Craig Kelly (snowboarder)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Craig Kelly (April 1, 1966 - January 20, 2003) was a professional snowboarder. He attended the University of Washington where he was a member of the Delta Upsilon Fraternity and studied Chemical Engineering. Kelly is known as the 'Godfather of Freeriding'; Terje Haakonsen called Kelly the best snowboarder of all time. Over his 15-year professional career, he won 4 world championships and 3 U.S. championships; he won the Mount Baker Banked Slalom[1] snowboarding competition in 1988, 1991, and 1993.
He shocked the snowboard industry by walking away from multi-million dollar deals at the height of the snowboard craze to pursue his passion for "freeriding," at the time an unheard of strategy for a pro snowboarder. It was in the mountains where Craig felt the happiest.
The distinctive fluid manner in which he rode was recognized and acclaimed in the snowboarding community. He was called a "style master" by snowboard magazine editor Jon Foster. Kelly also appeared in an enormous number of video and photo shoots. He was known for looking straight at the camera, even in the midst of a difficult aerial maneuver. Craig was a Sims Snowboards team rider for a few years early in his career, but spent most of his life riding for Burton Snowboards owned by by Jake Burton Carpenter.
The Craig Kelly World Snowboard Camp was created to help kids improve their snowboarding skills. From 1988 to 1989 it was located in Whistler Blackcomb and operated by his former wife Kelly Jo Legaz.
Craig was responsible for the design and development of the following Burton signature models: The Mystery Air, The Craig Kelly Air, The CK Slopestyle, The Cascade, and The Omen. Jake Burton is quoted as saying, “When I started listening to Craig that was when my company became successful and really took off.” He added, “… when the rest of the industry listened to Craig, that was when the sport really took off.”
He took 14 months off to travel from Alaska to Chile with his partner Savina and two friends for adventure, surfing and living. He returned from his journey with his new baby Olivia, as a "souvenir" he said, from his trip.
He died on January 20, 2003 near Revelstoke, British Columbia, Canada in an avalanche which trapped 8 people and killed 6 others. The ski touring group was properly equipped and prepared for avalanches; the weekly bulletin warned of considerable risk in the area at the time.
Filmmaker Jacques Russo created "Let It Ride" a documentary on Craig Kelly's life as a tribute to his friend and subject of so many of his films: Smooth Groove, Board with The World, Scream of Consciousness, and Fear of A Flat Planet.
