Ask a Gear Goddess: Barrett Christy

This summer, snowboarder Barrett Christy became a true Gear Goddess when Nike introduced its first outdoor cross-training shoe created by an all-female design and development team: the Air Barrett Christy. Those of us who knew her before she became Michael Jordan's peer have always been captivated by her impressive snowboarding. This year at the 2000 X Games, Christy took silver in the half-pipe, and bronze in the slope style competition. She placed third in the half-pipe at the U.S. Open, second in the Mount Baker banked slalom, and third in the Gravity Games big-air division. She was named 2000 Female Rider of the Year by TransWorld Snowboarding magazine and made it into the Guinness Book of World Records as the holder of more X Games medals than any other athlete. In 1999 she won the Winter X Games overall snowboarding championship. Before that, Christy was a member of the 1998 U.S. snowboarding team at the Nagano Olympic Games. She lives outside Vail, Colorado.

Interview by Jean Weiss

Gear Goddess: What was your role in making the shoe? Were you the muse?
Christy: My role was definitely the inspiration factor. My suggestions got us started on it. Two women designers took my idea, my wants and needs, and made them into a shoe.

Gear Goddess: Now that your suitcase is lighter, are you going to hit it hard this season in snowboard competitions?
Christy: I want to cut down on some of the competition and film a lot more, because when I compete, I don't have enough time to put toward the snowboard flicks. I definitely want to film more, but I also want to do enough half-pipe events so I can qualify for the Olympics next year.

Gear Goddess: That's a lot to go for in one year. What's the greatest challenge you face right now?
Christy: Just feeling settled. I travel so much that my challenge is trying to make home wherever I am. I can't feel the need to go home all the time because it doesn't happen. So to feel in shape and to feel balanced and to feel comfortable in my surroundings all the time is the challenge.

Gear Goddess: I know you practice yoga. Does that help?
Christy: Yes, yoga or some form of stretching makes me feel more centered and into myself and not scattered at a competition.

Gear Goddess: How did you get into snowboarding?
Christy: I moved from Pennsylvania out to Lake Tahoe just after high school because I wanted to be a better skier. I wasn't as good a skier as I thought I was going to be -- my legs got all twisted up, and I'd lose my poles, and my skis would come off easily. I thought I might as well try something new. Snowboarding looked easier and more graceful. It wasn't like it came naturally, though. I took a beating. I remember bruising my tailbone the first day. I learned the hard way, without lessons.

Gear Goddess: Hmmm, sounds like there's hope for me. Do you maintain your own snowboard equipment?
Christy: Oh, sure. I don't think my gear requires a lot of maintenance -- occasional waxing and sharpening of the edges, but that's about it. I'm sure there's a lot of stuff that I could do with my equipment, but I don't feel the need. I'm not a very techie person. If it works, I'll keep it, and if it starts to not work, I'll trade it in for something else.

Gear Goddess: Do you have any pointers for other snowboarders?
Christy: The important thing is to check your screws. Keep your screws tight and make sure your bindings are set up correctly. I've had bindings break during the middle of competition and had to borrow a binding that was too big or didn't have forward lean. I can't ride well without forward lean. I also have a pretty average-size foot. I'm a women's 7, but that's a small binding usually, so I use a medium-size high-back on my bindings so it's a little taller than what usually comes on a binding. It gives you more control.

Gear Goddess: Was snowboarding a deliberate career path for you, and do you have any particular vision for your future?
Christy: To have a dog and grow plants! I've never been good at looking too far ahead of myself, and I've been lucky that I was able to start snowboarding, make it a priority, and get good at it. I trust in whatever happens to me. I just go with it. I'm definitely more in the moment.

Gear Goddess: That's a great quality. Do you have any unusual personality quirks?
Christy: A friend of mine once told me I have perplexophrenia -- that's how she once described me, because I analyze everything a lot.

Gear Goddess: If you analyze, then how can you be in the moment?
Christy: [Laughs.] Because there's enough to analyze in the moment. You don't need to analyze what could happen in the future!

Gear Goddess: You've proven your athleticism. Do you have any hidden talents?
Christy: I try to play the guitar. A friend of mine, she's in this band called Ween from New Hope, Pennsylvania. They are really creative. She gave me an acoustic guitar in high school. I've tried to play ever since. I won a couple of electric guitars in a snowboard contest a couple of years ago.

Gear Goddess: That's great. That must be your best gift so far.
Christy: Actually, I won a car last year. It was at the X Games when I won the overall award. It was a 2000 GTI VR6 Volkswagen. I keep that in Colorado. That's what I get to drive when I come home.

Gear Goddess: No wonder you yearn to come home. OK, a final question: Any pet peeves?
Christy: When you sit down at the public toilet, and you go to pull toilet paper out, and only one square comes out. That's a pet peeve.

Gear Goddess: There should be a fine for that. We're right there with you. Hey, good luck snowboarding this season, Barrett, and good luck with the shoe.
Christy: Thanks.

Alpine Skis Buying Guide, By Lisa Feinberg Densmore Snowboards Buying Guide, By Sarah Bamberger Backcountry Travel: Play it Safe, By Wendy Roberts Training Beyond the Gym, By Emily Miller Riding Air with Barrett Christy, Interview by Jean Weiss Women-only Snow Sports Camps, By Heather Paul Mountain Bikes Buying Guide, By Christine A. Parker Buying Guide to Hydration Systems, By Kelli Rosen Cross-country skiing gear, By Melissa DeVaughn Queen of the Board: Tina Basich, By Wendy Roberts Do Women-Specific Skiis Matter?, By Carol Kauder Assessing and treating ski injuries, By Colleen A. Brennan, M.S.

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