Lambert’s Life Sans Snowboard.

Our interview with a really, really good snowboarder named Michael Lambert.

Courtesy of Ainsley Hayes

He’s proved to the world that he’s the best. After winning gold in January at the World Cup, and rocking the Vancouver 2010 Olympics, Michael Lambert has suddenly found himself with some spare time on his hands (if you haven’t noticed Toronto’s heat wave by now, you need therapy). Sipping sake together at Yorkville’s Sushi Inn restaurant, the Cowgirls wanted to know what this Over the Bolts star does once winter is over.

Pony: What are you up to these days?

Michael: I like to pretend that snowboarding doesn’t exist right now. I’ve been sailing and trying to get up north at my cottage as much as humanly possible. I have to train as well right now, which is about five days a week.

Pony: Does summer training get boring without being able to snowboard at all?

Michael: They’re so separate to me. I mainly train so I don’t get injured; it’s so much more physically challenging than the boarding itself. I’ve swapped the G.T.L. lifestyle for G.P.S. (Gym. Party. Sail.)

Pony: But you wake-board as well, is that it for board sports?

Courtesy of Facebook

Michael: I haven’t been wake-boarding very much recently – I feel guilty about all the gas being used up by these boats. But I also skateboard a bit; there’s a great area on Laird St. up at Eglinton. I just don’t use it to get around town anymore because cars have hit me twice now. So I switched to my bike and so far I’ve only been hit once.

Pony: Sounds like the GS is a safer bet for you. What’s a sport you totally suck at?

Michael: I’m really bad at basketball. And baseball. In fourth grade I was on a baseball team, and all I remember is my pants were too big and kept falling down. So I quit.

Pony: They don’t wear baggy pants in baseball.

Michael: Exactly.

Pony: So when Winter rolls around, will you get a chance to snowboard just for fun? With friends and mid-day beers at the lodge?

Michael: When I’m not working and I get a chance to hit the slopes for fun – I ski. Their equipment is so much better than ours. I mean, I guess it depends on the snow. If there’s a lot of powder then I’ll use my board, but otherwise I just love doing tuck runs with my friends on skis. They’re a lot more stable at higher speeds so you can just cruise down at 100 km/h.

Pony: I can’t imagine just bombing down a hill that fast on a snowboard. Although I guess that’s exactly what you do… So what happens next? What will you do when you can’t snowboard anymore?

Michael: I’m trying to figure that out right now. I’m terrified to go back to school – to go from this amazing lifestyle where I’m doing exactly what I want to be doing to sitting in a classroom. I’m terrified.

Pony: And how do you balance this amazing lifestyle? Friends, family, etc. with all the constant traveling?

Michael: A lot has to do with my friends. If they’re okay with not seeing me for four months, I mean, they have to be very understanding that way. I’m never in one place for more than two weeks at a time, but I like it like that and I like being able to do whatever I want. I don’t want to start stressing about who I’ve contacted more recently and whether or not they’re upset. I’d rather live in the moment and enjoy the people around me right now – people who can share that same philosophy as I do and are okay with it.

Courtesy of Google Images

For more updates on what Michael’s up to, check out his blog here.

– Emma Farquharson.