Freestyle skiing legend, Wayne Wong reflects on his first experience on the slopes and how he went from a ‘local show-off’, to an international ski star. In a recent interview, we spoke with Wayne about where it all began, and took some time to look back on his exciting career that helped shape freestyle skiing and ‘hotdogging’ as we know it today.
In 1961, Wayne Wong was introduced to skiing for the first time. A pioneer of freestyle skiing, recalls how it all began:
“My friend from elementary school would go skiing on the weekends, and he’d come back with this big smile on his face and say, ‘Hey, Wayne, you gotta try this. It’s so much fun!’”
Curious, Wayne convinced his parents to enroll him in an eight-week ski program with the Parks and Recreation Department. From the very first day on the slopes, he was hooked.
“The first day on the snow, I loved it. I fell in love with skiing."
Birth of a Freestyle Icon
Wayne's love for skiing grew rapidly, and by the mid-1960s, he was at the forefront of a burgeoning movement: freestyle skiing, or "hotdogging." He and his friends formed the Mount Seymour Hot Doggers Club, an amateur group dedicated to experimenting with daring stunts and tricks inspired by those they had seen in the movies and magazines.
“We became known as the local ‘show-offs’—the hotdoggers,” Wayne said.
A pivotal figure in Wayne’s early inspiration was Swiss skier Art Furrer, whose trick skiing in Hart Skis’ demonstration videos left a long-lasting impression.
“Art Furrer was the one doing all the trick skiing in these demo videos. And I was mesmerized by that. He was the person I idolized and who I wanted to ski like.”
The First Freestyle Championships
In 1971, freestyle skiing took a great leap forward with the first National Championships of Exhibition Skiing in Waterville Valley, New Hampshire. Wayne, encouraged by friends and with $200 raised to fund his trip, decided to compete.
My friends said to me, “Wayne, you gotta go and compete in this event because you have all these tricks that nobody had ever seen before!”
Wayne’s unique skiing abilities immediately caught the attention of spectators and judges - along with his distinctive style.
“Jean-Claude Killy was wearing Ski Aviators back in those days, and we all wanted to be him.” Wayne explained. “But right here in Waterville Valley, my friend was the manager of the shop, and he just got these new white aviator glasses. He said, ‘Wayne, you gotta have this. These are so cool!’. I’m Chinese-Canadian, and you know, there were no Asian notable skiers in the ski business. The white sunglasses, my long black hair, my tanned complexion really started to become my image.”
Inventing Iconic Tricks
Wayne’s freestyle skiing career flourished, and his name became synonymous with some of the sport’s most famous tricks, including the ‘Wong Banger’ and the ‘Wongmill’.
“The Wong Banger was a trick I invented purely by accident,” Wayne explained. “I was skiing in very flat light, and I didn’t see this sharp transition in the snow. My ski tips went into it, and it was like hitting a wall. It started to throw me forward, and I stuck my ski poles out in front of me, flipped, and landed on my feet again. I was like, ‘Whoa! Well, I'm going to call it the Wong Banger!”.
Another legendary trick, the ‘Wongmill’, stemmed from an unintentional twist. “I was maybe 18, trying to do a tip roll. I thought to myself, ‘I gotta really twist hard to make sure I get my tips up and over.’ I accidentally did a 540-degree sideways helicopter turn. And I thought, ‘Oh, that’s another trick I’ve invented!”.
Skiing 'the Wong Way'
Wayne’s fame skyrocketed when he became Skiing Magazine’s ‘Freestyle Skier of the Year’ in 1972. Around the same time, his collaboration with K2 Skis led to the creation of his iconic ‘Wong’ ski poster known and loved to this day.
“They said, ‘Okay, Wayne, let’s get the tips up. Let’s see if we can get the white, red, and blue base showing.’ It was really a simple trick,” Wayne recounted.
In 2022, 50 years later, Wayne recreated this legendary shot with VALLON, now wearing their all-new white Ski Aviators - sunglasses reminiscent of his original look that had also become part of his signature style.
“When the VALLON founders contacted me and said, ‘Hey, Wayne, do you think you could still do that?’ I replied, ‘Oh yeah, it’s easy.’ But the backstory is that we got the shot, but it ended with the worst fall I’ve ever had in my skiing career. Afterwards, I got into my car, and I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, it's 50 years, almost to the day, that I shot the original one for K2. It’s incredible.’”
The Legacy of Freestyle Skiing
Wayne stopped competing in 1976, but his influence in the sport endures. Freestyle skiing evolved, and by the 1990s, moguls and aerials had become Olympic disciplines.
He frequently attends competitions across North America as a spectator and guest judge, “The aerials that they do in the moguls event now would have won an event back in 1972-73. They would have won a car and a ton of money!”
As the “Godfather of Freestyle Skiing,” Wayne Wong continues to inspire skiers worldwide, proving that his passion for the slopes remains as strong as ever.
“To see what myself and my peers started—and to see where the sport has gone - I’m very proud of it. And I’m very humbled by the fact that I’m still the guy that everybody recognizes as part of the whole movement,” Wayne said.
An avid skier to this day, Wayne still hits the slopes most weekends. We asked him what he likes to listen to when he’s out on the slopes.
“Disco.”
