Onboard Magazine

Professional snowboarder and competitive surfer, Mathieu Crépel, was born October 26, 1984 in Tarbes a commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées in south-western France. Son of a ski instructor, Mathieu grew up on the slopes and witnessed the birth of snowboarding in the Pyrénées. Growing up near the Pyrenean resort of La Mongie, Mathieu took full advantage of his time to master the sport.

Mathieu first strapped on a snowboard at the age of six and began to carve out his legacy, showing real talent. He was given the name “little monkey”, due to his amazing agility on the board. By the time he had reached the age of 10, he was invited to take part in The Arctic Challenge. At 15, he competed in Youth World Championships and received the runner-up award. This only fueled his ambitions. In the 2001 Half Pipe Junior World Championships, Mathieu took home second place. He also landed the snowboarding title in the 2001 and 2002 Quik Cup, and earned second place in the Quiksilver Slopestyle Pro in 2003.

In 2005, Mathieu was the first ever half-pipe world title winner from France, winning the Crystal Globe. He then landed a spot in the Olympic Winter Games, representing France in 2006, but was unable to secure a medal in his events. However disappointing the Olympics may have been, Mathieu was not discouraged. Later that year, he became the first champion of the TTR World Snowboard Tour. In 2007, he became the first person ever to successfully land a switch backside 12 in competition, securing his place in history and becoming world champion in both Big Air and Half Pipe events in Arosa, Switzerland at the World Championships that year.

February 2008 was the first inaugural meet of The Mathieu Crépel Invitational, held as part of the TTR World Championship series in Ayré Forest in the Pyrenees in France. His success on the professional snowboarding scene has seemed to pay off. He has been the subject of a book by Editions Rival published in France. Mathieu has also appeared in several snowboarding videos. I have a feeling he’s not done yet, keep watching him and see how a legend is made.