1969-1987
Everything started as a rider.
I started my professional career as skier when I was very young and in 1985 I was part of the “alpi centrali” team, the minor italian team and results were pretty good but not enough to take part to international events.
I was having fun and doing pretty good but in 1987 my life changed because I decided to quit skiing, due to the conflicts with my coaches.
But I was born at the mountain, the mountain is my home and I could not stop to be part of competions because challenge is my addiction.
So at the end of the winter season I found
a job at the Stelvio, the glacier, and while I was there I saw pictures and movies about snowboarding and I wanted badly to try, even nobody could teach me, because there were no snowboard schools or instructors at that time.
1987
Everything started with a Elite
Then I met Antonio Benedini who wanted
to open a school at the Stelvio glaci-er and make boards branded “Funky” and he helped me to improve my skills, my bad skills, in snowboarding.
Everything started with a Elite, a burton board given by a good friend of mine, Mauro Compagnoni, the guru of our local team in Bormio and international judge.
I was only seventeen and in October I started training for competing: competing as a rider was not is my plan, I mean, not right after such a short time of training!
The Grundig Challenge in San Candido was the first big event where I officially took part as rider of the Funky team and it was a competition between snow-board and swimbo.
Since I had no ranking points my number was the last one, the 140. But it turnedinto my lucky number once I finished in 4th position and everybody was stoked, me too!
1988
My first competing season was pretty awesome
After I spent the all season as rider of the funky team with good results in Coppa Italia and then we decided to go to US in Breckerigde for the finals
of Master Championships but we were in the 90s’ and none of us was a professional athlete for real, and my english was bad, so much bad than now!
That trip turned into an adventure more than a competion but I am pretty happy for that, because it was one of the best experience ever: parties
and a lot of fun, sleeping on a couch of friendly strangers and look for food but without money….
Then Burton came into my life… In 1988 I was invited to take part to a competion in Stubai where be on the podium meant to be part of the first Burton Team in Europe ever.
And I won.
1989
A good season with lots of podiums
In 1989 I had a good season and lots of podiums:
At the European Open I met Andrea Sorbara and Vanni Risatti, the owners of Sport Factory, the new italian distributor.
That year Burton changed the distributor from Central Marine to Sport Factory and I became officially a Burton rider sponsored by the local distributor and the HQ in US.
At that time I was part of the Pro team of Burton.
1990
The peak of my career as a rider
Il 1990 è stato l’apice della mia carriera professionale:
Podiums and prize money were not enough comparing to the fact that in that season I became the first Burton athlete who won in the alpine discipline.
The consequence of those victories were media popularity and lot of sponsors: I invested all the prize money and used my popularity to organize snow camps because I had other plans for my future: doing marketing was already in my mind.
1991
Still on podiums: Europe and US
In 1991 I did many contests in Europe and in US too:
In the same year I also took part of the shooting of the Burton catalogue.
1992
Looking forward for new plans and my future
Once I got back from US the european team has changed and many younger riders than me were taking part of the team.
There were also 2 different tours at that time, FIS and ISF and things were starting to get complicated…I realized that I couldn’t be a rider forever,
so I looked forward and made new plans for my future by coaching other riders and organizing snow camps.
1993
I started the second chapter of my life
In 1993 I spent my last winter season as a rider and even I was getting “old” to compete, that season was a blast thanks to the fact I got first place at the World Cup Challenge in Pila.
In September I started the second chapter of my life by working in the marketing dept in Sport Factory as Burton Italia Marketing manager.
