The new film featuring Nelson, BC skier Sam Kuch called “Frame of Mind” has dropped. Here it is in all its 11-minute-long glory.

Samuel Michael Ernest Kuch has come a long way since we featured him in our “When I grow up” article in KMC’s “Future Issue” two years ago. In fact, you could say he’s all growed up with sponsors that include Head, Arcteryx, and Mons Royale, tens of thousands of followers, and now his own movie.

Austria-based Head Skis has released “Frame of Mind,” which the company bills as a “portrait of a very special skier and human. Please meet Sam Kuch.” The release notes for the film go on to state: “From finger-skis to headlining the big ski movies. From the valley of Nelson, British Columbia to the top of the freeskiing world. For the first time we get to hear the story from the beginning – as told by Sam’s mother Sheila Street and freeride coach Dano Slater, among others. We also get to tag along to the burnt trees of Monashee where Sam spent a few unforgettable days together with Cole Richardson, Jordy Kidner and Riley Leboe.”

The 11-minute-long “Frame of Mind” film was shot in Nelson, BC, as well as at Monashee Powder Snowcats and it has already been selected for the Banff and Vancouver film festivals, as well as for international events, including the Exo Mountain Film Festival in the former republic of Yugoslovia.

As journalist Jayme Moye wrote her article for us titled “When I grow up,” Sam’s “parents moved to the area from the prairies when he was one, and Kuch, his two siblings, and his parents all became expert skiers together. At 13, Kuch joined Whitewater Ski Resort’s competitive freeride team. His wildly successful youth career culminated in 2016 with a first-place finish at the IFSA North American Junior Freeride Championship at age 18. But when Kuch began competing as an adult the very next season, he failed to make the Canadian national team, crashing in three out of four qualifying events.

Hoping for a better outcome in 2018, and with the full support of his family, Kuch tried again, only to crash out of his season-opening competition. His confidence plummeted. He had hoped to follow in the footsteps of friend and mentor Trace Cooke, another Nelson native who’d placed first in the IFSA North American Junior Freeride Championship in 2013 when he was 18. Cooke had gone on to make the national team the following season and compete on the professional Freeride World Tour. But with Kuch’s disappointing first season as an adult and now his second season off to the worst-possible start, he became so discouraged that he pulled out of competing the rest of the year and began researching post-secondary education. He decided to enter a power-line technician program. Kuch had completed a training course when local photographer Bryan Ralph texted, asking him to show a small group of Olympians and professional skiers around Whitewater. ‘Sure,’ Kuch texted back.”

The rest is history.