See It in Action — Video Feature Below
Made in Summer
When the snow melts, the grind doesn’t stop — it just shifts gears. For freestyle aerialists, summer isn’t downtime; it’s the laboratory where tricks are built, refined, and pushed to their limits. For Ashton Salwan, this summer was all about one thing: laying the foundation for a breakout 2025/26 FIS Freestyle World Cup season and a shot at Milano-Cortina 2026.
May – Strength Before Flight
Every aerialist knows that power starts on the ground. Ashton’s May was dedicated to dryland strength conditioning — explosive plyometrics, Olympic lifts, and mobility work. In aerials, a tenth of a second of imbalance on takeoff can decide whether a triple twist ends in perfection or disaster. The weight room may not have the glamour of a ramp, but it’s where champions are built.
June – Numbers Over Difficulty
With a base of strength set, June shifted to the water ramps. Fans often ask: why jump into a pool? The answer is simple — water provides a forgiving landing surface, allowing athletes to attempt hundreds of flips and twists without the brutal risk of snow landings. Ashton’s June was all about high repetition, low degree of difficulty. This was the “muscle memory” phase — drilling takeoffs and body position until every movement became automatic.
July – Raising the Bar
By July, it was time to increase both numbers and degree of difficulty. That meant layering in more complex combinations — triples and multiple twists — while still keeping volume high. In aerials language, Ashton was working on skills like Full-Double Full-Full, where a single flip can contain up to three twists. Each jump became a building block toward the elite difficulty needed to contend on the World Cup stage.
August – All Out
August is where the sport demands everything. High numbers, high degree of difficulty. Long days at the ramp meant Ashton was throwing competition-ready triples, pushing into Olympic-level trick territory. By this stage of the summer, fatigue is real — the repetition grinds down the body, and the mental game becomes just as important as the physical. Visualization, focus, and discipline separate those who survive the grind from those who thrive in it.
September – Quality Over Quantity
As the World Cup season loomed closer, Ashton shifted gears again. The number of jumps scaled back, but the degree of difficulty stayed high. September was about refinement — keeping landings clean, sharpening form in the air, and ensuring consistency run after run. Judges score on degree of difficulty, execution, and landing — and this was the month to make sure all three aligned.
October – Strength Reloaded
The cycle came full circle in October. Back to dryland strength, Ashton returned to the gym for one final block of heavy lifts, core stability, and conditioning. The goal? To ensure the engine is as strong as the technique — so when the first World Cup stop arrives, every muscle is primed to deliver.
Freestyle aerials isn’t just a sport of flips and twists — it’s a calculated, relentless progression of strength, precision, and mental grit. Every splash into the pool this summer, every rep in the gym, every twist in the air has been part of Ashton’s preparation for what comes next.
This is the grind before the glory.
This is the journey to the World Cup.
This is the road to Milano-Cortina 2026.