Goggle Tans Are Sexy: Leanne Pelosi

What makes Leanne Pelosi awesome? Well, besides the fact that she’s one of only a handful of girls that can rock a goggle-tan and still turn heads?

What makes Leanne Pelosi awesome? Well, besides the fact that she’s one of only a handful of girls that can rock a goggle-tan and still turn heads? Probably the fact that she’s one of the best Slopestyle riders on the scene. This rail crasher started her career strong, winning Transworld’s Snowboarding 2004 Rookie of the Year award, and hasn’t let up since. Along the way, she’s managed to pile on the sponsorships (Monster, Dakine, K2, etnies girl), start a snowboard camp exclusively for girls, and founded her own production company, Runway Films. Not too shabby for a twenty-eight year-old. FUEL.TV grilled this hucking Canuck about life, Lady Gaga, shotgunnin’ beers, and why she might be the best thing to come out of Canada since William Shatner snowshoed across the border.

<<Leanne's Photo Gallery>>

What's on your calendar for the upcoming year?  Any exciting film projects, blind dates, competitions, etc?
Filming with Standard Films a bit, helping out at MGT [More Good Times] Snowboard camp, my signature session at High Cascade, a heli-trip to Alaska for the first time with Snowboarder Magazine, and maybe a trip down to Argentina and Chile too in August.

How did you become involved with the MGT snowboard camp?
I started it with my friend Joanna Majcherkiewicz seven years ago. We were talking about it and I finished a business plan in one of my communications courses in university. The class responded to it really positively, so we set the wheels in motion!

Why is the MGT snowboard camp important to you?
I feel that it’s important to support the grassroots, the place where I came from. There isn't anything like MGT in Canada, and it’s great that these girls get to come and see their female role models in real life – and then shred with them!

What's the most inspiring thing you've seen one of your campers do at MGT?
Getting up after eating it over and over and over definitely inspires me to go for it next time I'm trying a trick. Just to see their determination is sweet!

Describe your most extreme sledding experience - (Bonus points will be awarded if a non-traditional sled was used.)
I don't know if this is extreme or not but I rode my sled over a lake for the first time last spring. That was fun, but wet.

How are you going to revolutionize snowboarding flicks?
By putting all my energy into riding in a snowboard movie, instead of producing. Being both rider and producer was definitely challenging, and right now, I just want to focus on riding.

There's a rumor that you're a tree-hugging environmentalist. Which we totally support. What's your biggest environmental pet-peeve?
When people litter!

Conversely - what's the most un-green thing you do?  (Driving a car is not acceptable. We want the dirt!)
Probably riding my snowmobile, or heli-boarding, or flying across the country for a one-day contest. There are certain commitments I have to fulfill as a pro snowboarder, but I try to make small differences in other ways... like not showering! HA! Just joking!

What's your sexiest feature?
What's not sexy about me? Maybe my distinct backside aromas? Other than that, man I'm so desirable!

If you could pillow-fight any lady that ever existed- who would you brawl?
Lady Gaga. She looks feisty.

What are your thoughts on stuffed animals in the bedroom?
I had a polar bear that would sleep at the end of my bed...when I was 12! Now I give my dog all my old animals to rip up.

Do you have any man-skills?
Shotgunnin’ beers!

Single. Greatest. Achievement. Ever. What is it?
Finishing university, and then starting my second degree, only to drop out for snowboarding! YEAHH!

What would you like to be remembered for?
Sharing the laughter and good times.

Are there any snowboard tricks that you just can't get a handle on?
More than a backside 5. I want to get some backside 7's this summer. I've been
working on uncorking my 5's so that I don't land in the back seat on 7's.

Where's the best powder in the world?
Whistler

Are you sponsored by Whistler  Blackcomb?
Maybe…
 
If you weren't a rad snowboarder/ filmmaker - what would you rather be doing?
Working on documentaries for the Discovery Channel, especially the Planet Earth series, and surfing in between.

Who's been the most inspirational figure in your life?
Lynda Pelosi

If you were going to write something on a bathroom stall - what would it be?
“You sleep when you're dead.”

--Michael Kennard