A FEW WORDS WITH CONOR MACFARLANE

CR: Coming all the way from New Zealand to Whistler every year seems like a big commitment. What draws you to Canada every year?

CM: The search for the endless summer, although the more summers I chase it the more I miss skiing as it was something I really enjoyed growing up. But I figure there are plenty of years left in my life where I won't have the chance to have endless summers so trying to make the most of it while I can!

CR: Describe the endless Summer

CM: After the NZ summer I do get a bit of Wintery goodness but pretty much when the ski fields open is when I fly out, straight back into the Northern Hemisphere summer. The last few years I have been on the road overseas for about five months a year so when I get back to NZ spring is well and truly in the swing of things so it's really only from now, until mid-June, that I have to get my fix of wintery conditions. 

CR: Most people would say that you’re living the dream. While that may be the case, what type of sacrifice is involved to make this a reality?

CM: The grass is always greener on the other side. For me the biggest thing is living out of a suitcase, or more realistically, a bike box for months at a time and being apart from those I love. I would definitely love to be able to go home between northern hemisphere events, video shoots etc but financially it doesn’t stack up for someone who lives at the bottom of the world. The other big sacrifice is my spare time, while in NZ I work a full time job (Huge shout out to my boss Reon for understanding what I do and giving me whatever time off I need!) to help pay for flying around the world which means that a lot of my weekends and spare time is taken up with digging, filming, photos etc. This is fine as I enjoy filming etc but it can feel like I have a lack of spare time over the NZ summer.