Dustin Cook burst onto the international ski scene last season with three podium appearances, including a super-G victory at the World Cup finals in Méribel, France, and a silver medal at the World Championships held in Beaver Creek, Colorado.
Cook has been a national-team member since 2007, but doesn’t have the profile of other Canadian ski racers. The next time you need some chairlift chatter, here are five things you probably didn’t know about the 26-year-old from Lac-Sainte-Marie, Quebec.
- Normally easygoing, Cook is superstitious when it comes to racing. After placing 13th in the opening super-G of the season in Lake Louise, he wore the same long underwear for the rest of the season. “If it’s working, I definitely won’t change it.”
- Cook is very health conscious; every morning he drinks a green shake with chia and flax seeds. “It’s pretty disgusting but I’m used to it now. The rest of the guys on the team call it my salad dressing.”
- Cook is a big reader of science fiction and fantasies. Lately he’s been reading a lot of non-fiction, though, including books on home-brewing. “I want to be able to make my own beer.”
- Craft beer is one of Cook’s loves. The night before the Lake Louise World Cup race he drank a craft beer from an Ontario brewery. That resulted in him taking an assortment of North American craft beer with him to Europe, where he drank one every night before a race.
- When the idea for the Canadian Cowboys was born, eight belt buckles were made. Cook received the last one. “I guess I am the last of that era. Now there’s a lot of talk within the team about the next group, which I will also be part of, starting with what they are going to call themselves.”
by JIM MORRIS in Buyer’s Guide 2016
