James's began riding at age three, and his first snowboard was a display board in a shop in Vancouver. James and his father had trouble finding a board small enough for him, so they bought the display board for $10. He began competing at age six and started travelling for competitions at 10 years old. At the time, Europe and America were the main locations for snowboarding training and competitions. His mother accompanied him on the road, homeschooling him and providing tutors when needed. James has stated, "There's been a lot of sacrifice from my parents to get me here — and I'm very grateful." Due to his success at a young age, James began to be viewed by media and peers as a snowboarding prodigy. He moved from racing into halfpipe and slopestyle events, making his international debut as a 14-year-old at the 2008 Europa Cup in Saas Fee, Switzerland. When Australian
Nathan Johnstone was ruled out of the
2010 Winter Olympics with an ankle injury, James went to the World Cup event in Stoneham, Canada, to try to achieve the top-19 result that would make him eligible to replace Johnstone at the Olympics. He pulled off his best result to date, a 15th-place finish, which secured him a spot in the
2010 Winter Olympics in
Vancouver. At the age of 15, James was Australia's youngest male Olympian in 50 years and the youngest male competitor at the Vancouver Games. While training for the halfpipe event in Vancouver, James caught his heel-edge and slapped against the wall, fracturing his right wrist. Despite the injury, James competed in the event, finishing 21st. From early 2011 to 2012, all of James' World Cup results in Halfpipe, Slopestyle and Big Air climbed into the top ten territory. He won a silver in the
men's halfpipe competition in
Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics. In December 2022, James earned a near-perfect score of 99.00 on his second run in the men's final of the U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix. It was the second-highest score in the history of
International Ski and Snowboard Federation events. The highest, a 100.00, was awarded to
Shaun White at the 2018 Aspen Snowmass halfpipe event. The 99.00 score was the highest ever earned by James in a halfpipe event. His run started with a switch McTwist Japan with massive amplitude that caused audible gasps from the crowd, into a cab 1440 stalefish, frontside 1080 tail grab, cab 900 indy, and ending with a switch backside double cork 1260 indy. At the
2023 World Championships in
Bakuriani, Georgia, James was unable to land on the podium and finished in 5th place with a score of 86.50. In 2024, James authored his first children’s book, Mooki vs the Big Scary, which received positive reviews. This was followed up with a sequel, Mooki vs the Terrible Toys. At the
2026 Winter Olympics, James earned a silver medal in the
Halfpipe event with a score of 93.50 ==Cryptocurrency==