Contributed photo PROFESSIONAL SNOWBOARDER Jesse Fulton stars in a new reality show Shreducation based on his experiences coaching a team of amateur snowboarders to help them achieve their goals. Mr, Fulton, pictured here (fifth from left) is currently the national development coach for the Canadian snowboarding team and co-owner of Icarus Skate and Snow on Broadway in Orangeville. Orangeville snowboarder Jesse Fulton is starring in a new reality TV show that looks to "shreducate" today's youth - well, at least the ones who want to snowboard.

The show, Shreducation, sees the former professional snowboarder coaching a group of teenagers who want to take their love of snowboarding to the professional level, and the drama that follows them. Mr. Fulton thought of the idea when he retired from the alternative sport and started coaching.

"I started having to deal with parents and I saw what drama there was with that, and I thought, what a great reality show it would have made," he joked. "I have some a friend in the television production business and I mentioned it to him and that's where it started."

Based on the idea, his friend also created two movies that are scheduled for release in the next few months - one of which stars Ottawa comedian Tom Green.

But for now the show is taking up most of Mr. Fulton's time. Upon starting production Mr. Fulton had to invest his own money because those lucrative sponsors that most reality shows enjoy just aren't there for a startup.

The co-owner of the Icarus Snowboard Shop on Broadway said that after being a professional snowboarder for 12 years, coaching seemed to be a natural route to go. He is also the national development coach for the Canadian snowboarding team, which is one reason he created the show.

"I really didn't agree with how the national snowboarding team was being run," he explained. "I figured if I created this black-sheep snowboard team on the show and started winning they'd have to sit back and listen to how it should run."

Sadly, Mr. Fulton said, the Canadian inferiority complex is rampant in snowboarding just as it is anywhere else. American teams will do anything to win, but in Canada, he says, we seem to be too proud to go for the victory.

"That's unfortunate, because we have so much talent here and the kids aren't getting the opportunities they need. So they'll end up doing the other journey in snowboarding which is to become famous and doing events like the X-Games and doing movie parts. In the United States they could be the biggest pro snowboarder on an editorial basis and still have an opportunity to go the Olympics. Here in Canada, you pick one or the other."

Mr. Fulton calls his show 'full reality.' It documents a group of aspiring young snowboarders and himself as (in his own words) their washed-up pro-snowboard coach. They film the drama surrounding their travels around the world learning the various tricks and being educated on different surfaces and different facilities. Viewers see what they go through to either qualify for the 2010 Olympics or to turn pro.

The 29-year-old is proud of the fact that the show is not scripted and includes several cameos from other pro snowboarders such as Peter Lyon and Rene Rene to some of the cast members of the MTV stunt show Jackass.

He admits to being bitter about the sport of snowboarding after retiring and coaching helped him get over those feelings and start enjoying it again.

"I walked away from the industry and I didn't start getting back into it again until I met these kids and started seeing them accomplish their goals, it became addictive for me," he said.

Much like a child television star, he admitted that most people didn't take pity on the fact that he missed out on his youth because of his dedication to his sport. Add to this his injuries and the bitterness set it. Today he has arthritis. He has broken his back six times shattered his ribs and has suffered numerous broken limbs, leaving him at the end asking, "Is this it?"

"That's what the show is about. I'm stating that I screwed up a lot. I had a great career but it wasn't as successful as it could have been - I partied too hard, burned a lot of bridges and I thought it would last forever. I missed out on a lot of opportunities and my main goal is to make sure these kids don't screw up like I did."

Shreducation is starting to attract some of those sponsors that it needs, and Mr. Fulton hopes he can soon stop funding it himself.

The show appears on the cable channel The Score on Tuesday nights.