A Whole Lotta BS: Dropping In With Gus Kenworthy

Young gun Gus Kenworthy made the trek down from Breckenridge for a weekend getaway to Boulder. We spent the days skateboarding, eating chicken, and trying to keep that chicken down after watching "The Human Centipede". I got to catch up with Gus to discuss his residence in Breck, summer in New Zealand, new sponsors, and plans for the up coming season.

A Whole Lotta BS: Gus Kenworthy

How long were you in New Zealand for this summer, and who were you there
with?

I was in New Zealand twice this summer actually. I guess if you were to add up both trips I would’ve been down there for just less than two months. The first trip I flew down with Bobby Brown for the contests and tried to work on some tricks and whatnot. I was there for just over a month and then I flew back home at the beginning of September for the MSP World Premier, my mom’s birthday, and I also ended up going to Pennsylvania to visit one of my aunts who was really sick.

Then I went back to New Zealand mid September for two weeks for an Armada shoot and Armada team trip, which was a blast!

Was it difficult making that trip more than once in such a short period?

Not really, actually. I was expecting it to be pretty awful, but I was flying with friends so it really wasn’t that bad.

Did you get any new tricks dialed down while you were over there?

I didn’t actually learn as much as I would’ve hoped. I got a couple new things in pipe, nothing too crazy, just some stuff I hadn’t done before. Justin Dorey taught me alley-oop flat 3, which for some reason always terrified me, and he also got me to do alley-oop flat 5 blunt, which is possibly the most fun pipe trick ever. I feel like I got my pipe run for next year pretty dialed in too which is nice. Other than that I got a lot more comfortable with switch right 10’s on jumps, but that’s about it.

I heard you had to learn to drive a stick shift? How did that go while driving on the left side of the road?

Hahaha, yeah it was kind of a nightmare. My buddy Tommy lent Bobby and I a car while we were down there and when I went to pick it up he threw me the keys and was like, “you can drive a stick right?" It was an old car with a really loose clutch though, so it was pretty easy to learn in, and it took a lot to make it stall. I definitely embarrassed myself when I got back to Colorado and was driving my friend’s Audi S4 with the touchiest stick ever… Needless to say I stalled a bunch, haha.

Just before Dew Tour last year Empire Attire signed you and now you are skiing for Armada. How are the new sponsors treating you?

I didn’t ever sign a contract with Empire last year, but I’ve sort of been riding for them for a few years now. I had a couple pairs of Empire gloves that I was repping back when I was filming with Rage. Before Dew Tour last year they put me up on the team page on their website, so that’s probably what you’re referring to. I’m definitely really pumped to be on the Empire program; the team is awesome and I get to have a lot of say in the design and stuff.

As far as Armada – they’re the greatest. I’m really stoked on all the product and on everybody at the company. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.

I’m living with Bobby Brown, Kolby Ward, and Kolby’s brother Kyle this year. Our place is pretty sick too, you’ll have to come peep it!

Is it hard living with so many attractive faces under one roof?

I’m not going to lie it’s not a bad thing. It’s reassuring knowing that I’ve got a bunch of eligible wing-men with me at all times, haha. Unfortunately though, in recent news, Bobby has a girlfriend and is currently off the market.

What are your goals for the upcoming season?

I’d really like to do well at the Dew Tour this year in both slope and pipe. That’s sort of my focus as far as the contest side of things goes. I’d love to get invited to X more than anything, but I have no control over that so I’m just trying not to concentrate too much on it until I know whether or not I’ll get in.

On the film front, I’d like to film lot more next season and have my own section in the MSP movie with a more well rounded breakdown of BC, park, pipe, and hopefully a little urban too!

You are pretty talented that whole skateboarding thing. Have you ever tricked a girl into thinking you were Ryan Sheckler?

Well thank you, I’m really not that good at skating. Funny story though, when I went to King of Style two years ago we went out and some girl told me that I looked like Sheckler. She then told me she was in love with him.

If you could play S-K-A-T-E with one person who would it be and what would
be your winning trick?

Well if I were to choose anyone to play S-K-A-T-E with it’d probably be a pro skater, and therefore I would get skunked and wouldn’t have a winning trick, haha. I think that the skater I’d chose would be P-Rod (Paul Rodriguez), although I am a Sheck"™s fan, not going to lie. Simon and those guys met Paul and said that he was a super chill guy. I’d probably do a 360 flip though. That’s about the only good flip trick that I have dialed down almost every time.

Make sure to vote for Mr. Kenworthy’s King of Style Edit and help send him to Sweden.