Anne-Flore Marxer Just a girl?
“I've better things to do in life than shave my legs!” states Anne-Flore Marxer. “I don't give a shit what I look like in everyday life - I'm a sports girl with scars and bruises. Are you giving me an interview because I'm a good snowboarder or because you liked my white teeth?”
The trade show is draining. An assault on the senses, this cavernous construction is claustrophobic, crammed with a headache-inducing barrage of branding images – each company imposing their own carefully constructed vision of what it is to be a ‘snowboarder’. With a traditionally wealthier demographic than surfing or skating, snow sliding offers a rich selection of identities to choose from, from the ghetto-gypsy, to the blinged-up and baggy, via the tight ‘n' tattooed hipster set. Question is: where are all the women?
Thankfully, Anne-Flore Marxer let's her talent talk, rather than her wardrobe. After a few false starts I finally meet the Swiss French snowboarder at Europe's winter sports bro-down Babylon. I spot her socialising with new sponsors Billabong, and sit down on the Les Ettes sofa, post the launch of her signature scent Flore Ette (the first of its kind).
It's been a manic day, with lack of sleep and artificial air. But, while I'm ready to sleep, tall and athletic Marxer glows with an innate confidence, fizzing with Euro fire and infectious energy. The new Hossegor local may still be looking for board, boot and binding sponsors, but has found in the Basque Country both balance and a new love in her life: surfing. “Snowboarding was my hobby, which became my job,” she explains. “It's still my passion but now, between trips, I can go surfing – learning, progressing slowly, and eating shit for sure. It's good to enjoy something new, you know?”
Born on January 24, 1984, Marxer skied before she could walk. Her father, Herbert Marxer, was an Olympic downhill and slalom skier for Liechtenstein in the seventies, while her French mother, Catherine, was also obsessed with snow. She grew up in the small town of Préverenges, near Lausanne, Switzerland, with the Portes du Soliel, Samoens Avoriaz and Les 7 Laux on her doorstep. She started snowboarding at twelve, then continued skiing with the family and riding with friends. “My dad was the champion of the family - no one expected me to become a pro snowboarder,” she explains. “My parents let me do my own thing. I was rebellious, still am, and liked travelling. I refused to compete and would just ride as much as I could for fun, finding good powder lines.”
A true tomboy, Marxer honed her big, ballsy style on the backcountry booters of the French Swiss Alps and only entered her first contest after friends roped her in. As she was dialling her tricks with guy friends during practise, she saw the other girls doing straight airs with a double grab. At first, she opted to play it safe but didn't make the finals. Pissed, she sneaked back up during the guys final to stomp a backside rodeo 720, throw the finger at the judges and storm off. When the next French Big Air rolled into town she entered, won and stepped away from competitions to focus on films.
So far she's notched up parts in French crew The Psykopit's Almost Friends and Fiasco, MissChief's As If and Ro Sham Bo, the Pirates' Walk the Plank, Runway's La La Land and See What I See, Oakley's Uniquely, Travis Rice and Curt Morgan's debut The Community Project and now, possibly, a flick with Absinthe Films. “I don’t have a solid film crew this year with all my recent sponsor changes,” says Anne-Flore, “but I’m really hoping for a spot on the Absinthe production for next year.”
Crowned Rookie of the Year 2006 by Transworld Snowboarding, she's had countless magazine features across the world and has appeared on the front of the entire female snowboard press. But therein lies the problem: while the rise of gender-specific media has created spaces for women to represent themselves without being objectified, it's also exaggerated the differences. Great for inspiring intimidated beginners, perhaps, but those at the top are being ghettoized by their gender. Marxer's reached a glass ceiling – for being born a girl. “Most magazines have girls’ publications and it seems like they automatically pass the shots onto the women’s titles,” she says. “These girls’ mags are mostly looking for more feminine photos that female readers can identify with. These are shots which often don’t fit my kind of snowboarding; backcountry shots.”
She's not alone. While its rise in post-feminist times means snowboarding has always been open to women, their representation in the industry is still subject to archaic gender stereotypes. You're a 'girl', whether fourteen or forty. “Being a pro snowboarder is tough enough already and adding the girl issue on top of it can become hard to handle,” explains Marxer. “Sometimes it feels like I’m banging my head against a brick wall.
“I am happy to be a woman and I want to prove what I'm capable of without gender being an issue. Most brands in snowboarding are directed by men and while the brands are making more money from female sales, profits are pumped back into the guys’ marketing. I’d like to see them develop our side of the sport. I mean, how come some brands still use models rather then female athletes for their promotion?”
Thanks to the huge progression in female snowboarding during the last five years, more female sponsorship contracts and an increasingly louder voice within the industry, equality is close. In 2008 The Burton Open series was the first to offer equal prize money to men and women, while the Winter and Summer X Games followed suit this year. “Five years ago I turned up at the Burton European Open but they wouldn't let me ride the slopestyle course,” remembers Marxer. “Cheryl Maas and I get there, and we're told, ‘It's too dangerous because you're a girl.' Whatever – now it's possible and girls can now win the same as guys, so change is happening. It's frustrating to be on the frontline, but the next generation of women coming into snowboarding will benefit. I can't wait to see all those girls ripping.”
To read the full feature, check out HUCK #014.
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