Ollie Davies - his Esprit story
Ollie Davies became our brand ambassador for Esprit Ski at the start of 2022. Ollie found his passion for skiing at a very young age, on his first ski holiday with Esprit Ski - long before he competed internationally on the world’s stage.
Here we explore Ollie's Esprit story as we caught up with him on the slopes this season (2023), which is Esprit's 40th Birthday!
Where it all began
Ollie went on 3 Esprit Ski holidays before moving to France at 8 years old to continue his progression.
When asked why Ollie wanted to become our Esprit Ski ambassador, he said “If it wasn’t for my family taking me on ski holidays and Esprit being able to provide the infrastructure for us to come and have such an amazing time, I wouldn’t be where I am today or have the passion and enthusiasm I do now.”
Becoming a professional
After his move to France in 2005, Ollie began alpine racing for his local French club, Montchavin Les Coches. His racing began locally but quickly became regional and then nationally at the French Nationals.
At age 14, Ollie was selected for the British Alpine squad. He won first place in the Ski Cross within the U16 French Championship and at The BRITS.
Ollie finished his teenage years competing internationally. Competing at a high level in both the FIS and Europa Cup. Before his 21st birthday, Ollie won the Ski Cross Junior World Championship held in New Zealand.
Before competing in the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, Ollie’s biggest achievements include being the highest placed Brit in a World Cup race, winning a Europa Cup podium and becoming the first British skier to compete in the ‘Big Final’ at the 2021 Ski Cross World Championship, where he placed 4th.
Competing at the Olympics
Feelings of “pride” and “relief” are words Ollie used to describe how he felt when he received the call from his team to tell him he had qualified to compete at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. He explained that “after so many years of hard-work and dedication”, finally being able to compete is a childhood dream come true.
In the early hours of Friday 18th February, Ollie became the first man to compete in the Men’s Ski Cross race for GB in the Winter Olympics. In his heat, he was up against the 19/20 Crystal Globe winner and a double Olympic medallist.
Whilst the result was not quite what Ollie had hoped for, he is already focused on coming back stronger for the next Olympics!
When Ollie become our Ambassador
Catching up with Ollie
We joined Ollie and some of our ever enthusiastic Esprit Skiers on the slopes of La Rosière this ski season.
Ollie was spending a day with our Snow Club kids, helping teach a ski lesson in the morning and then joining in some exciting activities in the afternoon (including a snowball fight). Then finally, presenting the Snow Club kids with their medals of achievement at the end of a fun filled day.
We asked if Ollie had had a fun day? A clear reply from Ollie of "I've thoroughly enjoyed my day. I’ve had lots of fun skiing with the kids and joining in lots of activities. It's been really good".
40 Years of Esprit
We are proud to have been taking families on skiing holidays for 40 years and we wanted to know how Ollie, now an adult, compared today to when he visited Esprit as a child. Ollie said "It's all been very similar, in a good way, in that the whole set up has stayed the same. I remember singing the same songs as we went along, getting picked up by the ski instructor from our chalet to go for a morning of skiing, followed by an afternoon of fun activities with the other kids. So yeah, it's fond memories".
To celebrate our 40 years, we are looking back at our own story, you can find some of our history highlights here.
Until next time
Before we said goodbye to Ollie we asked him one last question - What are your favourite Esprit holiday memories? To which Ollie answered "My favourite memory from my childhood holiday with Esprit Ski, was just discovering this new world for the first time that I’d never really had any exposure to until my first Esprit Ski holiday. In the afternoon, all the fun activities, playing with other kids, throwing snowballs and getting fussed over by the nannies".
If your children want to follow in Ollie's footsteps, start their journey on an Esprit Ski holiday. Where they can spend each morning learning to ski and the afternoon having fun in the snow, whilst you spend the day on the slopes! Find out more now.
