Issue 2 Winter 2008 (6.3 MB) - Blundell's School

MurJoe Murrell (FH 2000-6)taking offphotography at A Level is proving very useful now...I left Blundell's just over a year and half ago with plans to go to Uni but not reallyknowing what I wanted to do with myself. Now I'm a sponsored skier travellingaround the world having the best time of my life. It’s funny how your life canveer off in any direction but if there’s one thing I've learnt it’s to grab youropportunities when they come around.After leaving Blundell's I decided to take gap year to Val d'Isère with someschool friends. For anyone thinking of doing a gap year I think it’s a great idea.It's one of the only times in life when you have a lot of freedom to do what youwant. I had such a good time when I was away and I really started progressing asa freestyle skier and entering competitions.In the summer after my season I went to Switzerland to ski on the Glacier. Iwent on a British freestyle camp with all the top English riders and coaches andthis was really where I got noticed as a skier. They got to see my level ofprogression in a year and at the end of the camp Pat Sharples, one of thecoaches, asked me to join the Oakley Team.I was asked to stay an extra week out there so I could be filmed for the two bigBritish ski films of this year “the Journal” by RJF and “Sticks + Stones” by EllisBrigham. I also had a photo shoot so they could get shots for my article in FallLine magazine. All of this was great fun and it felt like the commitment I’d putinto the sport was paying off. After Switzerland I got other sponsorships from K2skis and Ellis Brigham. My sponsors have been so helpful and they’ve openedlots of windows for me. My parents have also been really helpful and supportedall the decisions I’ve made.This season I’m going to Northstar in California for a few months and then backto Europe for the rest of the season. I’ll be travelling to lots of events this yearlike the U.S. and European Open, where I’ll be competing against the best skiersin the world. I’ll also be doing more filming for the new ski movies, plus I’m keento get into the editing side of it all as well. Studying photography at A level isproving very useful now as I’m always having to document my travels and buildup portfolio shots for my sponsors. I’m also involved in editing films which all goup on You Tube if you type in my name.I've got great memories of Blundell's and I feel I got a lot from being there.There’s a lot of opportunity to try your hand at different things and the way I seeit is that if nothing’s ventured, nothing’s gained. I really enjoyed my music andsport, but overall it was the friends I’ve made. I guess the one thing I really learntis that if you put your mind to something and really work hard for it you’ll reachyour goals.22