Words by Oliver Rind

A decade of films by Blank Collective, crowning a prolific career in freeskiing.

In 2015, after years of competing in freeskiing in snow parks around the world, Alexi Godbout wondered what would come next. He toyed with the idea of becoming a mountain guide when Salomon asked him about his “five-year plan.” But there really wasn’t a plan. And that was just fine.

After meeting him this summer, it's clear that both in his work and in his personal life, Alexi Godbout is flexible and knows how to recognize favourable conditions, whether meteorological or professional.

An ego-free one-man show
“In cinema, roles are specific, but in the world of sports films, there are a lot of one-man shows. Producer, videographer, director... I don't really know what title to give myself.” Alexi speaks to us from his home in Squamish, where he's editing the next film for Blank Collective, the production company he co-founded, and which features him skiing, of course.

Is it difficult to detach yourself from your own performances during the editing process? 

“You can't be egotistical about your material. You want to make the best film possible. If you have to cut your shots, that's what you have to do. I’ve been watching ski films since I was eight years old. The first VHS I owned, I watched it so much it stopped working.” 

That VHS was 13, from Poor Boyz Productions. At the time, he skipped all the backcountry scenes—only the park interested him. In his mid-twenties, it was the opposite; he devoured anything about the backcountry. When injuries finally took him out of competition in 2015, his attention naturally turned to the West. As luck would have it, or perhaps as fate would have it, Jeff Thomas, a former Poor Boyz collaborator and now a friend, had just bought a house in British Columbia. He had a room for rent.

The following year, with a bit of funding from Salomon, Alexi and his crew decided to produce their own film. It would be Canvas, followed by Bearings in 2017. In 2018, Alexi started learning the art of editing from Jeff Thomas, who acted as a mentor for several years. Their collaboration became the impetus for several projects, including Tales from Cascadia, named Ski Film of the Year by IF3 in 2021. Eventually, Jeff left to work on other projects. 

“In 2023, it was the first time I was left on my own, and honestly, I was pretty scared,” he reflects. “Jeff had a lot more experience than me, and I had to learn to trust myself creatively.” Blank Collective now has a dozen films in its portfolio.

A film taken hostage
The first Blank Collective film, released in 2016, almost never saw the light of day. End of season—Yukon: Alexi and his team are in Whitehorse to recover their RV and go to breakfast at a restaurant. On their way back, their cameraman can’t find his backpack. It’s gone. Inside, all the video footage from the year on hard drives, with no backup.

Flyers are printed and distributed throughout the city. A reward is posted, with no great hope. But eventually, the phone rings. A meeting is arranged at a bar at the end of the day. It’s like something out of a movie: Half the money is handed over to check the contents of the bag, then the rest is paid. Everyone goes their separate ways. There will be a first film from Blank Collective—and many more to come in the future.

Backcountry logistics
In Blank's films, skiers almost always carry a backpack. There are no ski lifts here; this is the backcountry. Logistics vary depending on the location and the project. 

“There are trips where we stay in a cabin and just go touring. In Japan, we drive around in a van, and when we get to an interesting spot, we put skins on our skis and set off.”

At home or in Alaska, ski touring often supplements snowmobile trips. Video equipment is therefore kept to a minimum: "We're certainly not going to bring five lenses and two drones.”

We also have to think about safety. Blank needs people who are not only capable of filming but also capable of navigating alpine terrain, with rescue and first aid skills. “This year, we had younger skiers, so I looked to hire people with more mountain experience. The risks are real.”

Born on the mountain
Alexi Godbout is still a Salomon athlete today, having signed his first contract with the brand at the age of 14. That year, he won provincial competitions against much older athletes. His mother, his accomplice, added a year or two to his age on the forms to make him eligible.

Both of his parents are industry professionals; in fact, his father was already with Salomon before him, working as a ski instructor at Mont-Tremblant. He says that Alexi went through his teenage rebellion from ages 0 to 14. “I was a little brat, but when I started travelling with people older than myself, I was quickly put in my place.”

His career has been marked by numerous prestigious events—X Games, Dew Tour, etc.—but also by knee injuries at ages 16, 20, 22, and 24. After the fourth injury, he was unable to qualify for any competitions, as he had spent the previous year recovering. At the invitation of legendary freeskier Mike Douglas, he travelled to a film shoot in the Monashee Mountains backcountry in southern British Columbia. A revelatory experience. 

Taking shots and taking risks
“My risks are more calculated than before.” In competition, everything is imposed: date, location, weather. Today, Alexi has more freedom to decide what's reasonable to attempt, where, and when: “It's helped me a lot, especially mentally, to feel like I can keep skiing for a long time.” 

Is there pressure to attempt dangerous maneuvers for the films?

His answer is nuanced: “Today, I can ski in ways I wouldn’t have considered ten years ago, because my experience opens more doors for me.” He notes, however, that others—young and old alike—dare to do terrifying things. And that’s just fine; it’s also his job to encourage them.

It's true in all sports: the innovations of one generation become the norm for the next, which naturally takes things further. We asked him if he was proud to see a new wave of skiers building on the foundations laid by his generation: “I hesitate to say proud because I feel like that comes from ego, but if there's one thing I think about with pride, it's more about being part of freeskiing history, having my little place in all of this.” 

The future of Blank Collective
This year, Alexi is working on two projects. Cold Calls, the next Blank Collective film, is almost finished. The second is a short documentary about Bernt Marius Rørstad, a Norwegian skier who lost part of his right leg but continues to ski down the highest mountains with determination. The final segment of Cold Calls is also dedicated to him.

The project is a personal initiative of Alexi's, who wants Blank to evolve so that it can produce more than one film per year, in a variety of formats. There are no specific plans at the moment—but it would be almost worrying if there were...