With over 20 years of snowboard coaching on his resume, Ian Kirk brings a wealth of international experience to the Proctor Freeride Ski and Snowboard Team. His professional immersion in the field has created an inclusive approach to coaching and an extensive web of contacts throughout the sport.
Raised in Wilmot, New Hampshire, Ian learned to snowboard at King Ridge Resort, a beloved local mountain known for its "top down" skiing and riding. After graduating from Kearsarge Regional High School in 1992, he went on to attend Colorado College. While there he manufactured snowboards for Never Summer Snowboards in Denver, and of course, made waves in the upcoming world of snowboarding in the Colorado mountains. After finishing college at University of Vermont with a degree from the School of Natural Resources, Ian began coaching the Okemo Mountain School snowboard team, where he met and coached well known riders such as Kevin Pearce. This led to a full time, eleven year stint at Stratton Mountain School. It was at these academies where his philosophy was developed as he worked with some of today’s top professional riders.
In 2014 he founded Kirk’s Camp, a private coaching business with a multi-disciplined approach. The enrollment of international riders resulted in numerous international competitions, experiences, and influences, giving Ian a much bigger scope of the sport. From 2019 to 2023, he was contracted as Head Coach with the Chinese and Hungarian National Teams, and spent much of this time on the World Cup tour training top riders for competition in locations such as Austria, Sweden, Argentina, New Zealand, China, and Japan.
After years of full time travel and life abroad, Ian has now returned home to live in Sunapee, New Hampshire, and enjoys being close to his family while continuing to share his love of snowboarding and skateboarding in his local community.
