Contemporary skier, world traveler and brand marketer. At 23, Utah native Blake Nyman has his hand in a good chunk of the ski industry.
Six-feet 4-inches tall, Nyman stands out in the park, but his height is far from the only reason he turns heads on the slopes. His “contemporary skiing” style of exploring everything the mountains have to offer is rarely found and makes him much more than just a jibber or big mountain skier.
“I hate terms like freestyle and free skiing,” Nyman said. “None of them really encompass what we’re doing.”
Nyman, the younger brother of U.S. Ski Team member and racer Steven Nyman, left the time clocks and gates of ski racing at the age of 17 for the rails, pipes and table tops of the park as well as big mountain lines.
“Racing helped me learn the fundamentals of skiing which apply to all areas, in the park or big mountain,” Nyman said. “It gave me a good ground structure to build everything else on.”
Nyman grew up skiing at Sundance in Provo Canyon where his family had a home and his father ran the ski school for 22 years.
“Skiing has always been an intrinsic part of our family,” Nyman said. “I’ve always enjoyed it.”
After competing in his share of local and nationwide slope style, skier cross and big mountain competitions, Nyman opted out of competition in the 2006-2007 season because of his distaste for the subjective nature of judged events. Inspired by the creativity of skiers such as Eric Pollard and Pep Fujas, Nyman spent last season dabbling in various areas of skiing, trying to find his place in the ski world.
“I wanted to explore more aspects on the mountain and have more variety to my skiing,” Nyman said.
This summer Nyman picked up some serious sky miles as he chased the snow north to Canadian British Columbia where he worked as a digger at High North Ski Camp in the famous summer skier haven of Whistler.
While in Canada he also coached and trained at the Camp of Champions. After two months, he returned to his hometown of Orem for only two dry weeks, then headed south to Las Lenas, Argentina, to film the Salt Lake City-based company Levitation Project’s upcoming film, which will premiere Oct. 30.
One of his most important projects remains his involvement in Utah based Surface Ski Collaboration. Nyman has been working with the company’s owner Mike Schneider since day one and was the company’s first skier/design consultant.
“Surface was created out of what we felt was a lacking in the industry, we wanted to bring more to skiing,” Nyman said.
With his help, the four-year-old company grew by 300 percent this year, gaining international recognition and selling skis all across the world including Japan and Europe.
He is now helping friends promote a new shop called Autumn Garage, which opened its doors to skiers and boarders Monday. Located in Cottonwood Heights, the new shop also features a ski- and snowboard-themed photo and art gallery.
Having skied all over Europe and North and South America, Nyman has stayed true to his Utah roots.
“I definitely enjoy the snow here, the terrain here, the people here,” Nyman said. “I have more fun on my skis in the Wasatch range than anywhere else in the world.”
As an active environmentalist, Nyman is attentive to the threat global warming poses to the ski industry and is hoping for a better snow pack this year. He is also looking to get back into competitive skiing to further his exposure across the industry by showing his wide range of skills in the many facets of skiing.
“I like all aspects of the sport, Nyman said. “I like to hit urban rails, go skiing lines in the back country, or in the park on a resort. I like to be the most well rounded skier I can be.”
Skiing in films is an aspect of the sport he has always pursued. This year he will be featured in a Surface/Joystick collaboration film along side Anthony Boronowski, JP Auclair , Paco Garcia and Max Hall. This year Nyman will also be working on a major film project for next year that he is keeping under wraps for the time being.
In addition to representing Surface Ski Collaboration and Levitation Project, Nyman sports Alta paraphernalia, POC helmets and eyewear, Ogio bags, Joystick poles, and Fischer boots and bindings.
