Maddie Mastro and Pippy

Maddie Mastro and Pippy

maddie mastro and pippy

Nulo partner Maddie Mastro is a professional snowboarder and two-time Olympian, known for pushing the boundaries of what's possible in the halfpipe. In 2019, she made history by landing the first double crippler 900 in a women's snowboarding competition and recently became one of the first two women to land a double cork 1080 in a halfpipe competition. For Maddie, snowboarding is an outlet where she can be innovative, courageous, and constantly challenge herself. 

Off the mountain, Maddie's constant companion is Pippy, a 10-pound rescue Chihuahua-Pomeranian mix, or as Maddie often calls her, an "LA Street Dog." Pippy travels everywhere with Maddie, from training sessions to competitions around the globe. Growing up with six rescue dogs at home, Maddie's love for animals has always been part of her story, and Pippy embodies the same scrappy, fearless spirit that defines Maddie's approach to her sport. Just as Maddie is intentional about her own nutrition as an elite athlete, she trusts Nulo to fuel Pippy for their adventures together. Maddie sat down with the Nulo team to share how Pippy supports her journey as a world-class athlete and why quality nutrition matters for both of them.

Tell us about Pippy and how she became part of your family.

Pippy is the love of my life and I think she's the cutest dog to ever walk this earth—but I'm biased. I grew up in a household filled with dogs, and when I was 22, it was the Beijing Olympic year and everyone was telling me to wait to get a dog. Then I ended up getting hurt in December and said, screw it, I need a dog. I saw Pippy's Instagram photo from her rescue and I knew she was the one. I applied for her and a week later I was driving out to pick her up. She's been mine ever since. Pippy is a Chihuahua-Pomeranian mix. She was rescued from the streets of LA, so I call her an “LA Street Dog.” I've had her since she was four months old and she's now four years old, so we're pretty well bonded. We go everywhere together—she's my little sidekick. I can't imagine life without her.

How important is Pippy to you in your sport and training?

I travel with her everywhere. She comes with me to Europe, to Canada—every contest that she can, she's there. I can't imagine competing without her or not coming home to her after I finish the day. She's part of my team. I start the day with her and I end the day with her—wake up, take her on a walk, go snowboard, have my contest, and then come home and take care of Pippy. That's the routine.

How do you approach nutrition as a professional athlete, and why is it important for Pippy too?

The older I've gotten, the more I've really valued my nutrition. When you're younger, you don't think about that as much—you've got that youth on your side. Now, nutrition is super important for me. Being able to fuel properly and recover quickly is all connected to nutrition and having that energy is a necessity for what we do. Mental health, nutrition, and physical health are the three golden tickets. As a professional athlete, taking care of my body requires good nutrition, and I care a lot about that. I also care a lot about my dog, so why wouldn't I care about what she eats? I want her to have the same energy and good health that I have, so we're able to go out and have fun and do those activities we do together. That's why I feed her Nulo.

What role does Pippy play in your mental health?

Pippy is so important for my mental health. Dogs in general, or animals, are just so important. When you're having that bad day and you don't want to get out of bed, you just want to lay there—there's this small little tail-wagging thing at the end of the bed that relies on you and is like, no, we're going on a walk. You need to get out of bed, you have to feed me. That right there helps my mental health immensely. Just having this responsibility, knowing that Pippy gets out of bed on her bad days, and she needs me to get out of bed on my bad days. One of my favorite post-snowboarding activities is coming down from training and finding a big grassy patch—we try to find a piece of grass even in winter—and it's almost therapeutic for me to sit there and throw the ball with her and play. I get to take a step away from snowboarding and separate myself from everything. I just get to be in the moment, be present, and hang out with my dog.

Why do you choose Nulo for Pippy?

I chose Nulo for Pippy because I want to make sure she's getting as high quality nutrition as I am. There's just so much variety too—I can mix things like kibble, freeze-dried raw, bone broth, and meat pouches. So many healthy options that she loves. Pippy travels with me everywhere, all over the world, and it's important to me that I know she's eating right no matter where we are. That's why Nulo's super nutritious food and really convenient packages and sizes are so great for Pippy and convenient for me.

Try Maddie and Pippy's Picks

Each day, Maddie feeds Pippy a mix of these great Nulo foods to fuel her incredible journey with her. Mixing and matching the products keeps things fun and exciting for Pippy, and can for your pet as well.

SEE MORE ABOUT MADDIE AND PIPPY ON INSTAGRAM @MADDIE_MASTRO
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