Mark grew up skiing on dry slopes and in the glorious Scottish hills before undertaking an EA Ski & Snowboard internship in Lake Louise, Canada. After traveling between Canada and New Zealand working as a ski instructor, Mark now lives in Queenstown and is the Digital Marketing Coordinator for EA Ski & Snowboard.
Mark likes to think of himself as a bad environmentalist and an even worse surfer.
What is your favorite travel memory?
Well, that's a difficult question, I can probably narrow it down to 3 favourite memories:
#1 Living in Lake Louise on my EA internship in what is endearingly named 'Stables'.
Coming home after a day at work on the mountain then heading straight onto our back garden park setup with some beers was easily one of my highlights.
Road tripping through resorts such as Revelstoke, Kickinghorse and Fernie another amazing highlight.
And more recently traveling and exploring New Zealand in a campervan before and after the ski season!
How have you changed/grown since working for your current company?
Each day, I become somehow more passionate for travelling and skiing and having worked 3 seasons instructing I thought I was already pretty into it. It probably has something to do with scrolling through pictures of our interns epic seasons. Writing about these incredible destinations and courses day in day out does give me a little bit of the FOMO feeling.
What is the best story you've heard from a return student?
I met my friend Matt Gillespie on our season in Lake Louise with EA, and his story still inspires me to chase your dreams to this day.
Over several nights in the pub, and most of the season, Matt would talk about his dream of owning a lodge in a ski resort. After heading back to Australia to do a season in Perisher, the next thing I hear is that he's bought a lodge in Japan (The Ranch) and started a company called Hakuba Snow Tours! Four years on it's still going strong and I'm heading over there to get my first taste of Japow, this winter!
If you could go on any program that your company offers, which one would you choose and why?
I have been eyeing up our Queenstown level 3 internship for a while as that has just about everything I'd be looking for in a season. I'd also love to head back to Canada and do the full season snowboard training in Revelstoke; I'm a decent intermediate snowboarder but I'd love the opportunity to take my snowboarding up a level. The 11-week training program is probably the quickest and easiest way to make that happen.
I managed to get a few days at Revy while doing my internship in Lake Louise; ever since then, I've wanted to go back. The vibe in the town, the riding potential on the resort, and the amount of rad backcountry terrain nearby make it very high on my bucket list!
What makes your company unique? When were you especially proud of your team?
We are the original Ski & Snowboard instructor course provider and, having started it all, it's very unique to see that the company hasn't lost sight of why we are here.
Having been on an EA internship gives me great pride hearing about all the new interns we have coming in each season. Because I know they are going to have a rad, life changing experience.
What do you believe to be the biggest factor in being a successful company?
Having a great team, with a shared goal and strong core values. At EA Ski & Snowboard, every member of our team is passionate about the ski and snowboard industry and about helping others get into the industry. During the NZ season, we regularly go out riding together which creates an epic bond between the team. Plus, having meetings on the mountain makes those monthly catch-ups a little more bearable!
