Words Liam Gallagher BELOW • “Over the past 10 years, I’ve been lucky enough to create all the graphics for my ski [the Atomic Bent Chetler]. This was inspired by the long drought in California—Old Man Winter, praying for snow.”— Chris Benchetler Art: Chris Benchetler CHRIS Benchetler is looking a little unsettled. He’s 15 feet off the ground, fumbling with the controls of a scissor lift. His goal is a detailed section of a huge painting a few feet to his left, but the lift bucks and sways with every weight shift. It’s late September and Benchetler is currently in Seattle, working on a mural he and his friend Skye Walker are putting on the side of the evo building. A masked Walker is rattling a spray paint can on the other end of the lift platform, which makes the move even more difficult. For Walker, a professional mural artist, this is nothing new. For Benchetler, it’s his first piece of art this size. It’s also his first time working with spray paint. In fact, it’s his first time operating a scissor lift. Intimidating? Definitely. But despite the occasional warning buzzer, Benchetler seems almost giddy about the situation. That’s because it’s exactly the high-stress, do-it-yourself sort of project he loves. Even as he’s learning multiple skills on the fly, he remains unflappable, casually asking Walker for advice. He’s unfazed as we step into his custom camper van for an hour-long interview, even though it’s 90 degrees inside. He says he always tries to limit his expectations and keep an open mind. About painting, yes, but also about skiing, and surfing, and climbing. He’s just trying to learn everything he can. Jack of all, master of none, he says. That may be partly true, but really, he’s a master of at least one—there’s no questioning Benchetler’s on-snow skills. Now 30 years old, he’s been a professional skier for half his life, having filmed with Teton Gravity Research, Matchstick Productions and Poor Boyz Productions, among others. He played a role in founding Nimbus Independent with Eric Pollard, Pep Fujas and Andy Mahre. Most recently, he’s spear-headed his own film projects, like Chasing El Niño and the newly finished Chasing AdVANture , which will be premiering at evo in two days alongside an art show featuring his work. While his success has involved a healthy dose of luck, it’s mainly due to an unrelenting work ethic, something Benchet-ler learned from grandparents who fled their homeland, from a father who built a business from nothing, and from an ever-motivated mother. Whatever the challenge, he handles it with maturity gained from loss at an early age, and accompanied by a wonderful woman. Our conversation eventually stretches to 90 minutes, and—thanks to the summer sun—temperatures in the van become even hotter than when we began. Benchetler, however, never breaks a sweat. Chris Benchetler 057
The Ski Journal Volume Eleven, Issue Four: Page 57
