Mathieu Crépel

Mathieu Crépel was born on 26 October 1984 in Tarbes, in the Hautes-Pyrénées, and is a French professional snowboarder and world champion who lives in Anglet in the Northern Basque Country. He began snowboarding at the age of six at the Pyrenean resort of La Mongie, on a child's board fitted with ski bindings, and his father worked as a ski instructor. Terje Haakonsen noticed him at ten during a photoshoot in Greenland and invited him to the Arctic Challenge, and by fifteen he had been runner-up at the Youth World Championships. He won the Quik Cup snowboarding title in 2001 and 2002, and in 2005 he won the Crystal Globe and became the first French winner of a half pipe world title. He represented France at the 2006 Winter Olympics without winning a medal, but later that year he became the first Ticket to Ride World Snowboard Tour champion, and in 2007 he was world champion in both big air and the half pipe at the World Championships in Arosa. He also surfs competitively and has an annual invitational event named after him in the Pyrenees.