We caught up with Bruce Oldham, pro freestyle skier for Team Canada, content creator, and Corbetts sponsored athlete for a post ski season interview. Bruce talks on his skiing journey, training routines, winning NorAMs, Olympic dreams, and how he balances skiing, content creation, MMA, and so much more!

 

Read time: 10-15 minutes | 36 Questions

Where are you at right now?

BRUCE: I'm in Whis, Enjoying some spring skiing. Trying to get it while it's here.

 

What do you got going on out there?

BRUCE: After the contest season, I came out West for the last month of spring skiing, kind of just to really focus, and get that last little bit of training in. We have fitness testing out here as well. Kind of just do that last little bit and try to get as much time on snow before the summer off, but it's kind of nice this time of year to kind of start to tone it down because contests are over. You're still training and skiing, but it's like a different mindset and kind of vibe. It's more training, but you're skiing and having fun with your friends and enjoying that aspect as well.

 

What are your plans for the summer off-season besides kicking it out West?

BRUCE: So, for the summer I've moved to Montreal right now just because it's the only place in Canada that has an airbag. They're looking at building one at Horseshoe, but I don't know if it'll be done this year. But, for the most part I'm going to be living in Montreal and just training on the airbag, at the gym, doing lots of MMA training and getting ready for the upcoming winter season.

 

That’s at Maximise right? What do you think of that space there?

BRUCE: It's a great facility to have and to be able to train all these tricks we do on the jumps and rails in a safer way throughout all the year is really huge. I'm sure you know coming from Ontario that our seasons are really short. So, when I first found out that all my friends from BC had like an extra 3 months of skiing each year. I was like what the heck but now to be able to train throughout the summer effectively is huge. It makes a big difference, and it also makes a big difference just for general safety because if you get to try these tricks in a manner where if you mess it up and you don't break something. It's pretty handy, you get like a couple of freebies before trying it on snow. It's definitely been huge for sure.

 

You were recently at The Nines in Switzerland. What was that like riding that course?

BRUCE: The Nines in Switzerland was probably one of the craziest things I've seen with my own eyes, definitely the craziest thing I've seen with my own eyes when it comes to skiing or snowboarding. When you ski down this cat track and you get your first look at it every morning, it just blows your mind. It's so much bigger than it looks in videos and it's just crazy. I don't understand how they are able to make snow stay in a position like that. It literally looks like those professional sandcastle builders you see at the beach. It was just a really, really, really fun event to go and ride. I was super lucky to get to go this year. The town where it's held is so crazy. It's like a village with no cars up on a Cliff in Switzerland you have to take a gondola up to. Craziest thing I've rode and seen.

 

So overall, how was this past ski season for you?

BRUCE: The past ski season for me was really quite good. The focus for a lot of us is competing on the NorAM circuit, which is the North American circuit, mainly just because spots for the World Cup for Team Canada is pretty small. We have 12 athletes, and we get three spots per event depending on the event. So, to get your own spot outside of that, you kind of have to win the North American Cup. So, there's quite a bit of us competing on that circuit this year and my goal for this year was to win that circuit and be able to have my own spots to the World Cup next year. I started out the year winning an event and kind of got the mood right for the year and kept it going through the year. Yeah, it was pretty good.

 

And you won first overall for the NorAm, what do you get from winning that?

BRUCE: Well, first of all, no money ha-ha. But I have all my own personal World Cup spots, so I can go to every World Cup event without taking anybody else's spot. It's basically like getting the Canadian team an extra spot, but I get to use it. There's a lot of events next year that are Olympic qualifying events before the games, and you have to get results in World Cup events to qualify for the Olympics. So now I have to focus on coming into next season super hungry and getting ready to get some results to hopefully qualify for the games.

 

So, there's a potential you can still qualify for the 2026 Olympics?

BRUCE: Yeah, there's a potential for sure. It's definitely a little bit of a long shot. But it's definitely possible.

 

Let's take it back now and get a little background on Bruce. What first got you into freestyle skiing and how did it evolve into a professional path?

BRUCE: I kind of first got into freestyle skiing like, not in the traditional way. We would go skiing with my family and family friends like a couple times a year. Not skiing insane amount or anything like that, but once I figured out how to ski around the mountain, I was always very bored of the groomers and doing runs. So, I was looking for any kind of little side hit, or tree run or bump I could jump off. I then started trying to do little grabs or like a 180 or whatever and it kind of grew from there. I remember at one point I was skiing down this one mountain and we took a turn and all of a sudden there was a terrain park. But at the time I didn't know what a terrain park was. I was like, Oh my God, they actually build jumps and features for this? I remember going through it and having so much fun and trying to impress my friends. Then as I got older, I started skiing a little bit more and I started going to Mt. St. Louis Moonstone which is the closest hill for me about an hour away. Riding there, there's just not a lot to do other than terrain park riding and there's such a good terrain park. I kind of just fell in love with it and started going on weekends with my friends. And by the time I was in grade 10, I was going like every day on the weekend and learning as many new tricks as possible. I bugged my parents to get a trampoline at their house so I could practice my front flips and stuff like that. I just kept pushing myself and eventually got to the point where I was getting pretty good and I joined the local team and started doing little contest here and there and it kind of just grew from there.

 

Did you always envision yourself competing or competing internationally even?

BRUCE: I'm very competitive with my nature and I've always done sports my whole life and competed in them. It definitely wasn't a surprise to me. When I first found out you could do a ski contest or a rail jam, I was like, oh, I'm definitely gonna do that. But I didn't even know that there was this level of competing. By the time I started to learn how to do flips and stuff like that, I was looking online and just discovering X Games and stuff like that. It kind of grew from there, but I didn't see myself getting to this level by any means. Not at the beginning at least.

 

Who were some early ski idols or inspirations growing up?

BRUCE: It was kind of just like the big names at the time. I would watch all the edits like Tom Wallisch had put out, Henrik Harlaut, Gus Kenworthy and whoever was kind of big at the time. There’s not really one person that influenced my skiing or anything like that, but it was kind of just that generation.

 

What is a typical training day look like for you in-season vs off-season?

BRUCE: For me, I mean both of them end up being pretty similar. In season, say we're at a contest, my biggest thing is really making sure that my mind is 100% dialed in. I have little routine things in the morning that I do that help me feel more confident or just give me that little bit of a mental boost. For contest days, I'm waking up every morning at 6:00 AM, go for a little run, do stretches, yoga, have breakfast, get ready for the hill, go to the ski hill. When we're at the ski hill, we always do a good 45 minute warm up when we're there to compete. I like to visualize all my contest runs if it's coming up the next day. So, I do a lot of visualizing and taking some kind of journaling mental notes to prep for the next day.

Off-season, I mean, I'm trying to still stay focused, but sometimes I'm sleeping in a little bit ha-ha. I'll wake up and make breakfast. I've been going on runs a little bit the last couple days because I have a marathon coming up so, I'm trying to train for that. I'll do some work in the morning, head up to the ski hill, go ride around with everybody, film some content and then come down, go to the gym and kind of go from there. But usually even in the off-season, on a typical day I'll be skiing and going to the gym at least like five days a week.

 

You're pretty multifaceted. You just mentioned you're training for a marathon, and you do MMA. How do you manage your time doing those other activities and passions as well as skiing?

BRUCE: That's probably the hardest part actually. Yeah, it takes away from my time skiing and training a little bit, but not too much. It more takes away from my time to generate income more than anything. because it's sort of like generating income or doing something else when I’m not skiing. I really enjoy both those things. I don't do as much running nowadays just because it takes up a lot of time and it’s a bit hard on my knees. But, when it comes to the MMA training, in the winter season, I'm actually not doing quite as much, When I'm in Montreal in the off-season, I’ll pick it up a lot more and work it in around my ski schedule. I try to make sure it doesn't encroach too much on my skiing because I know that's the main thing. But you know, when you pick up a new sport or new hobby it's very exciting and hard not to let it grow.

 

What's been one of the most technical tricks you've landed? And what do you think it took to master it?

BRUCE: Probably the most technical trick I've landed on snow would be like a switch double cork 18. I don't know if I've mastered it yet, but it's definitely taken a lot of years. There are so many little ground steps to build up to a trick like that. I'll go to the trampoline, then to the airbag and I'll practice that trick a lot. But, before you do that, you have to learn how to hit a jump switch, then a switch cork 5, then a switch cork 10, then maybe a switch double cork. Even though I've learned all those tricks in the past leading up to that big trick. You still have to go over it and make sure that all those smaller pieces are still good. So, to master a trick like that takes a lot of refining your base level skills and putting the miles in to build up your tricks. Also, having a safe environment to try it for the first couple times to get your confidence up that you're not gonna land on your head.

 

Any new trick on your hit list you're looking to get maybe next season?

BRUCE: Yeah, I would love to do a triple Cork 18 next year. That's on the list.

 

What's been one of the most memorable competitions of your career so far?

BRUCE: I would say my first World Cup I got to go to with my sister a couple of years ago in 2022. It was in Georgia, the country. It was right when they were having the war and stuff was starting so, it was pretty crazy. But we ended up going all the way out there, staying at this crazy ski resort and there was like a total of 20 athletes cause not a lot of athletes wanted to go to the event because what was going on. It was just a really cool experience. It was like a “oh, I finally made it” kind of moment which was nice.

 

You've represented Canada at some huge events. What does that mean to you representing Canada?

BRUCE: Yeah, representing Canada to me means a lot. We have so many opportunities and the ability to go out and enjoy nature and do all this stuff, it's really important to me. I think for me mainly it's being able to show people that if you want to do something and that's your dream or goal, go do it and you can make it happen. I didn't have the easiest route to get here by any means, but the biggest thing was like, OK, well, no matter what, I'm gonna find a way to make this happen and I'm just gonna do it. There's been lots of times where I didn't think I could get to this level, but with enough effort and perseverance, you're going to make it happen eventually. I feel that’s the main thing for me, just to show all the other kids in Canada that if there’s something you really want to do, you totally can make it happen.

 

How do you deal with nerves or pressure when competing?

BRUCE: A lot of preparation, the more prepared you are, the more confident you're going to be when you're standing at the top of the gate. Mental and visual preparations are a part of my daily routine as I mentioned before. But, for me the biggest thing outside of those is just being able to get in the present moment. A lot of people will be at the start gate and they'll be thinking like, OK, I gotta land this run, or what if I fall, or what if I mess with this first feature or whatever. And for me it’s being able to just take a deep breath, focus in on the task at hand and do that.

 

Any particular tricks or runs that stand out as career defining moments?

BRUCE: Nothing yet ha-ha. But we'll make some coming up.

 

How do you describe your skiing style?

BRUCE: I don't know if there's a word to describe it. I think I'm a pretty well-rounded skier in general. I’m not like super heavy style focused, but I'm also not super heavy just trick focused. I feel like I'm kind of sitting in a happy middle ground between everything.

 

Where do you see the freestyle ski scene evolving in the next few years?

BRUCE: I think the freestyle skiing scene and the snowboarding scene as a whole is going to keep growing. Hoping we see more brands and companies come in and really showcase the sport to the world with things like they're doing with X Games League in the future, which sounds really cool and other events like that. Having more events and opportunities to showcase and compete in freestyle skiing outside of just World Cups is going to be huge for the sport. I also think it'll definitely go a lot more down the social media route as it has been going with a lot more people doing YouTube content and stuff like that. I see the sport becoming more open in the future and less closed off. More people sharing their experience on a day-to-day basis in the sport, not just like tricks and video parts, and more of the behind the scenes of what it's like.

 

How do you balance being a pro skier and a content creator?

BRUCE: It's definitely hard, there's a lot of times on the hill where I just want to focus on my skiing and work on tricks. But I have to create content or I have some kind of video I have to produce for a brand or film something or get content because I haven't got it in a while. There's a lot of times when I just want to go ride and get better. But I'm like, I probably should film a YouTube video today as well to be more productive. So, it definitely takes away from my skiing a little bit, but I also really enjoy it. It's something that I've always liked to do is to create content, and it's also one of the main ways I support my skiing. And if I can support my skiing by doing something I love and I have to make that little bit of a trade off here and there, I really don't mind it. It's just something that I have to balance and knowing the time and place to make sure that my performance as an athlete still comes first.

 

How important is the filming and content side of skiing to you?

BRUCE: It’s very important to me. It's how I support myself now. I love showcasing my skills to other people and I really enjoy it. I think for anybody growing up, if you want to make a career in freestyle skiing or snowboarding, competing or not, it’s going to be something that helps you out down the line no matter what. I think it’s going to be something that you at some point end up doing and transitioning into for any athlete's career. It's a great way and opportunity for a lot of kids to go full time or even part time with something they love.

 

Do you think we’ll ever see a video part from Bruce in the future?

BRUCE: Yeah, for sure! That's something on my list, maybe at the end of next year. I would like to put out a couple more serious video parts in the future, maybe like one solid video part a year. They'll definitely be more of that down the line.

 

What has skiing taught you about yourself?

BRUCE: Skiing over the years has taught me more or less to just trust the process. In my ski career there’s been many ups and downs to get to where you are but if you understand that as long as you keep moving forward, you'll eventually get there. It's the same with tricks, you might not get it first try, you might slam a hundred times but keep working towards it, eventually you're going to get it. It's really taught me how to persevere and continuously work towards a goal.

 

If you weren't skiing professionally, what do you think you'd be doing?

BRUCE: I feel like doing MMA. I think at least at this age of my life, where I'm younger, it would definitely be like some kind of competitive sport. I'm very competitive so, any kind of competitive sport I would probably end up falling into. Later in my career, I've always wanted to do some stuff like acting or something weird like that.

 

Quick fire round.

 

Favorite mountain to ride?

BRUCE: Mount St. Louis Moonstone.

 

Go to trick you'll never get tired of?

BRUCE: Cork 5.

 

Après ski go to meal or drink?

BRUCE: I love myself an Aperol at the hill and I'm a big pizza guy, so I would do an Aperol and pizza.

 

Current pump up song?

BRUCE: Ah I don't know, DMX maybe? I've been listening to him a lot lately.

 

Most underrated part of being a pro skier?

BRUCE: Having your own schedule and being on your own schedule, for the most part.

 

Dream content collab?

BRUCE: Tom Wallisch.

 

Dream sponsor?

BRUCE: I would say Monster Energy.

 

Just some closing questions now. Biased question, but how's your experience been working with Corbetts over the years?

BRUCE: It's been awesome. Katie's the best. So amazing working with guys at Corbetts, since I started working with them, they've supported me so much and helped me out with all the little stuff and last minute if I need gear here, there, anywhere, Katie's always on top of it and they always make sure I have what I need. So, it's been super amazing.

 

What are some goals you hope to accomplish for the next season?

BRUCE: I would love to go to the Olympics, and I would love to podium at a World Cup. Those are two big goals.

 

Any final words for the next generation watching you right now hoping to follow your path?

BRUCE: Ohh God. Don't do the sh*t I did when I was your age ha-ha. I was such a bad influence when I was their age. I would say just keep working towards your goals. It'll happen.

 

 

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