Taylor Lundquist on Tattoos and Following Your Own Path

We caught up with Taylor Lundquist to chat a little bit about the meaning behind the designs on her Pro Model goggle and how it came to life. 

Smith: Can you tell us a little bit about how it feels to get your own Pro Model? 

TBL:  I can’t even tell you how much it means to me to have a Pro Model with Smith. Smith was my first goggle sponsor. I think I was 14 years old, and I was on the flow team. I’d get to pick a goggle, a helmet, and some swag.  It’s seriously a dream to have any sort of Pro Model product and design something that fits my authentic self.

Smith: What inspired your goggle strap design? 

TBL: The design all comes from my fascination with the history of American traditional tattoos and the process. I love hearing people’s stories of why they got a certain tattoo and what it meant to them. Maybe not every tattoo has a story, but it’s cool to have that connection with people.

The spiderweb is what I have tattooed on my knee, and I thought it would be cool to take something from myself and something that I’m passionate about, that’s completely different and separate from skiing but all ties together in a way. 

Smith: What was it like seeing your goggle in real life for the first time? 

TBL: When I saw my goggle for the first time, I flipped. I screamed bloody murder all over my house. My friend Chiori from Japan was there, and I put them on immediately. It’s awesome to put the work in and see what can come out of it.

Smith: If you had one thing you would want people to take away from you as an athlete and as a person what would it be? 

TBL: In the end, I think it’s most important to accept yourself. And once you accept yourself, then good people will come into your life, there’s no need to follow someone else’s footsteps. I think inspiration is very important and getting inspiration from other people, and kind of researching whatever you dig. Whatever your passion is, you can find those people that relate to you. But by all means, don’t follow their track, Find what track matters to you.