Sandy, UT – Halfpipe snowboarder Louie Vito’s 2009-10 season kicked off with a different kind of competition on ABC’s hit TV show Dancing with the Stars. But when it was time to qualify for the Olympics, the Sandy, Utah resident was a staple at each snowboarding event throwing down double corks on the road to the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver. Vito hasn’t slowed down this summer, stomping the grounds of Europe, Los Angeles, Mt. Hood and Utah.nQ: What have you been up to all summer, Louie?
Vito: At the end of last season I hurt my shoulder- I had a little separated AC joint. So I just chilled at the end of this spring to get my shoulder healthy and strong again. Then I went to Hood for a couples days and rode, and trained a bit in Europe and now New Zealand.
Q: Have you done anything fun besides riding?
Vito: Yeah, I did the European vacation. I got to ride a little bit, but I really just toured around Europe. This summer I got to check out Summer X Games and the U.S. Open. But I also worked on getting some meetings, advertising shoots and filming done – the kind of stuff that’s hard to get to during the season. It was nice to be able to do a lot of it in Utah where I live because I’m rarely home. It was nice to just chill at my house for a bit.
Q: Have you been dancing at all, keeping up the skills you’ve learned?
Vito: No, no dancing for me. It was hard to continue dancing after I hurt my shoulder. I was just focused on getting it healthy and strong again. Now I’m running out of time to practice dancing because I’m back to competitions and riding a lot, but maybe in the near future!
Q: Are you going to make a guest appearance in the audience?
Vito: I went to a couple tapings of the latest season of Dancing with the Stars. I missed dancing after I saw everyone up there doing their thing, but as soon as they’re done they have to go over to the judges and get their scores then you don’t really miss it so much.
Q: You and your teammates went to a camp at Mt. Hood where you practiced your halfpipe tricks into an airbag. What was that like?
Vito: I only hit the airbag one day and that was the first time I’d ever done it. I learned all three of my doubles without an airbag, just doing it on snow. It’s scary going into that thing! A lot of people love it, but I just wasn’t use to it. I didn’t really know what to expect, but it doesn’t hurt when you land on it.
Q: Can we expect any new tricks this winter?
Vito: Hopefully, every year I learn something new or do something better to keep progressing. That’s more important than results. You really just want to keep moving ahead and pushing yourself in the sport. If I can do that then new tricks are in the future, for sure.