Nick Southwell is one of Natives three sponsored riders (the others being Pat Sharples and Zack Wragg). Although still at school, he is one of the UK's up and coming freeriders. Here's an update on what he's been up to this summer:

First Stop - Tignes

"Within 10 hours of breaking up from school in July I was off to France with my brother Chris (a pro-boarder).

"My first stop was Tignes. I spent the first week training in the park; working on the pipe early in the mornings. This paid off as by the end I was spinning 7's on the right wall and 5's on the left wall. Tignes has a sick park, which includes a huge spine and 20m table as well as lots of smaller jumps.

"The afternoons meant either sessioning the water ramps or using the trampolines. The weather wasn't always superb, but when it was I was shooting with the Junaks and Dan Milner."

[Check this footage of Nick on the spine and on the rail - you'll need Quicktime to view]

"The second week in Tignes was spent on Warren Smith's freestyle camp. This meant daily coaching from Warren, Pat Sharples, Sandy Trust and Jason Schutt. All four are great coaches and all 25 of us benefited enormously.

Then Deux Alpes...

"After Tignes, I headed over to Les Deux Alpes where the Kommunity camp had been set up. The coaches here were Warren, Sandy and Chris Fecher. It was another wicked week and I recommend any of these summer camps to anyone. The park was ripping with two pipes and multiple kickers and rails. My highlight was winning the bucking bronco contest, although I could hardly walk for the following few days!

"I returned to England at the end of July. The summer skiing was really beneficial for me; sticking new tricks such as switch back flips and Lincoln Loops while also becoming very at home on rails - and increasing my interest in slopestyle events!

The Fall of the Roman Empire

"Being back at school is always a real anti-climax, as when you're being lectured on the Roman empire etc I can't help but lose concentration and fall into a deep daydream thinking of my next trip, where I'm off to, what tricks I want to stick.

"Most people find me barmy for this, but I'm sure many of you out there go through exactly the same. Being at school means I can't ski again till December when for a month I will be training fanatically in Klosters/Davos, Laax and Verbier.

"This will be in preparation for the Verbier Ride and British Freestyle Champs in March and April and I aim to make a huge impact on both! At Easter I will again be based in Switzerland, but will head off to Courchevel to hopefully do some filming with Pat Sharples and also attend the Fall-Line ski test. I am also in the England team now and hope to do a trip away with them.

Dedication and Determination

"But for now I am at school undertaking a rigorous fitness programme in both the gym and trampoline and also trying to organise financial support for the season.

"This is my last year of education and while working hard for my A levels PE, History and Ancient History, skiing is never far from my thoughts and I know there is no other career I want to follow. I am already planning my first season in Verbier in which I plan to do a lot of filming while competing on the European freeride circuit as well as half-pipe, slopestyle, big air and skier X comps around Europe.

"I have also just teamed up with companies John Nike Leisure Sport Limited who have dry slopes at Bracknell, Plymouth, Chatham and Swadlincote. For more info visit www.nikegroup.co.uk and also Ellis-Brigham. Thanks also to my continued support from K2, Spunky.co.uk, Po Na Na and of course Natives!"


Thanks for that Nick. All at Natives wish you the best for this season. To follow Nick's progress, watch out for the site at www.nicksouthwell.co.uk that we'll be developing for Nick this autumn.

Mail this page to a friend
What do you think? Tell us on the Message Boards