James Hamilton prepares for an event to the sounds of old-school rockers AC/DC. Not to mention intense training and year-round competition. From Auckland’s North Shore, James is currently New Zealand’s top ranked snow boarder and has made the finals of some serious international events around the world. Rewarded with an Olympic Solidarity scholarship James now has his eyes set on the Olympic Games where he will push go for his goal of being one of best half-pipe riders in the world.

James says of his sport: “it’s a real rush. You drop in, you have a lot of speed…with half pipe you can just get in there and there’s no limits. You can go as fast and as big as you want.”