Checking In With Anon Athlete Anna Gasser

When it comes to professional athlete Anna Gasser, the list of podium wins, new tricks, and overall inspiration is non-stop. Throughout Anna's career as a professional snowboarder, she has become a two-time Olympic gold champion, placed first in the X-Games four times, is a two-time world champ, and continues to push the progression of women's slopestyle year after year.

To celebrate Anna, Anon has launched a limited collection featuring our M4S goggle uniquely inspired by the professional athlete herself.

Check out the interview below to learn more about Anna and what she's currently up to.

Welcome Anna, we're so excited to be chatting with you. To kick things off, tell us a little bit about your background and where you're from.

I'm from Austria, and live in the small town of Millstatt on the southern side of the country, surrounded by mountains and a beautiful lake. You would think that I grew up snowboarding, but surprisingly I didn't. I grew up skiing at a young age, which was always fun but I found it hard to stick with. I didn't get into snowboarding until I was eighteen years old. I actually got into snowboarding after watching all of these videos of other athletes doing amazing tricks on snow and knew that I wanted to do that too.

After all these years, I'd say that Absolut Park in Salzburg, Austria has become my home mountain. It's super close to me, and has a freestyle focus with an amazing park.

Can you remember what your first experience on a snowboard was like for you?

Snowboarding felt immediately freeing, I felt like I could express myself fully in the way that I wanted to. It was so freeform and creative, I immediately fell in love with it.

The first day was hard though, it always is!

Okay, flash forward to present day. You are such an inspiration as a professional athlete, and have won several competitions, including the Olympics twice over. What has that experience been like as a competitive athlete?

It's been a dream, and I love what I do, even when it's challenging. I'm at a point in my career where I want to try everything to evolve my skills as a snowboarder and keep the progression up. While I'm still competing, I'm looking forward to getting out and filming more too. This year will be mellow for comps, so I'm excited to focus on filming again.

When it comes to competitions, I always try to remind myself of the marathon versus sprint mentality. You have to take it step by step. I want to do it all, but I want to balance everything as best as I can too. I see this as a competitor as well. While I love being a competition rider, I'm now stepping into the role of being a mentor for the young and upcoming generation in competitive environments. I want to be able to help and build up other young athletes.

What has the filming experience been like for you? You have Schnitzel Time now available (amazing by the way)!

Humbling, haha.

But really, with filming, I feel like the newbie and it's been a humbling experience. There's so much that goes into filming one small part and you have to build everything, prep everything, and hope that it all works out. Plus, you only get one or two chances to land a trick, especially in the backcountry. It's just reminded me of how much I respect all parts of snowboarding.

Alright, how long have you been with Anon, and let's talk about your limited edition M4S goggles.

I've been with Anon for eight years, it feels like it went by super fast. The M4S goggles are the perfect size and style, it fits women's faces really well. Plus, the quality is unreal and the shape is beautiful. The M4S Goggles look so good with my Oslo WaveCel Helmet, I love the framed lens look that's oversized, but fits the face perfectly.

Was there anything that helped to inspire the design and color of the goggles?

I really wanted a goggle that fit well with all outerwear, and white has always looked so great on. Plus, it has a feminine touch of light pink to go with the white, but it's simple.

White goggles give a clean, sharp look. I also love the hologram branding and the peace, love and earth designs fit with the times and it's just a message I try to live by.

Anna, thank you so much for chatting today! We have a few, last and fun questions to wrap this up. What's your favorite food, song, and mountain?

• Food - Wiener Shinitzel, or pasta with tomato sauce!
• Favorite Song - I couldn't pick one, I love music so much.
• Favorite Mountain - Absolut Park!

Be sure to check out Anna's limited edition M4S while supplies last.