Off the Chain

"Off the Chain" takes readers on a wild ride through the rise of snowboarding, from its hippie origins in the backwoods of Vermont and California to its present incarnation as a $150 billion global industry. Illustrated with 100 color photographs, "Off the Chain" begins with the sport's early days, when the pioneers built their own boards and snuck onto the slopes. Author Rebagliati profiles snowboarding's most notorious figures, explores the nature of snowboarding culture, and tells what touring as a young World Cup snowboarder is like. He traces the mainstreaming of the sport, the evolution of snowboard fashion, and the emergence of Shaun White as snowboarding's first megastar. He's unsparing in revealing the sport's more controversial aspects, from groupies to drugs, including his own experience having his gold medal revoked -- and then restored -- after failing a drug test. Rebagliati pulls no punches in this lively mix of personal memoir and sports history.