Author(s): Todd Richards

Sport/Transport

'Here is my official warning: Kids, I do not condone, nor do I recommend, what I'm about to admit having done ...' How does a pipsqueak outcast with a Star Wars fetish and the nickname "Toddler" grow up to be a world champion, Olympic competitor, and action sports icon? The truth is even weirder than you might think. As a teenager in a small town in Massachusetts, all Todd Richards wanted to do was skateboard. But fighting off the New England weather and his parents' qualms about the sport's image made him one depressed kid during the winter of 1987. That's when a friend introduced him to snowboarding and revealed to him a whole new world. Before he knew it, Todd was a sponsored pro and in the company of some of snowboarding's most influential pioneers - and notorious bad boys. He went on to spearhead the movement that pushed snowboarding from a derelict sport to the main stage of the Olympic Games and American culture. Through stories of his wild experiences on tour, blow-by-blow details of his most famous victories (and crushing defeats), and over a hundred photos, Todd relates the story of his life, the history of his sport, and what it's like to be one of its greatest stars.