Anyone who has had the pleasure of knowing or working with Megan Middleton could attest to her strong work ethic, determination and positive attitude. Anyone who knows her from snowboarding probably never thought she left the mountain. All day jobs aside, Meg has become a true contender in the competition circuit and has found a home in Washington within the loving community of Stevens Pass. I first encountered Megan through evo when she joined the team roster and began working at shop events and finally got a chance to track her down to see what’s been happening in the hectic life…here’s what she had to say.
Sponsors: evo, Bonfire, LibTech Snowboards, POW Gloves and Stevens Pass
Meg – how does one keep a serious full-time job and shred as much as you do? Where’s the balance?
Overall, it’s a challenge of course. But, I really enjoy it, and the more I get into it I realize I won’t have any regrets doing it this way. I love riding and am going to keep pushing myself as hard as I can for as long as I can. Living in New Zealand for a season, all I did was ride and work a crappy job and lived it up – I mentally felt dead by the end of it. After that I wanted to get back to school. When I work all the time and keep up the riding it fuels my mental and physical needs – it’s a perfect balance from what I’ve personally found. At the end of the day I don’t want to be 30 or 40 and just starting my work-life.
What are you doing to stay in the game today?
I’m mainly up there for personal gain honestly. Being put into a contest setting up against other girls or occasionally even other guys challenges me and I have to think “can I do this?” Sometimes it feels like I’m 10 years behind some of the young kids who are coming up. I like going up against them though, and even the older girls because they have such solid style and are more consistent in their riding. Going up against both worlds pushes my riding a ton. In the Northwest there aren’t a ton of girl riders so occasionally I have to step out to see what’s really going on in the industry from a mainstream scope.
How has the Stevens community influenced your riding?
I’ve ridden up there for such a long time and love the community – the majority of the time I’ll drive up by myself knowing that I’ll find friends to take laps with. Stevens is unique because of the crews that don’t leave the park or the crew from Baker who is just recently finding the goods at Stevens. It seems as though everyone knows everyone, whether you’re beyond the young buck status or still up and coming. With my older brothers and sister growing up riding ahead of me I was ushered in as Littleton at an early age.
Any plans to step away from the park circuit or do you intend to continue pursuing it?
The next thing on my list is freeride competitions. More or less I’ve ridden a lot of park and have been exposed to those types of contests but this year I want to shoot more photos and balance out my riding with bigger terrain. I know Crystal does their Big Mountain series so there is a starting point that’s accessible locally. I rode a lot of park when I was younger, not knowing any better, but going to Baker really shaped my riding since they remove the park access and all the sudden you’re just worried about making it down the mountain. It’s an entirely different way of looking at a run when you approach natural features. I think I would have been much more fearful in the backcountry if I’d never hit a 60-ft jump in the park beforehand though.
Photo: Tyler Mitchell
Evo is one of your strongest supporters – what got you in the door with them initially?
Molly [former evo marketing/team manager] sought me out when I was going to ride for another shop and convinced me that evo was entirely more fitting to my personality. I was riding for Rome, which evo didn’t carry at first, but there were plenty of other reasons for me to stay. I rode for a shop called the Edge for a while and they were so supportive towards my every need. The family aspect behind evo is even larger in scale in my opinion. They’ve always been there to pay for contests and they help me manage greater relationships with the local reps. evo pulls their team riders together and take care of us as one solid crew – that’s what I appreciate more than anything. At the end of the day I think a shop sponsorship is the most important you can have.
Has being in Seattle been pretty pivotal in your networking with brands and reps for sponsorships?
Being in Seattle and riding for evo have both been so helpful in my riding. I can go to events and show my face and be apart of what’s going on. Everybody in the shred community seems to be a part of a larger family based in the metro areas. Being able to meet up with people is so convenient here, and there’s always so much going on compared to how it would be if I lived in the hills. I like visiting small ski towns, but when you live there it seems like the conversations are so focused on skiing whereas the larger community in Seattle has so much more to offer a socialite. It’s all about balance, again. I tell people at work that if they saw me outside of my work environment, they wouldn’t even recognize me.
Photo: Rhys Logan
Photo: Rhys Logan
