Danny Davis Winter X Games radar
If I had written this a year ago, you might be asking me who Danny Davis actually is. Not now though, as Danny – leader in a new generation of snowboarders – is blasting through the elite pack of pros all the way to the top, or at least near enough to make heads do some serious turning.
It’s like he had come out of nowhere. All of a sudden Danny morphed from virtual unknown to the rider chasing Shaun White’s heels at the 2006 US Open Half Pipe contest, coming in at second place. He got his taste of gold at the Nippon Open Half Pipe contest last year, won the first Grand Prix event of the season and then showed us he had no intention of slowing down in 2007, going for frontside 1260s at the Honda Sessions in Vail.
Danny has style, talent and everything it takes to be number one. But what I like most about Danny is Danny. When he walks into the room, it comes alive. He is always bursting with enthusiasm for life, whether it be for the peanut butter and jelly sandwich he is constantly making or the run he just put down in the half pipe.
Another thing I like about Danny is how he got to where he is today. Unlike so many US pros, Danny didn’t come from a rich family. “My first pro event was in Breckenridge,” he recalls. “I didn’t know anyone and went there with my mum. Since the hotel room was expensive, we bought two loaves of bread for the week and ate peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. After I won $800, we went out for a steak dinner!”
At the 2007 X Games all eyes were on Danny. Did he feel the heat? “I don’t normally feel too much pressure in contests, but in the X Games I did,” he admits. “With the Olympic qualifiers I didn’t feel it until they thought I was in. That’s when it hit me – and that’s when I blew it. This time round, the slopestyle finals were pretty nerve wracking.“
The nerves didn’t hold Danny back that much, though. He still managed to pull off a sick cab 900, backside 700, frontside 900 and front 1080. If he hadn’t dragged his hand on one of his tricks, chances are he would have made the podium instead of finishing sixth.
But it doesn’t matter. In the end, we all know it‘s just a matter of time until we see the double D brandishing his gold medal on the X Games stage. And when he does, you can bet the peanut butter will be flowing.
This story originally appeared in Huck #004.
Subscribe to HUCK for five issues for only £15 (UK) / £25 (Europe) / £40 (Rest of the World).
