Bishop adds three new athletes for the 2017/18 winter season
Andreas Sjöbeck. Taylor Johnson. Carl Heath.
You may have heard of them before and that’s because they rip. Bishop’s Christopher Ewart was hard at work this summer hand-picking new athletes who are going to not only showcase the BMF-R and BMF-3 bindings, but continue to push their own boundaries with the dedication they have to telemark skiing, drawing more attention to the sport.
Swedish park rat, creator of the web series ‘Drop Knees,’ and telemark park innovator, Andreas has been attracting a lot of attention on social media sites like Instagram. “Andreas is probably one of the most influential athletes in Telemark today, being one of only two or three freeheelers with Double Corks in his bag. He’s not only making a name for himself in Telemark, but in the snow-sports industry as well,” said Ewart. “With his Pro-Model apparel line with Freeheel Life, core following and progressive style, he’s a perfect fit for us at Bishop. We can’t wait to have him working with us directly on product development and also just see how far he can push himself with the binding we’ve designed.”
Salt Lake City native and product of Alta Ski Area, Taylor eats and breathes telemark skiing. Off the mountain, he can be found behind the counter or working on your skis at the Freeheel Life shop in Salt Lake City. This past winter the backcountry called to him, skiing iconic lines like Nevada’s Terminal Cancer (watch) while still charging hard on the somewhat endless powder days that blessed the Wasatch. “We’re really excited to have someone on our team who has some of the best technical knowledge of freeheeling, and really knows how to shred hard,” Ewart explained. “His love for the game doesn’t just show in his skiing, but his attitude off the hill has proven he’ll be a reliable source for promoting our brand, as well as having a point of view everyone trusts.”
The New Hampshire native quickly transplanted himself deep in the Wasatch, secured a job at Alf’s at Alta Ski Area, and welcomed the ski bum lifestyle. Living on the mountain, Carl can ski every day…and he does. His Instagram feed is full of sendy lines, huge drops, and faceshots that have everyone at the office wishing they were in their 20’s again. He charges hard at events like the Freeheel Life Cup Big Mountain Comp, earning second in 2017 and receiving the Logan Jauernigg Sick Bird Award in 2016. “‘Kooky’ Carl Heath is one hell of a badass. We’re excited to have him joining us, and can’t wait to see what gnarly shots he has for us this winter,” said Ewart.
Each athlete will be skiing on both the BMF-R and BMF-3 bindings this season. The BMF-3 is the binding for lift-served skiing while the BMF-R is the backcountry option. “I will be skiing the BMF-R for powder days and backcountry kickers due to the free pivot while walking and it being a strong binding that can manage big kickers,” Sjöbeck said.
The three new additions bring Bishop’s Telemark Badassadors count to seven. The existing four are freerider Andy Parisod of Switzerland, freerider Doug Mock of Driggs, Idaho, ‘Hot Doggin’ Showboat’ Tony Gill of Salt Lake City, and racer Sarah Carley of New Hampshire. Bishop’s athlete page can be found here.
“This is the Tele-Revolution and we’ve hand picked the front line. Our sport isn’t going to grow until we can prove to the rest of the world that we’re just as badass as anyone else on the slopes, and we at Bishop want to make sure these guys have the right tools to do it. I know it seems like we’re a small fish in this pond, but we’re here to make some big waves,” said Ewart.
See what the Badassadors have been up to:
Carl: Instagram
For all things Bishop, visit their website here.
*Images courtesy of Christoper Ewart*
*Feature image courtesy of Andrea Sjöbeck, Bjorn Bauer Photography*
Hot Carl!!!
Woot woot!