Tanner Hall and his new best friends.

Meeting an icon of freeskiing in real life is like bumping into a superhero strolling the aisles of Walmart.  He’s wearing a t-shirt and jeans, since that is what ordinary mortals seem to prefer.  But he seems startlingly out of place in sneakers, when we both know he’d rather be flying.  Coming face to face with Tanner Hall was just such an experience.  The USC Ski and Snowboard Team was invited to a special meet-and-greet with Tanner Hall and Eric Iberg at the Red Bull headquarters in Santa Monica, followed by a screening of Hall’s newest film, Retallack: The Movie.

For those of you less-informed snowboarders, Tanner Hall is a standout in the landscape of pro skiers.  He is a master of slopestyle and halfpipe, has a cat-like gift of stomping his landing with two feet, and has scooped up little prizes like nine X Games medals and the title “Freestyle Magazine#1 Male Skier” with ease.  It was fascinating to hear about Hall’s two-year recovery from fracturing both his legs in 2009.  Patience, it seems, combined with some intense trampoline training, can cure just about anything.  The film itself was a dizzying mix of powder and tricks and left everyone in Red Bull’s plush private theater thirsting for the start of the snowy season.

Tanner Hall and Eric Iberg answer questions.

Our crew: stoked to be sitting front row.

Well that was one rather epic film screening.