10 MINUTES: With Colin Puskas
What’s the call, road trip or exotic trip?
I haven’t been to Europe, so that would be cool. But the skiing is so good around home, you know? I’m always up for ski touring or camping. But most of the time it’s sled accessed. The beauty of Banff, is if it’s not good, you can drive three hours to three different mountain ranges. They all vary in snowfall and weather. Within three or four days you can fulfill your needs, come back and it’s usually good again. That’s how it’s always worked over there.
When do you think you broke onto the scene?
I still feel like I haven’t. But I’m pretty good at wheeling and dealing. When I was 17, a local rep got some recognition for me, and some free gear. Then I started getting photos published and the next thing I know I’m getting some money from companies and just building it from there.
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How did you get into skiing back in the day?
My dad was an avid skier, pretty much a ski bum with a career. We were skiing every weekend. I just liked it so much I took it to next step and that was the avenue I took after high school. Opportunities have opened up and so I’m still doing it. I want to keep it up while I’m still young, before that career path sets in.
What are you doing this summer?
I’m producing a team video for Cross sportswear. It’s a lot of cataloging, working out a story board.
How did you get involved with that?
This will be the second movie I’ve done for them. I got on their team last year. They knew I was into producing films and we worked out a deal. A hundred-thousand copies were distributed in Scandinavia and Europe. It was a kind of promotional film to complement their catalogue.
How did you get started with the filming thing?
I helped out producing Safety Meeting, for Theory 3. I helped find sponsors and helped with the filming. It’s just something that interests me, kind of a hobby. It keeps me entertained as I’m skiing as well. It’s fun to see what your ideas are, to see them on camera. The business is fun too, but ultimately, skiing is more fun.
How do you manage to ski and film?
You’re either skiing for the day or filming. You have to decide when you walk out the door in the morning. It’s constant work trying to make stuff happen. But I can ski during the day and work at night. I’ve hired other filmers because most of our riders are international.
What else will you do until it snows?
I’ll fish a bit, bike. Work on proposals and think of my next project’s theme—how I want to put it together, who I want to hire. In a couple months I’ll be doing some landscape construction—putting up retaining walls, patios. But mostly I’ll just jones.