Raised by his single mother Jane in North Vancouver, Manuel Osborne-Paradis began skiing at age three and began attending Wee Skamps ski camp the next season. By the time he was seven, he was taming the mountain by himself, getting in multiple solo runs before his daily lessons. Jane gave her son the nickname "Airborne Osborne" because he would jump any crevice he could find. From there, he skied for the Whistler Mountain Ski Club, advancing up the ranks through the British Columbia Ski Team to the Canadian national team.

One of the biggest inspirations for Osborne-Paradis was grandfather James, a doctor who migrated from Eastern Canada to Whistler back before the Sea to Sky Highway linking the village to Vancouver was even a bullet point on an agenda. He served as the town doctor for many years, before passing away in August 2008. The two spent lots of time skiing and hanging out at the elder Osborne's A-frame log cabin at Whistler Creekside.

When Vancouver was awarded the bid to host the 2010 Games in July 2003, Osborne-Paradis was working construction and training for the upcoming season. "I heard that we were having an Olympics, but it wasn't that big." For him, a hometown Games did not sink in until he made his own Olympic debut at the 2006 Torino Games. He competed in three races there, with a 13th place in the downhill as his best result.

In March 2009, Osborne-Paradis recorded his first World Cup triumph when he won the downhill at Kvitfjell. The race had been moved to the 1994 Olympic Alpine speed event venue because of an earlier cancellation of the event at 1936 Olympic Alpine venue Garmisch-Partenkirchen. A third-place finish in the scheduled Kvitfjell downhill the next day meant back-to-back podiums. Of note, the next men's downhill race at an Olympic venue will be on the Dave Murray at Whistler.