Steamboat Springs, CO - Jarryd Hughes is a young Australian boardercross athlete who impressed many in 2012 when he placed third at the Canyons Grand Prix event in Park City, Utah. He’s looking to ride for Team Australia.

Q. What’s your favorite place to train (other than Steamboat)?
A. As an Aussie who has trained in Steamboat for the last four years, I’ve gotta say that my favorite mountain is definitely the ’boat, especially on a pow day hitting Golf Course! But, if I have to say somewhere other than Steamboat then it would be the mountains at home in OZ. They may not be big by U.S. standards, but you can have a heap of fun with your mates regardless.

Q. What’s on your warm-up playlist?
A. One Republic, Avicii, Lana Del Rey, and definitely some Taylor Swift to top it off.

Q. What’s your favorite career moment so far?
A. It’s split between coming in second at Junior Worlds in Sierra Nevada, Spain, and getting 11^th at the World Championships last year in Canada. At 18, I am still pretty young for a boardercross athlete, so I haven’t done a lot of top-class racing.

Q. What does a typical day of training look like for you?
A. Going up and having fun on the slopes, going as fast as I can with some good friends, and, to top it off, hitting some jumps and just going BIG.

Q. What’s your favorite thing about your sport?
A. My favorite thing about snowboarding is that people all over the world can get together and have fun together doing a sport without a lot of pressure. Even at the World Cup, my approach is to just have fun. Everything else will sort itself out.

Q. What’s your favorite TV show right now?
A.  “How I Met Your Mother.”

Q. What’s your favorite junk food?
A. Definitely ice cream. Nothing beats ice cream.

Q. Describe your perfect day.
A. Perfect powder with some good mates. You don’t need much more than that.

Q. What’s your favorite vacation destination?
A. Going home to Australia during the summer and getting some sun and surfing at Bondi Beach after a long winter. It is so cosmopolitan, and even in the winter it is still warm enough to swim.

Q. Who is listed as speed dial No. 1 on your phone?
A. My dad.

Q. Which three words describe you best?
A. Energetic, driven, irritating.

Q. What would you do if you won the lottery?
A. I would buy a house for my parents, and a house at the snow for me.

Q. What’s your favorite memory made in Steamboat?
A. After being worked hard by my coach, Jon Casson (Thanks, mate.), hitting the hot springs with a few mates and just relaxing.

Q. What is your favorite quote?
A. “You only get out what you put in.”