Olympics underway in Italy, |
| 0:29.3 | there are now 11 snowboarding competitions. This week on History of the 90s, we're revisiting an |
| 0:35.2 | earlier episode on snowboarding. It tracks the history of |
| 0:38.4 | the sport from its origins to its first appearance at the Olympics. And we get some help from |
| 0:43.5 | Canadian snowboarder Ross Rebliotti. I'll be back in two weeks with a brand new episode. Until then, |
| 0:49.7 | I hope you enjoy the rise of the snowboarder. It's the early 90s at Copper Mountain, Colorado. |
| 0:57.6 | An invasion of young people has taken over the resort, riding in packs, jumping over signs, |
| 1:03.6 | tables and trash cans. They strike fear into the hearts of baby boomers, not used to sharing |
| 1:09.5 | the slopes with such a rambunctious crowd. |
| 1:12.8 | Resort staff hand out brochures with a list of rules. |
| 1:16.3 | They call it shredicot, hoping to convince the younger visitors to behave. |
| 1:21.4 | It tells them to refrain from stopping on the side or in the middle of a slope. |
| 1:25.9 | No jumping man-made objects. |
| 1:29.5 | And under no circumstances is profanity acceptable. It's an epic generational battle, one that's playing out on the slopes |
| 1:36.9 | of ski resorts around North America as an underground sport is becoming mainstream. |
| 1:43.6 | I'm Kathy Kanzora, and this is History of the 90s, a podcast about a decade that changed the world. |
| 1:50.5 | On this episode, The Rise of the Snowboarder. |
| 1:58.7 | On Christmas Day in 1965, a Michigan dad was looking for a way to keep his two young daughters busy and to give his very pregnant wife a bit of a break. |
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