Laughs
Most people are familiar with the popular Instagram account Jerry of the Day. The movement has become so popular that Jerry has been coined and iconized in the skiing community as an almost satirical figure who exemplifies the rowdy, sometimes idiotic, and hacky mindset of a subculture in skiing. In addition, Jerry has become synonymous with a more positive version of “noob,” which has historically been used in other sports to describe someone new in the sport or not adept at the skills required. Jerry of the Day’s Instagram account describes Jerry as “an individual who sends life against the grain no matter the consequences.” If you’ve never heard of this, you’re welcome.
Throughout my own skiing experiences, I have come to love and respect the concept of Jerry. My friends and I often play a game on the chairlift called “Spot the Jerry.” It’s all in good fun, though, because we know we were all there once too. We all went through the painful learning process of going down a hill on two separate pieces of wood. And more often than we’d like to admit, we have catastrophically hilarious crashes which we only dream would make the Jerry of the Day feed.
@princesskaty615 send it for the jerries. #skiing #jerries #jerralinas #ski #fail #crash #sendit #360 #canada #falling #trick
The author crashes miserably on a 360 attempt at Kicking Horse, B.C. Source: Author
When I am not writing for SnowBrains, I work as a software engineer at one of the three biggest software corporations in the world–– I’ll let you take some guesses on which one. Working in a corporate job has helped fund some epic ski adventures over the years and additionally supports my ski arsenal and gear closet. While I am grateful to have a steady income, I often find myself daydreaming of being on the slopes instead of stuck in an office. So, if you’re reading this article, get back to work! But also, I am sure you can relate. On one of these afternoons, I came up with the figure of Corporate Jerry, and I’d like to introduce him to you.
Corporate Jerry is like a regular type of Jerry who skis and rides that you have seen on Jerry of the Day. Corporate Jerry aims to have the best experience possible on the slopes, whether on the bunny hill or a steep couloir. He also works a respectable corporate job which he finds difficult to balance with his shredding dreams. You might find him decked out in Arc’teryx on his first day on the magic carpet or riding the gondola while he joins a Zoom call with his boss.
I first developed Corporate Jerry to personify the strife I feel between pursuing my true passion for skiing and developing my corporate career. So I started to create a rudimentary comic series documenting Corporate Jerry’s adventures. Most of these comics were done in long meetings or while my code was compiling. You can check them out at Corporate Jerry Official Instagram.
Source: Katy McClintic (Author)
Since Corporate Jerry’s inception, my friends and I now play a new game: “Just how corporate are you today?” Again all in jest, it brings lots of laughter on the chairlift as we consider the irony of riding planks that are worth more than a car payment, lament that the best powder days always happen on Mondays, and discuss our recent gear purchases, which surely will make us go pro this year. This year I managed to ski while on call (that was stressful), work remote and ski for a month at Mt. Baker, Washington, and somehow…ended up with a second set of Arc’teryx outerwear. So you could say I’m nailing this corporate jerry thing.
Whether you are a ski bum or a corporate worker yourself, I hope this made you laugh and inspired you to pursue those powder dreams. If Corporate Jerry can ski while holding his laptop, so can you.
