Matt Shaffer
 Shaffer in his early snowboarding years | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Matt Shaffer |
| Nickname(s) | Matty |
| Born | July 2, 1980 Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S. |
| Height | 5 ft 5 in (165 cm) |
| Weight | 150 lb (68 kg) |
| Sport | |
| Country |  United States |
| Sport | Snowboarding |
| Event(s) | Slopestyle, Freestyle, Backcountry |
Matt Shaffer (born July 2, 1980), known professionally as Matty Shaffer, is an American former professional snowboarder and business executive. Active from the mid-1990s through 2010, he competed internationally in slopestyle events and appeared in several snowboarding films under sponsorships from Burton, Red Bull, Dragon Alliance, Nike Snowboarding, and Technique Skate & Snow.[1][2] He was named to the U.S. Snowboard Team in 2001 for Olympic development and later transitioned into a corporate career with Davey Tree in Ohio.[3]
Early life
Shaffer was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, and raised in nearby Bountiful. He began snowboarding at age 11 at local areas such as Mueller Park Canyon and Brighton Resort.[4][5] By age 12, he was competing in the Utah Winter Games.[6][7]
Outside of snowboarding, Shaffer also played baseball and basketball at Bountiful High School, earning all-state honors in baseball.[8][9][10]
Snowboarding career
Shaffer began competing professionally in the mid-1990s and turned pro in 1996, specializing in slopestyle, freestyle, and backcountry snowboarding.[11] In 2001 he was named to the U.S. Snowboard Team for Olympic development.[12] That same year he was selected as an alternate for the 2002 Olympic men’s snowboarding team.[13]
Notable competition results include:
- 1st – Revolution Tour (Okemo, Vermont)[14]
- 2nd – Volcom PBRJ Championship Finals (Mammoth Mountain)[15]
- 2nd – Burton Qualifier Finals (Seven Springs, Pennsylvania)[16]
- 3rd – Burton Qualifiers (Northstar, California)[17]
- 3rd – Burton Rail Days (Tokyo, Japan)[18]
- 10th – USSA National Championships (Telluride, Colorado)[19][20]
Shaffer also filmed large backcountry jumps including the 90-foot Pyramid Gap in Alta, Utah, and the 110-foot Ravine Gap near Jackson Hole, Wyoming. In 2010, ESPN listed his switch 1080 over Ravine Gap among notable tricks of the year.[21]
Films and other media
Shaffer appeared in several snowboarding films including TB8, State of Mind, and Double Decade.[22][23][24] He also made a cameo appearance in The Art of Flight.[25]
His riding style, which emphasized smooth rotations and technical rails, was featured in Rewind: Salt Lake City – Episode 2 and Influx & Explosion produced by Snowboarder Magazine.[26][27]
He was featured in Three Seasons in Tahoe, a film that chronicled his time riding in the Lake Tahoe region.[28] In 2016, his avalanche descent at Sugar Bowl Resort was covered by SFGate and later referenced by Men’s Journal.[29][30]
Business career
Following his retirement from professional snowboarding, Shaffer briefly worked with Burton Snowboards before transitioning to a corporate career.[31]
He earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Utah and studied international business at Swansea University in Wales.
As of 2025, Shaffer serves as Strategic Planning Manager at Davey Tree, a national employee-owned firm based in Kent, Ohio.[3][32] His work has been noted in industry communications.[33]
Personal life
Shaffer resides in Hudson, Ohio, according to public professional and social media profiles.[3]
External links
Notes
- ↑ "Matt Shaffer at Superpark 21". Snowboarder Magazine. 4 August 2017. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
- ↑ "Athlete Spotlight: Matt Shaffer". Boardriding.com. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Moff, Allen (7 March 2021). "Former Pro Snowboarder Now Leads Strategy at Local Tree Company". Hudson Hub-Times. p. 7.
- ↑ Kindlon, Ben Shanks (May 2023). "Brighton / Microdose / Part 2". The Snowboarder’s Journal. Retrieved 17 July 2025.
- ↑ "Microdose: Brighton Resort – Episode 4 of 5". Absinthe Films. 14 December 2024. Retrieved 17 July 2025.
- ↑ "Rec Roundup: Utah Winter Games Highlights". The Salt Lake Tribune. 14 December 1993. Retrieved 12 June 2025.
- ↑ "Winter Games: Brighton Pipe Clinic". The Salt Lake Tribune. 12 December 1995. Retrieved 12 June 2025.
- ↑ "Bountiful High Sports Roundup". Davis County Clipper. 26 April 1996. Retrieved 12 June 2025.
- ↑ "Bountiful High Baseball Team in Region Playoffs". Davis County Clipper. 17 May 1996. Retrieved 12 June 2025.
- ↑ "Bountiful High athletes make headlines". Davis County Clipper. 28 May 1996. Retrieved 12 June 2025.
- ↑ "Athlete Biography: Matt Shaffer". FIS. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
- ↑ Hemphill, Les (16 May 2001). "Local Snowboarders Named to Olympic Development Team". The Park Record. pp. 1, B3.
- ↑ "Shaffer Surprises with a 16th-Place Showing". The Daily Herald. Provo, Utah. 20 November 1998. p. 21. Retrieved 17 July 2025.
- ↑ "FIS – Event Details: Men's Slopestyle (Event 21418, 2007)". FIS. Retrieved 20 July 2025.
- ↑ "Xtreme Weekly Issue 12: Spur of the Moment". Daily Sundial. 22 April 2015. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
- ↑ "Burton Qualifiers Finals: Settled at Seven Springs". Snowboarder Magazine. March 2016. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
- ↑ "Burton Qualifier series swings through The Stash at Northstar". Sierra Sun. 14 January 2016. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
- ↑ "Burton Rail Days 2014 Highlights". Snowboarder Magazine. 19 November 2014. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
- ↑ "Park City Rider Qualifies for USSA National Championships in Telluride, Colo". The Park Record. 24 October 1998. p. B8. Retrieved 17 July 2025.
- ↑ "Shaffer Surprises with a 16th-Place Showing". The Daily Herald. Provo, Utah. 20 November 1998. p. 21. Retrieved 17 July 2025.
- ↑ "2010 Snowboarding Year in Review". ESPN. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
- ↑ "Snowboard Movies Aren't Dead: The Triumphant Return of Mike Hatchett". Backcountry Magazine. 7 December 2023. Retrieved 11 June 2025.
- ↑ "20 Years of Mack Dawg Productions". Snowboarder Magazine. 1 December 2008. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
- ↑ "Finger Da Trigger – State of Mind". Snowboarder Magazine. 22 September 2014. Retrieved 11 June 2025.
- ↑ "The Art of Flight – Brain Farm". Teton Gravity Research. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
- ↑ "Rewind: Salt Lake City – Episode 2, Influx & Explosion". Snowboarder Magazine. 29 January 2019. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
- ↑ "Rewind: Salt Lake City – Episode 2, Influx & Explosion (video)". Snowboarder Magazine (YouTube). 29 January 2019. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
- ↑ "Three Seasons in Tahoe". Snowboarder Magazine. 20 December 2017. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
- ↑ Lyons, Jenna (21 January 2016). "Sugar Bowl snowboarder who rode avalanche may face prosecution". SFGate. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
- ↑ "Snowboarder Gets Caught in Inbound Avalanche at Sugar Bowl". Men’s Journal. January 2016. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
- ↑ "Featured Alumni: Matty Shaffer". Continuum. Vol. 28 no. 4. University of Utah. Spring 2019. pp. 17–18. Retrieved 11 June 2025.
- ↑ "Matt Shaffer – Strategic Planning Manager". The Org. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
- ↑ "Davey Tree Expert's Brady Holko Named Overall Up & Comer – Women in the Green Industry Award". Green Industry Pros. 22 April 2024. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
This article "Matt Shaffer" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Matt Shaffer. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.
