Inspiration
Is Something that Drives Us To Be What We Are
by Dustin Semb
PSIA-NW DCL, ACE Clinician
AASI & Freestyle Examiner

Earlier this fall I was asked a simple question, “What inspires you?” This was asked in context of teaching snowboarding and skiing, I thought my response would be instant, but I was surprised to find out I needed to think about it. Thoughts of family, friends, sharing a passion, helping people grow and many other things flooded into my head. Later that day I thought of an article I started to write in July. It was just some feelings I had that surfaced and I felt inclined to put them on paper. I opened up the article and again it helped me sort out some thoughts about why I do what I do, in skiing and snowboarding as well as life. Here is what I wrote down then. Hopefully it can help you think about what keeps you coming back.

Inspiration is something that drives us to be what we are, or strive to be. As instructors we have a certain fire within us that makes us want to improve. There are certain people out there that light that fire, whether it’s a sibling that you must be better than, a friend or coach that you want to out-do or someone that you want to be proud of you.

There have been many people that have inspired me to become the best; the ones that keep me working hard are the people that I want to be proud of me. I recently was able to spend two days riding with a mentor of mine that left the area a couple of years ago. On that same trip I spent over a week with someone else that has inspired me to work towards excellence. It was valuable experience that I won’t soon forget.

Though National tryouts did not go the way that I had hoped; I got a lot from the experience. I gained incite to the way that our industry works, saw how the rest of the nation rides and what they value, but most of all spent time with three people that I really respect and have been important catalysts in my professional development. Earl Saline, Mike Hamm and Chris Hargrave have all played large roles in helping me to grow as an instructor as well as a person.

A couple years ago Earl left our division to for Winterpark, CO, before leaving he talked to me about coming to Stevens Pass where he worked and lived. The same year he left for Winterpark I moved to Stevens Pass. I missed Earl by a few months at Stevens and hadn’t had the chance to ride with him for two years. We were in the same group at National tryouts and though we may not have been palling around the whole time it was great to be there with him. Earl is one of those people that are able to inspire you without saying a thing. You just want to become better when he is around; and you do. For the eight years that I have known Earl, the most I have ridden with him was three days, which I did twice a year. In that little amount of time he brought out ideas and skills that helped me set goals for bettering myself, which has pushed me to work harder year after year.

Mike and I started together in 1995 at a hill that had no returning snowboard instructors. We had some good people to help us, but they where primarily skiers that learned to snowboard because the school needed someone that could teach the occasional snowboard lesson. In the first year we had 12 hours of snowboard lessons split between eight instructors. Mike and I were the only ones to return.

The second and third year we worked open to close on the weekends and rode together every weekday. During those weekday sessions, Mike and I experimented with ideas every run. We would talk about what to try on the lift, try it on the run and then discus it on the next chair ride. Riding with Mike made me think about how the body and board interact, and made me think about why I cared. They were some of the best days on the snow anyone could ask for.

Chris has been an inspiration for people that I have known for a few years, but only in the last two has he made an impact on me. At the first AASI freestyle camp I saw him coaching and was very impressed with the confidence he instilled in the campers. Since then, I have spent more time working around him and with him and I now know why those campers felt so confident.

Chris has a passion for what he does, from cleaning a C-box to slaughtering people in paintball. His passion is contagious for those who ride with him as well as those who talk with him. The conversations we have had about snowboarding, the industry, coaching and mechanics have inspired me to consider new things and question current ideas. Riding, coaching and talking with Chris over the last year or two has allowed me to feel the same confidence and inspiration that I saw in those first campers I watched him coach.

These three people created some of the passion that has kept me going in this industry. Being with them at the national team tryouts showed me why I am an instructor – I want there to be more out there like them. They are inspirations to others, as instructors as well as friends. Thanks guys.