He was two hours late, but at last a bleary-eyed Stu Brass entered the building looking nothing like his all-action image as a prime mover and shaker in British snowboarding.

The two-times national champion apologised and muttered something about arriving back late from a trade exhibition in Manchester.

There was no need and it soon became clear he embodies the lifestyle that fits in so well with Brighton's image as the capital of cool.

Brass, 29, said: "In Brighton, a lot of people are into snowboarding and other active sports like skateboarding and surfing because they enjoy the outdoor life.

They mix it with the club and party scene and music in general. I love my sport, music and going out in the city.

"I enjoy listening to artists as diverse as Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Stone Roses, The Carpenters, Beth Orton and even Frank Sinatra when I'm boarding. A lot of boarders have i-pods with downloaded music when they ride around.

"Part of snowboarding's attraction is the open-minded attitude of the people who take part and Brighton reflects that. That's why I base myself here.

"It is close to the ferry and Gatwick, en route to the Alps and good for London and business."

Brass epitomises the archetypal snowboarder. He is slim, dressed in a thin black jumper, loose jeans and trainers with shoulder-length blond hair and stubble. He is a former Bliss Magazine hunk of the month.

He is also an Olympic selector and sits on the British Snowboard Association committee.

He smiled and said: "I'm vice-president of the BSA. You ought to see the president, he dresses more casually than I do.

Brass had taken time off from preparing for the British Championships, as organiser and competitor in Les Deux Alpes from March 20-27, to talk to The Argus at our offices.

Whether it's trial biking (appearing on TV with Peter Purves on Kick Start), climbing, mountain-biking, canoeing, surfing or skating, Brass is an Action Man.

But he enjoys snowboarding most.

He said: "It gives me such a feeling of freedom. I create my own style when I ride the mountains. I am always looking for that something nobody else has done.

"There are several elements. Free-riding is where you take the wrong line down the mountain, go wherever you want, preferably where no one else has been, so you're getting fresh lines through the powder.

"You shut everyone else out of your world and you've got this amazing scenery, 3000m up, an open face in front of you and you know it is all yours."

The name of the soulsports.com website he helps run reflects his deep feelings about 'free sports'.

But he is a competitor as well and won national freestyle crowns in the half-pipe and big air disciplines.

He said: "You've got to be pretty focused in competition but it is amazing when you're riding a jump. You've got thousands of people around you going mad, cameras going off and the announcer getting excited. When I'm in the middle of all that it really pushes me. I get 'camera courage'.

"The feeling of being a winner is brilliant and so is the party!"

Snowboarding almost claimed his life on the slopes of Les Arcs in France six years ago.

He said: "There was a massive avalanche. I was with three friends.

"It sounded like approaching thunder, there was a huge roar and one of my friends was swept two kilometres by the snow. I found him and he had broken his leg in three places and was lucky to be alive. So was I. "

After touching a wooden table for luck, he added: "I've been fortunate with injury. I have some ankle trouble, which is common because your feet are locked when you ride."

Two months short of his 30th birthday, Brass still loves the thrill of competition and will attempt to complete a hat-trick of British titles this month.

But organising competition take up most of his time these days, notably the 'Orange Brits', which are sponsored by the mobile phone company.

Besides the meeting at Les Deux Alpes in France, there is the Orange British AIM (Artificial Indoor Mountain) Series he organises with friend and fellow snowboarder Spencer Claridge, another Brighton resident.

He stages snowboard education projects in schools. He said: "We need the children coming through."

Brass believes his sport is moving forward after a snow fight with skiing.

He said: "Skiing felt threatened when we started. They said snowboarders were getting in the way. They said 'ban this crazy sport'. That was at the beginning when snowboarding people were just learning.

It has calmed down and some skiers are following snowboard fashions and buying the high-tech stuff which the younger riders want. They're also riding freestyle and doing tricks."

His mild manner is hard to ruffle and he has no regrets about missing out on the Winter Olympics.

He said: "I didn't have the funding at my peak but I wanted to do too many other things with my life anyway.

He does, however, get irritated about the amount of coverage skiing receives compared to snowboarding.

He said: "I was reading the article you wrote on Chemmy Alcott (British champion and Olympic skier from Hove). She gets a lot of praise for finishing 11th in the World Cup. We've got people winning world titles in snowboarding from Britain. It annoys me that the media big up skiers more than the boarders."