PG: At the Alpine World Cups, I get the impression that you see the absolute best in the world there. Is the standard of performance in the freeride competitions simply much lower? Where are the main differences in the system?
MM: Freeriding and contest riding are inherently contradictory, which I think everyone is aware of. For example, it seems to me that I didn't go snowboarding much last winter because a contest is different to what I normally understand by freeriding. It's more like camping somewhere for a couple of days and riding three lines every day.
The judging rules state that everyone should have a chance to win if they ride a perfect line, regardless of their style - whether it's freestyle, big mountain or whatever. That's where freeriding comes in again, but the contests remain a very specific form of the sport.
PG: There would be the possibility for very individual runs purely in terms of judging, but still many people often do the same thing.
MM: Yes, it's not the judging or the organization, but the riders. A lot has changed since you can watch all the lines online. Now you can see from home what people have been doing over the last few years and creativity might fall by the wayside. On the other hand, those who really do something original can now stand out. That's difficult and requires a lot of experience.
PG: The FWT aims to be a tour for the whole world. At the moment there is only one stop in the USA, everything else is in Europe. The Freeski World Tour is also increasingly present again as a counter-event. Is it even realistic to hold a worldwide freeride competition?
MM: I think so and I also think it's good if there is such a thing. I have no idea whether and how a meaningful world tour can really be realized. What I find extremely problematic at the moment is that you have to commit to a date and a slope so long in advance. You don't normally do that when freeriding because it's not possible. You could perhaps find a solution where you commit to a larger time window and a region in order to avoid sliding around on half-baked slopes. But I think it's positive that people from all over the world are all doing one thing and riding down somewhere together and comparing themselves.
PG: Is it more about sharing or comparing?
MM: For me, the contests have always been more about sharing and that's also what's important to me in the long term. Ultimately, you don't ride freeride contests against others, but against yourself.
PG: Does it even make sense to have other people judge it?
MM: I approach contest lines in a much more structured way than I usually do and make an effort to show my best performance, also because I try to fulfill the judging criteria as well as possible.
PG: So the format challenges you?
MM: The format certainly challenges every rider. The trick is to do what you can and to know your own limits. Determining that with yourself - that's the exciting thing. I think it's okay that it's then judged, because you can see where you still have room for improvement. I never used to think that I was the competitive type. I still find it a bit terrifying! But it's just fun.
Nevertheless, it's not about beating others, but about improving yourself. I notice that my drops are getting higher, that I'm riding faster and more smoothly. That's a good feeling.
PG: You can get better as a rider by riding contests, but if you don't necessarily see the world's best there, what is the relevance of the Tour for people who don't ride contests?
MM: A contest is unembellished, unlike a movie. Someone who rides contests well has to ride all the conditions properly. That's much closer to reality than what you see in movies. Perhaps the relevance lies in the fact that contests show that you can do really great things even in really bad conditions.
PG: Social media has become extremely important in recent years, even when it comes to sponsors, and sometimes sporting achievements seem to be less important than a large social media following. How do you deal with that?
MM: It's a problem when people are in marketing positions who have no idea about the sport in question. Parameters that have nothing to do with the actual sport are then used to judge who to support. This harms the whole sport in the long run. I see it as the task of companies and marketing to push athletes who will take the sport forward and not those who have the most social media followers.
The sports market is now primarily an investment market, even for sports that used to be alternative subcultures, similar to the art market. It's definitely an interesting environment because so much passion meets so much marketing.
PG: Your social media presence is quite inconspicuous. People have to search a long time for pictures without helmets and goggles. With the girls in particular, a lot of them mix in a pretty selfie or a picture from a beach vacation between the action shots and their followers thank them for it. Aren't you up for that?
MM: No. I don't want to criticize first and foremost, but I would like to see the discussion about the image of women in sport become more active. That is a personal concern of mine. For female athletes, it should primarily be about sport and not about looks. Everyone should have the freedom to live their life the way they want to. Women and men should be allowed to do that equally, even in sport.
PG: It's not just an issue on social media, but in the whole industry, isn't it?
MM: Yes. You hardly see any action pictures of women in the media. When there are photos of girls in magazines, they're almost always just standing around looking pretty. The sad thing is that women are completely robbed of their potential. Female athletes are usually only present because of their looks and outward appearance. They are hardly ever shown as the athletes they are and who actually achieve something. It is very difficult to approach professional life in fringe sports purely on the basis of athletic performance. You basically have no chance with that.
After the Summer Olympics, there was a lot of critical discussion about the reporting on female athletes. I hope that this has raised awareness to a certain extent and that the media will make an effort to report objectively. I think it's important that women's performances are judged in the respective context and that sporting performance counts.
PG: What can be done to change the image of women in sport and especially in freeriding? Are there perhaps simply very few women practising our sport?
MM: The problem lies primarily in the lack of presence. There are enough girls, but you don't see them. We should work on creating more awareness for the topic and network more with each other. If we could reach a certain critical mass of women who are active in extreme sports and also get involved in the scene, that would change a lot. On the other hand, of course, the industry has a role to play. The sporting goods manufacturers, the sports management sector and the publishing industry are male-dominated. That's actually the whole market.
PG: Do we need some kind of quota? Every magazine has to print the same number of pictures of women and men, companies have to support just as many female athletes as male athletes, something like that?
MM: Phew, that's difficult. It's generally assumed that a quota will bring a lot in the long term, but of course you force it. If there was a fixed percentage of action pictures with women in every magazine, I would find that positive. But it depends very much on whether it's done well. Maybe you should at least think about it.
I would be happy if there were just different role models for women. There are all sorts of different roles for men, even in the highly professional sector. There are those who obviously care a lot about their appearance and those who just as obviously don't care at all, and many different types and gradations in between. That's not the case with women.
Things that are actually secondary to sport, such as appearance, become overly important because there is so little potential to promote women. It's certainly a bit the same for men, especially in the middle performance segment, where it's particularly important to set yourself apart. But that's on a much lower level.
PG: Is there any pressure from your sponsors to post a few pretty lifestyle pictures?
MM: There tends to be a request to post a lot and in high quality, which is also legitimate. I've never come across a direct request to post particularly pretty photos. Of course I want to post pictures that have a certain aesthetic or message. But I shy away from posting bikini photos, even though most men post swimming trunks photos without thinking twice. I'm afraid of comments that only refer to my body because I really don't want to be reduced to my appearance. But maybe it would also be a nice, subversive strategy to completely ignore it and wildly post very flattering and very unflattering bikini photos!
PG: Do you think it's wrong for female athletes to use their appearance to become better known? The industry doesn't force anyone to do that at gunpoint.
MM: In principle, yes. But then again, it's not that simple. I think it should be possible for a woman to post a sexy photo every now and then without being accused of wanting to make a profit from it. That would be the ideal situation, but it's hardly possible in our society. The photos that are sexy remain the most present. This leads to a kind of vicious circle.
There are female athletes who live almost exclusively from their appearance. This only works because it is supported by the industry. It doesn't help the sport if women are represented one-sidedly. It suggests to young girls that you have to conform to an ideal of beauty in order to be successful in sport. I also don't believe that more snowboards or practical sports underwear will be sold to women if the models look like they're from B-porn.
PG: What would you like to give young girls instead?
MM: It's a cliché, but I would like to convey that you should follow your passions. That then life is really great. And then, of course, I would also like it if other girls thought: Oh cool, she's a strong driver. I want to do that too.
PG: Thanks for talking to us! Will you let us hear from you during the tour?
MM: Sure, I'll post on my blog and maybe there'll be a contest report or two here on PowderGuide.com!
Julbo Eyewear is planning a 'White Session' in Iceland with Manu and Flo Orley this spring. As with the previous 'White Sessions', one amateur will get the chance to go on a freeride trip with the two pros. So if you fancy it, you can already think of something good for your application.
