Life in Whistler: Dom Wrapson

Dom Wrapson is the perfect example of someone that has moved to Whistler for a “mountain change” – a change in outlook for life. Living in Whistler, BC has really seen Dom excel in his ability on a bike, and undoubtedly his confidence while riding.

When faced with job options last Winter, I couldn’t believe that he was planning to be a lifty when there were other more comfortable and better paid positions on the go, but then I realised that it wasn’t about the job – it was about the socialising and lifestyle.

Dom will never live it down, but if there’s someone stealing your waffle fries at the GLC after a long day of riding, it’ll be him. I hope you enjoy reading about Dom Wrapson in this Life in Whistler Rider Profile!

Name: Dom Wrapson
Age: 29
Hometown: Camberley, England
Time in Whistler: Summer 09, June 2010 to Present
Job: Mountain Bike Instructor, Airdome Attendant, Lift Operator (winter)
Bikes: Transition TR450, Transition BottleRocket, Evil DOC

What was your motivation for moving to Whistler? How did you hear about this place?
I’m a mountain biker, isn’t it obvious? The biggest and best bike-park in the world, surrounded with the best shuttle and pedal accessed riding you can get. Chuck in things like Crankworx and it’s an easy choice.

In reality, I was made redundant in early 2009 and was looking to take a break from my career to enjoy myself and explore a new country. I’d been getting in to downhill mountain biking and Whistler came to my attention pretty quickly, even more so when I went to see the Seasons premiere in London which has a large Whistler segment and I was pretty set on the place already. Fortunately a severance payout allowed me to come here and ride for kicks from June through September whilst at the same time partaking in the Instructor Development Programme. Going back to the real-world after four-months of that meant I was never going to last very long so I saved for 9-months over winter and was back in Whistler June 4th 2010 and have been here since.

How does your lifestyle in Whistler compare to your life at home?
Veeeeeeeeery different. In England I had a good career but I was mostly focussed around my biking so going to work Monday to Friday just meant I could afford the bikes, and to ride them in the places I wanted. Even during my working week I would commute between 50 and 100km a day just to get time on two wheels.

Here in Whistler, however, my bikes are my career – if you can call it that. I get to sleep in till 08:30 and up on the mountain by 10:00 to show people around this wonderful mountain on my bike, in the sun (sometimes), give them some coaching, and get paid for doing it. There’s plenty of time afterward to get in some fun or fast laps if I want to, and it’s always there on my days off.

Whereas in England I’d be earning as much as possible to afford this ridiculously expensive habit, here I get paid a lot less but disposable income is offset as I have access to great deals and offers on any thing I need bike-wise, as well as help from some of the best mechanics in the industry.

How long have you been riding bikes for? What type of riding did you do at home?
I’ve been riding bikes on and off most of my life but mostly casually. When my older brother started triathlon racing I used to travel to races with him to take photos, and eventually decided to give it a go. That’s when I started cycling seriously as I was racing myself, but that was stunted when I was knocked down by a hit-and-run driver in 2004. Recovering from that I continued to road-cycle but, again through my brother, re-discovered mountain biking which took over as my main passion.

It didn’t take long before my rides changed from proper XC to grinding up a fireroad to get to the top just so I could hammer down the descent. A friend of mine then took me out with a group of riders who were in to a bit of freeride and downhill and I was hooked. This was around summer 2008 so it wasn’t long between then and me coming to Whistler in June 2009. I even suffered a broken-knee in-between getting a little too cocky too early.

Has riding in Whistler changed your style or ability?
Heck yes. I came to Whistler thinking I was a reasonable rider… No, forget that, I though I was pretty decent. It didn’t take long to realise that I sucked… and my IDP coach regularly confirmed it (though not in so many words). Turns out, as I learnt through my coaching, I was doing everything wrong; weight in the wrong place, body position all wild, snappy movements. The coaching I got in that first season, however, has transformed my riding. I’m a loooong way off being pro (I’m too old for a start) but I like to think these days (when I’m not injured, again) I’m in the better bracket of riders here which, in this town, means you can certainly handle a bike.

Style-wise – I think any friends I ride with will agree here – I tend to be quite playful on my bike. I can be pretty quick when I want to but most of the time I’m just up there having fun and I’m a sucker for finding cheeky lines, off-trail jibs, and fun little double-ups, and drifting every single corner I hit. Just because I can.

What is your favourite riding in Whistler?
I think my favourite thing about riding in Whistler is simply the quantity of it. I can literally do more riding here in one day than I’d get in an entire season of pushing, pedalling, and shuttling back in England. Furthermore of every variety: we have a world class bike park and Airdome facility, not to mention municipality and community built pump-tracks and dirt-jumps, and a huge network of XC and AM trails. As a biker, there really are few, if any, better places to live.

Specifically, I think one of my favourite things – and it’s a perk of the job – is getting access to places most can’t. For example taking my bike up Whistler’s Peak Chair to ride off the back and in to some quite incredible back-country / out-of-bounds riding, plus the views are phenomenal. Just this afternoon I got to take a group of industry pros (media, bike co owners) up to a closed Garbanzo Zone to ride down the Whiskey Jack ski-run (which is still 2m thick with snow), and then be the first to ride Freight Train this year.

Is there anything I have missed that you’d like to add about life or riding in Whistler?
If you’re going to move here and can’t bear the thought of not riding your bike for six months – because that’s what happens when that damn white stuff turns up – then buy a car as you can always drive yourself down to Vancouver or further to Seattle and ride year-round.

Apart from that, I’d just say that the bike park kills bikes. Trust me. It doesn’t matter how solid you think your bike is, or how well you think you maintain it, this place will destroy it. I’ve replaced, at some time or another, probably every single part on my bike throughout the course of a season – except for maybe my stem.

Big thanks to Logan Swayze from Bike Park Photos for the action photos in this post.