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Kjersti Buaas: Welcome to the Team

 Photo: Chanelle Sladics

Purps is stoked to partner with four-time Olympic snowboarder, inspirational role model, and all around health advocate, Kjersti Østgaard Buaas. Kjersti discovered her love for snowboarding in Norway over 20 years ago. In her 14+ years as a pro, the four-time Olympian has locked down an impressive list of accolades, and crowned the “queen of snowboard style” for her performances in Halfpipe and Slopestyle. She attributes her longevity in the sport to friends and family, long hours training on-and-off the mountain and to a commitment to healthy lifestyle. Fresh off of her 12th X Games competition Kjersti has a busy travel schedule ahead, mixed with competition and a greater mission for community outreach.

If you’ve read Malcolm Gladwell’s book Outliers you might be factoring the early childhood events that helped propagate Kjersti’s success, or maybe considering how she logged 10,000 hours of training to break into her now 14+ year professional career. Kjersti highlighted some of the childhood opportunities that fueled her success.

“I grew up in the city of Trondheim, a northern municipality of Norway. As a kid, I was always very active. My mum and dad took my sisters and me to any activities we wanted to do. We did everything from cross country skiing, soccer, ballet, and dancing. My mom worked as a ski patrol at our local mountain called Vassfjellet (it means Water mountain), which is pretty funny and accurate because it does rain there a lot. She would pick us up at school and drive to the mountain and we would ski/snowboard all evening. We would get home around 9:30 PM, after she was finished patrolling the slopes. We were always the last ones to leave the mountain. Growing up there, first skiing, and then at age 12 snowboarding, I was inspired and motivated by the support our tight-knit community. The local older guys helped me learn tricks, supported me when I entered local contests and initiated my first ever sponsor deal with one of the local shops. From there, I traveled and competed in many of the local contests throughout Norway.”

Kjersti quickly transitioned from amateur to professional in just three short years. She won the Junior World Championships at the age of 17, and clinched her first World Cup contest victory the same year. From there the list goes on: World Cup, X Games, Olympics x 4. Kjersti holds several World Cup podiums, 3 X Games medals and an Olympic bronze medal. Kjersti bested 4th place at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, and earned her bronze medal at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy for her Halfpipe performance, only a short week after healing a broken leg. Not only is Kjersti a phenomenal competitor, she has an even more impressive longevity in the sport. The four-time Olympian has held down a steady 10-year run in the top ten of the World Snowboard Tour and isn’t planning on touring anytime soon.

Photo: Thomas Harstad

Kjersti’s attributes her athletic longevity to her healthy lifestyle. Over the years, inspired by friends in the snowboard community, she realized that nutrient intake and diet are just as essential as the physical components of training. Many of her friends on tour followed the same thinking; throughout the years they challenged each other to broaden their perspectives on the meaning of health. Kjersti taught herself nutrition by researching a wide range of topics, and also by experimenting with dietary habits of her own. As Kersti’s awareness developed, she had an epiphany and opted out of her mainstream energy drink contract to resolve the internal conflict about promoting a product that did not align with her values. Today, Kjersti lives and breathes healthy lifestyle.

“I started eating organic food, I cut down dramatically on my meat intake and I integrated way more veggies into my diet. I also started practicing yoga and meditation. I quickly realized that it all connected into this beautiful circle of a healthy, natural lifestyle. I suddenly had more energy and clarity and I also stopped getting sick so often. Today if I feel run down I add some extra veggies and super foods and my health peaks right away.”

During her 14+ years as a professional snowboarder, Kjersti has created a broad platform to reach both younger and older generations. Kjersti now sees it as her responsibility to support products and companies that align with her core values. Shortly after the launch of Purps, our paths crossed and we were in awe of the lifestyle she lived. Kjersti is an incredible person and inspirational role model that lives and breathes the brand ethos. Purps + Kjersti are indeed a perfect match.

“I simply have been waiting for a company like Purps that is committed to bringing healthier alternatives to the market,” said Kjersti. “I am also passionate about sharing this message with the snowboard community and helping educate the youth about the importance of prioritizing good nutrition and a healthy lifestyle. I’m so honored to partner with Purps and become an integral part of their already prestigious advocate team.”

Kjersti has a very busy schedule ahead of her. She’ll be collecting passport stamps and earning air miles as she crisscrosses her way around the globe to compete and inspire. We wish her well on her travels and are proud to welcome Kjersti to the Purps family. You can follow her story on and off the slopes at kjerstibuaas.com, purps.com, and on Instagram @kjerstibuaas, @purps, Facebook and Twitter.

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