Thierry Donard in a few words

5 years old: first escapade on skis,

8 days later: winner of the competition on the village hill (without making a single turn!),

12 years old: first camera (a Beaulieu!); organises showings on a sheet in the loft, paid entry,

13 years old: enters into the Experimental Ski Study in Chamonix,

17 years old: meets Dick Barrymore in Chamonix,

18 years old: becomes a cornerstone of Uhaina, creator of Nuit de la Glisse,

19 years old: joins World Pro Skiing for 6 years,

28 years old: leaves Uhaina out of disagreement with the political power,

28 years old: starts the film series and concept "Pushing the Limits", 3 feature length films and 80 T.V. episodes,

32 years old: finishes the "Pushing the Limits adventure; during this period he plays an integral part in 60 firsts: ascensions, descents on skis and snowboards, base jumps, towing in to waves with helicopter (which gave lots of ideas to the core productions made in US),

32-36 years old: advertising (Paris life!),

36 years old: leaves Paris and advertising behind for Anglet in surf country. Getting bored, uses the money earned in Paris to buy Nuit de la Glisse with some friends.

36 years old: realises that getting Nuit de la Glisse into the cinemas would take long time! There are no more films; filmmakers disappeared with the arrival of videomania H18,

39 years old: finds a name for his films, an idea he had been chasing for a long time: "Perfect Moment",

43 years old: decides to start a clothing brand of the same name as his films, underestimating the energy that it would require of him! At least the riders would be better dressed in the films, especially the ladies!

45 years old: decides to write a book that he would finish at almost 48, no rush, every year brings its own lot of new exploits,

48 years old: Nuit de la Glisse: Perfect Moment and the dream is becoming a reality with a worldwide distribution into more than 40 countries and a target of 1200 cinemas for 2010.

During these years, Thierry Donard has filmed 875,000 metres of film, at 24 frames per second. We'll leave you to work out how long he has spent looking into the viewfinder.

At almost 48, he still skis steep couloirs, surfs and has recently discovered yoga and freediving...

He'll wait until 80 before taking up golf!