The Booby Trap
Henry North talks the coaching team behind 2023's young sports personality of the year, Mia Brookes
In February 2023, Mia Brookes achieved something no Brit had ever done before - winning in a snowboarding slopestyle world championship.
As the youngest ever champion at 16, Mia Brookes was crowned in Georgia overcoming rival New Zealander Zoi Sadowski-Synnott. The victory immediately raised a question: how can Brookes, raised in Cheshire, compete with rivals from countries with facilities like the South Island of New Zealand?
Yeah, Mia had periods of living in the Alps with her parents, but where did her distinctive slopestyle come from? About a 3,021-mile drive from Georgia, you’ll arrive in Manchester where - if you look hard enough - you’ll find Booby Trap.
Booby Trap is freestyle coaching sessions ran by John Weatherly (AKA ‘Trap Lord’). John’s laid-back attitude makes him a great coach, but John’s mentality is visible in his trademark riding style. He makes it look easy, having a balance that represents confidence -even when hitting the gnarliest features and his style is similar to that of the recent world champion.
It makes sense when you learn John coached Mia. There are undeniable similarities in their riding. While John is largely confined to England’s snow domes, Mia hit the first female rider to land a competition cab 1440 (four mid-air spins) with a few grabs, in done in such a chilled-out style you’d think she just got out of bed.
When I asked John about comparisons between their styles, he said: “I personally think she’s got her own style and it probably does her head in everyone saying she’s got my style.
A lot of people do say that and its lovely, but I think she’s got her own style. I feel like we lit the fire. I can’t take credit, man.”
John admits Mia may have taken some inspiration from him: “It’s like the Queen’s Gambit where the little girl watches the old man play chess, and I’m that old man.”
Typical of John, his metaphors stretch your imagination. But it’s clear he acknowledges Mia might have learnt a few tricks from the Booby Trap.
Booby Trap isn’t solely run by John – it’s a whole crew of coaches who’ve nurtured a world champion. They meet in the dimly lit, little accessed, storage space under the slope. I asked John to describe the crew in one word, he replied with a simple “?”.
Booby Trap is approaching its 10th birthday, and John mentioned maybe throwing a birthday party. If it happens at all, expect it to be on a random day at a random time, in true Booby Trap style. But if it does materialise, who’s getting an invite?
Let’s start with co-coach Quinn. Charlie Quinn is best described as a cross between Father Christmas, a hippy and the Mad Hatter. He works on the elusive “Quinn time”, which will make even the most hardened philosopher question the nature of punctuality. Somehow, he’s always simultaneously late and on time.
No one knows exactly where Quinn lives – somewhere in the Peak District, apparently – but his house has a mythical roof leak that even the Michelangelo of roofing couldn’t fix (or find). One of Quinn’s snowboarding specialities is “a taco” - which in means falling off a rail and wrapping yourself around it, with your ribs acting as the meat in a metal sandwich.
Despite his eccentricity, Quinn has a gift of explaining snowboarding in the simplest terms. Within minutes he can convince a rider they’re capable of making any kind of gyroscopic movement.
But John’s “?” isn’t just about Quinn - it applies to all the entire Booby Trap crew.
There’s Tom White, Booby Trap’s main safety advisor. Working as a postman in Rochdale, when he’s not having brews with retired ladies, he’s busy doing safety checks.
Tom’s a solid rider. He makes hitting a “tame dog” (a side on front flip) or a spontaneous 360 look easy. But his real love is spinning on features. Give him a gasser or a snow dome special – nicknamed the “long black smooth” - and he’ll leave you feeling dizzy.
And then there’s Eddie. Despite Eddie’s easy-going vibe and kind smile, not much is known about him. He’s a massive Manchester United fan, but nobody’s quite sure what he does for a living. The most detail anyone knows is that he “picks up and drops off cars in Manchester”. What kind of work that entails really, well that’s for Eddie to know and you to find out.
John said, “he’s a bit of a mystery Eddie. He could be 30, he could be 78. I asked him what his age was the other day and he wouldn’t tell me.”
Eddie plays a moderating role in the crew. He’s more cautious, preferring “ride-on” features to the more technical “side-on” ones. His approach involves riding straight onto a feature rather than jumping from either toes or heels.
No birthday party would be complete without a photographer. Chris Cartwright is the Booby Trap’s official photographer and holds the monopoly on the best snow dome shots around. After all, what’s the point of ‘sending it’ if there’s no one there to capture it.
There’s also Gangster Pat and Max, who work at the local board shop, Subvert. When they’re not being subjected to customers trying too hard to act cool, they’re busy staying ahead of snowboarding’s latest trends..
To what extent these characters shaped a world champion, who knows? But one thing’s for sure: the Booby trap crew aren’t spending too much time thinking about it.