Photos by Mark Clavin
More than enough for an NBA starting lineup, but one shy of filling up every position on a baseball field, the Gerard siblings make quite a team. With eight children between parents Jen and Conrad, they enjoy their time together outside and at home in Silverthorne, Colorado—just 15 minutes from Copper Mountain—when their busy schedules allow. “I love talking about my family. It’s way more fun than talking about myself,” says Red, a two-time Olympic snowboarder and Olympic gold medalist.
Look a little closer and it’s easy to see why. Ranging from two to 38 years old, the siblings travel, hang, and hit the slopes together, sometimes without even leaving home. And we don’t mean their home resort. The Gerard clan actually built their own tow-rope terrain park on a hill behind their house. They brought the concept to several mountains, including Copper, Park City, Utah, and Killington, Vermont, which is now lovingly referred to as Red’s Backyard.
While 23-year-old Red might be the only snowboarder in the family to earn a medal at an X Games or have parks named after him, he isn’t the only pro. Brendan paved the way as a respected rider in the world of ski films, and Trevor works behind the scenes in the snowboarding industry. Malachi, another brother, has been filming Red and others for the past few years on the road, and is becoming a sought-after talent lensman. His camera skills have come in handy for the family too, working alongside his older sister Tieghan, arguably the most famous of them all. She’s the chef behind Half Baked Harvest, a food blog with 5.3 million Instagram followers, and a New York Times best-selling author. “She’s got way more eyes on her, so that takes the pressure off—I’m just snowboarding!” says Red. That said, Red is no slouch, with a quarter-million followers himself. And with the whole family making regular appearances on Tieghan’s various platforms, the Gerards always have something cooking, literally and figuratively.
When we asked Red what it’s like having such a big family, he simply said, “I love it. Everything about it. We are all very supportive of each other. I wouldn’t have it any other way.” The proof is in the pudding. With podium finishes at just about every major snowboarding contest in the world, Red attributes his success to the good vibes at home and just putting in the time on his snowboard. There’s no telling what Red and his siblings will achieve next!