Snowboard | Behind the Action Desiree Melancon

Pro snowboarder and mental health advocate, Desiree Melancon, has teamed up with Skullcandy, as part of its year-long Sound Without Boundaries campaign.

Desiree serves as a “Boundary Breaker” for Skullcandy – one in a collection of multi-dimensional musicians, visual artists and athletes – that not only excel at their craft, but are deeply committed to society’s evolution.

As a suicide survivor, Desiree will leverage this platform to use her voice with intention and promote mental health awareness. Desiree has put her words into practice through her visual art, which will be the latest in a lineup of limited-edition Skullcandy Hesh® Evo headphones and Sesh® Evo earbuds.

“There are too many rules to follow and boxes that we’re put in,” said Desiree. “But, you can be an athlete and still make art. You can be a scientist and still make art. You can be whatever you are and practice self-expression. You’re beaten down to forget that your imagination is there to make yourself feel better and explore more. I truly believe that humans were meant to express themselves.”

For the last 18 years, Desiree has been a contributor to the growth and progression within the culture of snowboarding and with winter waiting in the wings, the subject of this week’s Behind the Action.

AST: Many athletes find a project to be a part of but you have picked one that can be tricky to navigate as mental health is still a new area of focus especially in sports. Why did you pick this Skullcandy campaign to be a part of?

DM: Mental health can be viewed as tricky to navigate in action sports, but it’s important to note that we are constantly combating the stigmas surrounding what should be normal emotions. It shouldn’t be tricky, it should be a focus and a standard to prioritize good mental health. So, in a way it was more about Skullcandy choosing to work with me. The difference in the Boundary Breaker campaign in comparison to others in my industry is that it highlights individuals focusing on more than just their specialized craft.

AST: The Boundary Breakers campaign has allowed for a wide variety of topics to be discussed. How has Skullcandy allowed for you to share your passion?

DM: Skullcandy provides a platform. Through shared resources and social media, the magnification of voices with Skullcandy helps messages to spread further. My goal is to encourage others to take up the conversation…to normalize depression, anxiety, and suicide within our communities…to know that it’s OK to ask for help, and to learn to create space to sit with each other during times of intense crisis.

AST: If you could sit down with all of the youth today, what all would you say to them?

DM: I would say to the youth that good mental health is like a muscle. And when you experience things like depression, anxiety, PTSD, TBI, etc…your brain should and could be treated like injuries and not illnesses. Suicide in American society is a facade where we have convinced ourselves that the only option is to leave, and this is not true. So, youth, start working on your brains, while also working on creating space and making sure that by the time you’re an adult, you have the know-how on ways to reach out and ask for help when things get tough.

AST: How has your past accolades such as being Women’s Rider of the Year helped develop the messages you share?

DM: My successes in action sports obviously provides me power and stature within my communities, maybe without the past success I wouldn’t have access to the networks? The bottom line is once you do something for long enough, you evolve. I love snowboarding at a professional level and will continue to do so, but my current intention is to work with our existing communities around snowboarding and action sports to continue to evolve into more inclusive and safe industries.