Candide Thovex

Candide Thovex

Thovex at the 2012 premier of
Few Words, Paris, France
Born (1982-05-22) 22 May 1982
Annecy
Occupation Skier

Candide Thovex (born 22 May 1982) is a French professional skier, filmmaker and entrepreneur. He is notable for his unique, creative approach to the sport of freestyle skiing, and professionally has won numerous contests and accolades. He first caught the attention of the world of outdoor and action sports by jumping Chad's Gap, a massive transfer jump of 120 feet (37 m) from take-off to landing over a 40 feet (12 m) deep gully in Alta, Utah, US. His point of view videos routinely go viral on the internet and are viewed by millions. He is considered by many specialists to be one of the best freeskiers in the history of the sport.[1]

Biography

Early years

Candide Thovex was born 22 May 1982 in Annecy, in the Haute-Savoie area of France, and grew up in the village of La Clusaz.

He learned to ski at age 2 in the Aravis region of the French Alps. As a 4-year old, he began building little jumps behind his house, and at 5 he joined the local ski club where he developed a passion for mogul skiing. He was 14 when he won his first French National Junior Championships in the mogul division.

He is the brother of snowboarder Mirabelle Thovex.

Professional skiing (1997-2007 the freestyle years)

In 1997 Candide signed his first professional sponsorship contract with leading Australian action sports brand Quiksilver.

In 1998 he participated in his first international event at the halfpipe and quarterpipe competition in Riksgränsen, Sweden.

In 1999 he received his first invitation to the most prestigious event in the world of freestyle skiing and action sports in general, the Winter X Games in Crested Butte, Colorado, USA and finished 4th in Big Air contest.[2][3] A few days later Candide was in the Utah backcountry filming with Kris Ostness for his film Clay Pigeons. They came across fellow freeskier Chad Zurinskas, who had built a massive gap that he was trying clear, to no avail. Candide asked if he could try. Candide successfully cleared Chad's Gap on his first attempt.[4] At the end of the same season he developed his first pro-model, a revolutionary ‘twin-tip’ ski with Dynastar.

In 2000 Candide returned to the United States to compete in the Gravity Games in Mammoth, California, where he won the Big Air contest. He made his second visit to Chad’s Gap and cleanly landed a D-spin 720[5] the first major rotation over a gap.

From there ‘the flying Frenchman’ went on to win the Big Air division, his first gold medal at a Winter X-Games in the process.[6] In the aftermath, he was voted ‘Rider of the Year’ by Powder magazine. Unfortunately his season ended with Candide blowing the cruciate ligaments in his left knee.

In the spring of 2001 Candide was invited to ride at Superpark 3 in Mammoth, California. Candide proceeded to impress his peers by sticking the ‘jump heard around the world’; a 110-foot (33.5 meter) cork 540 tail grab.[7] On the contest side of things, Candide won the Halfpipe and Big Air contests at that year’s X Games in Australia. Candide’s injury from the previous season had left him with plenty of down time. He took advantage of that to launch his career as a filmmaker and created ‘WW Prod’. That same year his first production company went on to release the first of 8 films under the ‘Rastafaride’ title, selling more than 10 000 DVDs of the first video worldwide. He was also voted ‘Skier of the Year’ by the European specialized media.

2002 was a very busy year. Candide was constantly filming with his own production company and with others. He continued competing and his contest results remained solid, dominating the Big Air events, winning two in New Zealand, one in Lebanon and another in Switzerland. He earned 2 podiums at the US Open; 2nd place in Superpipe, and 3rd place in Slopestyle.

In 2003 according to the Association of Freeskiing Professionals, "Candide Thovex and CR Johnson change the face of halfpipe skiing at Winter X Games in Aspen, Colorado by going bigger than any of the snowboarders."[8] Candide won his second X-Games gold medal.[9] This time it was in Superpipe,[10] an incredible achievement, since he couldn’t practice at home because at the time there weren’t any superpipes in Europe. Candide celebrated by creating first annual ‘Candide Invitational’. The event gathered the world’s best freestylers in his hometown of La Clusaz for a few days of fun and to explore the limits of what could be done on a pair of skis. He also signed a sponsorship deal to develop a pro model with Salomon. This was another season that ended with another injury to his cruciate ligaments, but this time in his right knee.

In 2004 Candide continued to push back the boundaries of his sport, performing the first ever ‘810° to rail’ and cementing him reputation as the master of all ‘new school’ tricks and techniques.

In 2005 the Candide Invitational event was voted best European freestyle event by the international specialized press. The same season Candide inked a multi-year deal with Rossignol to become the leading ambassador for their ‘Scratch’ program.

In 2006 Candide decided to see how high it was possible to fly on skis. To do so, he helped to design and build one of the largest quarter-pipes ever and proceeded to set a world record with a jump of 33 feet (about 10 meters) above the coping.[11]

2007 was a year of highs and lows; Candide won his third gold medal at 2007 in Slopestyle,[3][12] with a record score of 95/100. However, he ended his season coming up short on ‘The Big Bertha’,[13] another over-the-top jump he’d dreamed up, which resulted in a fracture to his L1 vertebrae. At first, doctors thought he might never be able to ski again or at least that he would never ski at the same level as before; no more tricks, no more big airs.

Professional skiing (2008-2015 big mountain freestyle and filmmaking)

Returning from injury in 2008, Candide signed on to ride for Coreupt skis. He also put all his energy into his event, designing features of all shapes and sizes to blend in perfectly with the terrain. At the same time, he started skiing again, but only in perfect powder and far from the crowds. He rode alone, with the exception of his sole companion, Simon Favier who was there to capture all of the action on film. He didn’t compete in a single contest. He was simultaneously putting together his first documentary feature ‘The Candide Invitational Story’,.[14]

The final product of his adventures riding and filming with Simon Favier was entitled ‘Candide Kamera’[15] and was released in 2009. The images were focused exclusively on riding in the backcountry and big mountain freestyle. Wanting to continue in the same vein, Candide spent the entire season riding powder and filming.

After winning a number of major freestyle contests, 2010 marked a sensational return to competition, but now Candide had turned his sights on unspoiled and unforgiving backcountry faces. However, he wanted to keep things discreet since he hadn’t competed since his injury. His comeback started with an invitation to compete in the Red Bull Line Catcher in Vars, France, a prestigious hybrid event, which blends freestyle and freeriding. He was nervous and unsure of his ability to keep up with the other competitors. In spite of his uncertainties, he went on to win the contest.[16] A few weeks later, Candide Thovex was invited to and won the Chamonix stage of the Freeride World Tour (FWT).[17] The win in Chamonix was a deciding factor that convinced him to compete on the tour for the entire season. He finished in second place at the following event.[18][19] At the last event of the season, the Verbier Xtreme on the face of the infamous Bec des Rosses in Switzerland, Candide laid down a solid run for an equal 3rd place finish.[20] The result was just enough to clinch the title of World Freeride Champion.[21][22]

Candide’s fascination with the art of filmmaking has always entertained him. Over the course of his professional career he has starred in, and produced numerous videos. Including numerous video segments, Candide starred in WW production's Rastafaride 7th Heaven. In 2011, he set to work on a project to document his past with an eye on what the future held in store for him. He skied and filmed the best backcountry conditions available on the planet.

The film ‘Few Words’ was released in 2012.[23] It was an immediate success. The French cable TV channel Canal+ immediately purchased the exclusive rights to the film in Candide’s home country for a period of 2 years, showing it a countless number of times.[24] It was also a bestseller world wide on iTunes,[25] and in 2013 received the highest honors on offer at the renowned Powder Awards put on by the American ski magazine of the same name; best male performance, best documentary, best cinematography, and the most prestigious of all, the “Full Throttle” award for the most outstanding all around performance of the season.[26] The film was also played to sold out theatres on a 24-country world tour. The same year, Candide joined forces with Faction Skis to develop a complete range of signature models;[27] meanwhile all the products in his signature model line with longtime sponsor Quiksliver continued to be best sellers.

Candide decided to devote his 2013 season to producing a new video entitled ‘One of Those Days’[28] filmed almost exclusively with his helmet-mounted camera. Filmed entirely from his point of view, ‘One of Those Days’ (OOTD) was claimed by Powder magazine editor John Clary Davies “The best skier on the planet at his home hill. This is the most fun I’ve ever had skiing and all I did was sit in my office and press play. Movie of the Year. Edit of the Century. Done.”

Released in January 2015, ‘One of Those Days 2’ pushed the boundaries even further. The video was viewed by more than 1.3 million people per day in the first week, and more than 13 million times in less than 1 month alone.[29] The international media also picked up on the story with articles and video embeds on major websites such as The Telegraph (GB), BBC (GB), The Independent (GB), USA Today (USA), Sports Illustrated (USA), Outdoor (USA), Fox Sports (USA), Stern (GER), Mundo Deportivo (SPA), Paris Match (FRA), l’Equipe (FRA), and Le Point (FRA). Candide has also made live appearances on CNN and France’s Canal+ to talk about the video, which has also featured in other televised reports on TF1, France2, and M6 in France, as well as 1TV in Russia, and on the leading European sports channel, Eurosport.

Candide Invitational

Candide is the organizer of the Candide Invitational in his hometown of La Clusaz, a competition which gathers freestyle skiing and snowboarding's best talents. The event was first held in the La Balme area of La Clusaz in 2002, and was last held in 2007. There are constant rumours of a return.[30]

He has appeared in many movies, notably the Rastafaride series.

Film appearances

Competition results

1996

1997

1999:

2000:

2002:

2003:

2006:

2007:

2010:

References

  1. ↑ "The Top 10 Freeskiers of All-Time". SnowBrains.com. Retrieved 2015-03-16.
  2. ↑ Video on YouTube
  3. 1 2 "Candide Thovex - X Games". Xgames.espn.go.com. Retrieved 2015-03-16.
  4. ↑ http://freeskier.com/stories/how-chads-gap-became-skiings-most-iconic-jump-spot. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  5. ↑ http://www.tetongravity.com/video/ski/Throwback17yearold-Candide-Thovexthrowsthefirst-Dspin720over-Chads-Gap-997101
  6. ↑ "Thovex airs it out for gold".
  7. ↑ "Superpark Revisited: a history of the legendary proving ground". Powder.com. 2012-06-05. Retrieved 2015-03-16.
  8. ↑ http://www.afpworldtour.com/rfs/clients/afp/resources/HistoryofFreeskiing_Timeline.pdf
  9. ↑ Superpipe stunner in Aspen
  10. ↑ "X Games 2003: Candide Thovex". YouTube. 2006-11-05. Retrieved 2015-03-16.
  11. ↑ Video on YouTube
  12. ↑ http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xh37rl_candide-thovex-x-games-gold-slopestyle-2007_sport. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  13. ↑ Video on YouTube
  14. ↑ Video on YouTube
  15. ↑ Video on YouTube
  16. ↑ Video on YouTube
  17. ↑ Video on YouTube
  18. ↑ "Candide Thovex". Freeride World Tour. Retrieved 2015-03-16.
  19. ↑ "Candide Thovex - 2° place line SKI - Nissan Russian Adventure by Swatch in Chamonix - Video". Zapiks.com. Retrieved 2015-03-16.
  20. ↑ Video on YouTube
  21. ↑ Video on YouTube
  22. ↑ "Candide Thovex". Freeride World Tour. Retrieved 2015-03-16.
  23. ↑ "Few Words Trailer". YouTube. 2012-04-25. Retrieved 2015-03-16.
  24. ↑ "Few Words, documentaire sur le ski moderne sur Canal+ Sport". Le zapping du PAF. Retrieved 2015-03-16.
  25. ↑ "iTunes - Movies - Few Words". Itunes.apple.com. Retrieved 2015-03-16.
  26. ↑ "Skier Candide Thovex big winner at Powder Awards". GrindTV.com. 2013-01-18. Retrieved 2015-03-16.
  27. ↑ "Collections | Candide Collection". Faction Skis. Retrieved 2015-03-16.
  28. ↑ Video on YouTube
  29. ↑ "One of those days 2 - Candide Thovex". YouTube. 2015-01-15. Retrieved 2015-03-16.
  30. ↑ Stephen Osborne, St Jean de Sixt

Further reading

External links

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