TPM Episode 374: Jess Kimura, Pro Snowboarder
The Powell Movement
Mike Powell
4.9 • 860 Ratings
🗓️ 18 March 2024
⏱️ 80 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Jess Kimura's life has never been easy. Yeah, she's a pro snowboarder who travels the world to ride, which sounds like a dream - But, hearing about the path that led Jess to snowboard superstardom, I doubt many people would trade places with her. What she has achieved is incredible. On the podcast, we talk about life lessons of the skatepark, leaving home at 16, being broke, snowboarding, mental health issues, losing snowboarding, love, losing love; oh, there is so much in this must-listen episode. Marie-France Roy asks the Inappropriate Questions
Jess Kimura Show Notes:
3:00: Alpenglow Speaker Series, Flipping her truck, early life of gymnastics and team sports, and skiing at Silverstar
12:00: Skateboarding, bad stuff at the skatepark, leaving home at 16 and getting a place with a boyfriend, alternative school, and societies stereotypes
21:00: Stanley: Get up 60% off at Stanley1913.com
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Elan Skis: Over 75 years of innovation that makes you better.
24:00: Snowboard culture, inspiration, her contest mentality, traveling on Wendy's paychecks, Nationals, her attitude and look, traveling to Switzerland for her first World Cup, and the start of mental health battles
40:00: Peter Glenn Ski and Sports: Over 60 years of getting you out there.
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43:00: Getting on powerful meds, getting put in a group home for kids with psychosis, losing snowboarding, getting off meds, and getting her life back
50:00: Picking up hitchhikers, trying to go to SuperPark with a lacerated liver, moving to Whistler, concussions, and cameramen not shooting her because she's a girl
61:00: Sexismin the mountains, sponsorship, finding love, finding inspiration, losing love, and The Uninvited
72:00: Inappropriate Questions with Marie-France Roy
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Have a seat on your porcelain throne. |
| 0:02.3 | It's time to talk some shit on the Powell Movement. |
| 0:13.5 | Welcome to the Powell Movement. |
| 0:17.1 | I'm your host Mike Powell, and it's Shane McConkey PMS Week. |
| 0:21.1 | And if you're anywhere near the Palisades area, this event is the most fun and most important event in skiing every year, hands down. |
| 0:29.1 | I'll be on the mic and Snowblades will be on the mountain in the hopes of winning the coveted golden saucer. |
| 0:35.1 | It's a face-melting day of debauchery, all to raise money in the name of the |
| 0:39.0 | best to ever do it, Shane McConkey. I could go on and on about how fun this weekend is, but I'm |
| 0:45.2 | going to focus on the show this week. While losing Shane was one of the heavier experiences in |
| 0:50.0 | life for a lot of people, this week's podcast episode might be the heaviest in Powell movement |
| 0:55.3 | history. Jess Kimura is one badass, tough as nails person, and she's managed to find success |
| 1:01.5 | in the male-driven world of snowboarding while experiencing the hardest of times. Jess left home |
| 1:07.0 | at 16 years old, found drugs and alcohol while starting her career in the fast food |
| 1:11.4 | industry, all while killing it at snowboarding. And then came mental health issues, psych wards, |
| 1:17.6 | losing snowboarding, finding snowboarding again, then finding love and losing love. And oh man, |
| 1:23.2 | this episode is incredible and it's a heavy story. And when you're done listening to it, please check out Jess's movie Learning to Drown. |
| 1:31.0 | It's so good and most people would never put themselves out there like that. |
| 1:34.9 | And I've shared too much already about Jess's life and times. |
| 1:37.9 | But know that Jess is not only a badass that is one female writer of the year awards, among others, |
| 1:43.6 | but more importantly, she's making |
| 1:45.3 | a difference for women by creating some needed events with her uninvited series that has positively |
| 1:50.4 | helped shape so many careers. While what Jess has been through is tough, the real takeaway is how |
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