10 мисли от легендата в сноуборда Тора Брайт

From time to time we all wonder if there is a secret to a successful and interesting life of famous people, what it is and where to look for it. Especially for “Championship” snowboarding guru and Roxy team pro rider Tora Bright shared some rules that she tries to adhere to in everyday life

1- Treat everything with humor.

I love the Mary Poppins movie and the phrase from her song, “There has to be an element of fun in every job. If you find it, any difficult job becomes a pleasure.” That song had a huge impact on me. I try to treat life the same way. If it’s all routine and you don’t want to do something, you can take a humorous approach to any situation and turn it into a game. It’s great when you can change your attitude to difficulties in such a simple way.

2. Believing in yourself.

I believe that believing in yourself plays a big part in everyone’s life. At certain stages I lacked it, and then the support of close people helped me to overcome obstacles. The main thing is to believe in yourself and stay on the path!

3. I work a lot.

Perseverance and diligence are integral components of success. I started snowboarding at the age of 11 and since then I have worked hard, participated in many competitions and only after a while I started to be noticed by sponsors and organizers. Today, I think young athletes want to get a sponsor as soon as possible, but they don’t spend enough time and effort working on themselves. In my opinion, you have to work hard first, and then everything will come.

4. Finding balance.

When I prepare for competitions, I just enjoy the process. But before the main start I always try to be focused. Unlike many riders, I don’t listen to music while riding to be aware of what’s going on around me, to be in the moment. I need to collect myself, exhale and smile.

The combination of fun and lightness in training and seriousness in competition is perfect for me, not only in terms of my athletic career, but also in many life situations.

5. I don’t obsess.

I don’t really believe in omens and generally try to stay away from superstitions. But, like everyone else, I have some oddities. For example, I often wear the same socks to competitions that I trained in the day before, especially if the training went well. All people have their own strange habits, so I don’t see it as a big deal.

6. Abstracting.

This year, for the first time in my 15 year career, I had a very real snowboarding vacation! First, my friends and I had a vacation at a ski resort in Canada, which was a lot of fun: no filming or training, just me and my family. And after that I went to the Quiksilver New Star Camp in Sochi, where I was able to ski and hang out for fun. Before that, I always had some kind of meter running in my head – I was always thinking about preparing for the season, learning tricks, working on something. On the one hand, snowboarding is fun, but on the other hand, I always think of it as a job. Sometimes you need to be able to abstract yourself from your usual life perceptions and just have fun.

Tora Bright

7. Looking for inspiration all around me.

I love creating my own line of clothing and boards for Roxy. Not only can I create functional snowboarding and casual wear, but I can also realize my vision of a feminine, sporty look. Of course I follow trends and designers’ works, choose fabrics, try to take into account fashion trends when creating my collection. But inspiration comes more often from what surrounds me – while riding, walking in different cities, shopping. When I travel, I often take photos of shop windows I like, details, colors or some interesting patterns.

8. I live by my own rules.

I am completely independent of external factors and standard social habits. I don’t smoke or drink alcohol – I don’t need it to have a good time. The absence of these habits in my life does not prevent me from having fun and going to parties. I haven’t had tea or coffee since I was a kid. Of course, I tried it, but I didn’t like it. From food I prefer natural products, I try to avoid flour. I like to sleep longer (10-12 hours) and drink a lot of water. I really like carbonated water, so my life is the same – bubbling and saturated.

9. Striving for new heights.

My goal right now is real serious freeride. Besides the competitive part of my career I would like to direct my main focus on skiing in big mountains, descents from steep slopes and rocks, shoot beautiful profiles somewhere in Alaska and return to Rosa Khutor when there will be fresh snow and real winter powders. And, of course, I plan to take part in the next Olympic Games.

10. Dreaming

I never stop dreaming. I dream of skiing more in huge mountains. I dream of surfing big waves, I dream of riding a board inside a wave like a tube. Like everyone, of course, I dream of having a family and kids in the future.

Video provided by GoPro team.