Gary Dranow

Gary Dranow (born March 10, 1954) is an American former professional skier turned singer who competed in National Standard Race from 1987 to 2010. He was ranked number one in his age group nationally and in the top twenty men overall in NASTAR from the 2005 to 2010 seasons. He became a USSA-certified professional ski coach in 2004.

Motocross career
In 1971, Dranow won two grand slams held in Indian Dunes Park. In 1972, he won against a tough field of Open Seniors, during ACE motocross program at Indian Dunes Park. In 1972, he entered the 500 Junior competition having secured two victories in preliminary rounds.

Ski career
Dranow became the highest-scoring associate certified ski instructor in 1973 and began coaching. He was hired as a ski instructor at Snow Summit for the 1973–74 ski season. He got his first USSA Alpine Coach's certification in 1981.

After leaving coaching at Snow Summit, he went on to race USSA Masters in the Far West division, with his best finish being 3rd place overall in the McCoy Cup 1986 slalom.

He qualified for the 1987 NASTAR National and participated in LA Council Elite 1 GS races from 1987 to 1990.

In 1990, he left ski racing until returning to NASTAR and Masters in the 2001–2002 ski season.

He won the NASTAR Platinum 55–59-year-old class.

In 2001, Dranow established Modern Ski Racing, a ski coaching in facility in Utah. He ranked third in the first Race of Champions at the 2005 National Championships at Park City Mountain. He ranked third in 2006, and second in 2007.

Bicycle racing
In 1968, Dranow won the Tour of Maui Stage Race. He also won the 2007 Utah State Time Trial Championships winning in category 55–59.

He participated in 2007 and 2008 Tire Rack SCCA Solo Nationals. Dranow suffered a neck fracture in a mountain bike incident, which resulted in four of his vertebrae being infused with titanium plate.

Music career
Dranow's albums "Destiny Road Rough Cuts" was initially released his first album in 2003, but the original Analog Ampex tapes, which had aged over 25 years, were obtained from his bass player, Jerry Manfredi, in Los Angeles. Dranow sent these tapes to Deep Signal Studios in Lakewood, California, where they underwent a two-week baking process to restore their viability. He began releasing the newly remastered songs through TuneCore in August 2022. Subsequently, he enlisted the services of Ariel Hyatt from CyberPR for marketing and released the complete 14-track album "Destiny Road" on May 26, 2023. Additionally, Dranow released a new song, Shimmering.

Dranow and the Manic Emotions is a four-piece band. In September 2023, Dranow launched his hard rock anthem "The Cry Of War", highlighting Ukraine and Russia's war and Ukraine's fight for freedom and democracy. The song is also translated in Ukrainian.