HOW TO PERFORM UNDER PRESSURE AN INTERVIEW WITH THE 2020 KING
“IN THE LATER ROUNDS OF PREVIOUS YEARS I’D USUALLY GET THIS LITTLE DEMON IN MY HEAD GOING, ‘DO SOMETHING CRAZY, THEY WANT TO SEE SOMETHING NEW!’ THAT WOULD KIND OF SCREW ME UP, ESPECIALLY IN THE FINALS. INSTEAD OF DOING ONE OF MY MAIN THREE TRICKS I’D TRY SOMETHING LIKE A DOUBLE HALF CAB MOBE AT 40 FEET BECAUSE NO ONE’S EVER SEEN ONE.”
Congratulations Jesse. Two King of the Air titles now, seven years apart. You’ve been very close to claiming the top step several times in between those titles, including at last year’s event when you were runner-up. Did you change your approach this year?
It’s been a pretty crazy experience. I’ve had a slightly different strategy every year since I won KOTA in 2013. Some years I was literally wanting to change the judging criteria, adamant I was just going to do my style and that everyone would think it’s awesome. I’d then wonder why I hadn’t won, which was obviously because I hadn’t followed the judging criteria. In the last few years I’ve developed a pretty decent strategy but just couldn’t quite implement it all the way through, often choking at the end. This year I looked at everything, including the fact that I also have a new baby girl, which has helped expand my views of what’s
