Rider’s Spotlight: Michael Mawn – How a brain injury shaped his path to the FWT

A former halfpipe rider, Michael Mawn has now found his calling in tackling the challenges of narrow couloirs and exposed areas on the mountain faces. His transition to freeriding came after a serious brain injury during halfpipe training. Since making his debut on the FWT Qualifier 2019 circuit, he has consistently delivered strong performances.

When Michael isn't immersed in the world of freeriding, you can find him scaling peaks, camping, and enjoying the great outdoors with his friends.

Early Inspiration and Challenges

What inspired you to start freeriding, and what were the biggest challenges early in your career?

I started snowboarding when I was five, mostly because I wanted to be like my older sister. She was snowboarding, and I was skiing at the time. I just wanted to do what she was doing, so I made the switch. As I grew older, I got into half-pipe during high school, but I quickly realized that freeride was the true passion for me. Freeride is the root of snowboarding—it’s about exploring natural features, and no matter how small, you can find something to play around with.

I got into freeriding later than most, around 17 years old, after a serious head injury during my junior year of high school. I was fully committed to half-pipe before that, but the injury forced me to step away from it. The doctor told me to stop doing half-pipe, which was a tough pill to swallow. Once I recovered, I turned to freeride because it allowed me to control my risks better. It felt like a natural transition, and I was able to ease back into snowboarding without the same pressure.

The biggest challenge early on was dealing with my self-doubt after the injury. Mentally, I had to rebuild my confidence. I questioned whether I could still do what I loved, and it took time to trust my body again.

What were the physical and mental consequences of your injury?

The physical toll was pretty severe. I couldn’t even look up to change a light bulb without getting dizzy, and I had to stop climbing for two years. But the mental consequences were even harder. It was tough to accept that I was dealing with something so serious. I had to retrain my mind to trust my body again, and that was a huge barrier.

That experience really made me appreciate the importance of wearing a helmet. I’m a big advocate for helmets because, without mine, I wouldn’t be here. Snowboarding is dangerous, and the risk of head injuries is too real to ignore. It’s not just about the sport—it’s about your life and everything else that comes with it.

Mentally, the injury affected me for a long time. I struggled with depression and didn’t know who to talk to about it. It wasn’t until I opened up that I realized just how many other athletes were dealing with the same things. So, I try to raise awareness about mental health in snowboarding. It’s important to prioritize your well-being—not just for your career, but for your life beyond the sport.

What’s a story about you that most people don’t know, but defines who you are?

There’s one story that really stands out from my first year on the Freeride World Tour. I was below the cut going into the Fieberbrunn event, and I knew that if I didn’t do well, I wouldn’t make the tour for the next season. Unfortunately, I fell early in my run, and that was it. I wasn’t going to make the cut.

I was really down after that, especially because back then, you had to wait until the next year to qualify again. But the next morning, I made a decision—I booked my flight home, but I didn’t let that be the end of the story. I went back to the U.S. to compete in more events that season. I ended up winning one of them, which got me back on the tour for the following year.

But when I came back the next season, I struggled with imposter syndrome. I felt like I didn’t really deserve to be there. It was a rollercoaster of emotions, and I wasn’t sure if I belonged. But then, some of my fellow riders, like Neil, Derek, and Lolo, came up to me after the competition and said they believed in me. That support meant everything. It reminded me that, even if you’re not doing great athletically, it’s the type of person you are that really matters.

That moment shaped me not just as an athlete, but as a person. It taught me that it's important to be there for others when they’re struggling, just like my friends were there for me.

Preparation and Training

How do you prepare physically and mentally for the freeride season?

Preparing for the season is a lot of work. Off-season training is not glamorous. A lot of people don’t see the behind-the-scenes effort. For me, it starts with a lot of strength training. I’ve been lucky to work with some amazing trainers, particularly at Lone Peak Performance in my hometown. They’ve helped me target specific areas where I know I need to improve, like strength in my legs for landing, especially if I land front-heavy or tail-heavy.

We’ll do exercises like front-heavy squats with medicine balls to mimic the exact movements I struggle with during certain runs. This kind of targeted training helps build strength in the specific areas I need to improve. But what really helps mentally is focusing on certain events, like Fieberbrunn, which has been a tough venue for me. My trainer would make me practice specific movements and mentally prepare for the exact challenges I would face there.

I also like to do stadium runs at Red Rocks, a famous outdoor amphitheater near my home. It’s at elevation, so it’s a brutal workout, but it’s great for preparing me for those long runs at places like Fieberbrunn. By the time I get to the top, I feel like I’m going to die, but it makes me mentally tough for those long, tiring courses during the competition season.

How do you manage being successful in both freeriding and running your own company?

Managing both freeriding and my tech company is no easy feat. I’m the founder and CEO of the company, which I started four years ago around the same time I began my career on the Freeride World Tour. It’s grown to the point where it’s a full-time job now, and it takes up a lot of my time—especially in the off-season. I spend about 90% of my summer working on the business, from fundraising to managing the team.

The key to balancing both is having the right team in place. I’m surrounded by incredible people who help pick up the slack when I’m on the road. Time management is everything. During the season, I work from hotel rooms after a day of snowboarding, because the time zone difference means I can jump into the workday in the U.S. when Europe is wrapping up.

It’s a lot of juggling, and there are sacrifices on both sides. Sometimes, I have to skip training sessions to work, but the business keeps me grounded. It’s a different kind of challenge, but it also pushes me to manage my time better and prioritize.

Risk Management and Mindset

How do you approach risk management and safety?

I'm quite cautious. I think my friends would tell you in the backcountry, I'm always like the most cautious of the group, but you know, hopefully that pays off. I think, especially in competition, it's really important to assess the risk before the day of the event or before the inspection day because that's when you have a bit more of a clear mind and you can say, okay, I know where my skill level is at right now. And I know if I actually feel confident if that's a feature that's within my wheelhouse.I’m going to make the cutoff here. Like I know I'm not even going to consider the eagle this year. And that way, when you get to the event or you get to, you know, Verbier and you get caught up in all the emotions, you're like, I really wanna win. I really wanna do a big drop. Like maybe I will go for it. It's good to have those barriers kind of set up to know where your baseline is, where the cutoff is for the risk you wanna take and that you can't take, and that's smart to take."

What’s your mindset going into a competition? Do you have any rituals or routine?

I'm really big on visualization, really big on visualization. So I will pick my run usually a few days before, or maybe it's the day before, might be, but I pick my run and then once I commit to it, I commit to it and I visualize it in depth. So the night before a competition, I'll probably visualize... I mean, I can't even tell you how many times, so that by the time I actually show up in the start gate, I've already been there like 100, 200 times. But I'll visualize waking up in the morning. There's always the same pit in my stomach every morning when I wake up. I'm like super tired. I'm like, can't believe I'm about to jump off a 30-foot cliff right now. Like this, really, am I doing this? And like the same pit. I'll imagine waking up, having those nervous feelings, eating breakfast, going to the, like the actual, visualize the ride up. If I know the starter, I'll visualize, you know, the nerves that go through my head in the start gate, all the way up from like visualizing the actual hike up and visualizing getting there and then visualizing them calling me up on deck and then the actual starters voice if I know them, like everything super in detail and then the actual run itself.

How do you choose your lines during a competition?

I think when you first look at a face, there's gonna be one thing that stands out to you first. For example, when I looked at Baqueira, I was like, that wind lip is the first thing that sticks out to me. That's my style, I would love to hit that wind lip. And then I build the rest of the line off that. So I think we all kind of pick what's your premiere feature, and then you go up from there, what leads into it, what leads out of it. You just take the super zoom back, look at it and you say, wow, this couloir really sticks out to me, like, okay, that's where I'm gonna go. And I’m gonna build a line around it.

What do you think is your biggest strength on the mountain?

I think my biggest strength is my technical aspect of my riding. I think I can be pretty precise on technical movements. So I think for everyone, it's super important to know like where your strengths are and where not your strengths. And it's not bad that an area is not your strength, like focus on it, build it. But also like knowing that is, is good. Like, okay, I'm not going to go for the biggest cliff. That's not really my wheelhouse. Maybe I'll go for the techie stuff. So yeah, I think my strength is in the technical stuff. And the decision making, actually, I think that actually is a big part of it.

How do you handle the pressure of competing at such a high level?

This is something I struggled with my first two years on tour. I think I've gotten a lot better with it as we go. I think if you don't have stress and pressure, that's almost a bad sign. A healthy amount is good. I really lean into my friends I'm competing with. When you're at the top and you're actually like bro-ing out with Liam or... Stoked to just be there with Holden or like to be with your friends. It just makes it so much better. I really lean into those friendships I have in the community and knowing that Ariana and Jorge are at the bottom and I like can't wait to go see them. And I think all that like the community really helps get through it. And then just remembering at the end of the day, it's just skiing. It's just snowboarding. One thing I did make a huge switch on from my first two years to like the last two years I've done it was, was so nervous and so focused on just performing well and like this, that, and the other with it the first year that over the summer, was like, holy cow, I can't believe I went and did these things. This is really cool. And I, like, I really want to make sure I take in the moment, like really enjoy it when I'm doing that.

Lifestyle and Personal Interests

What do you do to unwind when you're not on the mountain?

I just love hanging out with friends. I love a good hot tub. They don't really do that in Europe. Hot tubs are a big thing in the US. You guys have your saunas. I've gotten pretty big into the saunas recently. Big sauna guy now, so I guess I unwind in the sauna. Just hanging out with friends, think anytime I can get in... In the summer to unwind, it's just getting into the outdoors, going surfing. Surfing's the biggest unwind for me, but yeah, just being with friends. Playing some, Catan. Valle and I have been getting pretty into playing Catan, and that's super fun, mostly because I do not know the rules very well, and I think everyone taught me them in German, but I love it. It's fun.

Is there a cause that you're passionate about outside freeriding?

My faith is like a really big thing for me. I think that's like number one for me is my faith and helping others grow in theirs and then the mental health that we talked about. I think those two things are key. They go hand in hand as well, but yeah.

Is there one thing that you always bring with you on a trip?

I always bring a rosary with me. It's always on me when I snowboard and compete. So, it used to be in my chest pocket, like sitting right against my heart, basically. And then I ended up moving it from there because it messed with my back protector. So now it's in my pocket right here. But yeah, I always bring that with me. And yeah, I'll like pray with it for people... I was with Warren for this. We were skiing at a resort and two helicopters crashed in front, like in front of us, like two military helicopters. And they went down. And when I watched these helicopters like fall from the sky and like propellers went flying, like in half, like it was crazy. I thought, I thought I'd just watch people pass away. And I was like, my gosh. And so I pulled out my rosary and I was like praying for these people.

What are your goals for this season? Do you have any specific achievements you're aiming for?

My goal is to get back on the Bec to ride the Bec from the top again. That's the dream. That's literally what I have my eyes focused on from the very first competition. So I want to get there and there's a new line I want to take on the Bec that if I can get there, I want to do it because I don't know how much longer I want to do something that crazy. So I'm like, got to do it now.

Where do you see your career in the next five or ten years?

Five to ten years, I have no idea. All I know is I'm still gonna be snowboarding. And hopefully snowboarding with the people I'm snowboarding with now. I wanna transition into the film side of the industry. In addition to competing, that's always been my goal is to do film as well. I some people wanna push the sport with the next biggest trick or the biggest cliff. Like for me, I wanna ride the place nobody's ridden before. I like the adventure side of riding.

Are there any new tricks you're excited to debut?

I’d love to do some new tricks in competition. A lot of it just lines up. There was this one trick I really wanted to do in Fieberbrunn this year. And I was so focused on the trick that when I was riding into it, I just fell riding. Like I was just riding and I just fell before I could even hit the feature. And so was like, no, I have to wait all year to come back here next year and try this trick again.

How do you see the sport evolving and what role do you want to play in this evolution?

This year especially, the judging rewarded true big mountain a lot more, which is cool to see. And I think each category is kind of pushing it in different ways. The other men's ski, the men's ski is just like... I don't even have words for it, they're doing everything at a higher level now. But like, especially the women, I think the women snowboard, the way that category is improving the most is like faster riding and more big mountain stuff, like I enjoy. I think each category has kind of taken their spin on it, but in general, the whole thing’s progressing.

Proudest Moments and Advice

What is your proudest moment in Freeride so far?

I don't know which one to say, but I think I already touched on it. When I came back and kind of overcame those mental barriers I set for myself at Baqueira that first year, that was pretty big. I just remember it being such a team win for so many people—it wasn’t just me. My parents, the trainers, everyone put in so much effort. It felt like a team effort. And then landing my run on the Bec last year—childhood Michael's dream. I was super scared. I thought I was going to throw up in the start gate. But once I went, I was fine. Landing that was just so ecstatic, like, I can’t believe I just did that. And I was so proud of that. And honestly, some of my proudest moments in freeride were getting to do it with Warren. We’ve dreamed of that since we were kids. I remember dropping in right behind him on the Bec, and I just gave him a hug and was like, ‘I’m so proud of you.’ Watching him achieve that felt like a huge win for both of us.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve received in the sport?

If I was to give advice to rookies coming in, I would say just be yourself. There’s a reason you're there. Trust yourself, and don’t change anything when you come to the tour. Continue being yourself, keep your riding style, and stay true to it. That’s some of the best advice I’ve received. Also, I’ve asked friends, ‘Should I hit this cliff?’ and they were like, ‘No,’ and I was so glad I didn’t. But overall, just stay true to yourself, don’t change just because you're on a bigger stage. Do it because it’s fun, and remember that it’s fun.

What role do environmental issues and gender equality play in your life and in sport?

I really want to lower the barrier to entry for snowboarding and skiing. It's a really expensive sport to get into, and a lot of people are limited by that. There’s countless people who could be competing in place of me on the tour but just haven’t had the opportunity. I want to increase access, especially for kids. I've talked to young girls who feel like they're fighting an uphill battle in the sport, maybe because they don’t have many other girls to ride with. But all it takes is finding that core group of 5 or 6 girls who help each other out. That support really works wonders. So, I think building the sport from the ground level, with kids, is huge. I’m really trying to increase my involvement with communities this year, to get kids excited and lower the barrier to entry. I want them to have the opportunities I had to grow in this sport.

What does freeriding mean to you on a personal level?

Freeride is definitely a huge part of my life. It has played a big role in shaping me into the person I am today. It’s just a small part of who I am, but it's helped me grow. Snowboarding itself, it’s just the icing on the cake, honestly. Freeride has taken me to new places, introduced me to new people who’ve become my best friends, and it’s put me in positions where I’ve had to push myself and trust myself. It’s also taught me good work ethic, long-term goal setting, and perseverance. And I’ve realized that freeride and snowboarding have actually set me up for success in other areas of life too. There’s a lot that you learn that you can apply in business meetings or pitches. And the relationships I’ve formed through the sport and the different cultures I’ve experienced are just invaluable. It means a lot to me because I hope that many other people can have these same experiences.

How do you think your cultural background influences your style or approach to freeride?

I have a halfpipe background, and I think that taught me really good edge control, which contributed to my love of technical stuff. I also have parents who are super adventurous and outdoorsy, so growing up, I went climbing peaks with my mom in my free time. She's my biggest climbing partner. That adventurous lifestyle led to my exploratory style with line choices. I’m someone who would rather go try to hit something that hasn’t been hit before, as opposed to hitting the classic air in the middle. I also love surfing—can’t believe I didn’t mention this earlier. Surfing is a huge part of my life. Every time I’m snowboarding, I think about surfing. Like when I do a turn, I’ll think, ‘That slash felt like surfing.’ I try to incorporate that surf style into my snowboarding, and I think it shows in my turns. I’m still a beginner at surfing, but it really influences my snowboarding.

Do you have a film project this year?

I don’t have anything lined up specifically yet, but I’m definitely working on being involved in some creative projects. I think I’d love to focus on capturing some of the big mountain stuff, more of the adventure side of it, showing the exploration of these lines and places that aren’t typically ridden. I’d like to tell stories of the unknown aspects of freeriding.