Juno Matsuoka owned the energy during the Women’s Vert contest in Mississauga. Continuing her undefeated run this season, she added another JACKALOPE victory to her wins in Ventura and Virginia Beach, securing the top spot in Women’s Vert once again.
But for Juno, it’s not just about collecting wins. Her focus is on pushing her riding, learning new tricks, and most importantly putting on a show for the crowd.
We caught up with Juno after another winning run to get her take on competition rituals, metal playlists, risky tricks, and what it takes to keep the momentum going.
Do you have any weird or specific pre-competition rituals or superstitions that people wouldn't expect?
It’s not really a competition ritual, but before every competition, I flip my board and catch it five times in a row. It helps me warm up my hands for tricks.
What’s playing in your headphones right before a big run?
Honestly, it depends on my mood, but I like listening to metal to get hyped up.
How do you plan to push your limits even further to keep that crown at the next event?
I try to think about the crowd that came out to watch me. Instead of thinking about winning, I focus on entertaining them as much as possible. That motivates me to learn new tricks and make my run even better.
You’re right in the race for the overall season winner title. Who do you think is your most dangerous competitor on the circuit right now?
Everyone on the circuit is incredibly talented, so I don’t focus on one specific person. Everyone has a chance to win, so I just focus on putting down the best run I can.
When you’re all standing at the top of the drop-in waiting for your run, what’s the energy like? Is it friendly hype and high-fives, or is everyone strictly in the zone?
It’s a mix of both. We all encourage each other, but once it’s your turn, everyone focuses on their own trick.
Did you have to pull off something risky to end up in first place, or did you just stick to your planned run?
I mostly stuck to my plan, but after landing all my safety runs, I added a risky trick called a varial flip samba.
If you could summarize your entire winning experience this season in just one phrase, what would it be?
Entertain the crowd!
With another JACKALOPE win under her belt, Juno Matsuoka’s undefeated season shows no signs of slowing down. With the crowd at the heart of every run and plenty more tricks left to learn, all eyes will be on Juno as she looks to keep the momentum going at the next stop.
