Internet Roundup: Chloe Kim Talks Pokémon

Pokémon and Other Anime

When I learned that Chloe Kim was going to be an award-presenter at the Crunchyroll Anime Awards, I was surprised. When Kim arrived at the awards ceremony with Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett by her side, the rest of the world was surprised.

Teen Vogue caught up with Kim for an interview that almost exclusively focuses on her favorite anime shows and movies. The interview does briefly touch upon her offseason leading into the 2026 Winter Olympics. 

“I feel really good," Chloe Kim tells Teen Vogue in a quiet room inside Tokyo's Grand Prince Hotel Shin Takanawa. "I just finished up my last training camp of the season, and I'm now just gonna enjoy some time off, let my body reset, recover, and get back into shape. I slowly get out of shape as the season goes on because the longer it goes, the less I want to work out, so I gotta reset, [but first I'm] gonna travel.”

Who You Calling Influencer?

Ski Area Management Magazine featured an interesting story back in March called “The Influencer Equation” that I only just read recently. The author gathered six resort marketers—Luc Burns from Sunday River; Marsha Hovey from Trollhaugen; John McColly of Mountain High in California; Clayton Shoemaker of Big Bear; JJ Toland from Sugarbush; and Jared Winkler from Brighton Resort. The group talked about the good and the bad of influencer marketing, and had some nice things to say about two beloved members of the pro snowboarding community. From the article:

"Top of the Hill - A few marketers name their favorite influencers:

One of our favorite influencers to work with is Zeb Powell. He and his team of photographers, filmers, and friends—many of whom are also pro snowboarders—are some of the most selfless, community-minded individuals. Zeb puts his whole heart into snowboarding, and it shows every time he comes to Trollhaugen. He will stop to sign autographs and take pictures whenever he is asked, and does so with a smile, creating those core memories for guests of all ages.
—Marsha Hovey, Trollhaugen, Wis.

Pat Fava would be one of our favorite athlete/influencers we work with. He grew up riding in competitions here, has worked on our terrain park crew, and continues to represent the resort in a way where you know it’s his home resort even after winning X-Games, rail contests, and becoming a big name in the snowboard industry.
—Mike Harrington, Brighton, Utah"

Parasocial Activity

Slush, The Magazine has been pushing a story by Jonathan Van Elslander that it originally published in the October 2024 issue of the magazine, but is just as relevant as ever. The story explores one simple question: how do high-profile snowboarders handle the nuances of being snowboard famous. It’s a delicate balance. Most riders wouldn’t be recognized on the streets of Manhattan or in line at a Starbucks outside of a mountain town, but all you need to see is one teenager interact with Casey Willax in the wild to understand that while the fame of snowboarders might not run wide, it digs deep.

“One of snowboarding’s many oddities is that an enormous proportion of people involved are only a few degrees of separation away from those well-known professionals. Most people who ride regularly at Hyland Hills know someone who is friends with Danimals or JibGurl, if they don’t know them already,” Van Elslander writes. “It would be a once in a lifetime opportunity to shootaround with Lebron James, but you don’t have to wait at the top of the jump line in Whistler or Copper very long before an Olympic champion rolls up next to you.”