Austin’s Ben Weis rises to new levels

Ben Weis is returning the X Games feel and will be competing in the Red Bull Crashed Ice event in Minneapolis Jan. 24-26. — Eric Johnson/photodesk@ausindailyherald.com

Austin resident Ben Weis has come a long way and he’s about to go even further.

After a two-year hiatus from his pro rollerblading career that saw him compete in the X Games, Weis has been on ice skates as of late and is training to compete in the Ice Cross Downhill World Championship during Red Bull Crashed Ice in St. Paul, Minn., Jan. 24-26.

Weis has yet to compete in an Ice Cross Downhill, but he was invited to the event through an email from Red Bull without a trial because of his history in related sports. Ice Cross Downhill, which is new to the U.S. and has only existed for 10 years, involves four skaters in hockey gear going through the equivalent of a 500-yard bobsled course at speeds close to 45 miles per hour.

There are sharp turns, jumps 10 to 15 feet high, and there’s the presence of the three other skaters who are trying to get through the course first.

Ben Weis clears a chair at Riverside Arena as he prepares for the Red Bull Crashed Ice event in Minneapolis on Jan. 24-26.

“I call it craziness,” Weis said. “It’s just nuts.”

Weis will be competing against skaters from all over the world on a track that will run through St. Paul. The outdoor course begins at the Cathedral and runs through downtown St. Paul. The event is part of the Winter Carnival, which is expected to draw more than 200,000 people.

“I’m pretty competitive by nature in everything I do,” said Weis, who graduated from Austin High School in 1999. “I’m so ready for something like this to explode into and release some built up energy after being off the pro tour for a couple of years.”

Some of the competitors get to the top of an Ice Cross Downhill course, and they get a little scared and decide not to try it. Weis isn’t worried about that happening to him.

After all, he’s already dealt with rollerblading on the big hills of San Francisco back when he lived in California.

“That was scarier because there were trains, cars and people,” Weis said. “This is on an enclosed track, so I’m right in my element. If I don’t have to worry about anything except just going fast. It’s all good.”

Weis, who grew up in a home near Kauffman Park, began playing pond hockey at a young age. He was involved in basketball, baseball and cross country until he tried rollerblading at age 15.

After that day, Weis was on skates for good.

“Once I discovered that I could do whatever I wanted with wheels under my feet, I was hooked,” he said.

Weis went on to become a pro skater in 2000. He took fifth place at the 2002 X Games, which was the highest ranking for an American and he won two World Championships.

He was eventually sponsored by K2 and had a skate modeled in his name. The biggest venue Weis competed in was the X Games at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

Eventually the bright lights faded when Weis served a two-year sentence for a felony drug conviction. During that time, he changed his outlook and enrolled in a voluntary, prison/military boot camp, The Challenge Incarceration Program. Now he’s been working his way back to success for the past year and a half.

“I did some things where I had to be checked on my priorities and I’d like to thank my support network of Parole Officer Troy Dieckman, my mother and my friends. It feels really good to be taken seriously again after a hiatus,” Weis said. “I’m very thankful and grateful for the opportunity. I hit a rough patch in my life, and I pulled through it and became a completely different person. It wouldn’t have happened if I didn’t have a great support staff.”

Weis hasn’t just made strides in the world of ice skating. He’s scheduled to begin his pro rollerblading career again with a couple of events on the horizon. He has been playing basketball and pond hockey; he ran two marathons within four months, and he has got his mile run down to a time of four minutes and 50 seconds.

“At 32 years old, I’m beasting right now, and it feels great. Who knows what’s next?” Weis said. “I just can’t let it go to my head like I did in the past. I’ve got to keep myself in check since not too many people get a first chance. For me to get a second chance speaks volumes that everything I’ve done to change my life is worth it.”

SportsPlus

News

Trump wins the White House in a political comeback rooted in appeals to frustrated voters

Education

In Your Community: Money donated in Grandma Shirley’s name

Mower County

In Your Community: Duplicate Bridge

Mower County

In Your Community: Mower County Senior Center

Mower County

In Your Community: Fourth Holiday Bing-Oh! prize claimed

News

The US election was largely trouble-free, but a flood of misinformation raises future concerns

News

Jury convicts man of killing girlfriend and hiding her body in rural Minnesota

Mower County

Tom Robbins to be new executive director of Austin Area Arts

Mower County

Institute scientist and team’s database work featured in science communication publication

Business

Hy-Vee celebrates 25 Years of its Veterans Day Breakfast

Mower County

I-90 Austin detour planned Nov. 15-18 for Fourth Street bridge demolition

Business

Hormel named a Best for Vets Employer for 12th year in a row

Mower County

Technical issue from Tuesday night’s election results in slight ballot count changes

News

2024 Election Rundown

Mower County

Patricia Mueller retains District 23B seat

Mower County

Zielke wins special election to round out Green’s school board seat

Mower County

Incumbents hold seats for Mayor, City Council; Waller returns to council in Ward 2

Mower County

Glynn earns fourth term on County Board, Mueller a second term

News

Trump wins the White House in political comeback rooted in appeals to frustrated voters

Mower County

Technical issues causing delay in upload of Mower voter tallies

News

Democrat Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota wins 4th Senate term, defeating GOP ex-NBA player Royce White

News

AP Race Call: Republican Brad Finstad wins reelection to U.S. House in Minnesota’s 1st Congressional District

Mower County

Author to present winter legends and history at Austin Public Library

News

About 24 states say they’ll send National Guard troops to DC for vote certification and inauguration