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Mike Douglas (filmmaker)

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    The disambiguation page for the primary name is Michael Douglas (disambiguation). Robert McClenon (talk) 03:53, 27 July 2024 (UTC)


Mike Douglas (born November 15, 1969) is a Canadian skier and filmmaker from Whistler, Canada. He is known as the ‘Godfather of Freeskiing’[1][2][3], thanks to his involvement in creating the first high-performance twin-tip ski, the Salomon Teneighty [4] and for his pioneering feats on snow in the sports of freestyle skiing and freeskiing. He has appeared in more than 30 ski films and has a signature trick named after him, the D-Spin [5]. In 2003, Mike won Powder Magazines’ ‘Male Performance of the Year’ [6] and has been called one of the most influential freeskiers of all time [7]. He was a TV commentator for the skiing events at ESPN’s X Games between 2001-2014. [8]

Mike is also an award-winning documentary filmmaker.[9] In 2004, Mike founded Switchback Entertainment, a small production company also based in Whistler, Canada. Switchback Entertainment produces documentary and adventure films, as well as commercials for brands like Salomon, Whistler Blackcomb, Destination BC, Arc’ Teryx, Google, CNN and Red Bull. Mike and Switchback Entertainment produced the award-winning web series, Salomon TV, between 2007-2023.[10]

Mike is an environmental advocate and helped found the environmental non-profit organization, Protect Our Winters Canada, and was the Board Chair between 2018 - 2023.[11] He currently still sits on the board for the organization. He is also on the board of the Whistler Blackcomb Foundation.[12] A role he has held since 2013. Mike has been voted ‘Favorite Whistlerite’ 7 times by the readers of Pique News Magazine. [13]

Award winning and notable films include:

The Freedom Chair - 2011 Best Mountain Sports film - Banff Mountain Film Festival, Most Inspiring Story - 5 Point Film Festival

Tempting Fear - 2012 Best Action Film - Adventure Film Festival, Best Story X-Dance Film Festival

Snowman - 2014 Best Mountain Culture film - Whistler Film Festival, Best Script - Bilbao Mendi Film Festival

Whistler Blackcomb: Fifty Years of Going Beyond - Skade Award - International Skiing History Association

Eclipse - 2016 Best Snow film - Banff Mountain Film Festival, Best Mountain Culture Film - Whistler Film Festival, Best Adventure Film - New York Wild Film Festival

Live Along the Way - Grand Prize - NZ Mountain Film Festival

Fountain of Youth - unawarded

Sam and Me - Best BC Film - BC Environmental Film Festival

Ski Filmography

Smart Mogul Skiing (1994) - Momentum

Bump2Bump with Jean-Luc Brassard (1995) - C3 Productions

State of Mind (1997) - Poor Boyz Productions

Fistful of Moguls (1998) - Greg Stump

Degenerates (1998) - Poor Boyz Productions

Skiing’s Last Stand - Mike Hilb

Fifity (1999) - Warren Miller

Global Storming (1999) - Matchstick Productions

13 (1999) - Poor Boyz Productions

Area 51 (1999) - Teton Gravity Research

Supershow (1999) - Mike Hilb

Ski Movie (2000) - Matchstick Productions

The Game (2000) - Poor Boyz Productions

Ski Movie 2: High Society (2001) - Matchstick Productions

Propaganda (2002) - Poor Boyz Productions

Ski Movie 3: The Front Line (2003) - Matchstick Productions

Happy Dayz (2003) - Poor Boyz Productions

Focused (2004) - Matchstick Productions

Ready, Fire, Aim (2004) - Poor Boyz Productions

Yearbook (2004) - Matchstick Productions

X=10 (2005) - Poor Boyz Productions

The Hit List (2005) - Matchstick Productions

War (2006) - Poor Boyz Productions

Focused (2006) - Matchstick Productions

Seven Sunny Days (2007) - Matchstick Productions

Reasons (2008) - Poor Boyz Productions

Wave Skiing in Hawaii (2010) - Salomon Freeski TV

Glacier Express (2012) - Salomon Freeski TV

McConkey (2013) - Matchstick Productions

Snowman (2014) - Switchback Entertainment

Ruapehu (2015) - Salomon Freeski TV

The Skier’s Haute Route (2016) - Salomon Freeski TV

50 Years of Going Beyond (2015) - Switchback Entertainment

Fountain of Youth (2017) - Switchback Entertainment

Sam and Me (2022) - Switchback Entertainment

  1. ^ "NEXT LEVEL SKIING S3: E1 | MIKE DOUGLAS – THE GODFATHER OF FREESKIING by Wagner Skis / Nov 17, 2020". Nov 17, 2020. Retrieved 2024-07-26.
  2. ^ "Canadian Freestyle Ski Association". Snow Sports Canada. Second bullet point. 2013-12-10. Retrieved 2024-07-27.
  3. ^ "Godfather of freeskiing Mike Douglas celebrates Whistler on slopes and on screen". The Georgia Straight. 2015-11-04. Retrieved 2024-07-27.
  4. ^ "In 1997, Douglas designed a twin-tip ski, the revolutionary Salomon 1080. Suddenly, skiers could go backwards down a slope and switch up takeoffs and landings with newfound aplomb. For this accomplishment, as well as his aerodynamic creativity, Douglas reigns as "the godfather of freeskiing"". The Georgia Straight. 2015-11-04. Retrieved 2024-07-27.
  5. ^ Post, Staff (2017-10-18). "47-Year-Old Pro Skier Finds Fountain Of Youth In Japan". GearJunkie. Retrieved 2024-07-26.
  6. ^ Stifter, John (2012-12-26). "12 Days of PVAs: 2008". Powder. Retrieved 2024-07-26.
  7. ^ SnowBrains (2022-07-18). "The Top 10 Male Freeskiers of All-Time". SnowBrains. Retrieved 2024-07-26.
  8. ^ Coryell, Grace (2014-01-16). "ESPN X Games Names New Hosts for 2014". ESPN Press Room U.S. Retrieved 2024-07-26.
  9. ^ "Snowman: 'Godfather of free-skiing' behind the camera for directorial debut". The Globe and Mail. 2014-12-04. Retrieved 2024-07-26.
  10. ^ Fitzsimmons, Greg (2013-08-20). "Mike Douglas: The Creative Process". Powder. Retrieved 2024-07-26.
  11. ^ "Mike Douglas|Vice-Chair Athlete & Principal of Switchback Entertainment". Protect Our Winters Canada. Retrieved 2024-07-26.
  12. ^ Foundation, The Whistler Blackcomb. "What We Do". The Whistler Blackcomb Foundation. Retrieved 2024-07-26.
  13. ^ "Best of Whistler 2020". Pique Newsmagazine. 2020-12-31. Retrieved 2024-07-26.
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