East coast transplant, social media wizard, Dogtown Z-Boy... these are just a few of the ways of describing what makes Caley Vanular so very interesting. Originally born on the east coast of Canada, she grew up in a small town called Niagara-On-The-Lake. With a passion for snowboarding and a well-timed family move, she was relocated into Whistler and eventually found the perfect balance between work life and shred life. When asked about a typical day in the life, her response was "My favorite thing is to just be cruising the hill pumping carves and indy heelside turns down cat tracks. I need a coffee before snowboarding and some mellow music to calm me down, other than that were good to go."  After tracking Caley down via text message I pitched the idea of running an interview to learn a little more about what makes her tick. Here's what I found out.

Correct me if I'm wrong but I‘m sure I've overheard you talk about the east coast as where you're originally from. Just where exactly did you grow up as a child and how did you end up in whistler?
Where I am from produces 80% of Canadian wine and has over 200 bed and breakfasts', one being my family home. Not many people know I am from Ontario because I grew up snowboarding in New York. My home mountain was a little resort called Holiday Valley, which is way closer then any ski resort in Ontario. When I started high school I wanted to be snowboarding more than weekends and applied to some snowboard schools in Vermont. I was accepted and ready to make the move when my Dad decided to move from Florida to Whistler. I joined him and finished high school online here in Whistler.

So why do you still live in Whistler? I mean, other than shredding, what keeps you busy year round?
I guess you could say I still live in Whistler. This January I was thrown from the nest when my family moved back to Ontario, so I have been floating around living out of my suitcase. Year round I am always working on something. I am really into art, creating, and all sorts of design. In the fall I take classes through Capilano University in Squamish and spend a lot of time outdoors biking, hiking and swimming. Whistler is an amazing place to live if you take a step back and appreciate what it has to offer.

Do you think you're ever going to move to the city?
I will be living in Vancouver this fall to attend art school for design. I have never lived in a city in my life so thinking of fully committing to big city life is a bit scary. After first semester I will be back in the mountains somewhere.

What's next on your list of life goals? School, travelling, something else?
I want to do so much I don't even know where to start... Snowboarding is a huge part of my life and I want to travel as much as I can with that. I want to travel on my own to many warm destinations and live in multiple different countries. Ideally I will work from my computer and live wherever need be.

You're a pretty avid social networker, right? You have your personal website, your Facebook and your twitter being uploaded on what seems to be a daily basis.
I am quite the computer geek;always have been. I have had caleyvanular.com since I was fifteen. Having my own website got me started on learning coding and web design. Social networks have just fallen into place as an easy way to share information for free. A small little hobby has turned into a daily to-do. Ideally I will turn it into some type of career.

Given your recent cameos on MTV's Peak Season, you know I have to ask you at least one question about that, right?  What's the inside scoop on season two?
[laughs] Peak Season is funny. The house I am staying at right now is nicknamed "MTV House". I don't think they are getting a round two though; Jersey Shore blew them out of the water.

Are you much of a contest snowboarder? What's your opinion on people that snowboard just to get sponsored?
Contests are a fun, easy way to make some money, meet people and progress with snowboarding. I think snowboarding just to get sponsored is silly. I snowboarded for seven years doing contests and just living it up with my friends; it was the last thing on my mind. I was just having fun loving what I was doing and it just kinda happened. That's how it should be but I guess things change.

What's next for you and your snowboarding?
What's next...I am just boarding every day, progressing and learning more about the mountains. I want get into the backcountry and be filming and shooting photos as much as I can and travel way more. I will probably try out a couple of the bigger contests see how I like them and go from there.

Care to plug the people that have helped you live your dream?
Thanks so much to Steve at Electric/The Circle, Mikey at Capita/Union, Dirk with Volcom/Celtek/Nixon and Jon at Nike for helping me out with snowboarding and continuing to be able to do what I love on a daily basis on the best product there is.

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Related:
Showcase Showdown Results ('09)