How snowboarding Scotty from Warrandyte landed a Canadian sweetheart
Scotty James rose to prominence after winning bronze at the last Winter Olympics. Now the boy from Warrandyte has been named the best snowboarder on the planet and he reveals how he’s found love while reaching the top of the mountain.
Confidential
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Time will tell if Canadian F1 driver Lance Stroll is the ultimate matchmaker.
Two years ago, the 21-year-old made a compelling case to his older sister Chloe about an Aussie snowboarder called Scotty James. Eventually the two met in January last year.
“Lance actually called me and said, ‘I think I just found the guy you’re going to marry’,’’ Stroll recalls.
“It was kind of strange. I had a conference in Park City (Utah) which was where his next competition was the same weekend and a lot of random things happened.
“Scotty was very cute. We dated for about four months, or as he likes to say, we got to know each other, before he officially asked me to be his girlfriend. The next morning he said, ‘Now that you’re my girlfriend, can I leave my snowboard here?’.”
It wasn’t weird for James that he wanted to meet up with his mate’s sister.
He got Chloe’s number and spent a few extra days in New York so they could
catch up.
“I was on my way to competition in Switzerland, and I’d actually never been to New York,’’ he says.
“I thought I’d stay on for a few days and explore, and my intention was a little bit to see Chloe.
“I just connected with her in New York and went out to dinner with her at a place called Motel Morris in Chelsea and the rest is history.”
The pair spent most of last year travelling together. Stroll, who works in venture capital, can take her work on the road “if I have a computer and a phone”.
The daughter of Canadian billionaire and Formula 1 team owner Lawrence Stroll, she has been travelling the world from the time of her first flight at six weeks old.
Since March she has been bunkered down in Victoria with James, the world’s best half-pipe snowboarder, who grew up in Warrandyte, with his parents Phil and Celia, and three siblings, Tim, Sean and Rebecca. All four children are close and share in his experiences.
For James, 26, it has been the longest time he’s been back home since he was 13.
His first snowboard at age three was a $10 display board from Vancouver as a gift from his father and was the only board small enough for him to ride. He was competing by age six and training at Mt Buller and Mt Hotham.
He turned pro at 13 and at 15 he was the youngest male to compete at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, which at the time was also Australia’s youngest male Olympian in 50 years.
Stroll, 25, can’t remember ever being in one place for so long.
“We came back for really only a week or so and I was going to go on with the schedule as usual and head off to train,” James says. “The day our flight was supposed to leave we changed our minds.
“We were heading back to the US because I had training in Aspen. The decision was definitely ours and we considered a few things. We worked with a few of my coaches and Chloe and I talked.
“We hadn’t spent much time here.
“Wherever we went we were going to get stuck. I’m not sure that decision was easy so I’m appreciative to Chloe. Who knows when I’ll get this time again.”
James hasn’t been able to show Stroll around his favourite places, but they have kept busy.
He is still training at the Victorian Institute of Sport and they bought a place in Rye that they have been painting and redecorating.
Stroll also dabbles in playing the piano and singing. She enjoys the Aussie way of life but just don’t mention spiders.
“I am so scared of spiders. If I see a small one I’ll pass out,’’ she says.
“Scotty said we’re going to go up to the peninsula so you might see one. I’m so, so scared.
“Otherwise I love it. When people speak too fast I get a bit jumbled.
“I went to school with an Aussie when I was much younger in junior school in Canada, Montreal. And then I came down here with my mum and a couple of friends and did a trip around Australia and New Zealand and I completely fell in love with Australia.
“It’s always kind of my bucket place to go. It’s been nice being here.”
HIGH-FLYING COUPLE KEEP LIFE PRIVATE
On the surface they have a high-flying life — hotels, private jets, exotic locations, James’ Red Bull webseries called All Day SJ with cameos from the likes of F1 driver Daniel Ricciardo, surfer Mick Fanning, motorbike stuntman Robbie Maddison and stake legend Tony Hawk, and the soon-to-be-released range of apparel, called SJ Staples.
But the pair are refreshingly grounded and largely keep their life private, even while James currently films season two of his webseries. Stroll makes rare appearances on James’ witty Instagram account and they have previously refused requests for a joint interview.
Ironically their first public outing was last year at arguably the world’s most watched
A-list black tie event, the Met Gala.
Stroll had been attending for years with her father, and she got to ask James to be her date.
“I walked in and whipped my phone out straight away and Chloe just about snapped my hand off,’’ James says. “I learned how to Met Gala which was a lot of fun. The hosts were Serena Williams, Harry Styles, Lady Gaga.
“Everyone walks in and they stand at the top of the stairs and you greet them. I couldn’t believe it, I don’t know if they were briefed beforehand, but they knew everyone’s names.
“I had a fan girl moment when Serena Williams knew my name.”
The glitz and glamour there is a far cry from the serenity of the Mornington Peninsula and watching James’ beloved Bombers on TV.
“He loves the Bombers, it’s an interesting sport to watch,’’ Chloe says. “You’re on the edge of your seat. I’m still grasping a couple of things, it’s a crazy mix. I’ll talk to my family and I’ll be like this sport is a mix of American football
and rugby and hockey and soccer. I’m
still blown away that no one has kicked someone’s head whenever they go for the ball.”
Stroll is a true sports fan having attended most F1 Grand Prix events to support her brother. She admires James’ strong will. He puts his body on the line in every competition and never loses focus.
In 2018 he won a bronze medal at the Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea, where he ended as flag bearer for the Australian team, and then went on to have an undefeated season. He also won his third consecutive World Championship title.
At all three of his Olympic Games, James competed along with teammate Alex “Chumpy” Pullin and says he’s still shocked at his death. The two-time world champion snowboarder died in July after he drowned while spearfishing on the Gold Coast. He was just 32. “That was really heartbreaking and it was really hard to believe at first,’’ James says. “Every Olympics I’ve gone to Chumpy’s been there. He’s been an amazing mate, athlete in general aside from snowboarding. He always had an infectious smile and energy that was always great to be around. Great athlete and person and was lost too early.
“In the midst of everything this year, everyone’s been affected, and when stuff like that happens, it’s really, really hard to believe.”
James says he won’t be surprised if there is an event or award dedicated to Pullin in future.
“There could be like some kind of bank slalom race or a border cross race in memory of Chumpy which I think would be great,’’ he says.
“He’s been the flag bearer and a fantastic athlete and good role model for Australian sport. I hope there is something in memory of him, whether it’s in the snowboarding world or industry or aside from that.”
JAMES AIMS FOR GOLD
The couple are heading to Switzerland shortly for James to get back into snow training ahead of competition resuming.
A huge goal now for James is to claim gold at the next Winter Olympics in Beijing in 2022.
“It’s like pulling his teeth to get him to smile about something,’’ Stroll says.
“He’ll win a competition and I’m sitting at the bottom jumping up and down and he gets down and I’m still jumping by myself. I’m like, smile and be happy. He’s like, next one.”
James adds: “I’m always looking at the next goal but I’m learning to get better at that and enjoy the successes.
“Any accolades I’ve achieved in snowboarding has made me feel like I never want to take my foot off the gas. Can I do it again? I want to do it again, I want to keep going and get better and better.
“That’s how I look at the whole situation.”
James says the enforced lay-off has been a bonus because it’s allowed him to focus on his mental health. He has thought about more than just “work”.
“I think I’ll actually come out of this in better shape than I’ve been in before,’’ he says.
“On the physical side but also really it’s refreshing for me on the mental side.
“I struggle to mentally rest. I’m always thinking about the competition and what I’m going to do next. It’s always evolving.
“Having basically forced leave from snowboarding and knowing everyone else is in the same boat, has given me a chance to step back and appreciate the time that I’ve had.
“Obviously it’s bad circumstances on a global scale but selfishly I’ve come out really good.
“(Winning a gold medal) That’s stating the obvious, there’s things I haven’t achieved yet which are pretty high up in my priorities.
There are a lot of things to tick off my box before I can kick my feet up on my rocking chair, if I ever do.”
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