Nick Baumgartner, right, is an Iron River native who is bound for the Vancouver Olympics.

Courtesy of Red Belly Boardshop

Nick Baumgartner’s dad paced back and forth through the family’s basement, too nervous to come upstairs, where his son was packing to leave for Aspen, Colo.

Baumgartner, a snowboarder sponsored by Ann Arbor’s Red Belly Boardshop, was headed to the 2010 X Games, but he and his family waited for an important phone call.

A few weeks prior, Baumgartner competed in a race in Switzerland. Near the finish line, he sat comfortably in the No. 2 position, which would have automatically qualified him for the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. Through the final turn, Baumgartner took a bad edge on his board, allowing another racer the slimmest of windows to overtake him.

Baumgartner and his other family members tried to get his dad, Robert, out of the basement, but it was no use — then the call came.

Although the X Games were only a week away, the call was an announcement that he was named to the Olympic team. If his dad had a hard time merely waiting to hear the news, he might be a wreck when he and the rest of Baumgartner’s family travel to Vancouver to watch the Games.

“I was so stoked,” Baumgartner said. “I come from a really small area (Iron River in the Upper Peninsula), and when I first set my goals this high, some people thought I was shooting too high right off the bat, but here I am.”

Baumgartner, now 28, started snowboarding when he was about 15 year old. He comes from an athletic family, and played a year of college football at Northern Michigan, dreaming — as any American kids does, he says — of one day making it to the big time, athletically.

He'll get his chance on February 15th, when the qualification round begins at 10:30 a.m., followed by the medal round at 2 p.m.

(Click here for the complete Olympic snowboarding schedule).

Although he is at the top of Snowboarder X — a race that involves jumps, turns, carving, maneuverability and speed — the lifestyle of a professional Olympic-sport athlete can be a message for kids who look up to athletes as role models.

In the off-season, Baumgartner works in the concrete business and helps a family friend with odd jobs. In the world of multi-million dollar athletes, Baumgartner knows that professional sports isn’t always about money.

“You know, you just have to follow your dreams,” Baumgartner said. “Keeping working, as hard as you can, and do what you love. You’ve got to make some sacrifices, but in the end you’ll be happy.”

Alex Dombroski, manager at Red Belly, traveled to Aspen to watch Baumgartner compete in the X Games and will be in Vancouver for the Opening Ceremonies. He’s more than happy to help Baumgartner achieve that goal.

“I’m really excited to watch,” Dombroski said. “It’s a good reality check — you know, he has to work a real job, just like everyone else. We do what we can for him, work out contacts to get him the equipment he needs.”

Baumgartner will be riding a custom-made Burton Snowboard that Dombroski and Red Belly helped him find.

Baumgartner and Red Belly first hooked up when the snowboarder was just beginning to realize his potential. At the time, a friend of Baumgartner’s dated someone who worked at Red Belly, and she introduced him to the shop.

Now with the proper equipment, Baumgartner set his sights at the top — the X Games, since Snowboarder X is a relatively new Olympic Event and wasn’t part of the games at the time.

Since then, he’s accomplished that goal, and then some. He’s been invited to every X Games since 2005, garnering his highest place, 5th, at this past weekend’s games. Baumgartner took a spill on the course’s first jump, but quickly recovered and met up with the pack.

He went from Aspen to Vancouver, with a little stop in New York City on Tuesday morning to appear on the Today Show as a model for the Ralph Lauren Olympic Wear on national television. 

The Olympic trainers’ workouts are pretty brutal, he says, but that’s all for the better.

“The pressure they put on us is unbelievable,” Baumgartner said. “It’s all designed to help us perform to the best of our abilities. But once I get in the gate, it’s all gone. I’m thinking about one thing — the job ahead of me, the race.”

One thing that’s tipped in his advantage is his familiarity with the course. He’s raced there before, and, not only does he have a good feel for it, but he said he’s raced it very fast in the past.

“It’s the same race I race all the time,” he says. “There’s no pressure … I have high expectations, but whatever happens, happens. I’m just super excited to be on that stage.”