Q&A: You've seen the shenanigans, now meet the man behind @JerryOfTheDay

The Instagram account @JerryOfTheDay has been making waves for some time now. The social feed notorious for showcasing cringeworthy wrecks, ridiculous outfits, epic fails and so much more provides hysterics day-in and day-out. We recently got the chance to sit down and talk to the man (genius) responsible for the prized and rapidly expanding account. Below, you’ll learn who he is, what he preaches and where you’ll see “Jerry” next.

The Q&A…

Name? Age? Home Mountain?

Colton Hardy. Age 26. I grew up skiing Stratton Mountain in Stratton, Vermont. Now, my home mountain is Stowe, Vermont.

Can you define what a “Jerry” means to you?

Within the ski industry a “Jerry,” otherwise known as a “Gaper,” a “Joey,” a “Gorb,” etc. is someone [a skier or snowboarder] doing a bone headed move. My personal definition of a Jerry is: An individual who exhibits a true lack of understanding for their sport, or for life in general.”

Mood #mondays

Posted by Jerry of the Day on Monday, April 20, 2015

How did it all begin? What made you start the account?

The first upload I ever did was a Facebook post of one of my college skiing teammates, Tim Kelley at Stowe Mountain. He was testing equipment that day. He had about three different pairs of race boots, but ended up forgetting to bring his shin guards. So, for training purposes, his day was somewhat ruined, making him the “Jerry of the Day.”

After I uploaded a few more Facebook photos, Ski Racing Magazine reached out wanting to write something on “Jerry of the Day.” After that, I turned Jerry of the Day into a blog and ended up making the Instagram account years later.

How did you begin skiing?

I started skiing when I was two years old at Stratton Mountain, Vermont. My dad was an ex-US Ski Team member, so he had my brothers and I on skis pretty much when we learned how to walk. I ended up racing for Stratton Mountain School for seven years and then was recruited to attend the University of Vermont to race for their NCAA Division 1 Alpine team.

You just surpassed 100K followers on Instagram, what does the future hold for your brand?

I’m not really sure at this point. There’s a lot of different directions that I could take it. I love keeping up with the daily posts, so for now I’ve just been going with the flow. I don’t really have any solid goals in regards to what I think or want the future of the “Jerry of the Day” brand to be. At the moment, my goal is to just find a way to turn it into some type of career to keep me involved with the ski world. Whether it’s merchandising, advertisements, or writing for a magazine or a skiing related website, I haven’t figured that out yet—but I would love to find a way to stay within the industry via Jerry of the Day.

Did you ever imagine @JerryOfTheDay would be this big?

I never would have imagined that @JerryOfTheDay would get as big as it is today. I’ve always been surprised with how much exposure it gets. It went viral this past winter and I’m simply blown away.

Where are you getting all of your content from? I assume a lot of submissions?

Most of my content comes from emails, direct messages on Instagram, tagged photos and also people tag #JerryOfTheDay. I receive about 250 photos and/or videos per day.

Do you do it #ForTheBoys?

I’m definitely one to do it #ForTheBoys. I loved making skateboard films when I was younger, and back in those days every shot or attempt was strictly for the video, which was always #ForTheBoys. I’m definitely someone that turns up the “send” knob if the boys are present.

Todd Ligare is on the program, I take it you know him from your ski racing days?

I have a lot of mutual friends with him from ski racing. Basically, he was just one of the pro skiers that sparked interest early on with Jerry, so I sent him some swag. It’s pretty cool having people that send it as hard as Ligare supporting us.

What do I have to do to get a free t-shirt?

You just earned one. What size? Long sleeve?

Large, long sleeve. Thanks, man. So, What’s your day job like?

I’m in sales at a tech company in Burlington, Vermont. I’ve kept Jerry of the Day a secret in the work place for now just so I don’t have any issues from upper management wondering how much time I spend on JOTD each day [laughs].

Do you get out on the hill every weekend?

Yeah, I pretty much got out every weekend this past winter. I have a Stowe pass, so I either go to Stowe or go on a touring adventure around the area.

Where do you do most of your Jerry “hunting?”

Almost all of my hunting is done for me now with all of the “hunters” submitting photos, but the majority of my personal hunting comes from Stowe. If I’m home for a weekend at Stratton though, it’s game on. Stratton is a Jerry epicenter.

Which resort is likely to have the most Jerrys?

I think the best resorts are the ones that are closest to metropolitan areas and are the ones that are the most well-known. If it’s close to a city, you’re going to have a lot of people that have money and not much of a clue about the sport. Stratton is a prime example. It’s the closest “legit” mountain to New York City, so you’ll get the type that shows up as a family of five with zero ski gear.

When I was younger, I worked at a ski shop in Stratton. One time, a family of five showed up with zero gear. They had me set them up and they dropped a quick $15,000 that morning to shred some top notch Stratton groomers.

As for specific resorts, I wasn’t surprised, but I was impressed with how many photos I receive from Aspen and Vail. They took the cake last season.

What is your favorite post so far?

It’s too hard to really pick one, but if I had to, I think it would be the first Jerry that I posted with the upside down goggles. It just really hits home for me because it was the picture that influenced the Jerry logo. I was with my girlfriend and her family in New York over Christmas break when I uploaded it and that same day we all sat down to create the logo together.

Your captions are top notch. Do you come up with all of them or do you have a helping hand?

I come up with the captions on my own. Every once in a while I’ll send a few photos to my buddies to see which ones they think are the funniest, and I’ve used a few captions from friends, but it’s just been me for now.

Any advice to all of the Jerrys out there?

My only advice is to keep doing you, Jerry. My closing statement though, is that we’re all Jerrys in our own way.

Thanks Colton. Keep on dominating.

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Want more? Yeah, you do. Follow @JerryOfTheDay on Instagram and Facebook.