Mason Aguirre
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Mason Singer Aguirre (born November 10, 1987 in Duluth, Minnesota) is an American snowboarder. Aguirre spent his childhood growing up in Duluth where he picked up snowboarding from his older brother, Tyler Aguirre. Aguirre started snowboarding at the age of six, at Spirit Mountain, located five minutes outside of Duluth. When Aguirre was only 15 years old he turned pro, his parents moved their family to Mammoth Lakes, California, to help him pursue his snowboarding career. In 2006, Aguirre became the youngest snowboarder on the U.S. Olympic Snowboarding Team by beating out Ross Powers, 2002 Halfpipe gold medalist and J.J. Thomas, 2002 Halfpipe bronze medalist. Aguirre’s first trip to the Olympics was successful, placing 4th overall in the Halfpipe event which is a major accomplishment because snowboarding is becoming more and more competitive.
Although Aguirre only competed in Halfpipe at the Olympics, he competes in slopestyle and superpipe, but consistently places higher in halfpipe and superpipe competitions. Aguirre placed first overall at the 2006 World Superpipe Championships and again at the 2006 Burton New Zealand Open. Known for his aggressive yet smooth riding style, Aguirre regularly pulls off 1080s, 900s and is known for his corkscrewed 540. Another thing that sets him apart from the field is his unusual stature. He stands out of the snowboarding crowd because most snowboarders are more compact making it easy for them to rotate and twist in mid air, while he is a lanky 5’11’’, weighing only 150lbs. However, he has shown no signs of this affecting his mid air maneuvers. With his high profile tricks, Aguirre is seen by many as an up and coming star on the snowboarding scene. He is sponsored by numerous big name companies; even those that have nothing to do with snowboarding are willing to sponsor him. He is currently sponsored by Burton (along with his older sister Molly), Smith Optics, SoBe, DVS, Windells, Fender Guitars, Mammoth Mountain, Valsurf, The Collection, and R.E.D. Protection.
Mason Aguirre has not gotten this far by luck; his laid back attitude and family support helps him stay humble and down to earth. When asked in interviews what he would be doing without snowboarding he is always quick to let everyone he’d still be in school trying to decide what he wants to do with his life, but he knows he would be playing a lot of guitar, golf, and skating. His family has also been behind him the whole way, with his sister being a professional snowboarder herself, to his dad letting him focus on snowboarding instead of his schoolwork making it easier for him to fully concentrate on what he loves.
Mason's biggest change since he has turned pro is his lack of free time and traveling all over the world. He doesn't mind all of the traveling because he gets to snowboard on some of the most exclusive mountains in the world. One of his favorite things to do while trying out different mountains is make videos and have film shoots. While he is on these film shoots for his sponsors they rent out the entire mountain just for him allowing him to get some of the best runs money can buy. In an interview Aguirre was asked after traveling all around the world and riding on some of the best mountains which one is his favorite mountain. He responded by saying that his favorite mountain was Mammoth where he can go and shred it up with his roommate Scotty and listen to Bone Thugs all day. Aguirre is a very young and talented snowboarder that can handle the high pressure that comes with his fame and is expected to be a dominating force in the snowboarding world for some time to come.
[edit] External links
- Mason's Olympic Bio
- Mason's Smith Optics Bio
- Mason Aguirre Interview
- Mason Aguirre Interview at the World Superpipe Championships
- The Oakley Arctic Challenge Bio
- Transworld Snowboarding
- EXPN Bio
- USOC Bio
- Transworld Snowboarding Article
- [http://www.freewebs.com/masonaguirre
MASON'S MAJOR ACCOMPLISHMENTS | |||
YEAR | EVENT | DISCIPLINE | PLACE |
---|---|---|---|
2006 | WINTER OLYMPICS | HALFPIPE | 4TH |
2006 | X GAMES 10 | SUPERPIPE | 2ND |
2006 | U.S. GRAND PRIX | HALFPIPE | 2ND |
2006 | BURTON NZ OPEN | QUARTERPIPE | 1ST |
2006 | WORLD SUPERPIPE CHAMPIONSHIPS | SUPERPIPE | 1ST |
2006 | VANS CUP | SLOPESTYLE | 2ND |
2006 | CHEVY GRAND PRIX 1-8 | HALFPIPE | 2ND |
2006 | GRAND PRIX END RANKING | HALFPIPE | 2ND |
2006 | CHEVY GRAND PRIX 12-17 | HALFPIPE | 2ND |
2005 | X GAMES | SUPERPIPE | 7TH |
2005 | NZ OPEN | QUARTERPIPE | 1ST |
2005 | US SNOWBOARD CUP | HALFPIPE | 2ND |
2004 | X GAMES | SUPERPIPE | 7TH |
2003 | AST SEASON RANK | OVERALL | 1ST |
2003 | AST#3 | HALFPIPE | 2ND |
2003 | AST#2 | HALFPIPE | 2ND |