The world of talented snowboarders is vast, often unknown, and a bit blurry. Sure, the names of pro riders are blasted in our faces 24/7 thanks to the industry’s endless video edits; however, there’s an extensive list of snowboarders that throw down, kill it, and send it but who are still under the radar because they aren’t officially there yet. This is precisely why we decided to introduce our “Meet and Greet” column–to bring those shredders out from the edge and into the light.

Mariah Dugan made a lot of noise in the contest circuit last season. Now officially riding for Arbor Snowboards, Dugan takes her hot laps through Mammoth Mountain’s intimidating Main Park on the regular. Often described as “riding like a dude,” (this is a good thing) she attacks anything and everything–from monster rails and lofty park jumps to steep and deep powder lines and natural hits.

The 20-year-old claimed two of the 2012 Skullcandy and Transworld SNOWboarding’s TransAM rail jam tour stops–first at Northstar-at-Tahoe and then at the final stop at Bear Mountain–which led her to scoring first overall in the women’s division. After placing first at the 2012 Volcom Peanut Butter and Rail Jam qualifiers at Mammoth, she landed in fourth place at the finals and walked away with a nice wad of cash. Along with multiple major contest wins, this chick appeared in various web series from Arbor, was featured in videos from Mammoth, and released a few of her own personal shred edits.

Unfortunately, while dominating the TransAM finals at Bear, Mariah seriously injured her right shoulder and ended up having to get surgery and won’t be fully recovered until December. Since it’s summertime, we caught up with this lady on-the-go and asked her a few questions about what got her to this point in her shredding career and where she’s going from here.

Who were your first sponsors and how did that happen for you?
My first sponsor was a local board shop called Board Sport. Noah, the owner, would help out all the young shredders by giving us stickers and selling us product at cost, which was bad-ass when you were 15. Then I got hooked up with DC; one of the reps got super stoked on me when she saw me competing in a local parking lot rail jam. DC continued to hook me up for a few years.

How long have you been shredding?
I’ve been on a snowboard about 12 years, but I’ve been in the park scene about five years now.

Where did you grow up riding?
I grew up riding Dodge Ridge, and I’m sure you’re wondering where the hell that is…haha.

When did you realize that you wanted to take your riding more seriously and aim at going pro?
I really knew I wanted to snowboard for the rest of my life when I was 15, but I started taking things a little more seriously when I moved to Mammoth at 17.

If you had to only ride at one mountain for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Considering I have never ridden anywhere out of Cali–it would be Mammoth.

What’s your board set up these days?
Arbor Cadence 147, 20″ stance 15 -15

Which riders do you think have the best style?
Halldor Helgason’s got style for days, and Jess Kimura. She just slays it, bottom line.

Tell us about your game plan after your shoulder is all healed up.
First of all my plan is to have fun. I want to focus a lot more in the streets and in the backcountry while also trying to compete this season.

Best snowboard trip you’ve had so far:
Every trip is always a good one!

Sponsors now?
Arbor Snowboards, Outdoor Technology, Smith Optics, Earth & Ocean Boardshop, Steezie Beanies