With the demeanor of Wally Cleaver
with me. I threw up about 20 oz into it. That kind of
and a well-balanced, fully-fortified taught me a lesson that maybe 40s weren't so cool.
childhood of stoke, 19-year-old Greg
Goulet is readier than most people will
ever be to take on the money-flounder-
ing, over-animated hand shaking, weird
world of professional snowboarding.
Talented, laid-back, and friendly as
grandma, it's hard to avoid positive
adjectives when discussing
Bogus Basin's favorite
You've been snowboarding quite a while now.
What are some of the changes you like and don't
like as you watch snowboarding progress?
son. Meet your new
best friend.
What was it like snowboard-
ing in Idaho in 1988?
That was my first year, and
I stuck to the rope tows. Lots
of Sims Switchblades and
Terry Kidwells. I was on the
Burton Safari.
What was the first trick you
learned that you got really
excited about?
The day I learned the donkey-
kick methods. That's when it all
started to happen. It was like a
back scratcher.
Speaking of your roots, what
was it like being the little kid
who was sponsored?
Gosh, you know, my first spon-
sor was Ocean Pacific
What?!! How'd you get
on OP?
Yep, cord shorts and neon
suits. This guy Chris Karol
hooked me up. He was run-
ning the first snowboard camp
at Mt Hood
Did you get treated different-
ly back home after you came
back as an OP rider?
Oh, yeah. Everyone wanted
to know if I knew Damian
How was getting sponsored
for you different from the
way people who run around
at trade shows with resume
packets do it?
I was only 12 years old, so I
was just trying to learn. My
first board sponsor was Kris
Jamison. He started to hook
me up with boards, then later it
was Lib-Tech. Yeah, it was dif-
ferent. They didn't really
expect much being sponsored
by my friend and all.
So, no sponsor-me videos?
It seems like it's going in the way of freestyle skiing
with all kinds of flips off jumps. I wish people wouldn't
try to define themselves as racers or soul bros and just
do a little of everything
won't turn out. So I flash the brights to try and get him
to let me pass, but he wouldn't budge. Anyway, we get
up to the top of the mountain and park, and we're walk-
ing to the chair lift, and this guy comes running up to
me. He's a huge hick guy-mustache, cowboy hat and
all-and he's screaming and cursing and grabs me by the
throat and pushes me against my car. So, my friend has
a Snapple bottle and is about to bonk him on the head
with it, but then he snaps and just takes off and starts
walking back to his car. We weren't having that, so we
follow him, and all these people are
gathering around to figure out what
happened. It turns out he was
dropping off his little daughters
and we're all telling them.
"You're daddy's in big trouble!
He's going to jail! Your daddy's
attacking a minor" That pretty
much ruined my day.
cold snap
Palmer
How important is skate-
boarding knowledge to be a
good snowboarder? Does it
even matter anymore?
Definitely not. You can tell
some guys skate by their style,
but it really doesn't matter at all
anymore. It's a good thing to do,
but lots of people have shown
that it's not required.
Who are some of your all-
time favorites?
As far as snowboarding goes,
Matt and Temple Cummins, defi-
nitely Kris Jamison, and my
buddy Ross Peterson.
Everybody's good nowadays. In
skating I thought Matt Hensley
was really rad. You can't forget
Chris Miller, either. I can't pick
out just one. I like a little about a
lot of people
You and Shaun Palmer seem
on the opposite ends of the
behavior spectrum. What is
the common ground that lets
you get along and be on the
same team?
I told him, "Just wait. I'll be a
bad boy soon. I'll start doing
some mean stuff." But I had to
graduate from high school first.
'cause, you know, I wouldn't
want to get grounded.
What's it like riding for
Shaun Palmer? Do you ever
get intimidated around him?
Oh, gosh yes. He's a big guy
and has accomplished so
much. Plus, I'm not that good
of a boardercrosser. All the
team's really into that, but I'm
kind of scared of the whole thing. I'm just scared.
grag goulst
To tell you the truth, I still have never really had.
a video part.
Being with the older guys, were you ever exposed
to stuff that you wish you could have waited
being exposed to until you were older? Like "Let's
get Greg drunk!" or "Let's get Greg a prostitute!"
My parents raised me pretty well, so I would try to get
to bed before the party started. Oh, Jesus. There was
one time when we were at a big contest, and this was
around the time when drinking Olde English and 40s
was pretty cool, and my friend shoulder taps some guy
in front of the liquor store. Then, about half way through
the 40 I realized the malt liquor wasn't really agreeing
114
What's the most scared you've ever been while on let's leave it at that.
your snowboard?
Well, it wasn't on my board exactly, but last year we
went hell-boarding, and I was in this helicopter, and we'd
come over a peak and got blown all crazy. I mean, these
things go down all the time. I just felt like my whole life
was completely out of my hands
What about in the car, driving to go ride?
Once in high school we had a snow day, and we were
in a real hurry to get to Bogus Basin, my local mountain.
So, we head up, and there's all these turnouts, but the
guy in front of us is going like 15 miles per hour and
A lot of pros I've met seem really career-minded
and treat it almost like a business. What's your take
on the professional athlete side of snowboarding?
I guess I'm just not to that level yet. Maybe when I get
better I'll get an agent or something. I'm just not much
of a businessman.
So you never think, "How can I market myself?"
It's getting hard nowadays. Back when you could
pierce yourself and dye your hair, it was easier. I guess
I'll have to figure out something else. Maybe the normal
guy look. I'm hoping that will catch on.
-Michael Burnett
Clockwise from left: Greg doesn't have to grab his tail on this backside, but he knows Hosoi
would have wanted it that way. Keystone, CO. Switch slob 540. That's what separates him from
the chicks and acrobat freaks. Feeble attempt at cross-training for Bogus Basin's rainbow logs.