At the Nagano Olympics, he was stripped of snowboarding's first gold medal. The next day, he had the medal back. Today, Ross Rebagliati is a successful marijuana entrepreneur in British Columbia.
By Michel Beaudry
"I wouldn't change a thing," says Canadian snowboard legend Ross Rebagliati. Owner of one of the most notorious gold medals in Winter Games history, the happily married father of three insists he long ago made peace with his past. "Sure, it hurt when it happened," he admits. "It totally changed my life. But it also provided new opportunities for me and my family."
Today the 46-year-old is a successful medical marijuana entrepreneur in British Columbia's bucolic Okanagan Valley (use of marijuana for medicinal purposes has been legal in Canada since 2001, and the country plans to legalize the drug for recreational use in the summer of 2018). His dispensary is called Ross' Gold. It's a play on words, but also a reflection of where he wants to take his company. . . .
To read the rest of this story, see the January-February 2018 issue of Skiing History magazine. To read the digital edition online, you must be a member of ISHA. Not a member? Join today!