Freeskiing
Defining a pro with Nico Porteous
A pro is someone who is willing to make a lot of sacrifices to pursue their passion and do it at the highest level possible, says freestyle skier Nico Porteous.
Nico Porteous Training run
© Miles Holden
If Nico Porteous’ definition of a pro is to be applied, then he turned pro when most kids are still in intermediate school.
For Porteous this has meant making many sacrifices to pursue skiing, most obviously not being able to grow up as a normal teenager.
“I’ve been traveling since I was 12, I missed out on a lot of that standard teenage lifestyle, going to school, and having a really close group of mates that you spend every day with.
“I would say that would be the biggest thing - letting go of the idea of a normal life. It is one of the sacrifices I had to make but I’m also incredibly lucky, and it's not a big sacrifice to give that up to be able to travel the world skiing.”
His family is very close, and even if his dad Andrew has to stay at home in New Zealand to work (“Our sport is an expensive sport.”) when Porteous is travelling, he remains a key part of his son’s tight knit team that’s also made up of mum Chris, brother Miguel, and coach Tommy Pyatt.
“Tommy has been my coach since I was six. Along with my mum and dad he has been with me through the ups and downs. It’s coming up 13 years which is pretty crazy.”
Nico learnt to ski when he was four and never stopped
© Scott Sinton
Porteous learnt to ski when he four years old and hasn’t stopped since – but rather than time spent on the slopes, he puts his skill and talent as a skier down to both hard work and the opportunities he has had in his career so far.
“Hard work is a lot of it and putting the time in to doing what you do. But the opportunities I was given by my parents and people around me is huge – the combination of being lucky enough to have the opportunity as well as people around me who believe in me and support me, I could never be thankful enough.
“I'm just really glad I took it by the reins, really went for it, and gave it my all.”
As well as extreme physicality, technical skills and flare, freestyle skiing requires creativity which Porteous says he gets from many different places.
“It comes from watching other skiers, watching the way the sport is progressing, but it also comes from different parts of my life, different experiences, emotions, and other sports like mountain biking, surfing, and skateboarding. I take inspiration from all sorts of places.”
And his focus is on moving his sport forward and taking it in new directions.
“The key to being at forefront of progression is trusting in your ability and having the team around you who trust your ideas – having that sort of support is a massive thing.”
