Today we honor and spotlight “Rad Mom”, Barrett Christy. Barrett has been a force and source of inspiration to many in the world of snowboarding since the early 90’s. She was a member of the first U.S. Snowboarding team during the 1998 Winter Olympics and has won more medals than any other female athlete in the Winter X Games to date.
Today Barrett continues to shred the love amongst the ladies of snow by staying active as GNU Snowboards women’s program manager. Not too mention, her B-Pro signature snowboard line is the one of the best selling women’s board of all-time!
We caught up with Barrett to talk about how she balances work, play, and motherhood…
Where do you reside? Sequim, WA
Mother of (#) Name(s): Cannon (7) Ayla (2)
Current involvement w/ B4BC? I am in charge of the Gnu girls brand, the team and the product line. I have been so fortunate to continue working on the boards, even though I seem to work more than I ride anymore. My pro model continues to be a strong seller and a premium board in the women’s market. Since 2005 I’ve donated royalties from the sale of the B-Pro boards to B4BC. (*http://www.gnu.com/snowboards/womens/b-pro/)
After all of these years why is it still important for you to stay involved? I have a daughter now and I feel it’s even more important to educate and empower young people about a healthy lifestyle and cancer prevention and detection. I have always looked up to Tina Basich and Lisa Hudson, 2 of the B4BC founders and women who I met early on in my snowboarding career. They are strong and graceful and are moms now too, it’s great to support a cause that effects so many generations of girls!
How do you create a healthy active lifestyle for your kids/family at home or on the road? We are always busy, sometimes I don’t know why we do it to ourselves, but we have tried not to compromise our need for activity even with our lives as “grown-ups” now! When there is good snow we try to go snowboarding as much as possible. When there is surf we drag everyone to the beach, we bike and hike and try hard to keep the kids from falling into the couch and whining for tv. The kids both snowboard and love it. It’s so fun being able to ride around the whole mountain with Cannon now.
Has having kids changed your perception on how you live your life? Oh for sure! We feel very lucky to have the life we have. We both have a pretty similar set of priorities and we do our best to balance the work with fun and freedom. I don’t feel like I’m ever ‘training’ for anything with snowboarding anymore, it’s more about having fun with it all. Healthy activities aren’t like a chore that needs to get done, they are what we all need and want! I hope the kids learn to experience everything and keep their minds open to all kinds of adventures.
Barrett with daughter Ayla and son Cannon…enjoying a snuggle!
Barrett’s 7-year old, Cannon going big!
Barrett with husband Temple Cummins.
