Brother Richard “Drew” Cook, Theta Omega/Appalachian State 2014, began snowboarding and competing at the age of 12. Although his dad didn’t seem to mind his competing, Drew’s mom took some convincing.
“My Mom was a little hesitant at first since she doesn't really ski or was not able to see me up on the mountain,” said Cook. “That slowly got better over time, but was definitely a hurdle at first,” he added.
In January, Drew competed at the USCSA Regionals at Hunter Mountain, N.Y. where the levels of competition consists of Giant Slalom, Boardercross, Slopestyle and Halfpipe.
“Giant Slalom is the traditional Alpine racing through gates that is against the clock where one rider goes at a time,” explained Cook. “Boardercross is a race through a course with gates but there are jumps and big curves through the course. During Boardercross, four riders race at a time against one another,” he continued. “Slopestyle consists of jumps and rails through a course where the rider is judged on style, amplitude, difficulty of trick, and consistency of the run, and Halfpipe is a trick competition on an icy pipe with walls on both sides that is judged similarly to Slopestyle,” said Cook.
“I competed solely racing in middle school and high school, but now also compete in the trick competitions. Ironically Slopestyle is probably my best event now,” said Cook.
This was the second year that Cook had qualified for the USCSA Snowboarding Regionals.
“It was a great experience to compete and do so well,” said Cook. “This year at USCSA Regionals I competed in Giant Slalom and Slopestyle,” he said.
“The Giant Slalom course consisted of twenty gates that you had to go around. It was especially challenging this year to keep your speed up because during the race it was snowing a ton. The powdery snow on the course tends to drastically slow down the racers. I placed 6th in this competition,” said Cook.
“The Slopestyle competition consisted of three rails and three jumps,” he continued. “The jumps got progressively bigger with the last one being around 45 feet in distance that you had to clear to have a safe landing. I stood out in this competition for my difficulty of tricks and consistency of tricks as I landed everything perfectly. I placed first in this competition,” said Cook. “Overall I placed 2nd for the weekend out of 70 riders,” he added.
So how does a snowboarder keep in shape in the off season?
“There is a facility in Virginia called Liberty Mountain Snowflex that is a carpeted facility that I do train on some in the off season,” said Cook. “It is slightly different than snowboarding on actual snow. I mostly just run and play soccer in the off season to keep my legs in good shape,” he said.
What has been Cook’s most memorable stunt?
“Jumping off a cliff in Sun Valley, Idaho last winter at the USCSA National Championships was definitely the biggest trick I have completed,” said Cook. “The cliff went over a road and dropped around 30 feet in height and I was forced to clear around 40 feet in length. It is always fun to drop off cliffs because it is a natural feature that does not have the man-made safety behind it,” Cook explained. “The uncertainty adds to the difficulty of the trick. I landed this cliff drop on my first attempt, the consequences could of been pretty bad if I had not,” said Cook.
A Finance and Banking student at Appalachian State, Cook has his sights set on becoming a Financial Advisor and not a professional snowboarder.
“I definitely plan on snowboarding a lot in the future. I love to travel and this sport is a great way to see the world and experience new things,” said Cook. “If there is an opportunity for me to continue competing in the future I would definitely take advantage of it, especially since it has been such a big part of my life over the last ten years,” he said.
What about the Olympics?
“Competing in the Olympics would be awesome, but I don't realistically see myself there. I just love being able to go out there with some friends and always have a great time,” said Cook.