You are now, officially, XGames gold medalist Grace Warner. How does that feel?

Hahaha. I’m not even sure how to respond to that. 

Did you ever think this was something that would happen? 

I never thought I would do any snowboard competitions honestly. Growing up, I was scared when other people would watch me snowboard. It was never a competitive thing for me. So no, I would’ve never guessed that I’d actually strap into my snowboard at XGames. 

Can you take me through that day? How were you feeling before?

I woke up at 11 because I couldn’t fall asleep to save my life. Luckily practice wasn’t until 1:15 so I had some time to sleep in. By the time I got over to buttermilk everyone was already practicing which kind of made me feel unprepared. I’m not going to lie, I was definitely freaking out a bit. I just wanted to feel like myself on my snowboard. 

What was the actual contest like? Did it feel like any other rail jam you’ve done?

The contest was super chill and went by super fast. It felt like I was just riding with the homies. Honestly, I didn’t feel any pressure while it was going on. It was actually really fun. 

What was the rest of your day like after you won?

I felt pretty terrible right after the boys were done competing hahaha. I think I was really malnourished and dehydrated. I felt sick. But I went back to my condo, ate some food, drank some water, and packed up my bags. Once I started to feel better, it started to sink in a little bit. My family and friends threw a big watch party at my house and they sent me a video of them screaming at the TV when I got the metal. It made me cry. That was really the highlight for me. But then I went out with all the homies and had a celebratory drink and watched Trevor Andrew perform. It was a really fun night! 

I feel like winning XGames is instant gratification on a large scale and most street snowboarders only get to experience the opposite. Landing a trick at a spot is success on a small scale—just you and your homies—and it’s delayed because you have to wait for the video to come out. When you compare those two feelings—winning XGames and landing a trick at a spot—do you think that’s an accurate assessment? Are they completely different or is a win just a win in any form?

It’s definitely two completely different feelings. Filming is much more of a personal feeling of success for me. Where the XGames is something that most people can understand. Everyone that I even slightly know has reached out to me. I’m still going through texts and DMs! So yeah it’s definitely a crazy instant gratification but doesn’t compare to landing something at a spot. Both “wins” feel absolutely unreal. 

Which one feels better, winning XGames or winning a battle at a spot?

Wow this is tough. I think I have to go with winning a battle at a spot because it’s so much more time consuming and there’s so many more elements in the street. The process and mental battle of hitting spots makes the “win” so much sweeter. I guess also because it’s just me vs myself at a spot. I think every girl that dropped into the street style event deserves the metal so it’s hard for me to embrace it. 

What’s next, more contests or back in the streets?

I guess kind of both! I’m headed to St.Paul for Heavy Metal :)

Watch Grace's latest video part from BLOOM right here!