 Welcome everybody. I'm Sal Masekela. This is a fire and this is Maddie Mastro, defending champion of the Burton US Open of Snowboarding Championships. When I say defending champion, what does that feel like to you? Oh pretty cool, pretty exciting. I mean it comes with a little bit of pressure but I try my best not to think about that but just make sure it sounds cool. But it's there because like your life is pretty different now compared to where you came into this event last year. Yeah, big difference. It was my first contest win ever. Ever. Ever. So just start at the top. Yeah to win this one. This is the one like everyone dreams of and works for so it to be my first one was like pretty surreal and then this season and coming into the US Open it's been kind of a completely different experience. I feel like a little more like yeah I've been there. We've done that. Let's do it again. I like that. I like that energy being like okay it's new but I'm gonna make myself as familiar with it as possible. Yeah I'm feeling a little bit more comfortable with this contest. Normally I like come into these big contests and I I'm a little nervous because they are a big contest and I do feel like oh my god this is this is it this is so big so it's nice to be a little more relaxed and comfortable. Well that's interesting that you say that relaxed and comfortable because judging from your performance last year you looked relaxed and comfortable against the greatest in the world at the biggest event in all of snowboarding. So I want to know what was your mindset think back coming into the US Open the Burton US Open last year. For me and I say it every US Open and I'll say it a thousand times more every time I come to the US Open I'm just I'm all about having fun and that's where I perform my best is when I'm having fun so last year I was having fun and I was landing tricks and enjoying myself and I performed the best I could. What is it about this event as opposed to all the other stops in the season where even though it is huge you're able to come into it with a little bit more of a fun mindset. It's the last contest of the season. It's completely rider focused which is amazing we don't really get a solely snowboard rider focused event all season except for this one so that's one of probably my favorite part it's just us snowboarders no one else just me and my friends and we're just snowboarding so that's what sets it apart from all these other contests and makes it way more fun and easier to enjoy yourself I think at least. You enjoyed yourself a lot last year. You did an NBD I never been done double crippler in competition at at the US Open of all places what was your relationship with that trick in the half pipe before coming to the open? So I I dreamed of it for quite some time and then I kind of put it into motion and started and learned it essentially in 2018 in the spring time though so I learned it in the spring time I did it a few more times throughout that fall but then come 18-19 season which is where I won in 2019 I hadn't done it at any contest or at all in any practice so how long had it been before you threw it here since you've done it the last time I probably did it was October and then I did it in March right so yeah that's that's a winter seven seven eight months that was a long time and then it just kind of all the puzzle pieces fell into the perfect puzzle and that we're like yeah let's let's do it so did you know at the top of the run I'm throwing this thing I'm gonna chuck it um yeah at the top of the run I didn't know at any other point of the contest that I wanted to do the double like I obviously had it I wanted to do it but I didn't know that I was actually going to do it until I was 10 minutes before I was about to drop in and we're like why don't you do the double like and I just was like yeah let's do it like I am so down and the rest is yeah I landed it do you remember it all I'm sure it must have like been such a blur but do you remember like okay I'm heading into the wall I'm doing this thing that I just decided to do like 10 minutes ago I'm well 10 minutes ago I sat there and I closed my eyes and I laid on the ground and I visualized it and I was like yes like I can see it I can see it start from finish like I can feel it I can see it and I was good to go and then what was going through my head the whole entire down way down the pipe was just the saying that my coach said to me was just make it to the last hit stay on your feet and that was just playing on my head was like just stay on your feet stay on your feet like make it to last hit that was the only thing I could think of which was probably for the best because then I wasn't like manifesting or over focusing on this one big trick and I was focused on everything I'm giving each trick attention and making sure I was landing right so by the time you got there that's good to go you're like all right cool I've already seen it yeah I've already seen I have the feeling now I'm just gonna live that thing I already saw and felt yeah and then just put into motion which was incredible that moment ended up being massive in that like I said before never been done but also like just set you apart from the rest of the field and you win the Burton US Open of snowboarding yeah how has that influenced your life last year I mean it's been a huge thing I've noticed that it's pushed me and inspired me to be like wow I can do this like the double is something I can do and I want to continue to do and I've made that kind of not necessarily a priority in my life but yeah a priority of like this is just another bag trick in my bag like I'm gonna continue to do this and make it a norm for me and I think that was doing it at the US Open really pushed me to make it just a normal trick for myself which now it is I can say which I'm pretty happy with you're in that that space now amongst some of the greatest to ever do it you know your name is is up there with Terry Hawkinson and Sean wide and and and Jamie Anderson and Kelly clock and so many others who have who have won this event which is the biggest event in snowboarding and when you win an event like this especially for where you were at in your career your whole career changes people see you differently yeah I definitely think there's been more recognition and just I've been noticed more and people know who I am which is super cool and they like my snowboarding and they are inspired by my snowboarding which is an incredible feeling because at the end of the day that's what we're really trying to do is inspire other people like I want to get the next generation out there the young girls and to see the young girls watching me and then to go watch and see like notice that 10 girls are all doing cripplers at spring camp I'm like whoa like we weren't doing this last year like oh gosh I've kind of started something which was a really cool feeling to have of like wow I've gotten these girls of being like yeah we can do doubles let's do the first step let's learn singles so that was really cool I remember that moment I was like wow that's cool that was this summer this past spring I was like watched like I don't know I felt like every little girl there was doing a crippler and I was in my head like why why are they doing this and James my coach is like you know why like this is like because you did it and you showed them that it was possible which is super exciting because it is possible I think girls can be doing the same and as the guys and that means doubles that's awesome you're a part of what many are considering look I've been in the snowboarding industry for a few decades now this is the most progressive time in women's snowboarding you're pushing each other and progressing at a rate that the sports never seen before what's it like to be in that and what's it like to you know in the way that you're interacting with with each other knowing that hey we're this is our time it's exciting I mean it goes all the way across from slope to half pipe of seeing this progression and I think yeah we're at the end of the day we're all competitors but we're also all trying to better our sport which is where this progression is coming from and it's super exciting for me to be a part of it's something I've watched the Kelly Clarks the Torah Brights before me inspire me to do this and then to finally have in motion and action of that is pretty cool lastly now you're that person who didn't quietly enter the final like last year now you you have that target I know that's pretty crazy as that's a I've never really like I've always been up there I've always been one of those people you like watching a name to like be on the look for but it's exciting to be like defending champ it's super exciting and I hope to have many more of those any predictions for the final I don't know not we're not that's too far ahead we're not going there tomorrow we're just I like your mindset we're gonna work on what we're gonna have for dinner tonight and then what we're gonna do in practice dinner again it's a moment at a time yeah step at a time I try not to let to get myself get ahead of I respect that yeah Maddie thank you for coming and sitting by this this fire of course thank you and I'm telling us about your last year it's it's been exciting to watch from the outside and we're looking forward to what you have to give moving forward me too thank you for having me good luck thank you Maddie master everybody