J.F. Beaulieu Interview 2

Hello and welcome. So, uh, we're back in for season 2 of the Global Skiing Podcast, and JF and I had a great chat last time and we thought we should do it again. So JF's here chatting with me from, uh, Quebec, Canada. How are you, JF?

Super good, Tom. How are you?

Yeah, good, good, good. Um, We're going to make it a bit quicker this time, but I just wanted to see, since we last spoke, and now it's kind of almost a year in between, I just wanted to check in and see, you know, what you've been up to. Tell me about some of the major things that have changed in your skiing and what you're continuing to work on. So yeah, any good things, events, things that have happened in this last year you think are worth mentioning?

The first element that I did is after we went to Austria with Paul and Riley, we met with Fabian, that boot fitter, and I changed my, my alignment a lot. And I had like so much correction on my left foot. I had like I had about 5 degrees that was tilting my left foot to the inside, and I gradually took away that correction to come back flat. So that was major.

Yeah. And can I ask, was the degrees tipping you in, was it along the whole outside of your left boot? Yes. Yes, and was it under the sole or was it on the boot board?

Under the sole.

Under the sole, okay, yeah, got it.

So that's a huge correction and that was making my knee track straight when I stand on the machine, but honestly I've been using that for 3 years and I've just, I decided just to test, uh, the good old way, uh, like just I took everything away and I started from scratch.

Yeah.

And really made like my boot totally neutral, which is more natural to me. On the machine I'm not straight, but I end up in my mind I, I think I'm skiing a little bit more freely this way. On the machine it's nothing near the center but my body moves more naturally this way. So that was one of the biggest, biggest things I've been experiencing, and I'm still searching for flow and still searching for really good connections in between turns. I've been working a lot in between turns, trying not to overwork the end of the turn and really trying to glide better and connect the turns better. So with Paul and Riley, like, we've been working a lot on having, like, the center of mass traveling a little bit more parallel to the ground, not allowing too much rise in the transition. So this is some elements I've been playing with a lot, and I've been playing a lot lately with the idea of, like, the inside ski being the decider and the outside ski being more of the rider. So I'm gaining some angle with my, uh, my inside ski while my outside ski is enjoying the ride and gliding. Yeah, versus trying to force too much that outside ski. Like, and after that discussion with Ad about foot pronation, to me it's just to allow that pronation to show up naturally instead of forcing it.

Yeah, yeah, cool. And you, uh, how have you been going? How's the response been when you talk with this sort of stuff or train the instructors you work with, uh, with these kind of concepts? Even like real, you know, so like Rookie Academy, new people, do they, do you find they kind of get it today?

We, like, very often at the start, it's those movements are far away from what they initially do, but after working a couple of days on the movements, they can see, like, the power of those concepts, especially, like, like as basic as, like, a lot of people, they allow the mass to rise too much in between turns. Like Newton said, what goes up will eventually come down. So that leads to a lot of compression, which we see a lot in our students. And like, we've been working a lot more on like suspending the inside half of the body and really trying to, in the transition, to glide and connect with the ski versus rising too much. And like, it's been good. Like, the results have been, have been really, really good. And, uh, like, a lot more performance on the top part of the turn using those principles.

Yeah, nice, nice. So, um, uh, so you talked about, uh, you've changed your, your equipment Have you also changed anything in the skis you're using? Like, are you skiing more on a longer ski, a shorter ski more? Where are you at with your equipment for skis?

I've been skiing a lot more on a 25-meter GS ski, which like changed a little bit the way I'm initiating the turn. Like, you really need to be gliding with, with the ski a lot more versus the, the shorter skis, the slalom skis. They allow a lot more movement to the inside. Yeah, for sure it's been challenging at home. Like, we started the season with not too many runs open, so it's been very crowded. So it's always challenging to ski on a 25-meter GS when there's a lot of people on the slope. Yeah, so like I'm still using my Salomon busy days, but as soon as I get the chance, I like to play with those GS in order to test my balance on the top of the turn with those longer radius skis.

Yeah, do you find that with the longer radius skis you can work on some of the concepts you were just talking about more easily, or they're more apparent? As to whether that, you know, it feels like that inside ski being the decider and the outside being the rider. Do you feel it's easier to, to notice when you get it right?

Definitely. Like, yeah, like those GS skis, it tells you if your movement pattern is, uh, is good or not. Like, uh, on a slalom ski, you can cheat so much more Yeah, versus the GS ski, you really need to be precise in the movements, and when you do it right, the ski gives you back so much and so much glide in between. So like, I've been— when you start to ski on those GS, you tend to— you want to compress on that outside ski to make it bend.

Yeah.

But when I started to really like try to gain some angle pulling that outside ski, using a little bit more that inside ski tilting, uh, I started to load the outside ski through angle versus through compression. And this is when I started having a lot of fun with those skis. Like, yeah, they keep bending and releasing. It's such a nice feeling when you do it right. It gives you so much energy and so much acceleration out of the turn.

Yeah, yeah, nice. So who are you looking at, like, uh, you know, visually to help you kind of, yeah, get in your mind the kind of, the kind of picture you like to see, the way people move? Who are you looking at, like, World Cup-wise or just on the internet?

Honestly, I look at a lot, a lot of ski years, like, and I try to take what I like with everybody. And it's funny to say, but I've been looking a lot at the young racers in the ski club. I'm seeing so many 7, 8, 9 years old skiing so nice, so fluid, uh, like those— this junior equipment is getting so, so much better. Like, they're skiing on like very nice equipment versus a couple of years ago, and I get inspired by those young racers. I made a new presentation this year and I found that girl on Riley's YouTube channel. Her name is Lara Dalla Mia. I think she must be like 12 or 13 years old, like she's skiing on a GS race at the Topolino Race Yep. And I love the flow. And like, the girl must be like 80 pounds, like she's so small, but she's just tilting those skis back and forth, and it's so nice to look at her glide. Uh, I kind of— that kind of set up my, my season. When I started, I say, I'm not gonna try to make things too complicated. I just want to find some flow, and I really want to load the ski using the external forces versus trying physically to work too much in order to bend the ski. So like, this is what I, I see this young racer doing so well. Like, she's bending the ski as a result of the angle and direction she applies, but like she's not that strong. Like, yeah, she has— the legs are the same size as my arms. So like, yeah, she, she's doing some amazing turn and like a lot of deflection, a lot of rebound with not a lot of muscles. Yeah, that was quite inspiring for me. And like, it, it leads a little bit like the last discussion we've had, like using a lot like the, the catapult effect. And I'm, I'm trying to like work a little bit more, uh, with the, the winding and unwinding versus trying to muscle my way around those turns.

Yeah, cool.

For sure. I, I look at, uh, at Paul, at Riley. I look at a lot of the Japanese skiers like our incredible like Takao Maruyama, Daisuke Yoshioka. I look at Richie Berger, I really like what he does. I look at Andreas Petl, I look at like John Ashland, Jonathan Belou, like there's so many skiers who are doing such a good job and like those Swiss guys are amazing skiers. Like there's like so many good guys out there that that we don't necessarily hear about. And I, I love to watch, like, at a skier who is, uh, loose and letting things happen as a result versus using too much muscle.

Yeah, yeah, cool. Yeah, I, I must say, at the, the last Interski in Ushuaia, um, there was one Swiss guy there who probably took the cake as my favorite on-piste skier anyway. And he had that looseness, dynamic kind of body flow. And yeah, it was awesome to see him come down this really icy, steep blue section above the demo slope and just absolutely like lay these slalom skis over perfectly and just get popped up and over into the next one. I really, I really liked his whole body kind of just being a little bit more supple, not super disciplined with, with the arms or the upper body, just allowing them to all be a little bit more, yeah, mobile and, and adaptable. That was really cool. So I took away Yeah, a bit like watching kids, you know, trying not to force things too much. It's, it's very easy to do, isn't it? To just try and create a picture rather than just let it happen.

Yeah, and you know, from the last discussion we've had, like you were telling me that like the muscles, they don't like to be like in a stretched or in a compressed position for a long time. And yeah, like This is another element that really inspired me in that discussion. Like, as soon as you try to lock yourself up in the extreme, this is where it starts to be unnatural.

Yeah, yep, yeah, like we talked about, you need some perpetual motion to just keep going where things are just bouncing around and, and, and gaining energy and releasing it and, and being sort of flung into one area to another, not, not keeping it kind of contained, but allowing it to kind of bounce around your whole, your whole body.

Yeah, exactly. And this is what I see in the young skiers. Like, it's really nice to see an 8-year-old doing that, and there is some incredible kids out there. Like, I was just looking at— I was coaching the other day, and there was a a ski club course next to mine. And like, I was looking at those kids and I was so impressed, and they were so small. Uh, like, I just stopped one of them and I say, just, you're skiing so well, tell me what you're thinking about. And he said, I'm just trying to put the skis this way and this way, and that's it. Like, it's so simple in his mind. And honestly, this is it. Yeah, like we— if we like— if we incorporate some flow in our moves, I think this is the key, and this is what stands out in, in the, the good skier's movement patterns.

Yeah, yeah, absolutely. So, um, the, uh, the next project— like, if you like the project kits you did with Paul and Riley, the next one, have you got some ideas on what you would like to present or talk about, you know, other than what we've worked on— sorry, talked about already in that project? Where do you think we could— some of the elite skiers could, I guess, focus on to help the rest of the ski world come along and keep progressing? Where do you think there's some information they need?

Honestly, and it's not because we talk, but I think, I think you should be involved into that because I think we need to learn how to use our body properly. And you know what you've said about that Swiss skier was a little bit more like free in his movements. I think like this is where I want to go. I don't want to lock myself up and I want to use my body and like create a catapult effect with my body. And for that, we need some guys like you in order to increase the understanding we have and try to maybe get out of the perfect image and really try— like, the people, they'll forget a little bit the image when the catapult is active, it gets— it's so impressive when you see the result of like having, like engaging in the, like the movements in the right sequence and having that unwinding that really creates a lot of deflection. Like I think there's some, some stuff we can modify a little bit in the way we ski in order to achieve that. And we need a guy who has the knowledge you have, I think, in order to go further with that.

Yeah, cool. Yeah, because did you see at the last project, I know you had, there's quite a lot of people following you guys around, and there's one guy I'm maybe thinking of in particular who put up a video of his progression over the few days he skied with you guys. So, um, what do you think was a big part of him? Because to me, he looked like he— his skiing just went like totally different over those few days. Like, do you think it was— it was, uh, this environment of just all these passionate skiers? Was that a big component? Was it the information he got? Do you think it was just watching and watching others? What do you reckon? Was kind of—

I think honestly it made for everybody, like we talked about it, and for everybody just being together has been like really great to give the best of ourselves. Like, where everybody's working really hard, like everybody's working on their side, and we don't get the chance that much to train together and like it's just been great to get together. The environment was so positive, so, so free that it allowed us just to ski to offer our full potential. So that was like a really good atmosphere that helps. But also I guess like we all learn from each other and it's fun to stimulate the eye. Like for sure when you look at good skiing it makes you want to ski better and it makes you want to try stuff. And for sure, like, everyone has a bit of his own style, but we try to get like what we liked about each other. And for example, Charles, who was skiing with us— Charles and Dominik, who were following us around— they did amazing turns. And I think like looking a little bit at the movement patterns they just try to emulate a little bit what Paul and Riley were doing. And like, those guys skied really, really great, like, made some super nice turns. But we haven't necessarily coached each other that much. We just talk a little bit about our beliefs, what we're working on, but we haven't really like went into the coaching. Like, well, when we started this whole thing, he was saying Riley and I, when we're skiing, we're, we're, we're just having fun skiing and we're talking about skiing when we're in the living room. Yeah, like when we're on the slopes, we finally get to ski together, we just enjoy every turn and we just ski. And this is what we did. We ski, we filmed, we haven't talked that much on the side of the run. Like, we've done some talking inside and share a little bit how we view things, but, uh, that's also like— it could get kind of a little bit painful sometimes when we just talk about it but we don't actually ski. Yeah, we've done a— we've done a lot of skiing together, and I think just the environment made everybody ski to their full potential.

Yeah. That's what it seemed like. And yeah, it would be cool. I think that would be a great idea for like a camp one day. Like, I've got an idea. What I would love to do is, you know, you go away for a week with these people, you know, who ski really well. But there's not a really big formula to like, this is what we do this day or whatever. It's more you go out and ski. In the mornings, you perhaps explore your body and get to know it a little bit better and feel some things that are strange and new, and then you go out and just try that sort of in your skiing, taking your skiing out of your comfort zone and, you know, taking discipline away and just seeing what happens when you, yeah, maybe try and emulate the angles or the kind of the slingshotting across the hill of people and in a really non-judgmental environment. So there's no real coach, as you said, it's just a bunch of people that are bouncing ideas off of each other.

Yeah, and this is exactly what happened out there. Like, when you say non-judgment, like, we were there to enjoy like the skiing of everybody. And we, like, there was no critique, or there was no, like, if there was a comment, like, we asked each other at one point, like, what do you think about what I do, and what would you do different, or whatever. Yeah, we talked about it, but it was kind of a small portion of our, of our week. Like, we've, we've basically skied and inspired each other. Which I think honestly, like, that was the best ski week of my life, honestly. Like, yeah, skiing with a bunch of friends and just going for it but not overthinking it. Yeah, it was just so nice.

Yeah, yep. And I imagine there was probably, um, like, it's really nice if, if someone asks you you know, for your input, if you respond with, you know, trying to find out, well, what is it you're actually trying to do first? Because if you're giving feedback on something that they're not really trying to do, then that's not very helpful. So I'm sure there was a bit of that in there. They would, you know, you'd ask each other, well, what are you trying to achieve first before I tell you if you're achieving that or not?

Yeah, definitely, especially when, you know, you get out of your country and you're skiing with some people from another country, that is like for sure, like you don't want to impose stuff. So you always, you're interested in, okay, what are you trying to do? What's important for you? Yeah. And, and then when the doors open, they're gonna like in the discussion, okay, so, all right, that's interesting. So I try to do what you do, but here's the path I take. Yeah, and this is what we're interested in. We're not necessarily interested in, okay, you should do that and you should do that this way, or here's like how you should do it. No, it's more like, I like what you do and I feel that also. Here's how I feel it, and here how the, the, the way I, I train with it. So it's a lot more healthy conversations.

Yeah, definitely, definitely it is. Yeah, cool. Well, I think the next project could be perhaps full of hundreds of people following you guys around, which would be—

well, yeah, and you need, you need to be part of the project, uh, Tom, honestly. Like, uh, you— I think you have something to bring, uh, around that table. And every time we speak I'm so inspired and I, I always look forward to testing all everything we talk together. And like, you're— you have to be there, buddy.

Yeah, yeah, I'm gonna, I'm gonna do my best to get over there. Um, so I guess, uh, wrapping up now, ask you about your equipment. Any other things you'd want to finish with? Like, what it— for, for the rest of this season, what's, what's your goal? Are you is there a goal you've kind of set for yourself in your own skiing?

Um, I— my goal is to, to ski and to receive the pressure versus physically trying to load the ski with, uh, like some internal pressure. So I'm receiving the pressure, I'm receiving the forces and directing the forces. And ideally, I try to do it using my body as a catapult in order to create a greater reaction. So, like, as natural as possible, trying not to put too much physical strength into it. And the concept of receiving and directing the pressure is what I'm playing with a lot right now.

Excellent.

And like, this is something I, I constantly have in mind, and it's tied in with the suspension concept we've, we've been talking about like for the, for the last few years. And I try to, uh, to continue to bend the ski using those outside forces. Uh, like, this is the key in order, in my opinion, in order to generate some performance.

Yep. Any, uh, are you at all playing in, uh, like off-piste moguls?

Um, I, I love off-piste. Unfortunately, uh, it's, it's so thin, right? Uh, like the last two seasons we haven't had enough snow to go in the bump runs that much. Like, we had very few opportunities. I've just been like today, I've said like I need to go like in the bumps a little bit, but there's still like thin coverage, a lot of rocks. So like hopefully we get a little bit more, a little bit more snow, but like definitely as soon as I have the chance, this is where I like to, where I like to play and to develop my skiing. I also ski, I also work a lot every day with, with the clients, and for sure I'm using a little bit of off-piste to develop the skiing, but there's some motions that needs to be developed on piste before we move to, uh, to this kind of terrain. Yeah, but definitely, uh, like in my training plan for myself, uh, like skiing the bumps and skiing, uh, like off-piste is I think something that will help me a lot to achieve my goals, that's for sure.

Yeah, because I guess it's a bit different in the bumps because the pressure is kind of coming at, you know, where you're trying to direct that pressure in the bumps, you're not really wanting to, or you could, but it's not so much about that deflection or anything, so yeah, Finally, are there any things you maybe switch your goal outcome to when you're in the bumps?

Well, like, you know, the bumps, when you see us skiing the bumps in Eastern Canada, it looks like there's snow like in Japan, but what's underneath is freaking hard. Hard. So it's difficult, it's very difficult on the body. So yeah, like you see, I always, I'm always a bit jealous when I see, uh, those, uh, like, uh, those turns in the bumps in soft snow. Like, it allows, like, when I look at Paul and Riley, like, I always, I always dream about going and skiing a bit of soft snow in Japan. It allows you to ski a much more direct line.

Yeah.

Versus at home, it's totally different. Even if you look at the snow going back and forth on each side, the terrain is a lot harder, so you need to have a bit of a rounder line in order to survive your run because it's hard on the body. But again, it forces us to, like, be a little bit more supple in the joints, and it's, it's a challenge to ski fast in those, in those hard bumps. But it's really, really good training. And like, you're, you're definitely using the configuration of the terrain to bend the ski. The snow is so hard that if you time your motion well with the terrain, it's the terrain that bends the ski versus skiing on softer bumps like you don't have that, that effect as much. So, uh, like this is something like reading the terrain is something we— I work a lot on in order to, to generate like good performance. Yeah, you could, uh—

would you even say that, um, that like you, you need to, to use your ski as another element of suspension if, if you're not placing the ski, directing the ski in the right spot, then it gives you no help in when it bends taking up some of that energy that is going to shock your system.

Exactly, like it's definitely like the way, the line you're using will dictate how the ski will bend and how you'll be able to connect those turns. This is something I've been playing with, with a lot. And you know, like, for sure I'm realistic also. I've been— I had like a lot of back problems. And like in the bumps, if my leg is doing like a lot of like extension and retraction, it's like I got some, some issues with like the left side of my body there in that in the last 2 years I've hurt in the bumps, so I'm always like careful. I don't want to end up my season trying just to go fast in the hard bumps, so I'm careful about that. But it's too bad, I need to live with it. But it's been— the, the bumps is something I really, really appreciate doing.

Yeah, so nice. Awesome. All right, well, uh, thanks again for time, JF, and as always, it's great catching up and sharing ideas and hearing what each other's been up to. And yeah, look forward to catching up with you again soon. All the best for the rest of your winter. I hope it snows a hell of a lot more so you get those softer bumps.

Yeah, thank you. Thanks, Tom. It's always good to chat, and I look forward to the next time. And thanks so much for again doing this. It's a great discussion and it's going to help us to ski better.

Definitely. All right, au revoir.

Thank you, Tom.

This episode is sponsored by Carv, the digital ski coach, and one of the updates I've really enjoyed this season is the addition of separate SkiIQs for moguls and short turns. In the past, Carv scoring was mainly built around carving metrics, which meant everything was viewed through that lens. But Carv have gone deep on that research and completely separated what makes a great short turn or mogul turn different from a carved turn. To give you an idea of how accurate it's become, the person at the top of the Carv leaderboard right now isn't a carving specialist, it's Olympic mogul skier Matt Graham. So the best SkiIQ in the world at the moment is coming from someone who lives and breathes bumps. And to be honest, my own highest SkiIQ is also in the moguls. Which makes sense because that's my favorite type of skiing. What's really exciting this year is the addition of Turn Tempo, so basically your turns per minute. It's such a simple external output that's incredibly fun to play with. So good skiing isn't just about edge similarity or parallel skis, it's about how you interact with the terrain and whether you can change your tempo on demand. So seeing numbers like my quickest tempo of 117 turns per minute in the bumps gives you something concrete to compare, refine, and work toward. I've been working with Carv since 2020, and every year I'm genuinely impressed with how much the product evolves. They keep expanding what you can measure, and they're covering more and more of the turn types that skiers actually use all over the mountain. So if you're interested in tracking not just your carving but every turn you make on the snow, check out Carv. And a big thanks to the team for supporting this episode.