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inding one’s way to "pro status" takes an ample amount of talent and effort with a dash of luck sprinkled in. Most aware of reaching such a pinnacle in a chosen endeavor may find themselves in a "patting of one’s own back" cycle that may or may not lead to great things. Erik hasn't chosen this moment to stop and take the proverbial pat on the back. In turn he's forged a different route to give back to others with this new status thru leveraging relationships of multiple sponsors and in creating his own vehicle of change aptly titled C.O.R.E. - Community Outreach Riding Equipment. We spoke with Erik just after his first on snow activation at Trollhaugen in support of Minneapolis based "Cool meets Cause" nonprofit which, thru a rail jam and donations, was able to raise $3500 to be used on new equipment to help open up opportunity's for underrepresented youth to participate. Here's how he was feeling and some background on COR E Snowboarding.
An inter view with Erik Leon Intro by Pe t e r H a r v i e u x
What's was the catalyst for C.O.R.E to become reality?
Well, with my sponsors (Arbor, Airblaster, Flux) we had pretty much dialed in the majority of the COR E initiative. Which is 1. Eco friendlier products 2. Affordable products. All we needed was step 3. That was a community outreach snowboard event to tie everything together and make COR E a success.
Photos by Stephan Jende Shot on C a n o n E O S -1D X Mark II
How were the events put together and spots chosen?
The original goal was to do 4 stops from West to East, or vice versa whomever had the most snow. Partnering with resorts I have worked with in previous years. So naturally I was choosing the path of least resistance to host the first ever COR E events. Trollhaugen has always been on the priority list for a stop since COR E was created. The events are put together by heaps of leg work and emails. Following through with your ideas and putting them on paper make an event happen. This event would have not had happened if Marsha Hovey (Marketing at Troll) wasn’t there with me the whole way. She really really helped making the COR E activation event a reality.
