Highland is beyond stoked to announce our sponsorship of athlete Kaidan Ingersoll.
Kaidan has been riding at Highland for more than ten years, and from an early age he’s been remarkably dedicated to progressing his skills and developing his own personal style.
It’s not an exaggeration to say that we’ve watched him grow up. Before Highland offered camp programs that catered to young kids, Kaidan chased after his older brother in the Ayr Academy program, drawing the attention of coaches like Chad DeLuca and Kyle Strait. Even then they recognized a passion and drive in him, and took him under their wing.
As he got older, Kaidan’s work ethic only got more focused. He built massive jumps in his backyard in Maine to mimic the features on Highland’s slopestyle course so he could train even when he couldn’t get a ride to the mountain. He spent hours and hours in the gym, focusing on strength and gymnastics conditioning. He set a goal of becoming a professional slopestyle athlete, and began entering competitions at the bronze level.
In recent years Kaidan’s burgeoning career in professional competition has started to accelerate. We’ve had a front row seat via the Freebird Slopestyle Series, and were even more thrilled to watch him drop into his first Silver competition last fall, placing in the top ten at Big White.
So what does this partnership mean? Highland will continue to serve as Kaidan’s home training facility, with access to all of our training resources, and provide additional support as he travels around North America and beyond for competitions. As part of our ongoing partnership, Kaidan will also be making regular appearances as a guest coach for our Ayr Academy summer camp.
It’s not just Kaidan’s skills on the bike that make us glad to put our support behind him. No one who’s seen him ride can deny that he’s a gifted athlete–but those who are lucky enough to work with, ride with, or even just share a quick chat in the lodge with Kaidan will immediately recognize his humility, level-headedness, and positive attitude. He’s exactly the kind of person you can’t help but root for–and it’s about time we made it official.
We can’t wait to see where this next year takes Kaidan! Don’t look away–you won’t want to miss it.
