Built to Ride for Life – Exclusive Interview with Jon Addison of Mtnwave Fitness

Jon Addison is a dedicated Performance Coach, Surf and Snowboard Instructor, and former Snowboard Athlete with a mission to enable the long-term success of ocean and mountain sports athletes and enthusiasts. As the founder of Mtnwave Fitness, Jon blends his expertise in fitness, rehabilitation, skill development, and sport-specific training to empower riders to overcome barriers, build resilience, and achieve peak performance.

Jon Addison, Performance Coach

About Jon Addison

What pivotal moment led you here?

There wasn’t one big turning point. It was more of a gradual realisation that built up over time. After years of snowboard seasons, surf trips, and pushing my body hard, I started to notice I wasn’t bouncing back like I used to. I carried old injuries from snowboarding including a dislocated ankle, a broken jaw, and shoulder issues from over-surfing, and I kept pushing through them. Eventually, it all caught up with me. My shoulders were tight, my hips had locked up from injuries and long hours at a desk, and I felt restricted in how I moved.

At first, I began training simply to fix those problems, to get out of pain and properly rebuild my body. But once I regained my strength and mobility, I realised I was becoming a better and more capable athlete than before. That experience completely changed how I viewed training. I stopped chasing short-term fixes or aesthetic goals and started focusing on performance and longevity, staying strong, moving well, and continuing to progress in the sports I love, whether that’s surfing, snowboarding, or anything else. That mindset became the foundation for Mtnwave Fitness.

What’s your purpose and mission?

My mission is simple. To help boardriders stay in the game for life. Whether it’s surfing, snowboarding or any kind of riding, I want people to move better, perform better and feel better doing what they love for as long as possible.

It’s not only about performance, it’s about sustainability. It’s about being able to paddle longer, get more waves, ride better runs, and still have energy to do it again the next day. I’ve seen so many surfers and riders lose confidence or passion because their bodies couldn’t keep up. My purpose is to change that by building real-world fitness that supports a lifestyle, not just a sport.

How do you balance work, family, and your own training?

Balance is something I’ve had to build intentionally. I also work on offshore rigs as an industrial climber, which means long hours and weeks away, so when I’m out there I treat sleep, training, and nutrition as non-negotiables. When I’m home, family time always comes first.

My own training is dialed in and efficient for the time I have and the maintenance I personally need. Thirty to forty minutes of either strength, movement, or cardio training, plus some daily mobility and active recovery, is what keeps me ready for everything. Surfing in Hossegor, skateboarding with my kids, or snowboarding in the Alps all require the same base of fitness. When I’ve got a heavier surf or snowboard trip coming up, I’ll shift my focus and train specifically for that, but the foundation stays the same. My training has to fit around my lifestyle, not take it over.

What drives or inspires you?

Progress and performance have always been the things that drive me. That feeling when something finally clicks, whether it’s linking a clean turn, progressing my surfing or snowboarding, or seeing a client paddle out pain free for the first time. I love the process of improving, both in my own riding and in helping others do the same.

What really motivates me is the idea of longevity and being able to keep doing what I love for as long as possible. I want to still be surfing, snowboarding, and exploring with my friends and family into my fifties and sixties and beyond. I want to be able to skate and have fun shredding with my kids, to keep up my abilities, and to tick off the big surf and snow adventures that are still on my list.

For me, it’s about never quitting, always living, and forever ripping. I want to stay strong, capable, and adventurous for life. Being an able-bodied father, husband, and rider means everything to me. Sixty is the new forty, and I plan to live like it.

Core values and motto.

My core values are authenticity, preparedness, and sustainability. These three guide everything I do in training, business, and life. Authenticity keeps me grounded and genuine with myself and others. Preparedness is a lifestyle. Whether it’s in the ocean, the mountains, or day-to-day life, being ready and having a plan is what separates confidence from chaos. Sustainability ties it all together. It’s about making small, consistent changes that last and help you keep progressing over time.

Education also plays a huge role in what I do. I like to know my stuff and use proven methods. If I don’t know something, I take the time to learn it properly rather than wing it. That mindset helps me bring real value to the people I coach and makes sure the systems I build are practical and effective.

My motto is “Built to Ride”. Everything we do in strength, mobility, and conditioning exists to support the life we want to live. We train so we can keep riding, not to spend more time in the gym.

The business

What is Mtnwave Fitness, and how do you help clients?

Mtnwave Fitness delivers surf and snow sports performance training designed around the realities of boardriders’ lives. We focus on five key pillars: functional strength you can feel on the board, rehab that allows pain free riding, mobility to restore and enhance movement, conditioning that delays fatigue, and sport specific skills like balance, coordination and agility.

Clients work with me through online coaching and app based programs with a strong focus on personalised programming. Each plan is built around the individual, their needs, goals and lifestyle to create real world results that show up in the water and on the mountain.

The goal is simple. To help surfers paddle further, catch more waves, and surf to their full potential, and to help snowboarders ride longer, improve faster, and reach new heights. Everything we do is built around pain free performance and longevity, training that prepares you for adventure and keeps you in the game for life.

Who do you serve?

I mostly work with surfers and snowboarders from their late twenties to fifties and beyond who want to feel capable and athletic again. Most are parents, busy professionals, or returning riders who’ve realised that fitness, not skill, is their limiting factor. I help all levels and abilities. You don’t need to be a pro; you just need the drive to improve and the willingness to show up.

The surfers and snowboarders within our Mtnwave Coaching Community want to keep progressing without the burnout, stiffness, or pain that often comes with age or imbalance caused by injury or lifestyle habits. They want to learn holistic training methods that unlock performance and build longevity, and many are fed up with quick fixes or cookie-cutter routines. They’re here to develop techniques that will serve them for life and to connect with an amazing community of like-minded riders who share the same journey and passion for outdoor sports.

Common challenges your clients face, and how you address them.

Many surfers and snowboarders come to me feeling stuck. They’ve hit a plateau in their progression, often because they’re riding through pain, stiffness, or fatigue that keeps holding them back. Shoulder or back fatigue from paddling, hip, knee, or ankle restrictions that limit movement and control, and poor conditioning that leads to early burnout are all common problems. Over time, these issues chip away at confidence and enjoyment, and that’s when people start to lose their edge or feel like their best days are behind them.

We address this by focusing on targeted mobility and rehabilitation, functional strength, and surf or snow style conditioning. I use simple, structured progressions that restore movement, build real world strength, and improve endurance. The goal is always the same – to help people move well, ride strong, and feel capable again, without having to live with pain or spend long hours in the gym.

What sets Mtnwave apart from other programs?

We don’t chase random hard workouts or heavy lifts that don’t transfer to real performance. Everything we do is built for purpose. Training is designed around movement quality, usable strength, and conditioning that actually shows up in the water or on the mountain.

Our programs are realistic and structured to fit around real life, work, family, and time off the board, with clear progressions so riders always know what to do next. It’s not about how much you lift, it’s about how well you move, how long you can perform, and how good you feel doing it.

A client success story.

One of my clients, Alex, came to me struggling with slow recovery after surf sessions, low endurance, weak paddling, and a sluggish pop-up. As a result, he was catching fewer waves and felt stuck in his progression.

Through his Mtnwave Fitness program, we focused on improving paddling endurance, building functional strength, and enhancing mobility so he could move more efficiently in the water. Over time, his athletic performance, confidence, and overall approach to training completely transformed. The results spoke for themselves – he went on to place seventh in his country’s National Surfing Championships, an achievement we were both incredibly proud of. Well done, Alex.

Industry + next steps

Misconceptions in surf/snow fitness, and your take.

A common myth is that you just need to surf or ride more to get fitter. Time on board is essential for developing your riding skills, but fitness is what allows you to develop those skills. Without the right strength, mobility, and conditioning, you’re at greater risk of injury, fatigue sets in, form breaks down, and performance drops. If you can’t move well in the first place, all the time in the water or on the mountain won’t help you access the dynamic positions that enable progressive and stylish riding. You need to address the root causes, like strength deficits and limited ranges of motion. In the end, your athletic capability always determines your ability to progress your skills.

Another big misconception is that cookie-cutter workouts or one-size-fits-all programs will get you surf or snow fit. I see it all the time, people self-prescribing workouts from YouTube, repeating the same routines week after week, and wondering why nothing changes. The truth is, these generic workouts don’t target the individual’s needs, and most people don’t have the anatomical knowledge or understanding of training principles like progressive overload and adaptation to build a multi-layered program that truly works for them. So they stay stuck, frustrated, and often in pain.

At Mtnwave Fitness, every program evolves with the rider. Training adapts as you do, keeping you challenged, balanced, and moving forward. It’s not about doing more, it’s about training smart and doing what works for you at the right time so you can keep riding stronger for longer.

What’s next for Mtnwave?

Right now, we’re focused on launching 30 Days / 30 Ways, a free daily series that helps surfers and snowboarders build consistency and momentum in their training. It’s designed to make fitness simple and sustainable by helping riders integrate strength, mobility, and conditioning into everyday life without it feeling like a chore. If you’re interested, you can sign up through our website or social media platforms.

Next, we’ll be expanding our reach with the Mtnwave Fitness Podcast and YouTube channel, platforms where we can share training insights, athlete stories, and performance strategies with the global surf and snow community. The goal is to educate, inspire and build a space where riders can keep learning and improving year round.

The ultimate vision is to launch our Adventure Coaching Tours, helping surfers and snowboarders train and prepare for bucket list trips in unforgettable destinations, including surf adventures in places like Morocco and the Maldives, and snow expeditions in Norway and Japan.

For readers inspired to start, what first steps would you recommend?

The best thing you can do is start small and stay consistent. Don’t overthink it or wait for the perfect time, just begin. Focus on small, sustainable changes that help you move better, get stronger, recover faster, and become healthier over time. Consistency is what transforms your fitness and your surfing or snowboarding in the long run.

If you’re not sure where to start, join our free 30 Days/30 Ways series. It’s delivered straight to your inbox and gives you a simple, structured way to build momentum in your training. No guesswork, no fluff. Each day you’ll get a practical tip, exercise, or mindset shift designed to help you feel stronger, move better, and get more out of every surf or snow session. It’s completely free and the best place to start if you want to begin training for your riding.+

You can sign up directly at: 30DAYS/30WAYS Surf or Snow Fit Series

Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and visit my website for more info!

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