Many kids dream of growing up to become a professional athlete; professional soccer player, basketball player, skateboarder, snowboarder… Less than one percent of people actually succeed in becoming a professional athlete. It’s hard work to  stick with a passion long enough and train hard enough to become a pro.

Jussi Oksanen, Gabriel’s dad, did just that! He’s loved the snow and snow-sports since he was young. Growing up in Finland, where there is plenty of snow, was the perfect start to becoming a professional snowboarder.

Mr. Oksanen came to our class to talk about his passion, the journey, the Olympics, beating Shawn White, and what he’s doing now… He’s 36 and still a professional snow boarder! The class was very impressed with what they learned from him, and MAC students asked excellent in-depth questions. When we think of snowboarding, we don’t necessarily think of the dangers of avalanches and the equipment required…

The video Mr. Oksanen shared with us shows highlights of his skills as a professional, not all the “biffs” that are part of training and the dangers of avalanches. Check out the video he shared with us:

The class was excited to pass his various medals around:

For our school’s annual spring fundraiser, The Ice Cream Social, the class created an art project using a retired snowboard that Mr. Oksanen donated to our class. Come check out our creation! Silent Auction May 3rd 10-3pm Cardiff Elementary School.