Several names instantly come to mind in the world of off-road snowmobiling celebrities. Whether it’s Chris Burandt, Brett Turcotte, Caleb Kesterke or Dan Adams, the common denominator is that they are all men. However, for the past few years, a young woman has been impressing us with her snowmobiling prowess and as far as we can tell, we haven’t seen anything yet!
This little native Quebecer is called Jessy Poirier and she is known under the pseudonym of “Poire”. Her rise to fame is meteoric and she has not stolen her ever-growing success. In fact, it only takes a few moments of contact with this athlete to fall under her spell. Her strong personality and contagious enthusiasm make her a woman we definitely want to know more about.
Gaspésie
Jessy was born in the small town of Murdochville in Gaspésie. Well known at the time for its copper mine, this small municipality of fewer than 1000 inhabitants occupies a territory of 65 square kilometres, surrounded by an exceptional environment.
In her youth, she spent her days enjoying nature and its benefits. As the youngest of 3 children, her ultimate goal was to follow her brother Jimmy wherever their adventures might take them. It was definitely her who made her who she is. Even though he was 2 years older than her, he always found a way to include Jessy in his biking, skiing, snowboarding and other projects.
Her parents were firefighters in that town and her father was the fire chief. However, when she was 9 years old, her parents were forced to move when the mine closed.
A move that has shaped who she is:
Victoriaville was his new home. The acclimatization to this new city brought Jessy even closer to her brother, as they were the new kids on the block. By her admission, they were seen as little “bums” who rode their bikes around town from morning till night.
That same year, she did her first backflip on a bicycle and it was already a feat and proof that she was not afraid of the eyes. Her prowess soon attracted the attention of Billy Dubois. He was her first love and she was not indifferent to her because he owned a motocross.
Jessy “Poire ” Poirier: clever in her approach.
At the age of 11, Jessy was able to save up her savings to buy a motocross bike of her own. She says that she used subterfuge to call her father, assuming that her bike had broken down, but in reality, when he arrived, he was faced with a fait accompli. She was taking possession of a dirt bike! Jessy still laughs about this experience, mentioning that her father realized at the same time that he now had a second son at home. During this same year, her brother was also able to acquire the same type of motorcycle provided that he successfully completed her school year.
From then on, weekends were devoted to off-road motorcycling, accompanied by Billy Dubois to complete the Poirier family duo. Jessy may not have been aware of it at the time, but the little competitive spirit she had with her riding companions allowed her to constantly push her limits.
A sad event that marked her.
Although she and her friends loved motocross, they found that it was expensive to do it competitively. Under these circumstances, they chose to turn to quad racing. However, an unfortunate event occurred that will remain engraved in their memories. Catherine Plante, one of their good friends, died during a competition.
Despite all these years, Jessy still finds it difficult to talk about this painful time in her life. Her brother Jimmy also took the shock of the accident in stride when he decided to get rid of the quad they shared. He did not want such a tragedy to happen to his sister as well. Although she regularly found herself on the podium, this misfortune in Jessy’s life put on hold her first attempt to break through and have a career in competitive motorsports.
A turning point in her life.
The end of her prolific foray into quad racing also coincided with her rise to the top in snowboarding competitions. At the same time, Jessy began a 3-year college program in Sport, Management and Marketing at Champlain College in Saint-Lambert in 2009. She thought that if she couldn’t make a career out of her athletic talents, she would at least have a job in the extreme sports industry.
Once again, she was doing amazingly well as a snowboarding athlete. On occasion, she would push the envelope by competing against her male counterparts and she did very well. Even then, she was supported by several sponsors who saw her as a star in the making.
Her schedule was divided between her job at Amnesia in Promenades Saint-Bruno, her full-time studies and her championships all over the province. She admits that she partied a lot during her 3 years, but that she also met great people during her competitions.
At an Oakley camp, Jessy met her idols of the day who strongly recommended that he go compete against athletes in her sport in British Columbia.
The appeal of the West!
Jessy accepted the advice given to her and focused her last semester on her passage to BC. Unusually, her last class ended on a Wednesday at 1:00 p.m. and she was already on the plane by 5:00 p.m. This proves that she is a determined woman and that she doesn’t do things by halves.
Her little adventure, which began with a few weeks in the West, finally lasted, as she fell in love with this beautiful province known for its Rockies. After 2 months, she came back to Quebec to say goodbye, fill her boxes and make her road trip to her new adopted land.
That same year, Jessy was downhill mountain biking in Whistler to stay in shape. She met a group of Quebecers who shared the same interest. Among them was Sébastien, a tall, handsome dark-haired man whom she had a particular fondness for. Despite their obvious affinities, they were friends for 8 months before finally realizing that they were made for each other.
“Mountain Man”!
Jessy recounts their first “date” with great excitement. They were snowmobiling off-piste when a snowboarder approached them in a very panicked manner. A cameraman had fallen into a crevasse and was asking for help to get out of her predicament. That’s when Sébastien took matters into her own hands to come to the rescue of this intrepid misfortune.
Jessy admits that this act of bravery made her fall in love with her handsome Sebastian and that since that moment, she affectionately nicknamed him “Mountain Man”. He was the man of the hour in a critical mountain condition and since that moment, she only has eyes for him. We must also admit that Sébastien has been a vector in Jessy’s life when it comes to off-trail snowmobiling.
It was a revelation!
Although it was not foreign to her, Jessy was only 20 years old at the time and had everything to learn in the conditions offered in the mountains. She remembers that on their second snowmobile date, he took her to the top of the mountain where she could see Whistler in the distance. Jessy admits that she cried at the sight of such magnificence.
One thing led to another, and in 2014, she purchased her first new snowmobile for an 18-day trip to Tailgate Alaska that Sébastien had offered her. Despite a knee damaged a few weeks earlier by a skiing accident, there was no way she was going to miss this event.
From that year on, she began her conversion from snowboarding to snowmobiling. The sense of escape she got from snowmobiling and the ease of access to snowy areas took over very quickly.
Jessy used to bring her dog Sequoia on occasion on her hikes. She put a pair of glasses on her and her dog had a lot of fun enjoying the mountains of British Columbia with her mistress. Several photos have been circulating on social networks.
Her meeting with CKX.
It was at a Kimpex event in March 2017 that Jessy caught a glimpse of one of the managers of this distributor. He quickly recognized her thanks to the photos that were circulating of her and her dog on her snowmobile. Jessy was quick to recommend the one-piece suit that CKX wanted to put on the market. She was blunt and to the point, saying it was too warm and not suitable for off-roaders.
It is then that the association was quickly concretized and since this meeting, Jessy and Sébastien (Mountain Man) became ambassadors/testers for the clothing and CKX products.
In my humble opinion, they’ve taken this brand’s apparel a giant step forward since 2017 by going with tips and recommendations year after year.
LYNX in North America
When she heard that LYNX was coming to this side of the continent, she quickly applied to become an ambassador. Although she was not selected, she is very proud to have participated in the RAVE 2023 shoot. In addition to a shoot where she was able to put her snowmobiling skills to good use in a short video, some photos were widely circulated highlighting her beautiful smile.
Jessy “Poire ” Poirier Social Media
What could be better than social networks to offer a beautiful showcase? Jessy is very present and we are often entitled to her famous “coffee moments” in the Facebook story. She takes advantage of this moment to share with us some pictures of her beautiful corner of Canada. When she takes a break for a few days, she receives a ton of private messages asking for her return.
I personally invite you to do a search on YouTube and check out her channel. Her snowmobile videos are simply a treat for the eyes. Her contagious laughter is a testament to her passion for snowmobiling and will keep you coming back for more.
In conclusion, Jessy Poirier is a little piece of woman who impresses a lot with her joy in life and her enthusiasm to share her thousand and one projects. Personally, I discovered a being in her own right and an athlete at the top of her game. Her name is already very strong and it is not about to fade away.
I invite you to follow her on social media:
Facebook: @Jessy Poirier
Instagram: @jessy.p_official and @poire.wraps
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