Industry Profile: Pro Skier Dash Longe

Years on snow: 21
Currently Riding: Not at the moment
Currently I am: In summer mode

Shay: Tell us a little bit about yourself
Dash: I am a 24 year old who loves life. I am fortunate enough to Ski for a living, so I feel as if life has been good to me and I am very lucky. I am on the road for skiing quite a bit as is, but I tend to be traveling a lot either way. I find myself enjoying new places and seeing new cultures. When I am home I try to spend as much time with my friends and people that are close.

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Shay: How has skiing changed your life?
Dash: I would say that it has more or less shaped my life than changed it.

Shay: How did you get your start in the industry, who or what opened up more opportunities for you?
Dash: I met a Photographer named Matt leventhal, his brother started the ski company Line. When I was 13 he asked if I wanted to go out and take some photos. I skied with him one day and they started giving me skis. It wasn’t long before I was sponsored, shooting for mags and filming. I have been doing it ever since and I have had a lot of help from a lot of people along the way.

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Photographer:  Chris Bezamat

Photo:  TGR

Shay: How has your previous education or work experience helped you in your current job?
Dash: I guess since my start in the industry was at such a young age, none of the other jobs I have had really helped me to get where I am now. Except the fact that I had some extra cash in my pocket.

Shay: Tell us about your role at TGR and a description of the work you do?
Dash: Well I am an athlete so I get to travel the globe with my friends and ski. It can be hard at times but I would say that I have a pretty relaxed roll. My job is to show up and perform. I don’t work for TGR, they produce films and I am in them.

Shay: What’s an average day like at work for you?
Dash: I wake up early whereever I am and look outside. Then we will check the weather and avalanche reports. From there, as a group we will make a call on what and where we will be skiing. There are a lot of days when the weather or conditions will not allow us to shoot. So we will scout or just shred. The worst thing, unless you’re beat from previous days, is a down day. When we are out we are riding, hiking, sledding, or flying around looking for bad ass things to shoot and then filming them.

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Photo:  TGR

Shay: What are some memorable experiences from working in the industry?
Dash: That is a hard one because I have so many. I went to India to film with TGR and that was a really special trip. I was young and it was very eye opening to see such a different place.

Shay: What do you think are the biggest challenges that the snowboard industry faces and what changes would you like to see for the future?
Dash: Well one big problem out of many, is that we need snow to do our sports. I see a lot of places around the globe that just don’t get the annual snowpack they used to. Global Warming is happening and I think it will wipe out our sport, it’s just a matter of when. I would like to see more people taking it more seriously.

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Photographer:  Chris Bezamat

Photo:  TGR

Shay: Education vs Experience…which do you think is more important?
Dash: I find them both very important. I think that on the athlete side of things, Experience outweighs education. As far as working in the industry, I think it could go either way but knowledge is key and having an education is very important.

Shay: What advice would you give to people wanting to work in the industry?
Dash: Go to school, suck a little dick, kiss a little ass and shred really hard!

Find out more at:

Facebook: Dashlonge
Website: www.tetongravity.com