Interview with Athlete Julian Carr X-Games Gold Medalist

Julian Carr skiing legend standing outside with snow coat and skis

Photo by: Hanna Whirty

 

We recently conducted an interview with Julian Carr - X Games Gold Medalist, 210 foot world record cliff jumper, and Cirque Series Founder. 

While we've been friends with Julian for a while now, it was excellent to get a deeper view into his life, values, career, and his own fitness and nutrition. 

Here's what Julian had to say: 

Q: How did you get into skiing?
A: I grew up skateboarding and playing team sports like basketball, soccer and football. In 5th grade I first tried snowboarding. I crashed on my very first run and sprained my knee! I didn't touch snow again until 8th grade when my mom talked me into going with her. I'm sure glad she did. I immediately fell in love--knew I'd be skiing for life. It's kind of weird. If I wouldn't have tweaked my knee that first day snowboarding, I'm positive I would have never touched skis.  Crazy!

Julian Carr with an orange jacket and ski goggles skiing in the powder snow down a mountain

Q: How long have you been skiing as a professional athlete?
A: I have been skiing professionally for seventeen years.

Q: What was your experience like earning an X-Games Gold Medal?
A: That was wild. At first, since it was a digital category for best photo, I thought it would be pretty cool. But when they announced it on-air during the X-Games on ESPN, all the press that came from it was really fun. And when the actual Gold Medal came in the mail I was hyped. Very cool experience.

Q: How do you mentally prepare to jump off a 100-200 foot cliff on skis?
A: That could be a very long-winded response, but just know that I have my fundamental basic protocols physically, mentally, spiritually and cosmically.

 


Q: When you're not out shredding down the mountain on your skis, what do you do to stay fit?
A: Mountain Running!  Pushing peaks!

Q: Why did you start the Cirque Series trail racing event?
A: I used to mountain bike during the summers, but seven or eight years ago I got an amazing puppy named Lexie. I took her on a few mountain bike rides. She loved it but it was all out sprinting for 14-15 miles. I knew it wasn't sustainable for her. I lived right by the trailhead to Mt. Olympus in Utah, so I started hiking Olympus with her.

A couple of my buddies did forest summer fire fighting. They said to be in their crew you had to run to the stream about 1/3 of the way up Olympus in under 30 minutes for eligibility to be a firefighter. I was like, I got this! I am boot-packing all winter long, etc... So next time I hiked it, I hiked as fast as possible. I got to the stream in 31 minutes! So I got addicted to hiking Olympus, chipping away at my time.

That first spring/summer/fall of trail running, I was hiking Mt. Olympus 4-6 times a week. I got my time to stream down to 22:51. A nice byproduct was I was seeing the beautiful sunsets and sunrises on these hikes and I was in the best shape of my life. For those that don't know, Mt. Olympus is approximately a six mile round-trip journey with a 4,000 ft. vertical. It's straight up and straight down. It was a mountain adventure in all respects. It certainly didn't feel like an insignificant "run". It was all out redline hiking, jogging when possible, just brutal awesome effort up the mountain. The way down was a full on agility test, tons of fun, almost felt like I was skiing. I would invite my friends. Most of them were like, "I'm not a runner", which is understandable. But I was like, "I'm not really a 'runner' either." This is different.

Anyway, fast forward a couple years. I was on the lookout for a mountain running race with stats similar to Mt. Olympus--six or seven miles with 3k' to 4k' vert. I was shocked to only find ultras, mud runs, obstacle course races, color runs, relay races, and lots of traditional marathons and 10k's. I couldn't believe I couldn't find a single real-deal mountain run race up to a badass peak and back down in the entire lower 48.  From there I had a fleeting idea to create my own.  Well the idea went from fleeting to top of mind. Got 'er done.

 

Julian Carr running mountain trails at Alta Cirque Series 2021
Photo by: Rocko Menzyk

Q: If you could offer advice to someone who might feel intimidated or unsure about taking the next step to get into trail running or skiing, what would that be?
A: Skiing in particular, but it applies to mountain running too: First off, I believe skiing is the most enjoyable sport on the planet. Second, it takes place in mountains, so, beautiful! Just photos of these mountains are stunning. Lastly you're typically with good friends or family, so combine all three; raddest sport in the most beautiful places with good people. WINNIING.

Q: Why is fitness important to you?
A: Love finding my breath. You feel in tune with your being and the natural world.

Q: What are a few of your top priorities when it comes to nutrition?
A: Eat clean, organic when possible, get your veggies fo' sho. Lots of water.

Q: How do you get your fruits and veggies in everyday?
A: RUVI! Duh.

Q: If you could improve one thing about your health or fitness, what would it be?
A: Get faster! During Cirque Series races I'm always continually humbled by the world class speed of the athletes that show up.

Q: What is your favorite thing about Ruvi? Do you have a favorite flavor?
A: Quick, quality, real deal, peace of mind. I like 'em all. 

Q: At Ruvi, we believe people should live a life of color. How do you Live In Color?
A: Get outside! #pushpeaks 

 

Well there you have it!
 
If you want to see more of Julian, follow him on Instagram (@juliancarr) or check out his annual Cirque Series trail running event. It is the finest trail racing event in the world, famous for its highly positive atmosphere and the uplifting crowd it attracts. 



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