The Amateurs: Simon Dumont

Simon Dumont, 23

Professional skier, avid golfer, and X Games gold medalist. In 2008, Dumont set a world record for quarterpipe height, sailing 35 feet above a 38-foot wall.

PHOTOS: Taken at home, in Mammoth Lakes, California, and in Boulder, Colorado.

The Amateurs: Julia Mancuso

Julia Mancuso, 25

Alpine skier, middle sister, yoga and Pilates practitioner, avid surfer, paddleboarder, and bicycling aficionado. At the 2006 Winter Olympics, in Turin, Italy, Mancuso won gold in the giant slalom.

PHOTOS: Taken at home, in Maui.

The Amateurs: Mick Fanning

Mick Fanning, 28

Australian pro surfer, little brother, husband, rugby fan, and aspiring real-estate tycoon. In 2007, Fanning won the Association of Surfing Professionals World Tour.

PHOTOS: Taken on tour in Tahiti and South Africa.

The Amateurs: Conrad Anker

Conrad Anker, 46

Climber, mountaineer, environmentalist, husband, father of three, and director of the Khumbu Climbing School. In 1999, as a member of the Mallory and Irvine Research Expedition, Anker discovered the body of George Mallory on Mount Everest.

PHOTOS: Taken at home, in Bozeman, Montana.

The Amateurs: David de Rothschild

David de Rothschild, 31

Environmentalist, adventurer, author, television host, and founder of Adventure Ecology, a nonprofit organization that aims to raise awareness of global climate change. This fall, de Rothschild sets sail from San Francisco in his repurposed-plastic-bottle boat, Plastiki, for Sydney, a journey of 10,000 nautical miles.

PHOTOS: Taken at home and at the office, in San Francisco.

The Amateurs: Van Jones

Van Jones, 40

Environmental advocate, attorney, author, and founder of Green for All, a national organization dedicated to building a green economy. In January, Jones was appointed to the White House Council on Environmental Quality as special adviser on greens jobs.

PHOTOS: Taken in Washington, D.C.

The Amateurs: Maya Gabeira

Maya Gabeira, 22

Big-wave tow-in surfer, yoga junkie, caffeine and Internet addict, and one of the few women to surf Tahiti’s infamous Teahupoo. Gabeira was the 2009 ESPY winner for the best female action-sports athlete.

PHOTOS: Taken in her native Brazil.

The Amateurs: Auden Schendler

Auden Schendler, 39

Environmental gadfly, husband, father of two, and executive director of sustainability for Aspen Skiing Company. His book, Getting Green Done: Hard Truths from the Front Lines of the Sustainability Revolution, was published in March.

PHOTOS: Taken at home, in Basalt, Colorado.

The Amateurs: Brad Ludden

Brad Ludden, 28

Pro kayaker, airplane pilot, little brother, and Cosmopolitan‘s 2008 Bachelor of the Year. Ludden’s charity, First Descents, has introduced more than 500 young adults with cancer to kayaking and the outdoors since he founded it, in 2001.

PHOTOS: Taken at his parents’ home, in Kalispell, Montana.

The Amateurs: Fletcher Chouinard

Fletcher Chouinard, 34

Surfer, avid kiteboarder and spearfisherman, and founder of Fletcher Chouinard Designs, a surfboard-manufacturing branch of Patagonia. This year, FCD will release three new models.

PHOTOS: Taken at home and in the office, in Ventura, California.

The Amateurs: Lynsey Dyer

Lynsey Dyer, 27

Big-mountain freeskier, artist, illustrator, wannabe surfer, and co-founder of SheJumps.org, a nonprofit dedicated to getting women involved in outdoor sports. In 2004, Dyer was the International Free Skiers North America tour champion.

PHOTOS: Taken on vacation in Mexico.