Billy Kidd Has Taken Financial Course

Billy Kidd is now incorporated.

Kidd, the 1964 Olympic slalom silver medalist and 1970 world combined ski champion, has become a personification of the American dream since retiring from the amateur ski circuit 15 years ago.

His thoughts, which were once filled with dreams of fresh powder, are now occupied with corporate decisions and timetables.

Among Kidd’s many business interests are designing and testing new ski equipment for a host of international manufacturers, running a chain of ski camps, representing the Streamboat Ski area. He also writes books and magazine articles and doing television commentary.

No bad for a self-described “poor athlete” from Stowe, Vermont.

“I’m a poor athlete who just happened to grow up in a ski resort,” Kidd said when looking back at his ski roots. “I made the most of my ability and that is why I would like to think I was successful.”

The 41-year-old not only made the most of his ability on the slopes, he also worked equally hard in the classroom. He is the holder of an economic degree from the University of Colorado.

“I always thought of my skiing and travel as part of my education,” he said. “When I was in high school, I made a deal with my teachers that if I kept my grades up, they would let me miss class so I could compete on the national team. Same was true of college.”

Kidd began his illustrious career at the age of five by skiing down the hills in his backyard. His desire was further fueled as he got older by a unique arrangement at his school system.

“At the school I went to, they let you out early if you wanted to go skiing,” he said. “If you didn’t go skiing, you had to go to study hall. There really wasn’t ever much of a choice over what I would do.”

In 1962, at the age of 18, Kidd made the U.S. Ski team. Despite flashes of brilliance, success was hard to come by.

“I fell down a lot,” said the industrialist. “I just didn’t have much consistency. But I did get enough high finishes to be invited back the next year.”

In 1964, Kidd along with teammate Jimmy Heuga, became the first American man to ever win an Olympic medal in Alpine skiing. Kidd took the silver in the slalom and Heuga the bronze.

“I really don’t know why any American had not won a medal before 1964,” he said. “One reason may have been we just weren’t lucky. Luck plays a big role in skiing because you have so many variables. So much can happen when you cover two miles in just over two minutes.”

Off the slopes, Kidd said the skiers’ reputations for living in fast lane was overblown.

“The stories you hear are vastly exaggerated,” he said. “In the off season, we did have a good time. But when you are racing, there is a great danger factor. You are going down a mountain at 90 m.p.h.”

Kidd’s hopes of winning a gold at Grenoble in 1968 were extinguished when he sprained not one, but both his ankles.

In 1969, Kidd graduated from Colorado and decided it was time to get on with his life.

“I decided to race one more year,” he said. “It was not because I thought I couldn’t do it anymore. It was a matter of a lot of my friends leaving the ski team. Basically there wasn’t much money and they had to get out to make a living.”

Kidd was also haunted by the image of the athlete who stayed beyond his prime.

“I didn’t want to hang around,” he said. “You see a lot of athletes who stay behind their time. They are frustrated because they haven’t made it.”

Kidd’s 1970 season was his best. He won the first ever American gold medal at the World Ski Championship in Val Gardena, Italy, by taking the combined title.

However, even with the lure of the Olympics just two years away, Kidd decided to go through with his plans.

“It never entered my mind not to quit,” he said. “That was my frame of mind. I didn’t go out frustrated. I remembered Life Magazine ran a cover story on me after I won the combined. It was entitled ‘The Old Man and the Kid.’ I was the old man and I was only 26.”

Two weeks later, as a pro, Kidd won the World Professional Skiing title. The championships opened a lot of doors for him and he took advantage of them all.

“Skiing as an industry was just starting its rapid growth,” he said. “I guess I was in the right place, at the right time. Now, skiing is a billion-dollar industry in the state of Colorado alone.”

Kidd said one of his greatest enjoyments today is coaching young skiers.