Off The Chain [Paperback]

"The winds from that storm continue to blow through Rebagliati's life...Off the Chain: An Insider's History of Snowboarding...[the book] traces the history of snowboarding from a toy called a Snurfer...to today's multi-million dollar industry...It also follows Rebagliati's introduction to the sport, his climb through the competitive ranks and his experience at the Nagano Games. He made history by winning the first Olympic gold in snowboarding, was stripped of the medal because of the positive test, then had it returned after officials realized marijuana was not on the list of banned substances at the time." (Canadian Press 20090701)

"Off the Chain...will take readers on a wild ride through the rise of snowboarding, from its hippie beginnings to a now global industry, while 'delving into the nature of snowboarding culture: the drugs, partying, groupies and backstabbing.'" (Vancouver Sun 20090702)

"'This book is the evolution of snowboard racing from the guy who really was at the leading edge of that,' explains Rob Sanders, vice-president and publisher of Greystone...one of the book's most interesting sections is Rebagliati's account of his win, subsequent loss, and regaining of his gold medal. Sanders wouldn't reveal any details, but emphasized that it was a 'tough story' for Rebagliati to write." (Quill & Quire )

Off the Chain -- boarder slang for extreme, wild, radical -- takes readers on a wild ride through the rise of snowboarding, from its hippie beginnings to its present incarnation as a $150-billion global industry. Acerbic, opinionated, and witty, the book is narrated by Ross Rebagliati, the most famous and infamous name in the sport, and heavily illustrated with evocative photos from the past and present.

Through Rebagliati's racing career, we see snowboarding in its infancy, when its first practitioners constructed their own boards and snuck onto ski hills in order to ride. We meet the sport's most notorious figures and delve into the nature of snowboarding culture, with all the drugs, partying, groupies, and backstabbing it entails, and hear about the rapid development and improvement of equipment and what it's like to be a young athlete on the road.

Rebagliati also relates the most controversial event in the history of snowboarding -- his Olympic win and subsequent loss, then regaining, of the gold medal due to a scandal that ended his career and brought snowboarding into the mainstream.

Finally, Rebagliati looks at the directions snowboarding has taken since his win: the mainstreaming of the sport, the evolution of snowboard fashion, and Shaun White's emergence as snowboarding's first megastar.

(20091206)

Ross Rebalgliati won the first ever Olympic Gold medal for snowboarding and now runs Rebagliati Snowboard Racing with World Cup coach Andrea Matteoli. Off the hill, Ross and his wife, Alexandra, work in the real estate industry. He lives in Kelowna, B.C.