Rob Kingwill is a life long shredder. Rob grew up in riding Rendezvous Mountain, otherwise known as Jackson Hole; quite the proving grounds! With the insane terrain and killer local riders, it takes a lot to get to the top of the Jackson heap! After high school Rob went to school at Montana State University in Bozeman. I would refer to it as the University of Bridger Bowl but Rob managed to graduate with honors and moved right into the snowboard circuit. In the late 90s and early part of this millennium he consistently placed in the top 10 of the Grand Prix’s, X Games, Triple Crowns and other such contests. Rob was often seen on the podium and even beat Terje at the 1998 US Open to take the top spot. An injury set him back a little in the 02-03 season. He came back with much less of an emphasis on the contest circuit. He took a top ten in a Grand Prix tour this year, reaching his goal of throwing FS 10’s in a contest, but Jackson Hole had such an epic year, he kind of gave up on the contests to freeride. When I rode with him in early April, he said the last pipe he rode was in January. Tough life. So let’s see what is up with him, post contest fury.
Rob with a huge crippler in December of 2002 in Breckenridge
Name: Rob Kingwill, Kinger
Sponsors: Avalon7, Arbor, The North Face, Smith, Giro, Grenade, Jackson Hole, Bluebird, Skullcandy
Years Riding: As long as Shaun White has been alive…
Home: Jackson Hole, Wyoming
Stance: Regular
Set Up (angles): 18, -9, 22 inches centered
Kinger and Anne Flore Marxer in Jackson Hole, April 2006
-So, how is life for a snowboarder coming off the crazy contest circuit lifestyle?
I have been doing the World Cup/ Pro contest circuit for 10 years straight, and it is a little strange to just sit down in one place and not go anywhere… I actually got to sleep in my own bed for more than two weeks in a row this winter, and it was amazing to really get to know Jackson Hole again after being gone for so long.
-What were you up this past 05/06 season?
I started out coaching at the Camp of Champions, then Windell’s, then I went straight to New Zealand to train pipe in Snowpark, which was amazing. After that I went to Chile for the first World Cup of the year, where I got ripped off by the judges but still got 4th. Antti Autti offered to give me his 3rd place prize money because he was so bummed on the judging (thanks buddy), but that is how contests go, you win some and lose some. After that I went back to JH, riding the sick early season pow we had at Grand Targhee. Next I went to Breckenridge for the Grand Prix, and made finals but crashed twice in finals. Home to ride pow in JH, then off to Mt Bachelor for the third GP, then to Breck to train, then to New Jersey for GP finals, which was sooo fun because of the insane crowd we had. I landed some of the best runs of my life there, dialing in my FS 1080s the night before the contest and throwing them down the next day. I was so stoked! The second contest got postponed because of wind, instead of doing a chill night contest we had to ride ice death at 7 am the next morning, and start competing by 8am! Some of the other guys just cruised it, doing straight airs, but I decided I came out to throw down, and I did- FS air, BS 900, FS 1080, cab 720, FS 900, method. Best back to back run of my life. I got 11th, but I didn’t care because I stepped it up for myself and not the judges. After that feeling of doing what I came to do, I really didn’t need to do another pipe contest for a while, so I went home to try and become what I always wanted to become- a class A freerider. That story goes on and on, but having the opportunity to stay home and ride my favorite mountain in the world for 2 months was one of the greatest things I have ever done. Somewhere in there I found time to go to the Legendary Mt Baker Banked and get 3rd (I want to win that one sooo bad!), and place first in the Canis Lupis Banked Slalom at the Canyons and first at the Dicks Ditch Banked Slalom in Jackson. I rode everyday this spring, shooting when it was sunny and just exploring the endless backcountry around Jackson. Life is good. Now I am back at Camp of Champions and the park is the best I have every seen, and the cycle begins again!
-You were on top of the contest circuit at one point, how was that lifestyle and what made you decide to turn slightly away from that as of lately?
I feel like I have been riding pipe competitively for so long- 10 years! Although I still love it, there is so much more to snowboarding for me, and I want to explore those avenues while I still have the chance.
-Did getting injured a few years ago change your outlook?
Blowing my knee out took me out for nearly a season and a half. I came back from rehab super strong, but re-injured my knee three days back into riding. I limped from contest to contest after that, hoping each week that my knee would get better. It didn’t, and riding injured reinforced a lot of fear in me, resulting in mediocre riding. It took a lot of work to get over all the damage I did to myself mentally during that season, but I am back and ready to kill it!
-While you were recovering what was going through your mind? Were you stressing on your snowboard career potentially ending or were you just psyched to re-hab and get back on it?
I never even considered my career being over. I focused on getting strong again hitting the gym for 3 hour sessions 4 days a week, and in between I worked 15 hour days on remodeling my house, which really helped me not think about the snowboarding I was missing out on. Snowboarding is a huge part of my life, and has bordered on obsession for a long time. Getting injured gave me a little time to develop other talents for a little while, which was great because I feel like I am a lot more balanced. I learned to play the guitar, how to build a house, and began the process of starting my own company, Avalon7. It enriched my life, I guess.
Jackson Hole Frontside rock drop
-Do you think the board brand people ride for and image is important in snowboarding?
I think that there is a huge amount of power in good marketing and image, especially to the kids. If you do it as a job, like I do, it is hugely important. As a pro it is your job to have an “image” and help make the companies you ride for look good so people will buy their stuff. On the other hand, I have always chosen to be a snowboarder first throughout my career, and let my riding speak for itself, which may have hurt me a little, but I don’t care. That is one reason I like contests so much. It is a way to prove you rip, whether your board sponsor goes out and tells everyone you are cool or not. There are hundreds of unsung riders out there, as good as the best pro, who just don’t care about the popularity contest, they just ride. I respect them so much. I ride for companies who have sick product and good people behind them. I snowboard 200 plus days a year and love every minute of it. If that isn’t “cool” I don’t know what is.
-Are there riders out there that get credit for their image and perhaps do not ride as well as others?
Absolutely. But being a pro means more than just ripping, you have to be marketable, and if being “Hip hop” or “thugged out” or whatever sells more product, than more power to them, that’s the game we play.
-Any riders that are underrated because they do not give a shit about playing the image game, who?
Jason Elms from Jackson, he straight kills it everyday. He rides the most insane lines and is so chill about it. Ricky Bower, who is coaching for the US team now. He will straight up make all of us look bad on any given day in the pipe or on a kicker, and then just walk away and go back to coaching.
-What is Avalon Seven all about?
Avalon7 is my bandana company I started last summer as an experiment in business, art and branding. I wanted to challenge myself and see if I could make a legitimate company all by myself. I am a one man show. I have been doing all the art, marketing, production, website everything, and I have learned so much! I probably could learn a lot from going to business school, but I want to keep riding and learn at the same time. I developed a mesh bandana so that you can cover up your face and still breathe, and the kids here at camp have been eating it up! They are super functional and have sick graphics. All the money I make I throw back into the company. I used the $700 I made from winning Dick’s Ditch last winter to pay for the stock I have now. I am super small, but it seems to be taking off. I also believe in rider owned companies, like Bluebird and Grenade and Airblaster. The more the better. It is inevitable that the majority of snowboarding companies will be owned by big corporations… that is just the way of business, but I think it is important that the people who have put their hearts and souls into building snowboarding into what it is today should stand up and create their own companies, keep that soul and passion where it belongs so that it doesn’t get lost.
-Any thoughts of retiring and what you may do after being one of the top snowboarders in the world? What’s the pension plan?
I haven’t given up yet! I feel like I have so much to learn and to progress, which gives me hope and the desire to keep going. There is a lot to be done in bringing back freeriding to the forefront, and make sure kids get out of the parks and pipes from time to time and ride the rest of the mountain. There is so much inspiration and beauty out there, and I want to promote that idea to the next generations of kids. As far as a pension plan, hopefully Avalon7 will blow up and I can make enough to live off of that! I also absolutely love coaching kids and helping people progress their riding. I have my own snowboard camp this year in New Zealand in August, the Avalon7 Camp at Snowpark. Check it at kinger.allstartrips.com. I have lots of hidden talents, make no mistake, and the future looks bright!
-What does the future possibly hold for Kinger?
Snowboarding, art, music, family, snowboarding, coaching, fun, struggle, joy, pain, life! I can’t wait!
-Any shout outs or anything you want to say?
Thanks for reading!