The Solid Seven will be a whenever the hell I feel like it article series detailing 7 solid, not necessarily great, skiing related topics. Whether it is 7 questions with everyone's favorite pro Jason Arens *cough* finish the damn interview *cough* (yes it's still not done yet), 7 epic BC jump shots, or the 7 gnarliest bails from the previous month, just know I'm doing you a solid.

Ahmet's Brother was so gracious to take time away from following pros to sit down and answer very important questions.

1. So what is it like being Ahmet’s brother? Explain the life of riding coat tails.

It’s like walking in a shadow that doesn’t fully engulf you, ya know? Because I’m nearly a half foot taller than him so I can’t be completely concealed. But riding coat tails… I went to engineering school and what was pounded into our heads was “don’t reinvent the wheel”. Ahmet has already created the Dadali name, why work twice as hard to make my own mispronounced name in his shadow? Oh and his groupies can get the closest thing to him. Very important thing about riding coat tails.

2. Is skiing in the shadow of your big bro something that you thrive on? Is it less pressure to perform at a high level all the time?

I had this kid at a restaurant tell me one time he knew my brother, as just about everyone opens a conversation with. He proceeds to ask “how does it feel… ya know.. that Ahmet blew up and.. you didn’t? you still skiing a lot?”. After coming off a great 13/14 season, doing some of the baddest shit of my life, right out of the gates from snapping my pelvis the year before, and this is the response I get from some fuckin gebroni? Being in the shadow can be frustrating at times.. there’s this chip on my shoulder, and it fuels the flame at times to push myself though no one is asking me to. When I decided to go to college 7 years ago instead of follow directly in his footsteps, I think that was the sign that I didn't want to be in the slopestyle circuit or have the pressure of an industry built to sustain only the top dogs, or maybe I wasn’t willing to risk it on a knee. I competed at times when I shouldn’t have. I have a lot of metal in my body to show for it. I couldn’t put it in words at the time.. I wanted to be my own name and I wanted “make it” and I wanted to win comps. I think I’ve always been a steady presence but I’ve never had a “blow up” season or the new up and coming golden boy that sponsors want to invest in. I couldn’t find a means to film in all these rad locations like everyone going to japan or trying to film with the Lafa crew on urban and bc trips. I actually almost gave it up going into this season to get a “real” job and pay my bills, but my heart wasn’t there. The dream I had as a child was still hanging on by a thread that I can’t seem to sever. I’m too in love with skiing everyday, making edits and developing more as a skier, and this is what I should do every day. I have so many personal ambitions of how I want my skiing, my artwork, to look even if it doesn’t land me the pronunciation of my real name. The fact is, it’s not a name or number of followers that will make you a better skier, no number of “likes” can take you to the top of a peak. That shit didn’t exist when I was a kid and it wasn’t part of my dream. None of the guys I looked up to or still look up to care about that stuff.

3. You’re about as hairy chested as myself. Are you secretly a werewolf? Why the sudden growth?

Then

And now...

I guess I just stopped fighting the inevitable forestation and consequently I believe that I’m beginning to look a lot like a modern day Jesus.

#SagaJesus

4. Besides Sammy C, is there anyone else you would want to be brothers with? Why?

After watching the latest Candide POV I tried a run in the life of Candide’s brother, lil 15 second instaclip. But idk he’s overseas and probably wouldn’t care much about his American brother. And have you ever thought about how much it would suck being the lame mortal brother of a demi-god? Being the brother of someone rich like Dan Bilzerian would be nice.. those are some coat tails I wouldn’t mind riding. But all in all I guess I’m content being Ahmet’s Brother.

5. You were a part of the I H8 NY crew back in the day. How did the crew get together in the beginning, why did you guys disband, did Andy have a chicken wing obsession back then, and will there ever be a reunion edit?

Once you’re a part, you’re always a part. Ahmet and I met Will Wesson at Bristol at some point back when he was a skiboarder. Not sure how.. but a few years later we were introduced to his weird wizard skiboard friend Andy. We had a few other skiers in the crew and made a movie called “Round 1” under the name Crazy Midget Products (sorry if this is offensive… Ahmet and I were obviously short at like 11 and 13). At this point Will made the jump to skis. We met Erik Olson and Ross Imburgia about that time, they skied at other resorts. Decided to start making movies together under IHNY and next thing you know we are rollerblading off shitty ramps into water and hauling truck load after truck loads of ice rink snow to eachother’s houses (search pooperpark). I don’t know much about Andy’s chicken wing obsession but it’s better than some obsessions out there I could imagine. What happened later was inevitable with our age gaps, ambitions, where we chose to live, and sponsors. It’d be nice to do things together again. I’ve always wanted to get together for a Pterodactyl Blood true release.

https://www.newschoolers.com/videos/watch/749555/Pterodactyl-Blood-Trailer

Pterodactyl Blood Trailer

6. The East Coast, also known as the Ice Coast, ski resorts have cranked out plenty of stars; Steve Stunt, Tammy Wallnuts, Andy Perry, and other countless pros. Did that experience of growing up around such incredible talent rub off on you at all? Do you think you could beat Steve in a game of SKATE? How about Tammy?

A couple years back, I remember Wally telling me that he came to Bristol and saw Ahmet and myself laying backies off a 3ft jump we built on the side of the trail well before we had a park, probably in 1999. His mind was blown at the time.. I guess I could have beat him at SKATE then and likely never again. Western New York had this early freeski scene that was off the charts because of the love and creativity you have to have when no one caters to you. What we had were guys like Tim Russel, Whitey Simmons, and Mike Sullivan airing 10 feet out of an 8ft snowboard pipe doing alley oop 180 mute grabs on straight sticks or early Dynastar rip sticks. We gapped moguls and found jumps through trees. Eventually our mountain started a shitty park and we would make trips to New England where we could ski better features. I developed a lot of park skills that I think are ultimately being united with the pre-park day skills of odd features and creativity we had to have growing up, and applied to the BC now and resorts like Snowbird and Alta. As for Steve Stunt.. his trick proclaimed “style” and “longest style ever” are possibly the sickest and most unmatchable tricks one can do. I don’t stand a chance.

7. What does the future hold for you? Will there be emulation edits like the one with Sammy C? Will you give us proof that you are in fact Ahmet’s brother?

I have a few ideas for edits this season and I’m not sure… the “I wish I was someone else’s brother” theme all happened really randomly and organically as I plan on most upcoming edits to be. I want to make some sort of satire, mostly things realistically dealing with the ski industry and being a brother. As for the future, there are a few game changers on the horizon. I’ve been called highly inappropriate for my humor in skiing and even my Lafa Channel “Going For Gold” opener, I guess our breed doesn’t have room in a sport run by FIS where this is called “appropriate” for our sport. My one comfort is that the parents of the kids I coach would rather watch me squat girls in bikinis spraying each other with champagne than this shit.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qiy9hzkvIdI

FIS' SONG

Anyways, I suppose its all the beauty of being in the “shadow”.. you can say and do what you want, because you haven’t set yourself up to have much to lose.

http://www.newschoolers.com/watch/749279.0/Ahmet-s-Brother----Daydreams-of-Being-Sammy-s-Brother

Daydreams of Being Sammy's Brother

Follow the coat tail riding @ahmetsbrother on IG & Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/ahmetsbrother for more epic shenanigans!