Look Who's Calling Jess Kimura

October, 21, 2010
Oct 21
05:38
PM ET
By Matt Vanatta

Jess Kimura has officially raised the bar for women's snowboarding. After a solid showing in both the Think Thank and Peep Show videos this season, (and an editor's pick for "Best Female" in a snowboard movie) the female Canadian ripper went on to steal the show at this year's Hot Dawgs and Handrails comp, and just found herself on the cover of Snowboard Canada. We called Jess to find out why she works a real job and snowboards like a dude.

Ashley BarkerTen bucks says Jess could take you over the top, Stallone.

Is this Jess?
Yes it is.

This is Matthew.
Oh, hello. How are you?

Wicked awesome.
Nice, dude!

A confidential source emailed me a picture of you doing construction.
[Laughs] Uh, yeah. I work construction -- that's my job. Last year I had to work like a month into the season, which sucked because we were getting dumped on in Whistler, all my friends where calling like, "Where are you?" And I was like, "I'm pushing a wheelbarrow full of cement."

You must be pretty tough, then.
Yeah, it's like getting paid to get strong. I've been doing masonry for the last couple of years -- that's the trade that I'm in.

Are you in that group from the Davinci Code?
[Laughs] The freemasons? No, that's different. Masonry is like crazy physics. You learn all these formulas so you can make these crazy things without any force. I watch shows about how they built the pyramids, and I'm like I know how they built the pyramids.

So aliens didn't make the pyramids?
No way! Maybe aliens were cracking the whip on humans, but everything is a formula, and anything is possible.

I'm pretty sure that it's scientific fact that they where built by aliens.
I don't know. I don't listen to science, I don't listen to religion, and I quit school, so I don't know anything about facts.

You're on the cover of magazines and have a part in two new videos -- it's weird you have to work a real job.
Everything just started happening now. It pisses me off when people are like, "You're balling now, you're living the dream!" It hasn't turned around yet. I haven't really gotten paid for snowboarding. I'm supposed to start getting paid this year, but I still want to work a job and remember how to be a useful human.

Ashley BarkerCan you do switch rails? Didn't think so.

Do you get bummed when people say you ride like a dude?
No, that doesn't bother me at all. That's the best compliment ever. People say you ride like a dude because they haven't seen enough girls ride that way, but what they're really saying is you're doing what you need to be doing to make your snowboarding look good.

What was it like getting that chance to film with Think Thank this year?
That was the craziest thing that ever happened to me. When I got the email asking if I wanted to film with them I was actually watching "Patchwork Patterns," and all of their other videos where out because I watch them so often. The chance to film with them is like making the NFL if you're a football player.

Do you ever do girly things like wear dresses or paint your nails?
My nails sometimes get painted if I'm spray-painting something. I'm usually trying to get paint off my hands not onto them. Dresses, maybe like once every couple of years, but it's annoying because everybody freaks out about it, so those people are ruining it for me.

So you wouldn't snowboard in a dress?
[Laughs] No, there's just some stuff that's not cool. Sorry, my answers are so long and everything. I'm staring into the sun right now.

How did you feel when you found out you got the Snowboard Canada Cover?
It's cool cause I've been learning how to do real switch tricks on rails, not gimmicky tricks, and I don't think anyone noticed that it was switch in my part. So it's cool that people will notice that now.

Do you have any snowboard celebrity crushes?
No way! I'm here to snowboard not meet dudes.

You need to turn your heart light on.
Yeah, maybe when I'm forty.

How do you feel about being the first Asian, Canadian, and woman to be featured on Look Who's Calling?
[Laughs] I feel pretty excited. Actually, I'm pretty nervous to see what you're going to write.

That's not the kind of excitement I was looking for.
Okay, it's pretty much the biggest honor that I've had since I didn't graduate.

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