Mason Singer Aguirre (born November 10, 1987 in

Duluth, Minnesota , settlement_type = City , nicknames = Twin Ports (with Superior), Zenith City , motto = , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top: urban Duluth skyline; Minnesota ...

) is an American

snowboarder Snowboarding is a recreational and competitive activity that involves descending a snow-covered surface while standing on a snowboard that is almost always attached to a rider's feet. It features in the Winter Olympic Games and Winter Paralympi ...

. He competes in

halfpipe A half-pipe is a structure used in gravity extreme sports such as snowboarding, skateboarding, skiing, freestyle BMX, skating, and scooter riding. Overview The structure resembles a cross-section of a swimming pool, essentially two concave r ...

slopestyle Slopestyle is a winter sport in which athletes ski or snowboard down a course including a variety of obstacles including rails, jumps and other terrain park features. Points are scored for amplitude, originality and quality of tricks. The disc ...

and

superpipe A superpipe is a large halfpipe structure used in extreme sports such as snowboarding, freestyle skiing, skateboarding, scooters, freestyle BMX and vert skating. Overview For winter sports, the term ''superpipe'' is used to describe a half ...

, but consistently places higher in halfpipe and superpipe competitions. He competed in the men's halfpipe event at the 2006 Winter Olympics.

Career

Aguirre spent his childhood growing up in Duluth where he followed his older brother, Tyler Aguirre, onto the slopes when Mason was six. He turned pro at fifteen and his parents moved their family to

Mammoth Lakes, California Mammoth Lakes is a town in Mono County, California, and is the county's only Municipal corporation, incorporated community. It is located immediately to the east of Mammoth Mountain, at an elevation of . As of the 2020 United States Census, the ...

to pursue his snowboarding career. In 2006, Aguirre became the youngest snowboarder on the U.S. Olympic Snowboarding Team by beating out Ross Powers, 2002 Halfpipe gold medalist and J.J. Thomas, 2002

Halfpipe A half-pipe is a structure used in gravity extreme sports such as snowboarding, skateboarding, skiing, freestyle BMX, skating, and scooter riding. Overview The structure resembles a cross-section of a swimming pool, essentially two concave r ...

bronze medalist. Aguirre’s first trip to the

Olympics The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

was successful, placing 4th overall in the Halfpipe event. Aguirre placed first overall at the 2006 World Superpipe Championships and again at the 2006 Burton New Zealand Open. Aguirre also played baseball during his childhood, pitching a complete game and hitting a grand slam in the same championship game. He is currently sponsored by Nike and D Howlett Boards,

K2 Snowboards K2 Snowboards are snowboard Snowboards are boards where the user places both feet, usually secured, to the same board. The board itself is wider than most skis, with the ability to glide on snow."snowboarding." Dictionary.com Unabridged ...

, Smith Optics,

SoBe SoBe (stylized as ) is an American brand of teas, fruit-juice blends and enhanced water beverages owned by PepsiCo. The name SoBe is an abbreviation of South Beach, named after the upscale area located in Miami Beach, Florida. In the past, the ...

, DVS, Windells,

Fender Guitars The Fender Musical Instruments Corporation (FMIC, or simply Fender) is an American manufacturer of instruments and amplifiers. Fender produces acoustic guitars, bass amplifiers and public address equipment, however it is best known for its sol ...

Mammoth Mountain Mammoth Mountain is a lava dome complex partially located within the town of Mammoth Lakes, California, in the Inyo National Forest of Madera and Mono Counties. It is home to a large ski area primarily on the Mono County side. Mammoth Mounta ...

, Val Surf,

The Collection The Collection may refer to: * The Collection (Lincolnshire), a county museum and gallery in Lincolnshire, England Film, television and theatre * ''The Collection'' (film), the 2012 sequel to the 2009 film ''The Collector'' * "The Collection ...

, and R.E.D. Protection.

Frends Crew

Aguirre is a member of the Frends Crew (spelled without the "i" to emphasize the collective nature of the group) made up of snowboarders Kevin Pearce, Danny Davis,

Mikkel Bang Mikkel is a Danish and Norwegian masculine given name. It may refer to: *Mikkel Ødelien (1893–1984), Norwegian soil researcher * Mikkel Aaland (born 1952), award-winning American photographer * Mikkel Andersen (disambiguation) *Mikkel Bødker ( ...

Scotty Lago Scotty Lago (born November 12, 1987) is an American snowboarder. He is the 2004 world quarterpipe champion and winner of a bronze medal at the 2010 Winter Olympics. Career Lago has been riding since 1996. He is sponsored by Hudsen Collective, ...

Keir Dillon Keir Dillon (born June 1, 1977) is a professional snowboarder specializing in Halfpipe. Career Dillon has been a competitive snowboarder since 1997; his current home mountain is Ponto Beach, California but originally he grew up riding the east co ...

Jack Mitrani Jack may refer to: Places * Jack, Alabama, US, an unincorporated community * Jack, Missouri, US, an unincorporated community * Jack County, Texas, a county in Texas, USA People and fictional characters * Jack (given name), a male given name, ...

Luke Mitrani Luke Mitrani (born July 20, 1990 in New York City) is a former professional snowboarder and an aspiring musician. Luke placed 1st in the halfpipe at the 2011 Winter Dew Tour with the highest score in Dew Tour history, 97.00. He has also placed 1s ...

, Eric Jackson, and the Swartz Brothers. Frends is group of riders who turned their initial friendship into a formal alliance in 2007 to move the sport away from its recent competitive and business focus and return the sport to its

grass roots A grassroots movement is one that uses the people in a given district, region or community as the basis for a political or economic movement. Grassroots movements and organizations use collective action from the local level to effect change at t ...

, collegial beginnings.There's No I in Frends
NY Times, March 22, 2009

Style

Known for his aggressive yet smooth riding style, Aguirre regularly pulls off 1080s, 900s and is known for his corkscrewed 540. Another thing that sets him apart from the field is his unusual stature. He stands out of the snowboarding crowd because most snowboarders are more compact making it easy for them to rotate and twist in mid air, while he is a lanky 5’11", weighing only 150lbs. However, he has shown no signs of this affecting his mid air maneuvers.

Personal life

He enjoys playing guitar and golf. One of his favorite things to do while trying out different mountains is make videos and have film shoots. His favorite mountain is Mammoth, California. His sister

Molly Aguirre Molly Aguirre (born September 10, 1984) is a professional snowboarder and member of the U.S. Snowboarding Team, specializing in halfpipe events. Besides halfpipe, Aguirre also snowboards slopestyle, grind/rail, and quarter pipe events. Sh ...

is also a professional snowboarder sponsored by DC.

References

External links

Mason's Olympic Bio
* ttp://expn.go.com/expn/story?pageName=magmase EXPN Biobr>USOC BioA Mason Aguirre fansite
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aguirre, Mason 1987 births Living people American male snowboarders Sportspeople from Duluth, Minnesota X Games athletes People from Duluth, Minnesota People from Mammoth Lakes, California Olympic snowboarders of the United States Snowboarders at the 2006 Winter Olympics 20th-century American people 21st-century American people