Back in the day...
-Matt Kennedy.,
Photo by Chris Carnel

The guy next door. The clean cut one who always kept the yard looking nice. Whatever happened to that boy. Doesn't he live in the mountains now?

Jim Rippey comes out of the small town of Quincy, CA. Auburn's in the foothills you know like those treatment places, it's really ............ I met Jim when he was an employee at Donner Ski Ranch, and the only time he could ride was at Boreal at night. This was in 89190, and Jim was one of the hardest working amatuer riders around. He sessioned hits till he got them dialed, and he really worked on his style. Rippey was really consistent in contests as well. He entered a lot of them and placed at or near the top on a regular basis. This guy sounds like Clark Kent, but on the hill he's Superman. Jim is super smooth and he has gone pretty big. I competed against Jim in a few USASA contests at Donner. I was hurt, no more excuses needed. The next thing I knew, Jim's entering Pro contests and placing good. The following year, he quit working for Donner and started riding for Burton. The opportunity to ride for a living must have been a goal conquered for Jim. I hung out with Rippey and the rest of the Burton Clan at their cabin in Donner Lake( actually it was Laurent's cabin). Many a party happened there and the Burton Posse (Rippey, Vert, Lance, Custard, and Cochrum) got pretty well known. Jim spent almost everyday filming last year and his efforts can be seen in a lot of new videos like Project 6, TB2, Uppin' the Ante, and Big Jean Fantasy. Jim has earned respect from a lot of riders by showing his willingness to commit. He's developed a smooth style and has flung some pretty fat shit. I was asking Jim how he was accepted by some of the other pro's and he said, "I was kinda gurned by a few people at first, but I don't have any problems now."

Speaking about the up coming season, Jim says, "I just want to focus on riding a lot, traveling, and filming."

The amount of exposure Jim is receiving now is well deserved, but I still think of him as a bro.