138
MLCM
FALL/WINTER2016
ATRUESTORY
Jon Rocker (not his real name) is an unknown, ex-
snowboarder whomoved toWhistler in 1994 as a
17-year-old kid with the same dreams as many—
ride hard, turn pro, and play in the snow forever.
Like the majority of his peers—spirited youths
suddenly cut from the shackles of living with
their parents—Jon enjoyed the debauchery of
Whistler’s party scene; depraved antics with
copious amounts of hard liquor, loud music, late
nights and no shortage of partners in crime.
“Upper Insanity!” is how he refers to it, a joking
nod to the popular run onWhistler mountain, but
Jonwas also very committed tomeeting his shred
goals as well. “I had already been drinking a lot
back home, I was afraid to open up or be myself
for fear of not being accepted or being judged,”
he says. “But inWhistler, working hardwas how I
dugmyself out. I adopted an attitude that I could,
and would, do what they [established pro riders]
were doing, but better. And I’d do it without the
big money, big contract and big sponsors. It
wasn’t so much about succeeding or being the
best, but I made a conscious decision out loud
and I had to follow through.”
Things went well for Jon. With a strongwork ethic
and the support of a new family of friends—
including an aspiring photographer—he began to
see some of his snowboard dreams come to life.
“We made it into a few mags and things just
started developing. Photos, filming, snowcats,
helicopters, catalogues, stoke. I met and rode
with some of my idols. Hype kept growing,
dreams came true.” In total Whistler fashion,
Jon was also holding down two jobs to make
endsmeet—a full-time chef position at a popular
restaurant and a close-to-full-time job at a local
distribution company. With a truck he loved, a
snowmobile, and a new girlfriend he lived with
in a great log home with good people, Jon was
achieving the goals he had set, but he says it
never felt like enough.
“Maybe I was overwhelmed,” Jon says, “but to be
honest, I think I was egotistically compensating
for something, and it just wasn’t good enough for
me. I had to be bigger and better than everyone
and when I wasn’t, I just started letting go.”
This kicked off a series of unfortunate events
that took place within a very close timeframe—
financial stress, injury, career loss, the loss of a
child during pregnancy, relationship breakdown,
over-partying, trouble with the law . . . shit was
going sideways quick.
“I had no family around for support,” Jon recalls.
“Friends were going in their own directions.
With great highs there’s always the risk of equal
lows. I experienced the sadness of it all falling
down.” Around this time, Jon was diagnosed with
symptoms of Bipolar Disorder, a condition where
people experience extreme highs and devastating
lows. The turmoil of all of this, and the realization
that his lifestyle was built around seeking peer
validation, brought Jon to his limit and caused
him to break away from his life in themountains.
Like somany before him, he packed up, bought a
bus ticket, and went home…
ACOMMONSTORY
Jon Rocker is not alone. His saga is one that
has played out thousands of times in mountain
communities all over the world. “I believe
mountain towns attract a certain type of
individual who may be fleeing from something,”
says Greg McDonnell. “Fleeing some precept of
society, some family trauma, some representation
of culture that they wish to escape.”
And what better place to escape to than the
peaks and valleys of eternal youth, and a life
spent out on the edge? But problems exist, even
in our dream realities. In fact, living on the edge
and pushing ourselves on the mountain could
actually be part of the problem.
ALTITUDEANDATTITUDE
Dopamine is the neurotransmitter of pleasure
and motivation. It’s released naturally when we
exercise, drink coffee, have sex, fall in love, or
have a mood-boosting day doing something we
love, like mountain biking, skiing, or even yoga.
New research is investigating the link between
oxygen levels at altitudes and mood, dopamine
and neurotransmission in the brain.
Studies by Dr. Perry Renshaw, a neurologist and
Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Utah,
suggest that as altitude increases, brain chemistry
changes. Lower levels of oxygen in our blood
(from the altitude) can reduce brain serotonin
(feel-good hormones) and creatine (an energy-
containing compound) while increasing levels
of brain dopamine (those pleasure/risk-taking
neurotransmitters).
“WHEN IWAS5YEARSOLD,
MYMOTHERALWAYSTOLD
METHATHAPPINESSWAS
THEKEYTO LIFE.WHEN I
WENTTOSCHOOL,THEY
ASKEDMEWHAT IWANTED
TOBEWHEN IGREWUP. I
WROTE ‘HAPPY’.THEYTOLD
ME IDIDN’TUNDERSTAND
THEASSIGNMENT,AND I
TOLDTHEMTHEYDIDN’T
UNDERSTAND LIFE.”
–JOHN LENNON
