An early January crailslide at Grenier and Alex Andrews’ cabin outside of Salt Lake City, which they call the “Freedom Frontier.” With no cell service, and a rope tow, skate park, bike jumps and more, it’s a land of few distractions and plenty of good times. Photo: Scotty Arnold Words Chris Beresford C hris Grenier’s a working man—the kind of guy who will bust his ass to get a trick, who’ll slam repeatedly until he does it just right, and will then grab a shovel and help his crew get theirs, too. He understands that being a professional rider is both a job and a privilege and never takes it for granted. He’s always been that way. Grenier has a list of tricks in his head and seeks out spots where he can get them done. He steps to big urban features and never stops to take a breather. He owns a house in Salt Lake City less than a mile from me, but he’s still a hardcore Bruins fan with that East Coast energy fully intact. Over the past couple years, he and Alex Andrews bought a property with a cabin in the hills above Salt Lake City and built a DIY park that they call the “Freedom Frontier.” With equal parts snow, skate and mountain bike features, it’s a year-round oasis powered by a ’76 Ford engine. It gives him a place to keep grinding every day, to decompress, to work on new ideas. Now, at age 31, Grenier’s still pushing. Ever since he was a kid, he’s wanted this life more than anyone else. He wasn’t the most naturally talented—he just gave ’er and made it happen. Hang with Grenier, and that to-the-point approach comes through. He’s always got some-thing funny to say, even in a serious situation. But at the same time, he’s an emotional dude and if he’s not happy, he’ll tell you. With Chris Grenier, what you see is what you get. I met Grenier at Mount Snow, VT, back in 2004, when we were both in high school. He was from Southborough, MA, 20 miles west of Boston. Our whole crew from western Massachusetts would go there to snowboard because they had a real-deal park, which hosted the X Games in 2000 and 2001. That first day we rode together he was dressed in an all-khaki outfit with no gloves. He was there to slide rails. He’d do everything switch, and a switch front boardslide seemed insane to me at the time. But Grenier was probably a better skater than snowboarder, and he skated goofy and rode regular, so it made sense. We both decided to really give the snowboarding thing a go not long after we met. He and I did front 9s off the same park jump, met a rep, got some free boards and stickers—and thought we had it made. But Grenier kept grinding, kept moving up the food chain. He filmed with a few small companies coming up, got his break in Transworld’s Get Real in 2009, and has turned out a part every year since, including the ender in Videograss’ Mayday in 2014. In 2015, he won gold in the X Games Real Snow contest, as big a nod of recognition as you can get as a street rider. 068 THE SNOWBOARDER’S JOURNAL
The Snowboarder's Journal frequency 16.1: Page 68
