Meet Halfpipe Rider Crispin Lipscomb – Possibly The Most Calm And Collected Athlete In All Of Sochi

From olympian to coach and back. Crispin Lipscomb has unexpectedly found himself in Sochi representing Canada in the pipe and couldn't be more stoked. 

Crispin competed in the 2006 games, coming in a respectable 11th place – then was forced to pull out of his hometown games in 2010 due to a series of personal issues that left him feeling like competitive snowboarding was just not the right place for him. Now, through a series of unexpected, yet somehow (as always it seems) meant to be, events he's now just hours away from dropping into another olympic pipe with the Canadian flag on his sleeve.

I've had the pleasure of knowing Crispin for over ten years now and I can say with great confidence that he is by far one of the most positive and uplifting dudes I know. Always with a smile on his face, there's just something about the way he talks to you that leaves you with the impression that, unlike many others in a hustle and bustle kinda place like Whistler, he genuinely cares about you or whatever you might be talking about that day. "Pipe jocks" don't always get the respect and adulation adorned upon others in "the industry" – which is kinda ironic when you think about it since that's kinda where it all started – yet it never seems to bother ol' Crispin. At least you'd never know it. In fact, just to get to Sochi Crispin had to throw himself a fundraiser where the community of Whistler came together to raise over $8000 – just enough to get him there. And he had a smile on his face about it the whole time.

I hadn't seen Crispin in a while – he's been living up in Pemberton for the last few years – but luckily I got to reconnect with him recently when we realized we're now living in the same housing complex on the side of Whistler Mountain. A few late night knocks on the door to shoot the shit later and I've got to say, this dude is about as real as it comes. No pretentions. No expectations. Just a raw – and enviable – positive attitude that truly exudes the "whatever is meant to be will be" mantra we all try to convince ourselves we believe in. 
 

Going big while training in Laax

Recently engaged and seemingly invigorated with a new-found appreciation for Buddhist philosophies, Crispin seems completely at ease with himself and his ability to accomplish his – and help others accomplish their – goals. He has refocused, using a simple philosophy that encourages each and every one of us to stop focussing so much on the end goal and instead to take the time and effort to make every step there mean as much as it can.

"About five or six years ago I started travelling to Korea and I was introduced to some monks who run a thousand-year-old temple," he said.

"Ways to deal with fear, ways to deal with the physical challenges, and to stay in the moment. I remember being told about this stuff by sports psychologists and trainers, but it's only making more sense now."

I don't think it's a stretch to say it's a bit of a long shot that we'll get to see the maple leaf on the podium tonight but with good people like Crispin up there representing for us I think we're looking pretty damn good.

Crispin was kind enough to answer a few questions for me, as I just had to help get his story out. Please take a moment to read these words from a true olympic champion and make sure to set those alarms to watch the pipe comp tonight – or tomorrow morning depending on where you're at.

Crispin: I was coaching Canadian World Cup athlete Katie Tsuyuki towards her Sochi Olympic goals. We were traveling around the World competing and I was getting back in the pipe all the time to coach her thru role modeling and by demonstrating the techniques. In Feb 2013 I was offered a spot in the Park City qualifier and I was stoked to try a few runs for the Judges. But the US Head Coach blocked my start because I didn't have enough points. So I became motivated to get some FIS points at Canadian Nationals just in case it later came in handy. I got 3rd in Calgary at the Canadian National Champs and earned a start at the following World Cup and the first of 4 Olympic Qualifying events in New Zealand planned for August 2013. 

Just before the contest our little team of 2 was told that I would not be given coaching credentials and access to coach Katie at Sochi Olympics in Feb, so Katie turned to Canada Snowboard and claimed that she would get me, her coach, to compete and earn my own Olympic athlete spot so as to be there to coach her. That Olympic spot for me became the plan, the process and the goal. I earned Canada's top result at the first Olympic qualifier in August, and kept improving all fall and in to the winter and qualified second Canadian going in to the Sochi 2014 Olympic Games. Back out of retirement and right in to the mix.  

After choosing to walk away from contest in 2010 I did not ever think I would be back riding at this skill level or even be interested in this scene and crazy community of medal hunting athletes. I was quite happy shredding the backcountry on my sled, touring the World coaching young athletes and spending time renovating my house in Pemberton. 
 

Crispin, center, clearly feeling at ease at a Sochi press conference earlier this week

What's it like being a self-funded olympian?

I was supported thru coaching Katie to her Olympic goals. I was on shift every day working on Katie's skills, waxing boards, going to coaches meetings and filming video for her. I was able to attend the right events because they were the same ones that Katie needed to be at, so I could just save up some extra energy and drop in to my own runs after she was finished her contests. I also sold my house to loosen up the extra cash and to make life much easier and more simple for this winter season. But it's been tough staying competitive without physiotherapists to fix the bodies, as well as sport science to improve gear and techniques. It's difficult focussing on someone else's efforts and challenges and keeping my own shit a second priority. But I am so very grateful for the opportunity to have been able to do the contests, to have shared the goals and missions for the last 6 of this past 16 months. My fiancee Raf Vaz was amazing in helping me create a big fundraiser event in Whistler the day after the Olympic Team was announced, and another crew has helped my create an online fundraiser on a crowd sourcing website called Indiegogo

You had to throw a fundraise just to get to Sochi. How much does it cost to compete in the olympics? 

I had to shell out about $8500 in the last 4 weeks, and I have estimated things to be around $12,000 for the last 12 months of touring, training, recovering and being away from home. It is very hard to keep normal life rolling and to establish good work when you are spending only 1 week out of 4 at home base.  the goal of this online fundraiser is to re-coup some funds and resources spent on getting to Sochi, and to develop some good momentum to help create the training team and training facilities needed to coach the next generation of Canadian superstar snowboarders. I will be heading to coaching classes and more education resources to set up for some long-term skill development camps for the future kids. 

I want to show to the audience that snowboarding is about fun, personal style and having the freedom to achieve your goals in the ways you need to do it. I want to ride the very best I can to celebrate the send-off to my long halfpipe career. Tuesday Feb 11th will be the last time I get to snowboard at this World class and elite level. I want to have positive memories of my big Sochi 2014 mission and I want to be sure that I did everything I could to achieve that goal. I hope to put down lofty big airs that give me the time to enjoy things up there in the sky. If it's my last time, I want to make it last, and the way to do that is to go as high as possible. I also want my teammates to achieve their goals, and to show the World that Canada is a leading country in snowboarding. I want to establish a good reputation in my coaching and riding career to help launch myself in to the next few years where I plan to host training camps and develop a good team of young riders who want to compete and to improve themselves on snow, off snow and in their life as well. I am looking to create a "Super Team" of shredders to train around Whistler and USa and New Zealand that want to work towards World Class riding. So check out our Pro-Pipe Camps and other big training opportunities in the coming months and years. 

GOOD LUCK CRISPIN!!

Find out more about Crispin and his wicked way of looking at life in this exclusive profile we did on him several months back