[Meet some of the cool people who work at Flylow. Up first: community manager Aimee Doran, queen of the slashies.]
To be a slashie means you’re good at lots of things, you dabble in a wide range of skill sets. Aimee Doran’s friends call her Queen of the Slashies because she's multi-talented and has held a lot of different job titles in her day, including professional skier. These days, Doran’s main job title is community manager for Flylow, which means she handles social media and community outreach projects. She recently took on the responsibility of managing our team of athletes, too. But she never wears just one hat. We called up Doran to talk about how she got here.
First, what are some of your favorite slashie titles?
I’ve been a dogsitter slash nanny. An athlete slash model. Florist slash landscaper. Barista slash ski shop employee. Trail runner slash surfer. Now, I’m a social media manager slash producer. The list goes on.
In the winter, you’re also a professional shoveler.
I prefer snow removal specialist, thank you very much.
And don’t forget professional skier. How’d you first get into skiing?
I grew up in San Jose, California, and my parents were weekend warriors. We spent every weekend and holiday skiing in Tahoe. When it would snow a lot, we would get snowed in and ski powder and call in sick to school. I had a lot of energy as a kid. I loved skiing and being outside. I swam competitively starting from age five until I was 18. When I graduated high school, I was like, I’m done being in chlorinated pools, I’m moving to Tahoe.
In addition to producing photo shoots for Flylow, Aimee is often in front of the camera, too.
You studied art in college. What was the plan there?
I got a fine arts degree from Sierra Nevada College and I thought I was going to be a working artist, but then I really got distracted by music. In college, I took a voice class, taught myself guitar, joined a few bands. I took a creative writing class. I was always making up little tunes.
Tell us about the Rahlves' Banzai Tour, which you competed in for a number of years and took third place overall in in 2015.
It was a race series put on by American downhiller Daron Rahlves. It had a few stops around the Lake Tahoe area. It’s a four at a time, top to bottom race with very limited gates. It’s very flowy. It mimics natural terrain, so it’s not groomed or maintained at all. I was used to following my brother and friends and trying to beat them to the bottom of the run. It felt like that, just in competition form. I was competing against these women who were collegiate ski racers. Which I was not. It was sheer determination and stubbornness. I trained a lot and by training, I mean straight lining every mogul field I could find.
Sounds like you were very focused.
I wore men’s ski outerwear for a couple of seasons because I liked the fit better and to blend in. It was an interesting social experiment. I wanted to ski really hard and I felt like I could flow onto a chairlift and pass people without garnering much attention. A bright pink jacket just brings so much attention your way.
Aimee Doran surfing on Lake Tahoe in the winter of 2020.
What do you like about working in social media?
It’s cool to see how the ski community comes together. To be able to talk to people all over the U.S. We’re not trying to sell anything. We’re just trying to keep the stoke alive. That’s what I try to do.
How do you own your own time?
I drink my coffee outside. I take long walks with my dog. I like to take a long lunch break so I’m not just at my desk all day. I ski by myself a lot or with my dad, who’s 76 and still skis like a beast. Don’t undervalue the time spent outside by yourself.
Name one piece of Flylow gear you wear a lot?
I wear my Briggitte Tech Flannel under my bibs skiing. I wear a base layer, the Briggete flannel, and a shell. That’s my go-to layering system. It’s my uniform.