Being a teenager is tough. Your body is changing and so is the world around you.
Now imagine how much harder it would be if you were touted as the next 'big thing' and on your way to your first Olympics at only 15 years of age.
That's exactly the scenario Scotty James found himself in four years ago when he became the youngest male competitor at the Vancouver Olympics.
It is not surprising that the expectation was crushing.
"I was 15. I was trying to achieve what people thought I could achieve. Unfortunately I wasn't doing it at the time and it was impacted me mentally," remembers James.
What should have been one of the highlights of his young life became anything but, as James was competing against men twice his age, with twice as much experience.
"I wasn't excited. I wasn't really anything. I just took a big breath...it was just this crazy journey," shares the now 19-year-old, chatting with SBS at the futuristic Sydney offices of his main sponsor Red Bull.
The last four years have been crammed with enjoyable memories for the Victorian snowboard star. He's snatched a World Cup medal and beaten away some of the biggest names in the sport to be crowned the overall Halfpipe World Cup Champion for 2013/14.
"It's much easier for me to cope. I am older and more mature now," laughs the 19-year old.
While James is lucky to have sponsors salivating, he is still a long way away from achieving the same kind of support as snowboarding supremo Shaun White. The American widely regarded as the best ever has purpose-built halfpipes designed for him to train on. White is as close to a Hollywood celebrity as you can imagine - he is the Usain Bolt of the Winter Olympics. Despite the pedigree and star power of his opposition in the halfpipe and for the slopestyle, the Australian isn't worried.
"Shaun has done so much for the sport... It is cool riding against someone of that calibre. I try and put myself on the same level so I am not doubting myself at all," says James.
And for James, it isn't just the world's greatest snowboarder standing in his way. It is the unknown talent that he must also conquer if he is to medal in Sochi.
"There are so many up-and-comers over the last 12 months...I think it is going to be the best Olympics anyone has seen in snowboarding," predicts the Victorian.
And hopefully for James it will be the best Olympic campaign he has ever been a part of.
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