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CON TENTS
Rider: Jordan Morse Salt Lake City, Utah Photographed by Andy Wright
10 OPENING ACT 12
SPOTLIGHT: PAT FENELON
16 COVER STORY 18
ORIGINS: INTERIOR PLAIN PROJECT
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CHARACTERS: TOM MONTEROSSO
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GRAPHIC STORY: RIDE SNOWBOARDS
24 PRODUCT TOSS 26-34 SHOOTING GALLERY 38-47
TRAVEL: ALASKA
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ART: FLYINGGG
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INTERVIEW: FORREST SHEARER
66 SOUND CHECK 68 INSTAHAM 70 END CREDITS
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VOLUME 11.2
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OPENING ACT
Rider: Dash Kemp Powder Mountain, UT Photographed by Pat Fenelon
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While the word “Closed” often conjures up thoughts of frustration, like being one minute too late to the liquor store on your way to a party or missing your chance with that hottie from the bar because your neighborhood condom market is shut down for the night. But in our sideways world, “Closed” can be a beautiful thing. With the open signe turned off and Mother Nature the only one allowed in, Powder Mountain prepared itself for every snowboarder’s dream day. After a whopping 84 hours (three and half days) of closure and non-stop snow fall, the lifts were fired up, the ropes were dropped, and the powder hounds rejoiced as they claimed their territory. Among the lucky ones was the seasoned talent of Pat Fenelon, who captured this shot of Dash Kamp powering through more snow than most of us have seen in a lifetime. - Jacob Malenick
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SPOT LIGHT
Pat Fenelon Cinematographer Photographer
patfenelonfilms.com @patfenelon
East Coast native turned Salt Lake City resident Pat Fenelon has been shooting snowboards almost as long as he has been riding them. With a long and varied resumé including The North Face, Real Snow, Nike, L1, Yobeat, Team Thunder, I Ride Park City, Videograss, and his most recent project featuring Alex Andrews’ and Chris Grenier’s Freedom Frontier his work is hard to miss. The off season finds Pat splitting his time between traveling the country chasing waves, camping in Utah’s southern deserts, or hosting heated sessions at his backyard mini ramp. “We are all very lucky to have snowboarding. From my very first falling leaf below sea level at Yawgoo valley in Rhode Island to my last deep pow turn up at Brighton high in the Wasatch, I have felt fortunate to have this activity that continues to teach me so much about myself and the world around me. This appreciation mixed with a healthy obsession with cameras has lead to where I am today; learning and progressing; constantly chasing the feeling that comes from a clean line or a perfect image captured on photo or film.” - Pat
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PHOTO: TBIRD
RIDESNOWBOARDS.COM
EATING SHIT SINCE ‘92
COVER STORY
Written by Jacob Malenick Curtis Ciszek - Logan, UT Photographed by Bob Plumb
There are many ways to get yourself deep into the backcountry, but nothing quite beats being part of a fine tuned doubling team, charging up mountains on a snowmobile with your BFF. “I was doubling Bob [Plumb] around on my sled so I’m sure we got stuck a bunch. Double buddies for life, Bob,” laughs Curtis Ciszek. On a typical blue bird day in our beautiful state, a group of young men got together in the town of Logan for some fun in the sun boarding of next level proportions. “It was an insane day, great crew,” reminisces Bob Plumb, photographer extraordinaire. “Bryan Fox, Curtis Ciszek (pictured), Seth Huot, Blake Paul, Sam Taxwood, Hayden Rensch, and myself.” Curtis adds, “Usually having a crew that big is a complete shit show but we are all super good friends and the vibe was awesome. We wanted to get some shit done but definitely wanted to have fun as well.” Needless to say, both fun and shit were accomplished. “I had known about that zone for a long time,” Curtis mentions about this particular slash spot in the Logan backcountry. “I think the first time I went out there was the first year I filmed for anything. I think it was when we were filming for Volcom’s Escramble.” After what some would consider a full day of riding sleds, scoping out jumps with rock-filled landings, and sending it off a solid step down, the boys still hadn’t quite had their fill; “Fox and I wanted to take a couple fun runs and rip
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some turns,” mentions Curtis, “So we were just shuttling fun laps on this face and Bob ended up getting this epic photo.” “I think I shot a sequence. So probably 10-15,” Bob responds when asked how many shots it took to get this one. Therein lies the beauty of professionals in any field. Not only is the drive to achieve unmatched by most, but it takes a great deal of skill, both from the rider and photographer, to create the illusion of making it look as if it all was an easy, leisurely experience. While some might see this cover shot as a simple slash, little do they know how much time, effort, and energy must be spent on a snowboard to be able to carve with that kind of intuitive understanding of how to best use such an epic adult playground, learning through countless experiences where one arc should go, and where one should not. Besides their obvious aesthetic appeal, cover shots and magazines serve as textbooks of sorts, documenting and cataloging styles, tricks, and trends for people to learn from, get excited by, and ultimately help them enjoy snowboarding in their own way. Thanks to the likes of Curtis Ciszek and Bob Plumb, we have professors in the field daily, gathering the latest facts and figures for us to feed off of, furthering our excitement, love, knowledge of, and appreciation for something as simple as snowboarding.
“...So we were just shuttling fun laps on this face and Bob ended up getting this epic photo.”
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ORIGINS
Written by Josh Ruggles Photographs Dan Mullins
Interior Plain Project In case you’re wondering, snowboarding is no longer cool. There’s plenty of evidence that the industry is on the out. Between the The New York Times article in 2013 asking the question: Has Snowboarding Lost It’s Edge? to the same publication’s more recent headline: Snowboarding, Once a High-Flying Sport, Crashes to Earth, the world has labeled the snowboard industry somewhere between limping along and totally screwed, as the later article notes: “A weakened global economy, shifting weather patterns and changing tastes and technology have added up to create a challenging atmosphere for snowboarding.” But snowboarding was pioneered by a bunch of punk kids going against the current norms and on private property to define themselves. It wasn’t about money, nor about the fame. Snowboarding was forged from self expression, camaraderie and a healthy dose of defiance. To many who still maintain their love of the shred, this isn’t a decline. It’s a purge. And if you ask the founder of Interior Plain Project Peter Harvieux, the last people standing are all that matter. “In snowboarding there are no rules, you can’t put us in a box,” he says. “After all is said and done, it will be the ones who were in it for the right reasons that stick around.” Harvieux defines himself as “not cool anymore.” He’s got a wife, a kid, and loves to nerd out on snowboard construction and design. But as “not cool” as he may think he is, he’s been a part of the shred industry since the time when Seinfeld was on regular TV rotation and buying a snowboard got you made fun of by the local sports junkies. After kicking around his idea to start a snowboard brand of his own for years, he pulled the trigger five years ago by founding Interior Plain Project, a.k.a. IPP. and running it solely on his own dime. With no investors to answer to, and having worked with enough companies over the decades (ROME SDS, Ashbury and Holden to name a few), Harvieux knew exactly what IPP would be, and what it wasn’t. “I was tired of the fads and gimmicks. With Interior, I wanted to have just true product without compromise,” he explains. With any fledgling company, nailing the product line is not only important, it’s do it right, or die in a fiery ball of capitalism flames. Harvesting from his couple of decades experience understanding snowboarders, Harvieux had a clear vision on how IPP boards would be made. And he started by dismissing current trends. “If you look at skateboarding, the seven-layer maple is what all the good dudes have ridden and still what all the good dudes ride now. In snowboarding, a cambered, tri-axial, centered-stance snowboard is what is proven to work,” Harvieux says. Not only is IPP one of the few board companies that has no plans to release reverse camber or hybrid camber boards of any kind, 18
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Harvieux says it would be doing a disservice to offer them. “When I go snowboarding I would watch a lot of people, and how they snowboard. I noticed that with too many of them there was no connection, and I think when it comes down to it, it’s about the board they’re riding,” he says. “I think reverse camber boards lack energy, and until you get that hook-up and energy transfer that from a camber board, it will be very difficult to truly connect to snowboarding.” As one of the original punks from the midwest who was helplessly pulled into the fantasia of snowboarding, Harvieux is a student of the mountains, and he’s constantly educating himself . “I snowboard every given moment that I can, whether it’s 30 minutes or 2 hours or whatever—it’s just what I do, and I don’t plan on stopping.” Through the years he’s become very aware of the issues that face the snowboard community, and why, when it comes to their product line, IPP offers just two boards—and also why the company takes a firm standing on how and where boards are sold. “I want to grow Interior organically. We’re not going to sell online, even if that means we don’t grow as fast, because I think shops are critical to snowboarding,” he says. Because IPP doesn’t sell direct to consumers, their presence is more localized to the midwest region, but the company’s growth has remained steady through half a decade. And with the release of their debut team video SHAPESHFTR, which has segments in places like Utah, the midwest and Korea, IPP is bringing back pieces of old school snowboarding back in a stye that can’t be classified or ignored. Like any work of art worth mentioning, everything the Interior Plain Project does is open to interpretation. Even their name suggests a nod to his midwest upbringing, but Harvieux notes that the name actually came from a play. “Interior will never be the same for me as it is for something else,” he says. “We wont be pigeonholed. We want you to decide what Interior is to you.” As far as the condition of the snowboard industry, and the landslide of money leaving it, Harvieux and Interior Plain Project are proof that money was never what made snowboarding. It’s the people behind it that have defined where it has been and where it will go. “Every day, I feel both like I might fail, and I’ve got this. It’s like this: ‘do i do it just for the money, or do I do it to add something to snowboarding,’” Harvieux explains. “I’d like to think I do it for snowboarding.”
“We wont be pigeonholed. We want you to decide what Interior is to you.” VOLUME 11.2
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CHAR ACTERS
Written by Daniel Cochrane Photographed by Mary Walsh
Tom Monterosso It’s Christmas morning 2016 and the latest in a seemingly infinite series of storms has once again blanketed Brighton, Utah. Like most of the Wasatch’s truly devoted Snowboarder Magazine Editor, and now three year resident of Salt Lake, Tom “TBird” Monterosso, has braved the probability of holiday crowds for the promising rewards of early morning pow turns. I run into him, his wife Lauren, and a few other companions at the base of the Milly Lift and take them up on their offer to roll together for a few laps. We ascend the Milly Express and ride through the SolBrite access to the infamous Wagon Wheel where we are rewarded with waist deep pow turns. As we hike out TBird is unabashedly stoked about the run: “Holy shit man, some of the best turns I’ve ever had,” we take a few more steps down the cabin road and he giggles “seriously dude, waist deep, fucking amazing,” a few more steps, and another muffled laugh to himself, “waist. deep.” If you know TBird this reaction should come as no surprise as he is pretty much always stoked. In fact, in an industry that seems to chew through riders, photographers, team managers, filmers, and journalists with alarming frequency TBird is still standing tall after over a decade, and is just as optimistic as an intern on his first real assignment. He’s a six-year-old on Christmas morning, a kid in a candy store as the cliché goes, spouting “awesome” “amazing” and “incredible” with consistency but rarely with superfluity. TBird’s career path started in his native New Hampshire where he attended Plymouth State University, which sits on the door step of the White Mountains home of both Loon Mountain and Waterville Valley, which are, in TBird’s words, “the Mecca of the East Coast snowboarding scene.” While in school TBird and his best friend, Eamon Rubira, scored jobs coaching for the prestigious Waterville Academy where he says his duties amounted to taking hung-over weekend park laps with a bunch of amazing up and coming kids. This was a magical time at Waterville, the salad days if you will, with the legendary Blue Lodge in full effect as residence for a veritable who’s who of East Coast snowboarding, kids such as Pat Moore and Ian Thorley were attending the Academy, the stoke was all time, and TBird was right in the middle of it all. Although he knew coaching wasn’t his dream job TBird realized the gig allowed him to get his foot, or as he describes it “shove” his foot, into the door of the industry. Fully intending to head west to Tahoe after graduation to just do the usual snow bum gig of “work all summer, save for winter, get pow turns, repeat” TBird was presented with an offer to intern with Snowboarder from Associate Editor Ben Fee. That was 2006, and the magazine hasn’t been able to get rid of him since. TBird attributes his tenure at Snowboarder to two realizations early in his career: the need to diversify his talents and having a deep sense of gratitude. “Snowboarding may not the most lucrative career you can pursue however if you hustle, and really bust your ass you can do a lot of different things and make it work. I’ve made a pretty good living off of snowboarding. I mean I drive a shitty 2004 Tacoma, but 20
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I’m ok with that. It’s more about a quality of life thing than anything else, and if you can find your comfort level within that you can honestly stay in snowboarding forever. Think about what we get to do. There are so many shitty alternatives in how you can live your life, and I kind of feel that anyone who is lucky enough to get into snowboarding is kind of a fool for leaving. If you truly love snowboarding you don’t want to leave. We travel the world, hang with our friends, ride amazing snow, and hey, sometimes we ride shitty snow too, but its all good. It’s all for the greater good. It’s a really awesome life to live, and in my opinion it beats a desk job ten times out of ten. I started snowboarder in October of 2006, and Bridges was my mentor. I feel like from very early on he made it a point to tell everyone there how lucky we were, how good we had it, and how awesome snowboarding was. I would attribute 30% of my success to my absolute love of snowboarding and 70% to Bridges always telling me “you can make a career out of this, you can make good money out of this, and you can have fun doing this.” Most people don’t get two of those out of their jobs much less all three.” The ten years at Snowboarder have offered many highlights for TBird, but when asked to reflect I notice a common theme among them all. Each, from working with JP and Jeremy Jones on their guest editor issue, to Artic trips with Terje, and his favorite milestone, snapping the cover shot of Scot Blum at Super Park 15, are all described by TBird not as professional accomplishments for his resume, but as a snowboarder giddy with the excitement of being part of something that gave him so much enjoyment as an East Coast grom. He doesn’t recount the process of making the magazine with JP and Jeremy, but instead talks about sending phone videos of the duo to stoke out his homies back home. He doesn’t talk about the segment that came from sessions with Terje, but instead recollects how much Terje meant to him growing up and the joy that came from getting to ride with him. It wasn’t the professional satisfaction of the cover shot from super Park 15 that TBird loves, but instead it’s the fact that the Super Park issue was his favorite growing up. TBird is unabashedly still that stoked East Coast grom at heart. “I am on top of the fucking world. Everyone that is in this, with you, with me, with anyone involved in snowboarding has to remember we have the world by the balls. We are playing the game, and fooling everyone as we have the absolute time of our lives. I know we are in the day and age where everyone says snowboarding isn’t doing well, the numbers are down, the revenue is down, but you know what? Fuck those people. We are doing what we are doing, and we are hanging on as long as we can, and it will persevere. If anything the hard times weed out the weak and keep the strong willed in it for the long haul. You said every time you see me I seemed stoked, but it is because I AM stoked. We snowboarders got the world right where we want it, and why wouldn’t you be stoked with that?”
“You can make a career out of this, you can make good money out of this, and you can have fun doing this.”
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A GRAPHIC STORY
Written by Jacob Malenick Photos provided by Ride Snowboards
Ride Snowboards The Warpig
You find yourself in a crowded, dark space. The warmth from the bodies around you continues to grow as the smell of sweat hangs stale in the air. The lights are dim, you can barely see the back of the head directly in front of you. The feedback begins, a high pitched squeal growing louder and louder from somewhere in the looming darkness. The lights flash on, and the deafening crunch of a fully distorted guitar fills the small, dungeon room. Your vision blurs as light and limb swirl in every direction, taking you far away while keeping your feet firmly planted in the pit. New for the 2016/17 season, the Ride Warpig harnesses the raw energy of the infamous DIY ethos found in the underbelly of punk rock. “For the Warpig specifically, we pulled a lot of inspiration from vintage skate/surf, counter culture, punk stuff,” comments Ride’s Creative Director Lauren Oka. “We were vibing on some old rattle-can surf boards at the time. We knew we wanted the graphic to have a DIY look and were really trying to convey the personality of how the board rides. The board itself is a wild style, thrash everything, do everything machine. We knew it needed a fuck it attitude with some grit and raw DIY-ness to it. We wanted a graphic that felt real and hand done, as if it were made in someone’s garage.” “Overall, I art directed the board graphic and had two amazing designers, Russ Cosgrove and Mikey Gallant, design it and execute it,” Lauren continues about the Warpig’s process. “Funny enough, at the time I got a job with Ride as a designer, Russ was the Creative Director. Eventually he left to work for himself, and Mikey came along as a designer for Ride. More time passed, Mikey took a gig at Converse and moved back east. I took the Creative Director position here at Ride and ended up hiring these two back to do a graphic for the Warpig!” Coming in either a Small or a Large, the Warpig cuts through the industry crud to bring a no-nonsense board that is primed to do it all. It doesn’t rely on flashy images and visual gimmicks to entice the buyer, but rather showcases a stripped down all-mountain destroyer that’s sure to intimidate squares and skiers alike. “This board creation was unique in the fact that it was a collaboration of efforts,” Lauren comments in summation. “Russ designed the base and topsheet, the textures and overall look of the board. Mikey did the type/lockup design in the center. It’s cool to see from an art director standpoint, because knowing both of these designers, they would have each done something different if they were on their own, but together came up with the final graphic that you see. Overall, everyone is hyped on it and I think we achieved exactly what we were going for.”
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PRODUCT TOSS
The Interior Plain Project Honalee 158 Board ($450) theipproject.com L1 Outwear Prowler Women’s Jacket ($220) l1premiumgoods.com Coal Lore Cap ($32) coalheadwear.com Dang Shades Flame Boy Goggles ($65) dangshades.com
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introducing the
carter
clovis snowboard
mark
+ cypress binding
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P :
s e a n
b l a c k
SHOOTING GALLERY
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MADISON BLACKLEY January 2016 - Salt Lake City, UT Photo: Cole Atencio
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SHOOTING GALLERY
Zak Hale January 2016 - Lake Tahoe, CA Photo: Andy Wright
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JAKE WELCH
KELLY UNDERWOOD
December 2015 - Lake Tahoe, CA Photo: Andy Wright
February 2016 - Brighton, UT Photo: Ben Girardi
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SHOOTING GALLERY
JORDAN PHILLIPS February 2016 - Logan, UT Photo: Ben Girardi
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GUS WARBINGTON January 2015 - Ogden, UT Photo: Tim Zimmerman
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E - Stone Scott Stevens
KICKIN' IT FOR 80 YEARS.
Brighton has changed a lot over the past 80 years but hitting jumps underneath Pioneer will never get old. Thanks for making us Utah's favorite place to ride.
TRAVEL
Alaska Photographs by Andrew Miller Intro by Jacob Malenick
While space may be the final frontier, even if it is made in a Hollywood basement, for those of us bound to this monstrous rock through gravity and science, a more attainable frontier exists deep in the north. It’s a place where hundreds of miles and almost countless acres of wilderness, nature, and majesty stretch past the horizon line. A place where anyone who has strapped a plank of wood to their feet dreams of reaching, and only a determined few venture to every winter. Among the driven ones is a group of the most talented snowboarders in the world along with their film and photography counterparts. While that group has changed over the years, their adventures north continue, each year becoming bigger and bolder. The footage and photos captured become harder and harder to believe, but we keep watching, keep believing, and keep dreaming of the day when we will be the ones leaping out the side of a helicopter, board in our hands and smile on our face. Alaska brings people together. Its solitude and beauty make it the perfect place to connect with your fellow human beings through a love of nature. The camaraderie of sitting among the trees, drinking beers around a flaming metal grate as you pick apart the freshest fish of your life cannot be beat. Andrew Miller was able to perfectly capture that very camaraderie between the Absinthe crew not only as some of the most breathtaking snowboarding to date took place on Alaska’s pristine spines, but in the down times, the preparation, and all the little moments that make up an unforgettable shred trip. For many of us, Absinthe Films is snowboarding. Their movies have always embodied not only the pure fun of it all, but have showcased incredible talent from around the world, building excitement and passion year after year. I have no doubt that once you’ve completed this photo essay, and your brain has had a chance to transport you back to reality, you’ll want to witness these scenes in action in Absinthe’s AfterForever while setting your sites fully on AK.
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FLYINGGG Written by Daniel Cochrane Photographs by Jacob Malenick
To many the snowboarding industry has always been intrinsically linked to the world of art. Pioneering professionals such as Jamie Lynn and Bryan Iguchi have long lived a lifestyle that blurred the lines between the canvas and the carve. They, and others, have also explored artistic avenues through the mediums of photography and music. Flyinggg is the SLC based artistic collective comprising of New England transplants Kevin “Gravedigger” Court, Christian “Ant Eater” Buling, Mike “Rav” Ravelson, and newest roomie Katie “Skatie” Kennedy. Seeking to explore all avenues of expression whether that be painting, music, or ripping lines at Brighton, The Rail Gardens, or Rose Park Skatepark the trio are on a mission to spread good vibes (mixed with a dash of chaos) and artistic expression across their new home in Utah. The term “Flyinggg” originated in 2015 when the crew relocated to Salt Lake. Fully immersed in the local skate and snow scene the shout “Flyinggg!” would joyfully announce the stoke felt when someone would go big during a skate or snow session. Over time the battle cry turned into an IG account, and the movement had begun. A glimpse of the account will always yield some entertainment whether its pow lines, park laps, paintings in progress, or jam sessions in their Sugarhouse apartment. The crew finds inspiration in each other, their friends, and in various snow and music videos, especially videos from the 90’s era like Anthem, Roadkill, TB2, and The Source with riders such as Cardiel, Brushie, and Noah Salasnek. The beauty of such a devotion to artistic expression is the ability to embrace each other’s individuality. As every person brings their own signature style to the group it creates an energy that in turns fuels even more creativity. They recognize and embrace skating, surfing, and snowboarding as art forms with the boards being the paintbrush and the concrete, waves and snow being the canvas. This energy and enthusiasm spills over to their music, painting, and other works of art, which in turn inspires their riding and begins the cycle again. The guys have high hopes for spreading the stoke, and sharing their creative vision. While Flyinggg was started on a whim they are really excited about the success of their artistic endeavors. They feel an energy and excitement that comes from seeing their stickers on the boards of friends as well as Flyingg clothing on their backs. They feel like with continued growth Flyingg would become a bigger positive movement for anyone and everyone.
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>
Gravedigger Various Works
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Christian Buling Purple Girl
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> Christian Bulling Untitled
Durrell Williams Hot Vodka
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INTERVIEW
Forrest Shearer Photographed by Andrew Miller Interviewed by Daniel Cochrane
Forrest Shearer is constantly on a quest whether that is for the perfect powder turn, a great wave, or even for environmental justice. He travels the world in search of adventure, with the hopes of meeting new people and making lasting friendships. He is the kind of guy that you can tell is really listening to you when you sit down and have a conversation, and that is probably a huge advantage when it comes to connecting with new people. Forrest has had an interesting run in the snowboarding world, after all how many people can lay claim to having roles in both Bozwreck movies and TGR Productions (spoiler alert the answer is one, Forrest). We sat down to talk with Forrest about his travels, his career, and his activism and found that the common thread was his love for meeting new people, sharing new experiences, and hopefully creating life long friendships.
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“ In snowboarding we kind of have this tribe, you’re able to meet these people from different places that in some respects are nothing like you, but in some respects they are exactly like you via the bond of snowboarding.”
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So Forrest I wanted to open our conversation with the topic of career paths. Ok. How old are you? I am 38. So at 38 you are well past the retirement age of the average snowboarder. Totally. Yet here we sit with you, at 38, at probably the zenith of your visibility industry-wise. That’s not the typical path. Yeah, you know I think I am lucky to be my age in a time in snowboarding where the sport is, I don’t think growing “up” is the term but it’s definitely growing. Maybe think of it as a fine wine you know. It’s maturing, and people are more open to different things. You still stay true to those freestyle surfing/skateboarding roots but we want to see what other paths are out there. For me that path was wanting to do more hiking and exploring places in my backyard that I had never been. Whether that is a peak you’ve always looked at from Brighton or Snowbird or even heading to another country. Obviously riding a new place is part of it, but also meeting the people there and immersing yourself in the culture. In snowboarding we kind of have this tribe, you’re able to meet these people from different places that in some respects are nothing like you, but in some respects they are exactly like you via the bond of snowboarding. To be able to stay in touch with those people that is huge. You can learn so much about yourself that way. Do you ever run into people who are surprised about some of your earlier snowboarding exploits, like being in the BozWreck movies for example? No, not too much. I mean even before BozWreck I rode for Allian snowboards, which was Ingemar Backman’s company. Those guys kind of gave me my first start. Shane and Justin from Absinthe were also part of that era as far as people who kind of gave me my first start. It’s all relative you know. Kind of like I was just saying those guys are obviously still around and we still interact. I mean we will all always be out there snowboarding because that’s what we do. It’s so much bigger than a sport; I mean I think it even does it a disservice to use that term. It is definitely a lifestyle that you lead, more than a sport in which you participate. I think there is a lot to be said for having an older generation involved in mainstream media snowboarding. I think those more veteran riders are really good for giving snowboarding its moral compass. You’ve seen a lot and you’ve made a lot of the same choices the younger kids will face, and those have been met with various degrees of success.
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Yeah that’s why it’s so good to see someone like Bryan Iguchi for example really get this renaissance in his career. I mean obviously the Ingemar’s and the Johan’s (Olofsson) are still out there riding but it’s just not being documented on the level of someone like Bryan Iguchi. For Bryan it is awesome that he is still relevant and getting the attention and respect he deserves. That’s so important because like you said we really learn from those guys and hopefully they show us a path that we can try to obtain when we reach that same point in our lives. Interestingly enough this is a recent phenomenon in snowboarding, especially compared to like both surfing and skateboarding. Why did it take snowboarding so long to learn to respect its founding fathers? Snowboarding is interesting, like you say surfing and skateboarding both have those respected legends, but in snowboarding it got really cloudy there for a bit. I think maybe that was due to industry folks and marketing focusing their dollars a certain way. I think that was the time XGames kind of game in as well and the industry as a whole kind of got side tracked and really narrowed their scope of what they deemed “relevant” and those previous generations were not it. The video part culture may have had something to do with that too but social media and the internet have opened that up. A lot of it has to do with bigger companies coming in from outside the sport with no sense of history but with a lot of money. That money allows those companies to control or at least influence what is and isn’t relevant. In my opinion I think it is a good thing that many times those companies don’t see the return on investment that they’d like and they fall out of the industry. Snowboarding is getting to the point where we need to look at people like Bryan and those that came before us and keep those people relevant if they want to be. It’s cool that people like him and Jamie Lynn for example can kind of stay around and contribute to the culture. Yeah that makes sense where with surfing and skating the terrain is easily accessible to film anyone. Where as in snowboarding if you want to film in Alaska that takes work and as a filmer you want your camera pointed to the biggest name you can find. I can see where an older rider can get lost in that shuffle. Yes, and I prefer to make videos that tell stories vs. a more standard 10 guys each with four minute parts formula but, that was the go to formula for many years. I see that changing a bit and I think that change is more conducive to someone like Bryan and how he wants to portray himself. Yeah, I have noticed that change as well. Movies like AuroraBoardealis, the new ThinkThank, and Bode’s project all stepped away from that formula you spoke of and moving more towards a montage and experiences format vs. quick shots and loading clips format. We are kind of adapting to what is going on now. It becomes harder and harder to wait a year to show a clip especially when you have an avenue that can show that in a meaningful way. Something like Pat Moore’s Blueprint where there were multiple episodes that went down through out the season that led you VOLUME 11.2
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towards an end product video. I’ll always love the Absinthe Movies and I’ll always wait and support that, but some movies that are two, three plus year products have huge expectations to fulfill and a lot of times underperform just because of those expectations. It has nothing to do with the quality of the actual product but rather with the length of time people wait for it. Tell us about your project and trip to Iceland. Yeah Iceland was somewhere I have wanted to visit for a while now. It was for the Horizon Lines project and the goal was to make it a surf and snowboarding trip. Iceland has turned into world-class spots for both. More so for surfing than snowboarding, but it’s getting there for snowboarding. Obviously the rail scene has been well documented there but as far as riding mountains it is really pretty untapped. There are a few heli operations but we really didn’t know what to expect. It was an opportunity to bring guys I looked up to with me; Bryan, Jeremy, and a big wave surfer Kohl Christensen. None of us had ever been there before so that was kind of a cool experience you know, expectations out the window. Jake Price came to film and Andrew and Nick came to document too. We were blown away by the accessibility of the mountains and terrain right off the road. There were so many beautiful things there; the mountains, the geothermal places, the oceans, the waterfalls were all just amazing. It is crazy that in this day and age you can just buy a ticket to almost anywhere and just go. That is the thing that many people miss out on. Take that vacation and take that trip. It’s hard for a lot of people but the first thing is to go outside your front door and get outside of your comfort zone. We all get sort of tuned in to our day-today and let opportunities slip by. It’s awesome to really learn and know your back yard, but nothing will make you appreciate both the world and your own backyard like going different places and meeting different people. Honestly that is so true because the one thing I got when I visited Iceland this past fall was that I was in this amazing place and there were people going about their normal day going to work all that sort of stuff. At one point I was just like “man these people live in this insane place and have just become so normalized to it” but then it hit me that I have done the exact same thing. I totally take Utah for granted, especially the southern parts that I get down to every few years. You have to explore your back yard, and appreciate it you know. Totally. That’s true anywhere, but especially true in Utah. So lets end on a serious but positive note. You’ve been very active socio-politically with POW and various groups dealing with climate change through proac60
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“...nothing will make you appreciate both the world and your own backyard like going different places and meeting different people.”
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tive and progressive legislation as well as just being a soapbox for these issues to help bring awareness. In our current political climate where we are seeing a resurgence of power by climate deniers what can the average reader out there do to continue to be a positive force in this struggle? Bring it back to the grassroots is the easiest thing to do. My biggest thing is to support local, those are the battles that are winnable right now. Whatever issues you are into you can make an impact at the local level. In fact these wide sweeping goals aren’t obtainable without a strong foundation on the local level so involvement in your own back yard is crucial. You know we talked about exploring your backyard but that wont be doable if we don’t also become stewards of our backyards. In Utah right now solar is the big fight. Rocky Mountain Power is trying to enact a large tax on personal solar panels on residences, which is really designed as a deterrent for installing not as a source of revenue. We live in a place where we get so much sun and there is so much potential to use solar vs. finite fossil fuels it is silly not to use solar. If you go to HEAL Utah you can get information on that. It is going to be a huge battle, but the ability to win is definitely there. Well thank you Forrest and continued success on your many projects. We can’t wait to see what your next adventure holds. Thank you guys!
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PURCHASE YOUR COPY OF RIDE LOCAL FIRST AT CROSSROADS SKATESHOP FEATURING: CODY LEE, BRYDEN BOWLEY, TRISTAN SADLER, CHASE BURCH, ZEKE GREER, TRISTIN HEINER, KC RUSSELL, JAKE FERRELL & SKIER JERRY 251 W 12TH ST OGDEN, UTAH 84404
SOUND CHECK
Zac Marben
DEATH VALLEY GIRLS
AMANAZ
NO PARENTS
(Independent)
(Burger Records)
(Now Again Records)
(Orphan Records)
Professional snowboarder Zac Marben’s third independently released full length “In the Dust” came out this summer, and is his best effort to date. Zac’s influences include Sabbath, Radiohead, Hendrix and Pink Floyd each of which definitely shine through all three of Zac’s albums. On this third effort the songs are tighter and there seems to be more Zac coming through than the aforementioned influences. As with his prior releases Zac plays all instruments, does all of the recording as well as all of the editing which is a pretty crazy feat considering he is still out there riding and filming video parts as well. As with his other works a majority of the fourteen tracks on In the Dust are guitar driven instrumentals, with only the trio of “Hard Way”, “Gentleman Fire Breather “, and “Fires” offering reverbed vocals. Each of these songs are great additions and hopefully future efforts will see more vocals making the cut. Zac’s music is powerful and somehow manages to be suitable for both lazy summer nights around the campfire and full send pow days. I keep all of his stuff in heavy rotation, especially for pow days where the flow of the music just seems to be in synch with my riding. It’s hard to pick favorites on this album but all three vocal tracks are strong as well as the fuzz laden “Blood Rider”, the Pink Floyd heavy “Cast Out”, and opener “Blue Eyes”. In the Dust is available on both iTunes and Spotify. - Daniel Cochrane
With their name coming from a 1975 sexploitation film (Switchblade Sisters if you’re interested) combined with an undying love of the macabre and conspiracy theories, Death Valley Girls are an poised to be the torch bearers for their genre-bending type of rock & roll. With an unpredictable, dark, fuzzed out sound that has elements of punk, blues, psyche, and even beefed up 50’s pop in some instances, Death Valley Girls’ sophomore album Glow In The Dark is infectious and mesmerizing while maintaining an almost haunting presence.
This album, long sought by collectors, was a 1975 release from a band out of Zambia, Africa. It was re-released on record store day 2015 and can now be found on most digital platforms as well. It is an amazing album full of psyche rock, soulful jams and mellow vibes. Because the band was free from the American music industry’s almost fanatical need to label and categorize everything as a certain genre the musical stylings are all over the map. Some times it’s heavy psyche a la “Making the Scene” and “History of Man”, and sometimes it’s very Santana-esque jams like the four-minute masterpiece “Green Apple” and the final half of “Nsunka Lwendo” (please also remember in ‘73 Santana was still rad as it was decades before that Rob Thomas bullshit). There’s even a hint of garage with the T-Rex inspired “Big Enough”. Lyrically the album alternates between Zambian dialect and heavy accented English but neither is ever distracting, and many times I find myself singing along with the Zambian stuff having no idea what I’m saying. Although the heavy psyche is awesome, and still relevant now over 40 years after its release, it’s a few of the mellow jams that really tie the album altogether. Both “Kale” and “Khala my Friend” are great down tempo chill songs, but my favorite by far is the amazing Velvet Underground inspired “Sunday Morning”. Find this album and expand/blow your musical mind.
For those of you as nostalgic as me for the days of fast, snotnosed brat rock from the likes of Op Ivy, your punk prayers have been answered with Dick or Teat, the latest release from No Parents. Not only is it loosely based around Halloween, thanks in part to its October release, but it comes complete with aggressively short songs (the longest one, Die Whenever, clocks in at 2:19), raunchy, angst-filled lyrics, and even an absurd skit in the middle of the album, Are You Pissed?, reminiscent of Blink-182’s glory days.
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Glow in the Dark
The Joan Jett-esque vocals of frontwoman Bonnie Bloomgarden and Black Sabbath style riffs from lead guitarist Larry Schemel make for a perfect combo. Songs like Horror Movie can be described as The Kills meets Black Rebel Motorcycle Club with Boomgarden’s ghostly vocals and over Schemel’s heavy, structured guitar licks. The other album standouts include the head-nod inducing Disco, short and sweet Death Valley Boogie, and the female-empowering pop powerhouse I’m A Man Too. All together, Glow in the Dark is an amazing concoction of sounds that is sure to solidify Death Valley Girls as a breath of fresh air throughout rock & roll as a whole.
- Jacob Malenick
Africa
-Daniel Cochrane
Dick or Teat
Arguably the greatest thing about Dick or Teat, or even No Parents in general, is the complete and utter lack of f—ks given. Case and point, the song Cock Surfer urges listeners to “hold on for one more wave” as your surf on your own dick straight to the grave. There’s no deep meaning behind their songs, no ironic message around their persona. No Parents is simply a group of unapologetic surf punks who released a fast, grimey, and exciting Halloween-themed album and couldn’t care less what you think about it. - Jacob Malenick
p: Tim Zimmerman
THE ROAD TO HOLY BOWLY
INSTA HAM
Row 1. The Interior Plain Project @theinteriorplainproject 2. Tom Monterosso @tbirdley 3. Forrest Shearer @forrestshearer
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IF YOU SMOKE, YOUR PET SMOKES. Long-nosed dogs have a 250% higher risk of nasal cancer. Quit now.
All featured tobacco products are computer-generated imagery.
END CREDITS
Rider: Griffin Siebert Brighton, UT Photographed by Andrew Miller
EDITOR & ADVERTISING Cory LLewelyn cory@arkadesnowboarding.com
EDITOR & DESIGN Paul Bundy paul@arkadesnowboarding.com
EDITOR & ONLINE EDITOR Daniel Cochrane daniel@arkadesnowboarding.com
CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Andy Wright, Bob Plumb, Ben Girardi, Cole Atencio, Tim Zimmerman, Andrew Miller, Mary Walsh, Dan Mullins, Pat Fenelon, Jacob Malenick
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Jacob Malenick, Josh Ruggles
DISTRIBUTION Cooper Llewelyn, The Norm, Laramie Patrick Proudly Printed in Salt Lake City, UT ARKADE MAGAZINE 127 South 800 East STE #37 SLC, UT 84102
www.arkadesnowboarding.com info@arkadesnowboarding.com Facebook.com/arkadesnowboarding Twitter.com/arkadesnow Instagram @arkadesnowboarding
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