Camille Armand: Master Of The High Mountain
We caught up with FLŌA team rider Camille Armand to find a little more about what he’s up to, and learn about his Fast Follow project….
At the age of 16, Camille left his hometown in the flat centre of France and headed out to live a life surrounded by mountains in Chamonix. While living in Cham, Camille began competing on the Freeride World Qualifier (FWQ) events and after 3 years earned one of ten snowboarding places on the Snowboarding Freeride World Tour.
We asked Camille what it was like turning pro?
“At first it wasn't something I had ever imagined doing. It was my friend Leo Slemett who bought me a ticket to participate in a freeride competition saying I should give it a go because he believed in me.
I ended up second at that competition so I started doing more of them and participated at the FWQ when I was 19. Three years later I qualified for the FWT and started to have my first sponsors. I was really excited to be able to travel worldwide and enter the real game.
My time on the FWT helped me grow so much in my sport. It is a special place where you meet amazing people. I had the opportunity to spend three years on the FWT and hope to be participate again."
You're not competing on the tour at the moment. How come?
"I decided to stop competing two years ago because I wanted to start filming so I launched my first project 'Fast Follow' this year.
I realised that competing took a lot of time and frequently missed out on the perfect powder days where there was fresh snow and blue skies. Before I knew it winter was over and I felt frustrated not being able to shoot those perfect days.
My project is about showing how beautiful my backyard in Chamonix is, show the perfect lines you can do, my favourite spots.. All shot with an fpv drone to give that nice areal view.
I would like to make a short movie for 2020 and then probably start competing again go for the world title!
What motivates you to ride?
"The feeling you get when snowboarding off those steep mountains, when the snow is fresh. But also spending a lot of time sharing this passion with my closest friends.
The way other riders keep pushing the limit of what's possible. Every year I see new things that amaze me but definitely also challenge me."
Camille Armand is part of our Professional Athlete team, as well as being sponsored by FLŌA, he also rides for Rossignol, Protest, Smith Optics, ABS, Mont Blanc Natural Resort, Racer Gloves and Concept Pro Shop
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Nick Baines
Author
With an insatiable thirst for travel, Nick Baines is a journalist based on the UK’s south coast. With more than 20 years experience in snow sports, he’s contributed features to publications all over the world.