© Christy Chaloux
Pelosi Power in the Powder and Park
Nov 02 2006 / Los Angeles, CATake one cool sporty girl, add a love of powder and a few rails and out comes the perfect snowboarder chick
Three things you probably didn’t know about 26-year-old Leanne Pelosi: She has a bachelors of science in bio mechanics, she could have been a professional soccer player, she wishes she did better in the 2005 X Games. Three things you do know about her: She’s hot, she’s an even hotter snowboarder and she could just end up being the all around hottest female snowbaorder in the world.
The best part about Leanne though is that her life as a snowboarder happened quite by accident.
Only in the world of snowboarding could a seemingly nobody shredder come out of the woodwork after college after an almost career as a professional soccer player to become one of the best women slopestyle snowboarders in North America. And this is with less than five years on the scene. Just goes to show you what a girl can do if she really puts her mind to it. We’ve decided to dig a little deeper into the Albertans mind to find out just how she’s risen so quickly to the top and what’s in store for her in the future.
Lat34: So you seem to have come out of nowhere. Did you always have pro dreams and just wait until you were rocking the world to jump into the contest scene?
LP: No, I snowboarded when I was growing up and then went to university. I had a scholarship for soccer and I played for the Canadian national team. I wanted to go to the Olympics and pursue it to the highest level. But I got cut off the national team. I got in a big car accident and shattered my humerus in several places. I got paid by the government to play soccer and after seven months I got a letter saying I wasn’t up to standards any more after my accident. I was devastated. That was a heart breaker for me because that was my dream from like 9 years old on. I put so much effort into it and then all of the sudden it wasn’t up to me anymore.
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Lat34: Instead you turned to snowboarding?
LP: Pretty much. After I left college I moved to Whistler and started snowboarding everyday. The scholarship to school at least helped me not have debt, so I didn’t just graduate and have to get a job like most of my friends had to. I never could have spent the time snowboarding that I did that first year if I had debt because Whistler is expensive.
Lat34: How did you end up going pro?
LP: I was just in the right place at the right time. Bonfire was looking for a woman rider and I really liked their stuff and had been buying it on my own. A friend of mine who was a rep told me they were looking for a girl. I went on that season to win the US Open rail jam, which got a lot of attention for me. All of the rest of the people who had been flowing me things decided to step me up to pro level.
Lat34: Was the pressure been upped when you went pro?
LP: Not really. I haven’t put that much pressure on myself. I still consider myself the underdog. It’s been a fun climb. The more that I have done well in contests, the more media exposure I have gotten, the happier my sponsors are. I don’t see that as pressure. I am having more and more fun as it gets more busy. The hardest part now is finding time to ride. The more that I get this media attention the less I am snowboarding. Before I just snowboarded every day and now I have to take all of these other things into account as a professional snowboarder.
Lat34: How did you get into snowboarding?
LP: Me and my younger brother started together. My parents got us this plastic snowboard from this Canadian sports department store. It was super cheesy. They thought it was really dangerous. We weren’t allowed on the ski hills with the board so we would go to the golf course and make jumps. We shared a snowboard and then other friends would come and snowboard with us.
Lat34: Were you a skier before that?
LP: I ski raced when I was a kid, before I started snowboarding. I wasn’t very good though I don’t think. I was more of a person that was like look at that tree, look at the jump. I liked going off of drops and exploring. I am slow too. I would be horrible at boardercross. It’s too scary.
Lat34: What do your parents think of what you are doing? They must have been disappointed that you weren’t the soccer star they had expected.
LP: My parents were really against me snowboarding in the beginning. They were like what are you thinking? You are going to be an engineer. They were scared I would be a snowboard bum. They are so proud of me now though. They bring the magazines I am in to work with them and show their friends. They got extra satellite TV so they can watch me in contests. My mom has gone from soccer mom to snowboard mom. She has subscription to all of the snowboard magazines. She knows when I am in the magazines before I do.
Lat34: You have a lot of sponsors. How does that work out. Every part of your body is sponsored?
LP: My friends call me a sponsor slut. It’s all about the ads. I get a bunch of ads because I have so many sponsors! Really though I like how I can get a lot more involved with all of the smaller companies. I prefer that to being with one company.
Lat34: What’s the coolest thing about having sponsors to foot the bill?
LP: It’s the best job you can have with the company because you get paid to have fun and make them look cool. Snowboarding isn’t a conventional sport where you have to train. This is a chance of a lifetime to do what I am doing now. I am really thankful. I am so happy to be in this spot.
Lat34: Tell me more about MGT. We checked out the website (www.mgtsnowboardcamp.com) but how involved are you?
LP: It’s a camp that me and my girlfriends started. It was a business plan from my last year of University. We did three two-day camps throughout the winter and then we did five the next year and it just keeps growing. We have between 30-50 girls at each camp. My business partner Johanna runs it. I do a lot of emails and phone calls on the road and she deals a lot of the registrations and day-to-day. I do more of the on hill operations. We both work on sponsor stuff in the summer. It’s so busy. When I have even one free second I am working on the camp.
Lat34: Oh yeah, what does MGT stand for?
LP: More Good Times. It’s kind of cheesy. Initially started with me and my friend riding for a shop called Mission. We were on the Mission girls team. We changed that to More Good Times.
Lat34: Any snowboarders you look up to?
LP: Mark Frank Montoya for his style. Danny Kass for his creativity and all of my girlfriends who I ride with. I feed off them everyday. I love being with them. I look up to them so much.
Lat34: How do you feel about the other girls in snowboarding? Is it a good scene amongst you all? Are there any haters?
LP: Well for the most part we have a really strong group of girls. We film with a group called the Misschief Films (watch the trailer) We’re all just really good friends. My biggest competition at contests is also the girls I travel with and my best friends. Really we are trying to do better for ourselves and are not competitive with each other. It’s a good supportive atmosphere to be around. It seems like a pretty mellow sport that is more like a lifestyle sport.
Lat34: And of course lastly because we are obligated to ask, a few years ago you won an event and that put you on stage with Justin Timberlake. What was going through your head when Justin Timberlake kissed you?
LP: I was like yeah! Ten of my friends left messages on my phone from the audience as it was going on. They were like NO WAY. He was a normal guy. I have bragging rights that I kissed JT. It was a cheek kiss but I got a photo from photographer all blown up. It’s in my room on the wall. I heard he was going to be there and all my friends were like you better kiss him if you see him. So when I had my chance I had to take it. I had to kiss.
-Shanti Sosienski
