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Candide Thovex

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Candide Thovex
Candide Thovex at the Few Words premiere in Paris, France
Candide Thovex, 2012
Born (1982-05-22) 22 May 1982 (age 42)
Annecy
OccupationSkier

Candide Thovex (born 22 May 1982), is a French professional skier, filmmaker and entrepreneur. He is famous for his unique, creative approach to the sport of freestyle skiing, and professionally has won almost every contest and accolade worth winning.He first caught the attention of the world of outdoor and action sports by successfully completing an attempt to jump Chad’s Gap, a massive transfer jump of 120 feet (around 36 meters) from take-off to landing over a 40 feet (around 12 meters) deep gully in Alta, Utah, USA. Today his action packed point of view (POV) videos routinely go viral on the Internet, viewed by millions. He is considered by many to be the best freeskier in the world today.

Biography

Candide Thovex was born May 22nd, 1982 in Annecy, in the Haute-Savoie area of France, and grew up in the village of La Clusaz.

He learned to ski at age 2 in the Aravis region of the French Alps. As a 4-year old, he began building little jumps behind his house, and at 5 he joined the local ski club where he developed a passion for mogul skiing. He was 14 when he won his first French National Junior Championships in the mogul division.

Professional skiing (1997-2007 the freestyle years)

In 1997, Candide signed his first professional sponsorship contract with leading American action sports brand Quiksilver.

In 1998, he participated in his first international event at the halfpipe and quarterpipe competition in Riksgränsen, Sweden.

In 1999, he received his first invitation to the most prestigious event in the world of freestyle skiing and action sports in general, the Winter X Games in Crested Butte, Colorado, USA and finished 4th in Big Air contest[1]. A few days later Candide was in the Utah backcountry filming with Kris Ostness for his film Clay Pigeons. They came across fellow freeskier Chad Zurinskas, who had built a massive gap that he was trying clear, to no avail. Candide asked if he could try. The 16-year old phenomenon successfully cleared Chad's Gap on his first attempt.[2] A legend was born. At the end of the same season he developed his first pro-model, a revolutionary ‘twin-tip’ ski with Dynastar.

In 2000, Candide returned to the United States to compete in the Gravity Games in Mammoth, California, where he won the Big Air contest. Feeling unstoppable, he made his second visit to Chad’s Gap and stomped the biggest D-spin 720 the world had ever seen[3].

From there ‘the flying Frenchman’ went on to crush the field in the Big Air division, winning his first gold medal at a Winter X-Games in the process.[4] In the aftermath, he was voted ‘Rider of the Year’ by Powder magazine. Unfortunately his season ended with Candide blowing the cruciate ligaments in his left knee.

In the spring of 2001, Candide was invited to ride at Superpark 3 in Mammoth, California. The world’s best freestyle skiers were all there, but when Candide started clearing the biggest hip in the superpark everyone stopped to watch. Candide proceeded to blow minds by sticking the ‘jump heard around the world’; a 110-foot (33.5 meter) cork 540 tail grab.[5] On the contest side of things, Candide won the Halfpipe and Big Air contests at that year’s X Games in Australia. Candide’s injury from the previous season had left him with plenty of down time. He took advantage of that to launch his career as a filmmaker and created ‘WW Prod’. That same year his first production company went on to release the first of 8 films under the ‘Rastafaride’ title, selling more than 10 000 DVDs of the first video worldwide. He was also voted ‘Skier of the Year’ by the European specialized media.

2002 was a very busy year. Candide was constantly filming with his own production company and with others. He continued competing and his contest results remained solid, dominating the Big Air events, winning two in New Zealand, one in Lebanon and another in Switzerland. He earned 2 podiums at the US Open; 2nd place in Superpipe, and 3rd place in Slopestyle.

In 2003, Candide won his second X-Games gold medal[6]. This time it was in Superpipe, an incredible achievement, since he couldn’t practice at home because at the time there weren’t any superpipes in Europe. The teenage superstar celebrated by creating first annual ‘Candide Invitational’. The event gathered the world’s best freestylers in his hometown of La Clusaz for a few days of fun and to explore the limits of what could be done on a pair of skis. He also signed a sponsorship deal to develop a pro model with Salomon. This was another season that ended with another injury to his cruciate ligaments, but this time in his right knee.

In 2004, Candide continued to push back the boundaries of his sport, performing the first ever ‘810° to rail’ and cementing him reputation as the master of all ‘new school’ tricks and techniques.

In 2005, the Candide Invitational event was voted best European freestyle event by the international specialized press. The same season Candide inked a multi-year deal with Rossignol to become the leading ambassador for their ‘Scratch’ program, a renegade freestyle section within the empire of French ski-lore.

In 2006, Candide decided to see how high it was possible to fly on skis. To do so, he helped to design and build one of the largest quarter-pipes ever and proceeded to set a world record with a jump of 33 feet (about 10 meters) above the coping[7].

2007 was a year of highs and lows; Candide won his third gold medal at 2007 in Slopestyle[8], with a record score of 95/100. However, he ended his season coming up short on ‘The Big Bertha’[9], another over-the-top jump he’d dreamed up, which resulted in a fracture to his L1 vertebrae. At first, doctors thought he might never be able ski again or at least that he would never ski at the same level as before; no more tricks, no more big airs.

Professional skiing (2008-2015 big mountain freestyle and filmmaking)

Returning from injury in 2008, Candide signed on to ride for Coreupt skis. He also put all his energy into his event, designing features of all shapes and sizes to blend in perfectly with the terrain. At the same time, he started skiing again, but only in perfect powder and far from the crowds. He rode alone, with the exception of his sole companion, Simon Favier who was there to capture all of the action on film. He didn’t compete in a single contest. Lots of people were wondering if he’d put an end to his professional career. He was simultaneously putting together his first documentary feature ‘The Candide Invitational Story’[10], which when released would immortalize one of the greatest freestyle ski happenings of all time for future generations.

The final product of his adventures riding and filming with Simon Favier was entitled ‘Candide Kamera’[11] and was released in 2009. The images were focused exclusively on riding in the backcountry and big mountain freestyle. Wanting to continue in the same vein, Candide spent the entire season riding powder and filming.

After winning just about every freestyle contest on the planet, 2010 marked a sensational return to competition, but now Candide had turned his sights on unspoiled and unforgiving backcountry faces. However, he wants to keep things discreet since he hasn’t competed since his injury. His comeback started with an invitation to compete in the Red Bull Line Catcher in Vars, France, a prestigious hybrid event, which blends freestyle and freeriding. He was nervous and unsure of his ability to keep up with the other competitors. In spite of his uncertainties, he went on to win the contest[12]. This success signaled a triumphant transfer to Big Mountain Freeriding. A few weeks later, Candide was invited to and won the Chamonix stage of the Freeride World Tour (FWT)[13]. In the space of one event, the freestyle pioneer earned himself acceptance into the elite club of big mountain freeriders. The decision to compete in the rest of the FWT events was fairly easy, since a second place result in the following contest put him in contention to win the tour. At the last event of the season, the Verbier Xtreme on the unforgiving face of the infamous Bec des Rosses in Switzerland, Candide laid down a solid run for an equal 3rd place finish[14]. The result was just enough to clinch the title of World Freeride Champion[15]. The scale of the achievement sent shockwaves throughout the ski world.

Candide Invitational

Candide is the organizer of the Candide Invitational in his hometown of La Clusaz, a competition which gathers freestyle skiing and snowboarding's best talents. The event was first held in the La Balme area of La Clusaz in 2002, and was last held in 2007. There are constant rumours of a return.[16]

He has appeared in many movies, notably the Rastafaride series. [1]

Film appearances

  • Propaganda
  • Royalty
  • Focused
  • Rastafaride 1
  • Rastafaride 2
  • Rastafaride 3: French Toast (2003)
  • Rastafaride 4: Special Delivery (2004)
  • Rastafaride 5: Pull Up (2005)
  • Rastafaride 6: Wha'ppen (2006)
  • Rastafaride 7: Seventh Heaven
  • Special Delivery
  • DVD Candide Invitational
  • Further
  • Anomaly
  • War
  • Candide Thovex Invitational Story
  • Lost and Found
  • Strike
  • Mind the Gap
  • Happy Dayz
  • Tangerine Dream
  • Candide Kamera
  • Candide Kamera 2
  • Few Words. A Candide Thovex Film (Fall 2012)
  • One of those days
  • One of those days 2

Competition results

1996

  • Mogul skiing winner of the french single championship

1997

  • Mogul skiing winner of the french single and parallel championships

1999:

  • 4th X Games, Crested Butte, Colorado, Big Air

2000:

  • 1st X Games, Mount Snow, Vermont Big Air
  • 1st Gravity Games, Mammoth Mountain, California, Big Air

2002:

  • 2nd US Open, Vail, Colorado, Superpipe
  • 4th US Open, Vail, Colorado, Slopestyle
  • 5th US Open, Vail, Colorado, Big Air
  • 2nd World Skiing Invitational, Whistler, BC, Canada, Superpipe
  • 1st Rip Curl Freeski, Saas Fee, SUI., Overall
  • 2nd Rip Curl Freeski, Saas Fee, SUI., Halfpipe
  • 1st Rip Curl Freeski, Saas Fee, SUI., Slopestyle
  • 2nd Rip Curl Freeski, Saas Fee, SUI., Big Air
  • 9th X Games, Aspen, Colorado, Slopestyle
  • 4th X Games, Aspen, Colorado, Superpipe

2003:

  • 2nd World Superpipe Championships, Park City, UT., Halfpipe
  • 5th X Games, Aspen, Colorado, Slopestyle
  • 1st X Games, Aspen, Colorado, Superpipe

2006:

  • 1st Orage European Feeskiing Open, Laax, SUI., Superpipe

2007:

  • 1st. X games 11, Aspen, Colorado, slopestyle
  • 5th. X games 11, Aspen, Colorado, superpipe
  • 5th Ski Tour, Sun Valley, ID.

2010:

  • 1st. Red Bull Linecatcher
  • 1st. Freeride World Tour Chamonix
  • 1st. Freeride World Tour Overall
  • 2009-2010 Freeride World Champion

References

  1. ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlqjF0eWSb4
  2. ^ http://freeskier.com/stories/how-chads-gap-became-skiings-most-iconic-jump-spot. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  3. ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfU5Ne6jVKM
  4. ^ "Thovex airs it out for gold".
  5. ^ http://www.powder.com/stories/a-brief-history-of-superpark/
  6. ^ Superpipe stunner in Aspen
  7. ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-hsYz58AAU
  8. ^ http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xh37rl_candide-thovex-x-games-gold-slopestyle-2007_sport. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  9. ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDjIPJBq97s
  10. ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWrjugaKetE
  11. ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B95Eq-5xCC8
  12. ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNQrWhxiYms
  13. ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ajes1eq2itA
  14. ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koM9dzThOSs
  15. ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qisPjW5qkLc
  16. ^ Stephen Osborne, St Jean de Sixt

Further reading

External links

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