Tom Gilles pro snowboarder: 65-Foot Drops, World Records & Finding Jesus

So when was your first professional competition?

uh well we had some competitions in the midwest we had um some like midwest championships i think um and that was in alexandria minnesota a little dinky ski resort i don't know if it it's hard to say like what was the first professional like because because i was just like a grom that was like you know going there to hang out with all my buddies but i remember like totally sending it and just being that crazy kid always was that crazy kid like i'm just gonna overshoot jumps i'm just gonna land on my head i'm gonna try stuff and like it just i just loved it and um so i don't remember what my first real contest was uh but i mean i remember just like swapping and just, you know, traveling and snowboarding everywhere.

I mean, I'm sure if I thought hard and long enough, I could probably think of the first contest, but it was, it was maybe it was like Sierra Tahoe and it was like a triple crown event.

And I ended up making him the finals of a border cross and doing pretty good in the big air.

It was just like, I always just showed up and I was always just, I think really Luke, what, what set me apart was I just, you saw the passion I had and, for the sport and it was, um, it was contagious.

Wow.

So, so you're like, you were the guy too, where all the other snowboarders, the legends are like, Oh, let's just, let's have this young kid go do that crazy jump.

Cause they don't want to get hurt.

So they send

you.

Yeah.

So what's one of the craziest stories?

Oh man.

There's so many

crazy stories.

I know a lot.

I mean, I think it was just like, I just knew that I had this, like, this idea is always kind of permeated in my life is you have one life to live.

Yep.

Amen.

And really, it

was just, you know, and that was a big Nike thing when I was growing up, you know, just do it.

It was really just like, how do you know unless you get up? and you have this one life to live and one life to give and i just i gave it my all and i think over and over again like i was that guy like i remember at the u.s open This would have been, I bet Danny Cass.

This is a crazy story, but here I was, found myself at these big contests all over the world, whether it be the Arctic Challenge, the US Open, invite-only contests.

And one contest in particular, I remember just for fun, I bet Danny Cass, a ripping snowboarder, I bet him like five bucks I can air over that banner.

And the banner was like 20 feet in the air.

So when was your first professional competition?

uh well we had some competitions in the midwest we had um some like midwest championships i think um and that was in alexandria minnesota a little dinky ski resort i don't know if it it's hard to say like what was the first professional like because because i was just like a grom that was like you know going there to hang out with all my buddies but i remember like totally sending it and just being that crazy kid always was that crazy kid like i'm just gonna overshoot jumps i'm just gonna land on my head i'm gonna try stuff and like it just i just loved it and um so i don't remember what my first real contest was uh but i mean i remember just like swapping and just, you know, traveling and snowboarding everywhere.

I mean, I'm sure if I thought hard and long enough, I could probably think of the first contest, but it was, it was maybe it was like Sierra Tahoe and it was like a triple crown event.

And I ended up making him the finals of a border cross and doing pretty good in the big air.

It was just like, I always just showed up and I was always just, I think really Luke, what, what set me apart was I just, you saw the passion I had and, for the sport and it was, um, it was contagious.

Wow.

So, so you're like, you were the guy too, where all the other snowboarders, the legends are like, Oh, let's just, let's have this young kid go do that crazy jump.

Cause they don't want to get hurt.

So they send

you.

Yeah.

So what's one of the craziest stories?

Oh man.

There's so many

crazy stories.

I know a lot.

I mean, I think it was just like, I just knew that I had this, like, this idea is always kind of permeated in my life is you have one life to live.

Yep.

Amen.

And really, it

was just, you know, and that was a big Nike thing when I was growing up, you know, just do it.

It was really just like, how do you know unless you get up? and you have this one life to live and one life to give and i just i gave it my all and i think over and over again like i was that guy like i remember at the u.s open This would have been, I bet Danny Cass.

This is a crazy story, but here I was, found myself at these big contests all over the world, whether it be the Arctic Challenge, the US Open, invite-only contests.

And one contest in particular, I remember just for fun, I bet Danny Cass, a ripping snowboarder, I bet him like five bucks I can air over that banner.

And the banner was like 20 feet in the air.