How Are You So Good?
| Jed Anderson

Words Will Fraser | Printed in Issue 17.2

“It seems too easy for him," Louif Paradis on Jed Anderson. In snowboarding, there are many great riders, but only a few who stand out as the best—and Jed is one of them. It’s rare to be that talented, and for the rest of us, it feels almost impossible to understand. What is it that sets him apart? In this piece, we’ll explore Jed’s career, covering everything from community influences and early sponsorships to critical moments and mindset. The hope isn’t to pin down a single answer. That’s impossible. It’s to explore the mix of factors that have shaped Jed’s success. To do that, we start at the beginning: “How did you get into snowboarding?”

[o] Oli Gagnon

Community Influence

"My brother," Jed says. "I remember picking him up after boarding with my mom, and he seemed hyped on it. It was that little brother and older brother dynamic of I wanna do that too. I think I was five or six."

In the mid-to-late ‘90s, Jed was one of the youngest on the hill. He was partaking earlier than most people, and to do this, he shared that he had very supportive parents: “Being older now, and having more responsibilities, I see how much time my parents gave up so my brother and I could snowboard and skateboard. I owe a lot to them.”

Jed shared that his parents helped him throughout his career, but especially at the start. During that time, his mom or dad would drive him to Canada Olympic Park (COP) almost every day of the week, except for weekends, because that’s when they’d go to Norquay. When he was a little older, they even took him to the states for contests. This was because his mom recognized the importance of having a presence there for a successful snowboard career. 

[o] Marc O'Malley 

Jed’s early involvement in snowboarding led to him becoming a solid part of the Calgary community, and from a young age, he was riding with older boarders like TJ Schneider, Dwayne Wiebe, Ryan Hall, and Scott Shaw. “Those guys kinda took me and my brother under their wing," Jed remembers. However, not only did he have a great community, but he was also growing up at one of the most iconic times to be a snowboarder in Alberta. The Calgary/Banff scene hosted the names already mentioned, as well as iconic Canadians like Dustin Craven, Nash Lajeunesse, Kael Hill, Tanner Davidson, and Andrew Hardingham.

Initial Sponsorship Support

With this community and the added sauce that his brother Jared Anderson called "just kinda having it," Jed was sponsored by the age of seven. His first sponsor was Unlimited, a shop in Banff, and soon after that, he was sponsored by The Source. Jed mentioned that these sponsors were essentially the start of his career—a wild statement considering how young he was. 

At about eight, Jed was then put on Burton's P13 team, a team for children under 13. When thinking back, Jed seemed nostalgic, recalling memories of a trip to Vermont and friendships with young legends like Luke Mitrani and Mikkel Bang. However, he was not on Burton for long before being scouted by Forum and Special Blend. This was an accomplishment that put him on the legendary Forum team at the tail end of the infamous Forum 8.

Being so young, Jed shared that he didn’t completely understand the significance of this. "I was just snowboarding," he says. "I didn't care what genre it was in. If it was boardercross, I was happy to go. I was not thinking too much about sponsors and that stuff."

Jed in his 2014 release, "CRAZY LOCO." 

At this point, Jed is 13 and making a go at snowboarding—building a career while most of us were struggling to get our boots tight enough. It’s wild to think about... what other snowboarder has had this longevity and been involved with so many era-defining brands?

Childhood Mindset

Some of Jed's success comes down to circumstance: a strong community, a supportive family getting him to contests, and the right geography. But what actually pushed young Jed to be a great at snowboarder? When asked, he was thoughtful and genuine, but struggled with the question. "I honestly don't know. I have no idea. I wasn't really thinking about that until I was way older. It sounds corny, but I think I was just having fun. I think in contests I wanted to win, but it wasn't to prove that I'm the best. It was just that I was going to try as hard as I could.

"There is obviously positive reinforcement and such that I assume played a big role… I enjoyed it, I was seemingly good at it, and I was experiencing validation from it. As a young person, I think those experiences are so important and can push you in whatever direction."

To put this another way, it sounded like Jed’s early talent grew out of a progression loop:

I like snowboarding > people are encouraging > I get better at snowboarding > I like snowboarding more > people are more stoked > I get even better at snowboarding.

It wasn't some inherent sense of destiny—it was fun, and that fun was being amplified by the people around him.

Luck and Critical Instances

Now, about 45 minutes into our conversation, Jed and I reached a turning point. It’s about four years defined by luck, effort, and self-discovery. For Jed, this is a significant part of life that got him to where he is today.

"At about 14, Burton bought Forum and Special Blend right at the end of my contract. They were saying it was too costly to pay for another person to travel with me." And, considering Jed was really too young to travel the world without a parent, he ended up leaving the team. This seemingly crushing decision, while tough, was pivotal.

"Leaving Forum and Special Blend, I started exploring new ideas and watching more snowboard videos like Love Hate… At that time, I had no responsibilities. I didn't have to wear certain things or do any contests. That's when I started feeling like filming was what I wanted to be a part of."

This shift helped Jed lean into developing his own sense of self. He started hanging with talented influences like Graham Foy and Josh Baydala, hitting handrails in Calgary, and filming his first video parts —one of which was a tasteful lost relic called The Infidels. This marked the beginning of Jed's career rebuild in a more conscious manner.  

Another critical moment occurred in 2008 when he appeared in a popular YouTube series called Sunday in the Park, filmed at Bear Mountain. This was made possible by Justin Meyer, the legendary filmer who made the videos. Jed said he owes a lot to Justin for that because the episode (characterized by a heavy Corey P section, a great back three on, and a comical "I love turtles" ender) did really well. So well that two days after its release, Joe Carlino, another legendary filmer, and former roommate of Meyer’s, called Jed. "He asked if I wanna come to Quebec and film for the new Transworld video, These Days. That's probably the biggest moment in my career… if I wanted to do it, that was the opportunity."

Watch Jed's latest full part in Videograss, "Search Party."

Jed got on a plane ASAP and met up with Nick Dirks, Louif Paradis, Jarad Hadi, and LNP in Quebec. He was ready to pour it on. "I had the mentality that I had to be undeniably good to gain the interest of the greater culture. Being Canadian and trying to get into the industry at all, I felt like people are not going to take this seriously unless I'm undeniably good." In hindsight, it's all a perfect storm—getting dropped, finding mentors, shooting video parts, getting noticed, having friends who were the right roommates-of-roommates—a web of timing, taste, and talent.

Dimensions of Success

Having all of this context for Jed’s career was phenomenal. I think it helped reveal to both of us how long he has been in snowboarding. However, I couldn’t leave the idea of mindset alone. For one, we’re now at a later stage of his career, which carries more self-understanding. And two, I believe the mindset of success is often more complex than we admit. Jed agreed. 

"I don't know why, but I believe there is a deeper reason for my success. I've definitely always felt different, not to be cliche, but I did feel like a bit of an outsider. I don't know if it was wanting to be a part of something bigger that worked for me… I think anyone really good at something has something deeper going on. I don't know what that is for myself, but there is something psychotic about it."

[o] Marc O'Malley

Jed also linked some of his success to the addictive qualities of snowboarding. "You just want this thing," he explained. "But it's never enough. You get these clip highs—you're zoned in, thinking, if I just do this trick, I'll be so happy. And then, depending on the weight of the clip, that feeling eventually disappears and you just want the next one…"

This “clip high” is a well-known phenomenon in snowboarding. Even Jeremy Jones, in his late forties, admitted he’ll still stop to film a curb clip. There’s fulfillment in that—it proves you did something—but there’s a dark side, too. The clip high can feel hollow, leaving you obsessively rewatching footage not to celebrate, but to pick yourself apart. That process is strangely addictive. I don’t know if Jed experiences this more or less than others, but it’s clear that the psychology of the clip high has played a role in what makes him a phenomenal snowboarder.

Still, if success were only about obsession, it wouldn’t last. Jed also pointed to far more grounded, meaningful reasons that keep him progressing and interested in snowboarding.“I stay engaged in snowboarding because it checks a lot of boxes for me. I can constantly challenge myself, socialize, and be part of a community with similar interests and understandings, making friends, being creative, pushing myself physically, and trying to chip away at adding something new to the fold. It's a satisfying combination that embodies so many of my interests, especially when it comes to creating a video part. The actual snowboarding is one thing, but the visuals, the opportunity to travel, finding music, and just putting together the whole puzzle is really rewarding. I have also put so much work into snowboarding. It's something I am confident in and familiar with, which is fulfilling. It feels like a privilege to still be involved and able to try to push it."

Hearing this from Jed made me realize that a big difference between being good and great often comes down to longevity. An ability to apply skill, curiosity, and cultural awareness over many years. It’s one thing to make a couple of video parts, but another to make a lifetime of them while still having the desire to continue pushing it. 

Jed lands a few cameos in Ride's latest offering, "It's a mess." 

Lasting Impact

Like Louif Paradis said, it seems too easy for Jed Anderson, and for those of us watching, that feels true. But it’s not entirely fair. Jed’s success has been shaped by a lifetime of effort and experience. His success blends it all: creativity, luck, purpose, obsession, family, natural talent, belonging, geography, and wanting more. For those of us who have watched his career with admiration and awe, this offers a small glimpse into what’s made him exceptional—one of the most respected riders of this generation. And perhaps, by seeing how these factors came together for Jed, we can also see the complexities in ourselves and others. The things that make us truly great.