Since the first Racine County Sports Hall of Fame was unveiled in 2011, a wide selection of elite athletes and coaches have earned their rightful enshrinement. The growing list of names include Jim Chones, Kevin Barry, Duane Kuiper, Sonja Henning, Jim McIlvaine, John McGuire and Shane Rawley, to name just a sample size.
And now comes Brant Moles.
Hmmm. Now that’s a name that isn’t as obvious when it comes to local legends. Unlike the above names, Brant Moles was never mentioned much in the sports pages of The Journal Times.
But a man who made a name for himself within the realm of skiing will be returning to Racine from his home in San Pedro, Calif., Thursday night for this year’s Hall of Fame ceremony. And, yes, he belongs among the best of the best.
Moles
Moles, a native of Cape May, N,J., who moved with his family to Racine in 1972 — one year after he born — excelled in competitive skiing until 2008, when an assortment of injuries took their toll. While his health held out in this rigorous sport, he couldn’t have been happier with his career choice.
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It all started when he started following his father, orthodontist Randall Moles, around the slopes, at the age of 4.
“He got the bug for skiing,” Moles said. “He used to grow his mustache out and wore a cowboy hat. He was kind of into the western ski vibe back then. As soon as I started skiing, I really enjoyed the freedom. It was just so much fun.
“You know how winters are in Racine. You’re inside playing basketball or hockey or not doing much. So it was just a way to enjoy the outdoors in the winter.”
By the age of 8, he was ski racing at Wilmot Mountain. In 1985, Moles left Racine, where he was student at The Prairie School, to take his passion to another level at Green Mountain Valley School in Vermont and he became one of the best in the world at extreme skiing by the mid 1990s.
The peak of his career came in 1997, when he pulled off a trifecta of extreme skiing championships — the IFSA World Tour Championship, the World Extreme Skiing Championship and the U.S. Extreme Skiing Championship.
“I had a fantastic season,” he said. “I won three events out of five. It’s not that I couldn’t do anything wrong. I had a couple of mistakes and I fell in a couple of events, but I was just at the top of my game. I was skiing really well, I was really strong, I was really focused, I was really in a great mental state.
“That year in 1997 was a fantastic competition year for me.”
One thing led to another. He appeared in sporting films, including some directed by the late Warren Miller, an esteemed ski and snowboarding filmmaker. Among his other film credits include Johnny Tsunami, a 1999 Disney Channel original movie.
“My career of being in movies and making film segments was very big,” he said. “I was in lots of different movies and I also did some stunt work for Hollywood ski films where I was the stunt person for that.
“I really enjoyed the filming aspect of what I did, probably moreso than competition. It was just more creative and more fun and I could do what I wanted to in a lot of those. The stunts were a little different. I had to do what they wanted me to do. We would go three or four weeks and we would just try to get the best footage of skiing that we could.”
But a career in high-level competitive skiing eventually took its toll on Moles. At 51, Moles might feel a little older than his years after enduring a broken femur, four hip dislocations, a broken ankle, broken ribs and knee injuries.
“The injuries are what really slowed me down,” he said.
Was all the pain worth the thrills he experienced?
“You know, I wouldn’t necessarily recommend becoming a pro skier to people because of that,” he said. “On the other hand, I had an amazing experience and I met amazing people.
“Skiing is something I’ve always enjoyed with the outdoors and the mountains and the mountain communities. Overall, it’s definitely been a positive experience, but my career didn’t end up as well as I would have hoped and my body has paid the price.
“But I do feel that in most sports these days, if you’re a professional athlete, you’re putting your body through the ringer. And even if you don’t have major injuries, the wear and tear on your body is significant.”
In his post-skiing career, Moles keeps busy as a sales associate at Greener Produce LLC. He is also owner of BrantMoles.com, a website that offers coaching, information, training tips, photos and videos on skiing.
Moles’ time in Racine might have been limited, but he will henceforth always have a place in this city’s history.
“I’m humbled and honored,” he said of his induction. “I did some research and there’s quite a few fantastic athletes from Racine that they put in there.”
