At just 16 years old, Valentino Guseli is living out most people's dreams.
On Wednesday, he made his Olympic debut in the snowboard halfpipe.
Guseli comfortably made the final, qualifying fifth — just half a point behind US legend Shaun White no less – meaning Australia will have two representatives in Friday's hotly anticipated final.
Getting prodigious amounts of air and fearlessly landing a video game-like array of flips and tricks, Guseli is flying in more ways than one.
The youngster of the Australian Olympic team said he feels like he's flying when he unleashes one of his trademark, high amplitude jumps off the side of the halfpipe, his form is sky high too.
What makes Guseli's performance even more impressive is that he made a mistake in his first run that left him well down the field, heaping the pressure on his second run.
Not that you'd have known it from Guseli's demeanour.
"That was the run that I was trying to land on the first one," Guseli said.
"I just made a little mistake that I've never made on that trick, ever.
"I just tried to stay as calm as I could, stepped away from the half-pipe, pushed the comp away for a second and just reset.
"When I went back up to the top, I was ready to stomp my next run and I'm very happy that I did.
"As a competitive snowboarder, I've been in that position a lot.
"It happens, we make mistakes.
"[It's] just understanding that, that was then and all you can do is change the moment that you're in at the time.
"I just wanted to seize the second opportunity that I had."
Snowboarding's worst kept secret
If that sounds to you like a veteran of 16 years on the world tour instead of a teenager, then you're not alone.
Guseli has only competed in five World Cup events in his short career but has been on the radar of the snowboard fraternity for a whole lot longer, with one publication describing him as the worst kept secret on snow.
In those five events, he has already picked up a fifth-place finish at Laax in mid-January, on a pipe that the Olympic one at the Genting Snow Park is designed on.
He also picked up sixth at the recent X-Games.
What he lacks in top-level experience, he more than makes up for with his attitude and talent, and the trajectory he is on, is pointing up at a rapid rate.
"It's exciting for Australian snowboarding," Scotty James said after he qualified second behind rival for the gold medal, Ayumu Hirano of Japan.
"Val's awesome, he's a super talented kid.
"He's incredible, He's got a smile on his face which I appreciate, he's a nice kid."
Not only is he walking and sliding around Zhangjiakou with a smile on his face, Guseli's calmness and maturity have really shone through at these Games, be it through his unfailing politeness or his carefree riding on the slopes.
Guseli could do a lot worse than have James, who made his first appearance at an Olympics as a 15-year-old and who Guseli says he idolises, as a teammate.
Earlier in the week, James said Guseli already looked a lot calmer than he was at his first Games in 2010, which was a good start.
He added that Guseli's presence on the team was just as important for him as well.
"I think it's important also for me [that Guseli is here], a big why that I definitely grab on to every day is what I'm doing to impact Australian sport," James said.
"Obviously Val is a good competitor, we're usually both training at the same places and if I get a moment where I feel like I could have impact, I try and help him but he's definitely got his things sorted."
Big name battle in the final
Friday's final will pit Guseli not only against Olympic legends like James and White, but a stacked Japanese team all of whom are capable of landing huge scores.
However, Guseli said despite the enormity of the occasion, he is not phased and just wants to perform to the best of his ability.
"I just want to go big and put on a show to everyone watching," Guseli said.
"This is definitely the most hype I've ever experienced when dropping into a halfpipe.
"The Olympics is a very, very big competition. It's cool to be here and I'm stoked to live one of my dreams."
Already blessed with extraordinary height out of the pipe with each jump – he set a world record of 7.3 metres for amplitude out of a half-pipe when he was just 15 at Laax — Guseli said that he hopes to go even bigger in Friday's final.
Getting to such heights is where Guseli feels most comfortable after all.
"As much as it is very dangerous, it's a very peaceful place up there. You have to be very at peace with yourself."
Guseli and James will compete in the halfpipe final on Friday morning.
Emily Arthur narrowly missed out on qualifying for Thursday's women's final.
