7-year-old boy from the Tahoe area becomes a snowboarding sensation

A few years ago, an Instagram video of a 4-year-old boy snowboarding like an expert at Palisades Tahoe aired on news outlets nationwide.

That boy, now seven years old, continues to impress. He’s entering and winning snowboard competitions in his age group and shows no sign of stopping.

His name is Leland Vogt. As a snowboarder, he goes by the nickname “Leland the Falcon,” and he has a growing following on an Instagram account managed by his dad, Chuck. 

FOX40.com recently spent a day with the father and son on the slopes of Palisades Tahoe.

“I drove into this Valley with a beat-up Subaru, a stack of snowboards and a box of power bars, and I had five hundred bucks in my wallet,” Chuck said of his early days at Lake Tahoe. “And I was the happiest guy ever. And the same with my wife. She was born and raised here.”

Chuck and his wife, Bella, are both longtime snowboarders. Chuck is the founder of a local skateboard company, Tahoe Longboards.

So it was only natural the couple would want to share their love of boarding with their boy, but they never imagined how early and naturally he would follow in their boot steps.

Before he even turned two, Leland was riding a skateboard in the summer, then happily and confidently snowboarding with his mom and dad in the winter.

“He was completely balanced and just went straight down the hill,” Chuck recalled. “I was like, ‘No way!’ Literally, we were so excited.”

Leland keeps up with his studies through home school, but his passion is on the powder.

“I want to be a pro snowboarder when I grow up,” he told FOX40.com.

For this energetic seven-year-old, any night of the winter is like the night before a trip to Disneyland. 

“Like, I couldn’t go to sleep because I just wanted to snowboard,” Leland explained. 

Leland already has several big-name sponsors that supply his equipment: Akova Gear, Bern Helmets, Pit Viper Sunglasses, and Wigwam Socks. Truckee Boardhouse covers the cost of his season pass to Palisades. Kon Tiki Chips is also a sponsor.

But nobody is pressuring Leland to compete. The decision is his.

“Being a dad in any sport, and a coach, you don’t want to push your kid so hard that they hate the sport,” Chuck said. “I’ve seen it happen with other parents. Any competition he doesn’t want to do, I’m going to be proud of him either way. But once he commits, then I’m the coach. I’m like, ‘Alright, you want to do this, this is what you got to do.’”

For safety on the slopes, Leland wears a helmet and a bright orange outfit. You can easily see him, but good luck keeping up with Leland the Falcon. This reporter followed Leland and Chuck down the mountain on a snowboard. Despite my best efforts, I lagged behind.

“How can I get better?” I asked Leland at the end of the day.

“By maybe just having confidence,” the boy advised. He is observant and wise beyond his years.

Experts on the mountain are taking notice of Leland’s talent. Those include Chris “Uncle E” Ernst who has experience as a professional skier and a snow sports announcer for the X Games and Olympics.

“I’ve seen it in Shaun White,” Ernst told FOX40.com. “I saw it in the way that Chloe Kim was brought up.”

Ernst described Leland’s level of talent and focus at such a young age as something rare.

“I’ve watched hundreds if not thousands of people come up through the ranks,” Ernst said. “And I have announced a lot of them, and this is something special that we’re seeing.”

There’s something else very special going on here. This is not just the story of a talented kid. This is also about the connection between a father and son, and their priceless time together on the mountain. You see it in the natural and loving way they interact.

“Life is so short,” Chuck reflected. “If you can just share a few years with your child and be in that same rhythm with them, it’s so awesome. I’m going to try to keep snowboarding into my 70s, hopefully. And if he keeps at it, maybe he’ll be on the podium on something bigger and give me a shoutout and give Mom a shoutout. That would be cool.”