Kevin Pearce (born November 1, 1987) is a mentor, health coach and motivational speaker
He is also an
United States, American former professional
snowboarder
Snowboarding is a recreational and competitive activity that involves descending a snow-covered surface while standing on a snowboard that is almost always attached to a rider's feet. It features in the Winter Olympic Games and Winter Paralympic ...
. He was born in
Hanover, New Hampshire
Hanover is a New England town, town located along the Connecticut River in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 11,870. The town is home to the Ivy League university ...
, and raised in
Hartland, Vermont
Hartland is a town in Windsor County, Vermont, United States. The population was 3,446 at the 2020 census. It includes the villages of Hartland, Hartland Four Corners, and North Hartland.
History
Hartland, originally named Hertford, was char ...
, before moving with his parents to
Norwich, Vermont
Norwich is a town in Windsor County, Vermont, United States. The population was 3,612 at the 2020 census. Home to some of the state of Vermont's wealthiest residents, the municipality is a commuter town for nearby Hanover, New Hampshire acros ...
. He competed professionally from 2007 to 2009, when a training accident left him with a
traumatic brain injury
A traumatic brain injury (TBI), also known as an intracranial injury, is an injury to the brain caused by an external force. TBI can be classified based on severity ranging from mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI/concussion) to severe traumati ...
.
Career
Pearce won
The Arctic Challenge in 2007 and completed back-to-back titles with victory in 2008. He was also the first man to earn two Air & Style rings in one season, winning the Nokia
Air & Style in Munich in 2007 and the Billabong Air & Style in Innsbruck in 2008.
In the 2007–08 season he won the
Swatch TTR World Snowboard Tour, garnering the TTR World Tour Champion title.
He won three medals at the 2008
Winter X Games XII in
Aspen, Colorado
Aspen is the List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule city that is the county seat and the List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous municipality of Pitkin County, Colorado, United States. The city population ...
. He was also the first athlete in X Games history to compete in three medal events in one day.
[Results: Snowboard Big Air Finals]
– ''EXPN.com'' (January 26, 2008) (Retrieved on February 24, 2008)
Pearce is a member of the Frends Crew (spelled without the "i" to emphasize the collective nature of the group) made up of snowboarders
Mason Aguirre,
Danny Davis,
Scotty Lago,
Keir Dillon,
Mikkel Bang,
Jack Mitrani, and
Luke Mitrani. Frends is a group of riders who turned their initial friendship into a formal alliance in 2007 to move the sport away from its recent competitive and business focus and return the sport to its
grassroots
A grassroots movement is one that uses the people in a given district, region or community as the basis for a political or continent movement. Grassroots movements and organizations use collective action from volunteers at the local level to imp ...
, collegial beginnings.
2009 injury
On December 31, 2009, Pearce was critically injured while training in
Park City, Utah
Park City is a city in Utah, United States. Most of the city is within Summit County, Utah, Summit County, with some portions extending into Wasatch County, Utah, Wasatch County. It is considered to be part of the Wasatch Back. The city is sou ...
, on the same
half-pipe
A half-pipe is a structure used in gravity extreme sports such as skateboarding, snowboarding, skiing, freestyle BMX, skating, and scooter riding.
Overview
The structure resembles a cross-section of a swimming pool, essentially two concave ramps ...
that would kill fellow skier
Sarah Burke
Sarah Jean Burke (September 3, 1982 – January 19, 2012) was a Canadian freestyle skier who was a pioneer of the superpipe event. She was a five-time Winter X Games gold medallist, and won the world championship in the halfpipe in 2005. She s ...
in 2012. He struck his head above his left eye during a training run while attempting a
cab double cork. He was flown to the
University of Utah Medical Center in
Salt Lake City
Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...
. On January 26, 2010, Pearce was transferred out of critical care and in early February was moved to
Craig Hospital in
Denver, Colorado
Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...
, a rehabilitation center that specializes in traumatic brain injuries. By June, Pearce was back with his family in Vermont.
In an August 23, 2010, interview, Pearce said he was lucky to recover and "excited to get back onto a snowboard." However, in a December 2011 interview with NBC, he said he will not compete again, but he did get back on a snowboard later that year.
Personal life and family
Pearce is a son of noted international glass artist
Simon Pearce, who has a chain of upscale retail stores in the Northeast United States. Kevin's mother, Pia Pearce, is the sister-in-law of
Cyrus Vance Jr., the District Attorney of New York County (Manhattan). Kevin Pearce is the youngest of Simon and Pia Pearce's four sons. His brothers David, who has
Down syndrome, Andrew, and Adam are also snowboarders. Pearce is currently married to a former executive at Twitter
aitlyn Pearceand has two young children.
Kevin Pearce and The Frends crew have hosted a Signature Session at High Cascade Snowboard Camp each summer since 2008. At camp, Pearce spends time with young snowboarders, helping to coach and mentor.
He and his brother, Adam, started the nonprofit LoveYourBrain in 2014, to help people with traumatic brain injuries and their families. The nonprofit offers yoga, meditation and mindfulness classes in 35 states and Canada and has helped 4,000 people affected by traumatic brain injuries.
In popular culture
The 2013 documentary ''
The Crash Reel'' by
Lucy Walker documents Pearce's preparations for the
2010 Winter Olympics
The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XXI Olympic Winter Games () and also known as Vancouver 2010 (), were an international winter multi-sport event held from February 12 to 28, 2010 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with ...
games, the 2009 injury, and his subsequent rehabilitation.
The Ride of a Lifetime
Crash Reel (2014-02-04). Retrieved on 2014-04-12.
References
External links
Kevin Pearce interview in frequency:The Snowboarder's Journal
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pearce, Kevin
1987 births
Living people
American male snowboarders
Sportspeople from Hanover, New Hampshire
People from Hartland, Vermont
People from Norwich, Vermont
X Games competitors
Sportspeople from Vermont