Just the other day I was standing on the corner of the track at Mt. Jefferson watching practice runs go down and I see someone in black/red leathers and say "holy sh*t is that Ed Kiefer?!"
Turns out it was Ed Kiefer and he continued to race at Mt. Jefferson and Gravity Fest taking 2nd place in Open at both races bringing him to current #1 in North America- big congratulations. Ed was the Junior World Champion in 2016 but soon after took a hiatus from skating. As a welcome back we wanted to catch up with him over an interview.
Max Vickers (MV): What have you been up to over the past couple of years? Have you been hiding out and training for your racing come back?
Ed Kiefer (EK): To be honest I have not been skating very much. Real life kinda took over for a bit. With school and work it was hard to find time. I originally started working out for skating but over time it became another passion to me and something I did every day especially when I didn’t have time to skate.
MV: What brought you back to racing?
EK: I’ve always loved racing and never saw myself leaving it. I’m very competitive and racing allows me channel that.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bn8-JqaguYp/?taken-by=ed_kiefer
MV: Have you been good to get back on a board and travel to some events again?
EK: It’s great to hit some events again, I love seeing everyone but most of all I love the pressure it brings.
MV: What’s the biggest difference between competing in the Juniors versus Open?
EK: The biggest difference between open and juniors is depth of competition. In juniors there was always like one or two people your really trying to beat. But in open there’s twenty people waiting for one mistake so they can take your spot in the next round.
MV: How does it feel to currently be ranked #1 in North America?
EK: Having just come back into racing I’m really happy with the result. Just wish I could have put a little more distance between me and the competition with a couple of firsts instead of seconds. But definitely happy to make back to back finals after being away for awhile.
MV: If you were to guess the final heat for Killington who would it be?
EK: I think the final heat will be Daina, Thiago, Pepe and Emily. I would love to add myself to that list but I’m much better suited to more technical tracks.
MV: What gear are you riding?
EK: This year I’ve been riding a Deck made by Tanner Morelock and Seth Gouker over at Descent longboards. Below that I’m riding some 115 Valkyrie Voxters. For wheels I’ve been bouncing around using what I can get. From Magnums to Cueis and Face Skates.
We're stoked to see how Ed finishes at this weekend's Killington World Cup. The current standings for North America are close with Ed Kiefer, Emily Pross, Daina Banks, and Kyle Wester all close in points for the top spot. Let's rally.
