VANTAGE x DWD

Words by Andrew Aldridge

Photos by Paul Bundy

Around October of last year, I received a text from Sean Genovese, and he asked me to call him when I could. The "call me when you can" texts always make me nervous because it is usually a serious topic if a phone call is necessary. I had met Sean once during the Holy Bowly in Park City a few years ago. Since then, I had run into him only a few times, so I was curious about why he wanted to chat. When I gave him a call, we spoke a bit. Small talk stuff. Then he stated his reason for calling. Geno explained that each year they collaborate with a company rooted in snowboarding to create a graphic for the Maet board. He asked if Vantage, the vintage clothing store I co-own with my two friends Grace and Paul, would be interested in collaborating with Dinosaurs Will Die. The idea was to create a Vantage x DWD graphic for the 20/21 "Maet" board.

While Vantage isn't a snowboard shop, it is a 100% snowboarder owned shop. Snowboarding is how I met both Grace and Paul. Grace is a very talented snowboarder and was sponsored for years as I once was. Paul has roots in skateboarding but is also a fantastic snow shredder. Our friendship and the business relationship came years after meeting on and around the slopes. That was enough for Geno to hit us up! He literally said, "You can do whatever you want for the graphic!" I enjoy drawing/doodling and making cartoons etc. After our initial phone call, I quickly started brainstorming graphic ideas. Creating a snowboard graphic had always been something I'd dreamt of, and suddenly Geno threw the opportunity at me out of nowhere. I am fortunate; Grace and Paul allowed me to take the reigns on this project. They are both very creative people, but I think they could tell I wanted to make the board's art. They rule.

The design process was simple yet complicated at times. It all started on paper. Everything. Even the font. I drew each individual item/graphic on the board in my notebook. From there, they were transferred into Adobe Illustrator, where I then thickened and smoothed the lines a bit, layered up, added color, texture, etc. I wanted a loud base with minimal branding. I think it is cool when a snowboard base isn't plastered with a giant branded billboard. That's why DWD is so rad. They don't care about that stuff. He even told me the board didn't have to say Dinosaurs Will Die on it anywhere, ha! But I'm so down I snuck one in along with a small "Vantage" tag. I'm a real procrastinator and waited until the very last second to send him the board. It was my first time designing a large graphic for print on my computer and an excellent learning experience. When the sample arrived, we photographed it and did a little teaser post on the Vantage Instagram (@Vantageslc). A few months later, we placed a small order to sell at the shop just like a snowboard shop would. A month into selling the boards, and we are about sold out. A huge thanks to Sean Geno and DWD for thinking of Vantage, and also a massive shout to Paul and Grace for trusting me to make the graphic.