Clément Picart

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"My father taught about me two things: wine and skiing. I quickly made my choice." I had been told that Clément Picart makes a lot of jokes. He tells me that when he was younger he used to spend his holidays on the ski slopes, that he has always loved sport, that he was a gymnast and also practised snowboarding before diving into the wonderful world of skiing. "I even experienced the beginning of freestyle in the late 1990s. It was still a time where you were not allowed to ski in the snow parks in the Pyrenees." Clément adds that even though he now lives in the Alps, his heart remains in the Pyrenees. The story could end here but despite his desire for simplicity, Clément Picart never stops.

Originally from the Perpignan region, he moved to Font-Romeu at a very early age with one idea in mind: to ski as much as possible. He then went through what he calls the "classic curriculum"; competitions, being a ski instructor, trips to Chile and Argentina and the accident that turned his life upside down. "Following an injury in 2013, I contacted my sponsors and told them that I only wanted to work with images. Everyone supported me. What I've always loved about skiing is having fun. And what I wanted at that time was to have even more fun."

"We just ski, we don't need to take ourselves seriously. We're just lucky to have made it our job."

This is where the What's Your Name adventure began, a web series founded by two friends and intended to highlight the Pyrenees in a humorous way through beautiful action videos. "We wanted to share images of high-level skiing, to create quality content in a relaxed way. And then, above all, to stand out by remaining true to ourselves. We live in an environment where many sportsmen and women take themselves seriously. From the beginning, we wanted to emphasise the fact that in the end we were just skiers who were lucky enough to have made it our job." Parodies and performance: the perfect combination to turn a small-scale project into a national event with up to 15 episodes per season. "On paper, there were three of us, but there we were many more of us behind the scenes. Sometimes, to go to events, we rented a bus and there were 20 of us. The family and community aspect was our thing." Clément also has a verbal quirk, he speaks in the plural as if he is constantly being accompanied, putting the team before the solo ride. "Being autonomous has allowed us to be much more creative and to have fun. That was our philosophy. Today, my priorities remain the same. What I like to do is simply to show that we are passionate. I don’t feel justified to claim things or make statements. I have opinions, but they are personal. On the other hand, a good sense of humour, talking shit and showing some good skiing, I think that's more me." The successful web series will last 6 years. At the same time, Clément was already going back and forth to the Alps where he signed a contract with Courchevel. The aim: to create video content for the station. "I discovered self-production, which means that instead of being on a classic format with a rider and a producer, it's the riders who self-produce."

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"I've been here for 10 years, but the Pyrenean label is something you keep for life."

Now based in the Trois Vallées area, Clément is not only close to his friends, the Belleville Valley and Méribel, but also, just a stone’s throw away, the Vanoise National Park, a preserved and natural area in the heart of the largest ski area in the world. "There's a great playground for skiing, there are even take-offs for paragliding home!" Nothing less. In terms of slopes and types of skis, to cut a long story short, Clément is spoiled for choice. "I've been here for 10 years but I'm still the Pyrenean. I think that's an asset today because I'm not just the guy from the next valley. This Pyrenean label is something you keep for life and that's cool.”

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