Not so way back, Sam Kuch was heralded as an unknown however promising up-and-comer. Now, the Canadian skier is a family identify, with main movie shoots and high-profile sponsorships underneath his belt.
For Kuch, one early second of ski trade visibility got here when Matchstick Productions launched the movie Return to Ship’er in 2019. It featured a standout section that hasn’t aged a bit.
Faucet in under.
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Ski filmmaker Scott Gaffney, who directed Return to Ship’er, additionally profiled Kuch for a problem of Freeskier. Within the article, he describes listening to about Kuch from a pal. They known as Kuch a mixture of Candide Thovex and Sean Pettit. Gaffney was understandably skeptical. However after watching a video of Kuch snowboarding, he was an prompt fan.
So was everybody else. In Return to Ship’er, Kuch rips round his house resort of Whitewater earlier than venturing to a grander proving floor, Palisades Tahoe. The birthplace of Squallywood is perhaps the toughest place for a skier to go away an impression—how do you stand out when everybody else is knowledgeable skier? However Kuch did simply that, tearing up the Californian ski resort together with his trademark, flowy combination of freestyle and freeride.
The remainder of the section was an all-mountain masterclass, making two issues very clear: Kuch was simply getting began, and he had a protracted, fruitful profession forward of him.
However there have been some bumps alongside the way in which, particularly a crash in February 2022 which left Kuch with a damaged femur. Then, in December 2024, Kuch undertook a brand new problem: he grew to become a dad.
Earlier than his son was born, Kuch was frightened that fatherhood may sideline snowboarding. These fears didn’t final lengthy.
“All of it type of bought worn out as soon as the season began and I spotted that I used to be being totally accepted, and I used to be nonetheless snowboarding to my greatest means,” Kuch advised POWDER in an interview final month.
Kuch’s current efficiency on the inaugural Pure Choice Tour occasion strengthened that sentiment. Amongst a stacked subject of invited athletes, Kuch took second, beating out fellow showstoppers like Colby Stevenson, Kai Jones, and Markus Eder.
What about fatherhood? It’s “truthfully been wonderful,” mentioned Kuch.
Associated: The Evolution of Skis: A Brief Historical past
