Patrick Wehner

One-on-One
with the
2002 Worlds Trick Champion
an interview with Paul Stokes

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Today I'm sitting at the site of the 2002 World Championships with French Team skier, Patrick Wehner. I first saw Patrick in a video of the ’94 Worlds where he pumped his fist in celebration of a job well done after his trick passes. He is a major factor at every World Championships. We are hours away from the Men’s trick finals. I sat down with him and went one on one.

Stokeman: Let’s get the basics out of the way. Tell us about you and were you are from.

Pa"trick": 26 years old from France. I live in Strabourg which is close to the German border. I am single, but have been living with my girlfriend Delphine for 6 years. I work as a state representative for a company that sells leather tanning machines.

Stokeman: Where do you train?

"trick": We use a private lake that belongs to a friend of mine. This is very special because of the environmental protection. I am lucky to have this place to ski.

Stokeman: You used to ski on the German team. How did you end up moving to the French team?

"trick": When I started studying I wanted to go to a special school that would allow me to study for half the day and have opportunity in the other half of the day. For most students this was their opportunity to work. For me, this was my opportunity to train for barefoot.

Stokeman: How many World Championships have you competed in? What is your best finish overall?

"trick": I have competed in every championship since 1988. I finished 2^nd overall in 1998 in Australia.

Stokeman: When I think of the best trickers in the world, your name is always there. What is your personal best score?

"trick": 9,250 which is the European record Who do you think is the best? Obviously Keith is incredible. He has broken the world record a number of times. David Small is also one of the best I think.

Stokeman: Are there any new tricks that you are working on?

"trick": Early in the season I was working on 1 foot 360’s. Because of my knee injuries this summer I had to lay off of them, but they will be there for next year.

Stokeman: What is your plan of attack when training for a major tournament?

"trick": There is no real plan. Early in the season I work the tricks separately. As it gets close to the tournament I will do only trick runs. I try to always do 40 minute sets and I never finish unless it is positive.

Stokeman: Will we continue to see you in the future? Is the World overall one of your life goals?

"trick": Yeah, I think so. It is tough with so many young guys coming up. I really enjoy the friendships and I would miss it too much if I did not continue. To me the overall is very important. You have to work and be good at every event. It would not be as fun if you drop one event. I want a World Overall.

Stokeman: Thanks for your time Patrick. I wish you the best. Are there any people or sponsors you would like to thank?

Patrick: First of all I would like to thank my family. My dad, mom, and girlfriend. Of course my sponsors: The Barefoot Company, Good Vibes Clothing

Stokeman OUT!!!