They call him Flyinbrian, and at just 14 years old he’s on the fast track to becoming the country’s first Black Olympic snowboarder.
His quest started at age 4, practicing on a plastic snowboard from Walmart in a ditch in front of his house in Farmington. His dad was his first coach.
Brian soon outgrew training in his front yard. Alpine Valley provided more of a challenge, and that’s where he learned to do his very first back flip.
And the hard work has paid off.
Excelling in five different events in one competition, Brian placed third in the all-arounds. From there, he was invited to train in Switzerland with other Olympic hopefuls.
“Everyone sees Brian as the most promising young athlete to be the first African American snowboarder in the Olympics,” said his mother, Kat Rice.
But of course, the right training comes at a price.
“When Brian was younger and he wanted to start snowboarding after I taught him how to ski, we ended up just selling all of his toys and had a big sale and bought into the Boyne Junior Fit program for his first snowboard. It takes approximately 40 to 100,000 dollars a year on an annual budget to support this kind of training,” Kat said. “We definitely are looking for more sponsors on a national level. At this point, his riding is there. The U.S. rookie team has their eyes set on Brian. He just needs a little bit more support and he’s looking forward to a breakout season.”
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Source: Metro Detroit teen on track to become USA’s first Black Olympic snowboarder | FOX 2 Detroit
