Dan Wakeham

Dan Wakeham (born 12 November 1981 in Plymouth, England) is a British professional snowboarder.
Dan started snowboarding on Plymouth dryslope when he was 14. He was sponsored by Santa Cruz Snowboards by the age of 15 and traveling the country riding the national dryslope tour. When leaving school at the age of 17 Wakeham spent his first season in Flaine, France where he worked as a shaper in the snowboard park.
In 2003 a decision was made to join the GB team and set his target to compete in the 2006 Winter Olympics. In 2004 Wakeham signed a pro deal Nike ACG.
In 2006 Wakeham was the first British male to compete in Olympic snowboarding in Turin, Italy.
With the credit crunch hitting hard, funding got cut and life on the World Cup Tour wasn't easy. The national governing body for snow sports (Snowsports GB) fell into administration shortly before the Olympics in Vancouver. Wakeham made the decision to retire.
After a long snowboard career with a host of big athlete brand endorsement contracts under his belt Dan was able to easily walk in to various work roles within a host of action sport brands. Here is his Linkedin profile and website https://danwakeham.com/
Dan Wakeham: The facts
Started snowboarding at: 14 year-old
Best world ranking: 28th (2007/2008)
Best World Cup Finish: 5th Leysin, Switzerland, Halfpipe – January 2006
Olympic starts: 1
World Championships: 2
World Cup starts: 32
Europa Cup starts: 6
Europa Cup victories: 2
Europa Cup Halfpipe Champion season 2004/2005 (First ever Brit in either Ski or Board to achieve this feat)