Blunter Vol 4 Issue 5 - 10 years of sacrifice with Simon Chamberlain

SACRIFICE

10YEARS WITH SIMON CHAMBERLAIN

FALL/WINTER 2012-13 ISSUE 4 - VOL - 2 WWW.BLUNTERMAG.XXX

Blunter - So this year your 10th year pro model comes out with StepChild. Is there anything that you’d like to say about that?

Simon - I feel Blessed man. My dream as a kid was to be a snowboarder and film video parts.

When I was a kid I dreamed of getting one pro model. Now thinking I have 10, that’s crazy, it is beyond a dream come true. I am just so stoked that Stepchild has believed in me all this time and helped me out, it is an amazing feeling. 10 pro models is my biggest accomplishment in snowboarding so far.

How is riding for StepChild different than riding for other board sponsors?

I don’t know cause I have never rode for any other board sponsor. I know it has a family feel and everyone in the company are so down for each other. I know that other board brands are not like that. We are kinda like the baker team, everyone are homies, and we got that family vibe.

How has the riding level changed from when you first started riding for StepChild?

It’s definitely changed since I first got on. Snowboarding’s level changes every year, it is awesome. That is what makes snowboarding cool, every year it gets better. All the riders push it and keep killing it. Everything is just more tech, bigger, faster and all around more exciting. I still reflect on the good old days though. It is funny when I look back a front board on a 30 stair was a sick shot back then, now its a warm up trick. haha Looking back at your career so far, what was your hardest year and why?

Probably the year I filmed for Derelictica in 2005 (What year was this). I signed on with some new sponsors that year and had a lot of obligations to do. I was sent everywhere and just felt like I got

one reason why we all can snowboard as a job. I appreciate the kids out there that love snowboarding. That fuels me and my riding. I never shredded for the industry man. The business side is full of things that I don’t think people even want to know about. There are some cut throat business peeps out there that don’t snowboard and make decisions for snowboard companies and that doesn’t make sense to me. It’s a weird industry but I have to deal with it everyday so I try and choose my battles wisely. Sometimes I wish it had more respect like the skate industry. I like how in the skate industry a lot of brands are owned and run by the skaters. I think in snowboarding StepChild is the closest thing to this.

How has your opinion changed in regards to professional snowboarding? What you thought it was and what it really is?

Man, when I was a kid I thought that if you were a pro, you show up to a spot and its all set up ready for you to hit it. Did I think wrong, hahaha! It is hard work everything we do, we set up, we build jumps, find spots, organize shoots, all that stuff plus obviously getting the shots. There is so much that goes on behind the scenes of getting one useable shot. It’s sick though I like it that way, grinding hard man. When I was a kid my Dad always told my brothers and I, “Work before pleasure”.

You gotta work hard before you can have fun man, that’s what my mentality is when I go out grinding.

So do you see filming as work or pleasure?

Building jumps, shoveling up tranny’s, and all that stuff, I see as work. Then the pleasure comes in when you get to shred it. So in a way filming has that work before pleasure feel to it.

Is the fairy tale a reality?

It can be in a sense, I currently snowboard as a

now than a passion?

Nope, it is still my passion. I think about snowboarding all the time and how to better myself and have fun with it. If I wasn’t passionate about it I wouldn’t be doing it. Love it everyday.

How do you keep the passion in your riding and what keeps you motivated?

I try to snowboard as much as I can, and try new things to have fun with it. I get inspired by kids out there loving shredding. That just keeps me motivated, I love watching new kids come up killing it.

It is really motivating to see JP still killing it. That amazes me, I am so hyped to see JP continuing his grind.

Do you thinks pro snowboarding is more relevant or less relevant in regards to snowboard sales?

I think it is more relevant, it will always be. You have a good team that can relate to the kids and put out sick video parts. Your company will succeed. That’s the formula.

Where does good product come into the formula?

I’ve loved the ride of a StepChild board since day one. They are strong, have good pop and are very responsive. I haven’t broke a deck in like 8 years It’s sick cause they have a 2 year warranty, so you know they are built really good. On the other hand I really don’t think a snowboard company would be in business if they made crappy products. I see people on the hills riding StepChild boards that are 6 and 7 years old. It makes me stoked for the fact that we aren’t just a hype snowboard brand and that we really do make quality snowboards.

Stepchild is a company that will always have the coolest vibe and kids see that. It is a brand that snowboarding needs.

“I think I spent 6 days in my own bed all season and no full video part to show for it.” pulled around you know. I still had to film a video part but it was hard just cause I had to be everywhere at the same time I ended up hurting myself with a torn MCL in the spring and it cut my season short. I think I spent 6 days in my own bed all season and no full video part to show for it. It was beast!

What was your best year and why?

I liked the season where we filmed “this video sucks”. It was the first year I filmed with JP and that was insane to me. We just had an awesome crew all the time and it was so fun. No injuries really and just tons of laughs-the way snowboarding should be. Filming for Cheers was a dream crew also, that was amazing.

What is the biggest change in your life to happen since you started riding for StepChild?

Just getting more responsibilities I guess. When I started riding for StepChild I just took the bus to the mountain everyday and shredded. That was it. It was simple back then just to shred everyday and have no worries. Every year I feel like I have to tackle a new challenge in my life, it gets busy at times these days. That is ok though.

What has been one or your recent changes/ challenges in the past year?

A big challenge was the jibberish project, being involved with that type of business was tougher than expected.

How has your view of snowboarding changed in regards to the business/industry side of things?

Well I have always tried to keep snowboarding fun and in line with why I started in the first place. I just hope my snowboarding stokes out the kids man, cause I truly understand that they are the

job. I feel blessed everyday. It is not really what I expected though, there is a lot of responsibility in holding down a snowboard career. You have to do things you don’t want to do sometimes. It’s not like I can shred whenever I want. It’s cool though I know I get to shred more than most so for that I am grateful.

If you want to have a good career as a professional snowboarder, what are some of the things that keep you there?

Keeping your body healthy is a big one. You have to be smart with your choices. Always find the fun in what you are doing so you don’t burn out. Also a big one is surround your self with a good group of homies.

Who are your homies these days?

Jeremy, JP, and Seth are the dudes I love shredding with the most and also the Stepchild team.

Everyone on the stepchild team is really awesome to snowboard with, we are like family. If I am going for a pow cruz Johnson is the best for that, because after the first run he is ready for some fries in the lodge.

Who are some of the up and coming riders that you see as being able to make it?

Brandon Hobush is killing it! I think he is going to do very well, he loves snowboarding and he seems like a level minded kid.

What makes your life so different from a 9-5 career job?

There is no routine in a snowboard career. One day your hitting handrails till 4 in the morning, and the next week your waking up at 5 am to go snowmobiling and film in the backcountry. Everyday is different. That is what makes it so rad.

Does your snowboarding feel more like a job

What is the hardest thing about pro snowboarding?

Probably injuries, it sucks getting hurt mid season and wanting to keep the grind going but you can’t.

That’s gotta be the hardest thing.

Do you notice that over the course of a snowboard career how everyone at the beginning is all for you when you are young and coming up? Over the years when you start to establish yourself do you have to work harder to get the same respect that used to come more naturally? Do you see this same scenario being played out through many of your friends that are professional riders?

Yeah it is funny how that goes sometimes. I think you just have to keep your head up and keep doing what you love. I see it all the time, some riders hate it when new kids come up cause they feel threatened. You have to except that man, that’s just the way it always is. I would just say be you, work as hard as you can and keep loving it.

With pro snowboarding you have to walk a fine line between believing in your abilities and at the same time being open to public opinion as it’s the consumers that support the sales.

How do you react to this and at the same time separate yourself from the negativity? What part of pro snowboarding do the haters not understand?

I just try to stay positive in everything I do. I don’t read comments anymore, all it does is bring negativity to the sport. I am not down for bitter people eating potato chips and barking their negative opinions on the internet-they must be more frustrated about something else-like how does my nose press ruin your whole day? If you meet me

I am gonna be cool to you cause that’s who I am, even if you talk crap about me on the internet everyday. Haters have never had a job snowboarding so I can’t take them that seriously. It is funny cause when I was a kid shredding, before all that internet crap. If I would see a sponsored snowboarder or a pro at my resort I was so freaking stoked man I would just think, that dude gets free gear and gets to ride all the time lucky him. I was hyped for the dude, even if he had weird style or did lame front threes.

You are also still a part of Nomis. Can you explain some of the changes that it has gone through over the years and also is there any hostility towards the brand that you and your brothers helped start now that you are the only one left?

Nomis was a brand that me and my bros started and it took off. It grew so fast, actually too fast so we had to get some help with it. It got put into the wrong hands for a few years and it was a tough time, some of those business dudes that were involved just didn’t have the same vision as we did but they were the ones funding it so we really didn’t have as much control. Transitions kept happening and things changed around and I was the only one left involved out of all my homies, it was really tough. Now recently, it got put into better hands and I am involved with it 100 percent again.

The team behind the brand is great and we are all working together to get this company on the right track and have fun with it again. I am stoked on it all over again, cause we are just going back to our roots and making it sick. I am excited for the future of Nomis.

Is there anything that you would like to say to

“Man, when I was a kid I thought that if you were a pro, you show up to a spot and its all set up ready for you to hit it.” the people that have been involved over the years?

To all my Homies that worked there, the old days were the best, and we created something amazing. You guys all killed it and I appreciate everything you all have done for me and Nomis in the past. Keep killing it with your new ventures and always remember what we all did together. Nothing can take away all the good memories from those tight days. I love you all, you’re all my fam!

What are some of the biggest challenges you have faced in the last 10 years?

I took a lot of risks in my career. One that stands out was leaving DC to start Nomis outerwear. It was hard to leave something so rad and not know the future. It all worked out awesome but I remember that being a tough one. I loved riding for DC and they helped me out so much. I met some rad people there that I will be friends with forever. That was a big risk, but when I look back I am stoked on all my decisions.

What are some challenges that you think you will face in the next 10 years?

Having kids probably. haha that will be a fun challenge I am sure..

Do you see yourself having kids in the next few

years?

Yeah at some point, I love the Idea of experiencing that. Having kids is something I want to experience for sure.

Are your kids gonna shred powder or rails?

Probably rails, cause its more G. haha.

Leave the pow for dad. He will be the kid hitting the park on a pow day for sure. haha What are some of the challenges in holding down a professional snowboard career as well as being involved in a healthy marriage?

It can be hard at times just cause I travel so much in the winter, but I have an amazing supportive wife that gets it. That definitely makes things easier. You just have to stay communicating that’s the most important thing. If you have that support behind you, your snowboard career comes even easier. It is a good combo for me.

Who have you spent more time with in the past year, JP or your wife?

That’s a toss up, in the winter definitely JP. But hey if you work an office job then I am sure you see your work buddies a lot more

in the end too, so it makes sense I guess.

Who would win in a fight: JP or Jeremy?

Well, Jeremy is a beast, he is pretty big, so if he could get past JP’s chin then he would win. But that chin is like a force field man.

Do you see yourself still being involved in the snowboard industry 10 years down the road?

Yeah for sure, I love snowboarding. It excites me daily, just grinding and filming all year and seeing what we come up with, it is so fun. It is so rad to see what we can do as a team around these smaller brands. StepChild gave me ownership a while back so that is a true blessing and I will definitely not take that for granted, so I can see myself helping out anyway I can in 10 years time. Who knows though I will be 37 in ten years so maybe I will still be still filming, thats how old Jeremy is. I will definitely have less hair then him though.

I’ll take my beanie off after my pow run and have a skullet.

“He asked me to ride for Stepchild and then talked to my parents about it.”

YEAR 1 – 2003

I got a call from Sean Johnson one night when I got home from a day at high school. He asked me to ride for Stepchild and then talked to my parents about it. I was so down right off the bat. I remember seeing Sean in magazines and videos when I was a kid, so it was a trip that a pro snowboarder was calling my house in Lindsay, Ontario. Shortly after, he ended up sending me 2 boards in the mail and a bunch of small t-shirts, not knowing I was six feet tall. I gave all the shirts to my mom and sister. Before I met Sean he asked me to write down my goals for my career. I met him at Splits in Whistler and showed him the list. Going to the Nixon Jibfest was in bold on there, and he said, I am gonna try to get you there this year. I was thinking that there was no way, but some kinda miracle happened and I was there that April. I was tripping out, meeting and seeing all these pros there that I watched and looked up to my whole life--it was seriously one of the craziest feelings. I ended up riding as hard as I could not really thinking of it, just shredding as much as possible. And they ended up voting for me to win. I was probably the most stoked 17 year-old in the world that day. It is one of the coolest memories I have.

YEAR 2 – 2004

Stepchild sponsored the new Defective Films movie Promo Copy that year so I could film for it. It was my first real chance to film a video part. That year was such a learning curve for me. I went to Helsinki for the first time to hit rails and rode with Eddie Wall most of the year. It was tight.

I won’t get into my first backcountry moments cause that was an embarrassment.

I got voted worst snowmobiler of the year.

I think I rolled my sled every time I went out. In the end, though, I got a part I was happy with. That season Sean asked me to have input on a Sepchild board. I came up with the ‘hard day at work’ graphic. It came out super sick and it was a really cool experience to sit down with Steve Moore, the artist, and talk to him about it.

He did a fantastic job and it sold really well that year.

YEAR 3 – 2005

Defective Films was coming out with a new video called Derelictica. I was slotted to film for that video and also film for the DC Mtn Lab video. My season started off well. I got one of my favourite shots still to this day that year: the hardway 270, on this big street rail at the June mountain parking lot. After that session I went to the DC Mtn Lab and filmed my part for their movie. I was super happy with the way that part came out. I ended up blowing my knee on a jump after all that, and it cut my season short, so I couldn’t get a full part in Derelictica. That year I designed the green pro model for Stepchild. It was basic with my name in the middle and Stepchild logos all over the board. The green just popped so good in film shots. I remember Andreas Wiig shredded that board all season because he was between sponsors and we just hooked him up with boards. That was cool.

YEAR 4 – 2006

This was the year of the unknown. All the riders in the previous Defective Films movies were tied up in other video projects. Sean and I just started filming, not knowing what our end game was going to be. Stepchild funded it for the year and we just cruised around filming, not yet realizing it was going to turn into Child Support. It was a leap of faith on all accounts, but we had a super fun season. Maybe too much fun: Sean totaled my new truck and sled in the spring after hitting black ice. It was a downer, but also a highlight. It was something to talk about after spending endless nights doing push ups in stinky hotel rooms in Reno, waiting for sun in Tahoe. That season Stepchild gave me ownership shares.

They were thankful I stayed loyal to the brand and wanted to help my future. I was so hyped. I came up with the stilts graphic that year for my pro model. I am into basketball and I love the Jordan symbol. So I added hair to his head and put stilts on his feet for Wilt the Stilt Chamberlain symbolism, and made it look like a jersey on the top sheet. One of our Nomis designers Jeremy Osmond designed it up for me. He killed it.

That one is still one of my favourites.

“That season Stepchild gave me ownership shares”

YEAR 5 – 2007

he ChI Guy spIt my burGer”- Fredu

540 Rocket.

Child Support was born. We saved all our footage from the year before and Nomis came in to support the video for the year. We had some new riders involved, Joe Sexton was one of them. He had his breakthrough video part and it turned out amazing.

That season was such a fun one, just good vibes the whole time. I rode a lot with Sollors and tried to do a big part of my season in the backcountry. I didn’t pull it off as well as I hoped, but I learned a lot. I continued on with the basketball idea with my board graphic. I used the Nike symbol as a canoe and put myself in there fishing with the flowing hair.

It was all a silhouette and had the same jersey idea to it. Jeremy designed it for me again. It turned out super cool.

“He had his breakthrough video part and it turned out amazing.”

StepChild BBQ.

Simon-Switch Slasher.

“I think the biggest thing by far that season was adding JP Walker to the team.”

YEAR 6 – 2008

People films approached me to film for their new movie, Down with People. It was the first time branching off from Sean Johnson to work with another film crew for the whole season. I shredded all season with Joe and we had a great time. I went to japan with Joe and it was his first time and we were wrestling in the van, pulling pranks on each other, and shredding everyday. Stepchild also did an online series called Downloaded that season and we all worked on that. I think the biggest thing for Stepchild that season was adding JP Walker to the team.

I was so hyped when that happened. I looked up to him when I was a kid; he was like my snowboard hero. The board graphic that I chose to do that year was kind of a Nomis collaboration. It had the Nomis plaid on the top sheet with some Stepchild latchkey symbols playing with the lines. It was really cool. Jeremy designed that one as well.

YEAR 7 – 2009

Stepchild and Thirtytwo teamed up to produce “This Video Sucks”. Working with the Stepchild crew again was so sick.

It was really cool year for all of us, I think, because it was the first time we got to work with JP. I think we all learned a lot from him that season. We also got to watch him film his all switch part, which is one of the coolest concepts in a video part to date. We grinded that season, traveled tons, and everybody in the video came up with a sick part. We released it all online for free and that was a breakthrough moment in the industry because no one did that then. It was received very well by the kids, and we were all so hyped on the project. That season my board featured a Lego graphic idea. I loved playing with Lego when I was a kid, so I thought it would be cool to have the Stepchild logo built in Lego. I was with Stepchild since the beginning, therefore the board kind of symbolized me helping build the brand alongside a great team.

“We also got to watch him film his all switch part”

YEAR 8 – 2010

JP, Joe and I decided to film with People Films again for their movie Cheers. It was a dream crew for me because it was us three, Jeremy Jones, and Seth Huot. I was so stoked because I looked up to guys like Jeremy and Seth when I was a kid.

It was really cool to see how we all worked together so well. My highlight for that year was hitting my biggest gap to rail I have ever hit. It became my ender in my part. I also used it for a Stepchild ad. I really like stained glass art, so that season for my board graphic we came up with a Stepchild shepherd idea. I thought the colors and the graphic looked really cool when it was all done. Tim Linklater killed it on designing the artwork for that one.

YEAR 9 – 2011

To start that season off, I was invited to do a new event in the X Games called Real Snow. It was a contest where you film a mini video part and send it in and then do a rail contest at the X Games. I got to work with my brother Andre, as he filmed and edited my whole X Games video.

It was a cool start to the season. When I went to the X Games for the street contest, I ended up getting bronze. I never thought I would have an X Games medal hanging from my neck. That was an unforgettable experience. After that I filmed with People Films for their new movie Good Look. During the spring Nixon Jibfest came back. I was invited again and it was such a dope contest. Everyone killed it and we all had so much fun. I got third in that as well, so now I’m known as LeBronze Chamberlain. The board that we came up with that season had a black and white, good vs evil feel to it. We had crows and doves on it. The art that Tim did on it is really memorable. It was also my first model with reverse camber.

“I never thought I would have an X Games medal hanging from my neck”

YEAR 10 – 2012

JP and I wanted to do something new that season, We knew that dvd sales were dropping, so we wanted to try and do a online video series called Jibberish. It was a pretty new experience for both of us and it wasn’t easy at times. We had a small budget and totally had to scrape through the year from edit to edit. We teamed up with Network A and we had to meet a lot of expectations to make them happy. In the end, I was happy with our video parts and a few of the edits, but it was definitely a learning experience. We all worked our asses off and did the best we could with what we had to work with. Andre killed it with his filming and editing and made the whole thing possible, and JP had a great year getting some sick hammers for his part. The board I came up with that season was a family crest idea. I took the Chamberlain crest and modified it with some of my other graphics and some Canadian First Nations art. I am all about family first, and I tried to have that feel on the board, while paying tribute to my Canadian roots. Tim also did that board and I think he did a great job.

“10 years and still strong.”

YEAR 11- 2013 Jibberish Volume 2– New year – New Look.

We are going to make this one the way we always wanted our edits to come out. Stay tuned. We took my first Jesus graphic and gave it to Brian Romero (bakerboys, Deathwish artist) and he did a re-edit of the original.

I love the way it came out! Jesus looks pretty jacked, too. 10 years and still strong.

CH R A M LATE NY

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FALL/WINTER 2012-13 VOL L 4 - ISSUE 5 WWW.BLUNTERMAG.XXX

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