Athlete: JT Holmes
Foundation: B.A.S.I.C.S. (being aware, safe, in, critical, situations), a program within the High Fives Foundation
What: Promotes safety and awareness through world-class coaching by action sports athletes and short documentaries that use the lens of hindsight to teach about smart decision making in the mountains.
Role: Director/ Co-founder

JT Holmes is an extreme sports badass. After mastering just about everything you can do on a set of skis, Holmes has taken his career to new heights as an airborne sportsman. Skydiving, base jumping, speed riding—Holmes is the definition of extreme, but he still gives two big thumbs up for safety. Concerned by the absence of a governing body of rules in the snow sports world, Holmes sought to fill that void through his development of the B.A.S.I.C.S. program to promote safety awareness and injury prevention for action sports athletes whether they’re airborne or slope side.

What inspired you to develop the B.A.S.I.C.S. program?
Well it was the fall of 2010 and at that point, I had been in action sports for 13 years, and I had seen a lot of life changing accidents as well as fatalities. Loss of life and a lot of the accidents are ones that are due to risks that can’t be avoided, but some of the accidents were totally avoidable. It’s these ones where people were really doomed before they even dropped in or stepped off the mountain that I wanted to address. Action sports don’t have governing bodies that regulate progression and outline a safe learning curve. There are a lot of enthusiasts for these sports of all ages, but they don’t see the safety precautions that are taken behind the scenes. Nobody is seeing what goes into it. So what I wanted to do was encourage people to use their heads even just a little bit because it can go a long way. By no means are we saying don’t do things, just think when you do do things. 

The program is in its 6th year now, how has it changed or improved since 2011?
It’s improved because it reaches more people now. We are presenting in more schools, our videos have more reach, our messages are clearer, and we’re getting out there more effectively.

“I’m happy to be spreading a safety 
message that is not a hindrance to progression.”

How do you measure the success of B.A.S.I.C.S.?
That’s a great question. Well, other High Fives Foundation programs can measure the number of spinal cord patients that they were able to assist in a year. We’re on the prevention side, so it’s really impossible to tally up the number of good decisions that people are making that were encouraged by our videos and messages because the true measure of it is that nothing has happened. That’s always going to be impossible to measure, but by reaching more people we have a better chance of increasing that intangible amount of non-instances.

Why did you pour yourself into this cause in particular? What does this project mean to you?
I had that one fatality in particular. A good friend who had a singular lapse of judgment and did something way above his skill level that cost him his life. You really can’t afford to make one bad mistake in these sports. One mistake could cost your life, so when I lost a friend and somebody that I looked up to because of something that never should have happened I thought someone needed to outline what safety precautions should be considered every time you go out. And it’s my way of giving back to the High Fives Foundation that has bettered the lives of many friends of mine, and it makes me feel good to be a positive role model by spreading the message. I’m happy to be spreading a safety message that is not a hindrance to progression.

Do you currently have any other philanthropic projects in the works?
I work with Project Airtime a little bit, but mostly just support them. They teach wounded veterans, individuals with spinal cord injuries, and others how to paraglide. It’s my way of sharing the air with people who haven’t had the opportunity to fly like I have.

Any other pro skiers/riders who inspire you through their efforts to give back?
I think what Sherry McConkey is doing with shanemcconkey.org is really inspiring.

Safety never takes a holiday, folks. To find out more about JT’s project, check out the most recent installment of the B.A.S.I.C.S. program’s short documentary series here.