Skoglund
Halldor Helgason, Norway. Photo: Frode Sandbech
HALLDOR HELGASON PRO MODEL Halldor designed his pro model bindings to suit his ‘all in’ riding style. They feature Jib Padding and his very own Wrapbacks. These highbacks have a totally asymmetric shape, with outside edges that wrap around your calf providing ultimate support for riding fast and dangerous.
Switchback Bindings are awesome! Switch between highback and no-back riding and back again in seconds. Don’t need forward lean? Don’t pay for it! Don’t want a highback? Leave it out! Want everything? Take it! Now why didn’t somebody think of that before?
www.switchbackbindings.com
P: Oli Gagnon
WWW.SALOMONSNOWBOARD.COM
NEW! custom nose and tail shapes! cut your own!
“The best thing that has happened since the wheel, have fun with it!” –Halldor
“HELL YEAH –Eiki !”
BRYAN FOX IN THE INYO 2L GORE-TEX速 JACKET AND THE NATIONAL 3L GORE-TEX速 PANT OUR GORE-TEX 速 PRODUCT IS BaCkED By a lIfETImE waRR anT y. fIlmED On lOCaTIOn In wHISTlER, B.C . fOR:
SnOw.QUIkSIlVER .COm
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PHOTO RIDER
TRICK
SPOT
14.3
DA N I E L T E N G S
FREDRI K PERRY O S L O , N O R WAY
THREADING THE NEEDLE
PHOTO RIDER
TRICK
SPOT
OLI GAGNON
HARRISON GORDON C A L G A R Y, C A N A DA
B R I D G E JA M F S 1 8 0
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14.3
E D I TORIAL -----------------
P H OTO : O L I G AG N O N
14.3
VOLUME FOURTEEN ISSUE THREE
“The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be kindled.” - Plutarch Do you remember the very first time you saw someone snowboarding, or maybe even skateboarding or surfing? The sudden awareness of a physical incarnation of raw style. The flow, the speed, the innate and elegant concision of a simple carve. Do you remember that eye-opening experience? Do you even realize how deeply etched that moment is in your psyche? Well, the same way that experience irrevocably changed your life, you might very well have the same affect on any number of individuals. Think about it, that tiny half cab you pop off a roller on your way back to the chair to lap the park, or the smoky spray of a toeside slash in man-made snow, those very things that seem so completely unimportant in our self-imposed triple cork bubble are the ones that might change someone’s life forever. After all, most of our world view comes not from textbooks or even perfectly sound advice given by people who care deeply about us, but rather from brainsearing personal experiences that notch deep grooves into our subconscious.
COVER STORY
“It was sometime during the morning on the second of January when my phone rang. Gigi was on. He said he’d been shredding his home resort, Diedamskopf, before New Year’s and that he’d seen some stuff he wanted to shoot. It was a mellow day, heading up late when the weather was supposed to clear up. We met at the parking lot around lunchtime, and took to the diesel-operated T-bar where Gigi, quite a while back now, rode a snowboard for the first time. It’s not even a 30 second run for him these days, but it seems like the terrain on the short way down was custom-shaped by the forces of the Earth to fit the riding of this regular-footed Austrian. Two backside windlips snake their way down from top to bottom, right next to the T-bar. And when you see Gigi pick his lines and throw huge airs, at the same spot and with the same stoke as he did his first turns, snowboarding just makes more sense than it ever did.”
- CYRIL MÜLLER CAMERA: CANON EOS 5D MARK III
LENS: CANON 70-200 F:2,8 @ 200MM APERTURE: F:11
SHUTTER SPEED: 1/1000 S ISO: 500
RIDER: GIGI RÜF
TRICK: METHOD
SPOT: DIEDAMSKOPF, AUSTRIA DATE: JANUARY 2, 2013 @ 14:53
So consider that the next time you strap into your snowboard you might in fact be lighting a fire deep inside some stranger’s belly. Ride hard, not just for yourself but also for that person you will never meet but whose life you are about to change forever and ever. Winter is here, go snowboarding! - TAG
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EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Thomaz Autran Garcia thomaz@methodmag.com SENIOR EDITOR: Alexis De Tarade alexis@methodmag.com SENIOR EDITOR: Chris McAlpine chriso@methodmag.com ART DIRECTOR: Brooklyn Whelan hello@brooklynwhelan.com ASST. ART DIRECTOR / ILLUSTRATIONS: PWEE3000.com VIDEOGRAPHER/ EDITOR: Ryan “Diggles” Scardigli diggles@methodmag.com WEB PROGRAMMER: Laurie Barker laurie@methodmag.com WEB CREW: Klaus Lotto Mike Goodwin Tom Guilmard SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHERS: Daniel Blom, Oli Gagnon CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS: Kyle Beckmann, Carlos Blanchard, Florent Ducasse, Ethan “E-Stone” Fortier, Trevor Graves, Dean “Blotto” Gray, Teemu Heijo, Erik Hoffman, Roope Höyna, Kazuhiko Kitayama, Alex Klun, Steffen Kornfeld, Rob Mathis, Kyle McCoy, Sam Longmire, Jonas Michilot, Cyril Müller, Lucas Nilsson, James North, Dasha Nosova, Julien Perly, Bob Plumb, Katja Pokorn, Alex Roberts, Markus Rohrbacher, Daniel Rönnbäck, Niki Rutanen, Frode Sandbech, Tim Schiphorst, Rosa Seppänen, Kealan Shilling, Will Smith, Jérôme Tanon, Daniel Tengs, Phil Tifo, Johan Wennerström, Andy Wright, Rudi Wyhlidal, Mike Yoshida. CONTRIBUTING WRITERS: Christina “Pika” Burtner, Taylor Carlton, Brandon Cocard, Trevor Graves, Viktor Josefsson, Nick Lipton, Zac Marben, Kyle McCoy, Cale Meyer, Jonas Michilot, Cyril Müller, James North, Nic Sauve, Alex Schiller, Marc Swoboda, Jérôme Tanon. Dominik Wagner, Benny Urban
PUBLISHER: Method Media Ltd CEO: Chris McAlpine WEB DIRECTOR: Laurie Barker FINANCE DIRECTOR: Steve Dowle ADVERTISING: Chris McAlpine chriso@methodmag.com Skype: chrisomcalpine +46 729 338 556 DISTRIBUTION: Steve Dowle steve@methodmag.com PRINTERS: AJSP printing services Vilnius, Lithuania DISTRIBUTION: Spatial Global Ltd Spatial House Willow Farm Business Park Castle Donington Derby - DE74 2TW United Kingdom ----------------------------------------------------Method Media Ltd Regency House 2 Wood Street - Queen Square Bath - BA1 2JQ United Kingdom Tel: +44 (0)871-218-2268 Copyright 2013 Method Media Ltd. No liability is accepted for the accuracy of the information contained herein, nor are any guarantees given by the magazine. Copyright worldwide of original material is held by Method Media Ltd and permission must be obtained for any use, transmission, storage or reproduction. Opinions expressed in this magazine are not necessarily shared by the publisher. Method Media Ltd assumes no responsibility for the loss or damage of unsolicited material. Thanks for choosing Method Mag. We sure hope you like it!
DEEMON
B O OT mons T E A M Glob al DEE
WWW.DEELUXE.COM
PHOTOGRAPHER CARLOS BLANCHARD
BEN BILOD E AU
REVENGE OF THE BONER
SURGEON GENERAL’S WARNING: The daily recommended dose of tweakage should not exceed a 45º angle more than three times a day. Research has linked excessive tweaking to crippling facial melting , and may also lead to frothing at the mouth, extreme priapism, and Explosive Brain Syndrome.
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Ben Bilodeau doesn’t give a shit about no stinkin’ warnings, GET TWEAKED! Cross rocket tail boner at Hood. P H OTO : E R I K H O F F M A N
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NICK LIPTON
SOAP BOX
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Method Mag’s editorial policy. "A soapbox is a raised platform on which one stands to make an impromptu speech, often about a political subject. The term originates from the days when speakers would elevate themselves by standing on a wooden crate originally used for shipment of soap or other dry goods from a manufacturer to a retail store." - Wikipedia
stuff are not helping support the industry. Seeing as how no one wants to pay a dime for anything past the age of 14, we better hope a lot of mommies and daddies feel like purchasing multiple board, boot, binding and outerwear set-ups each year… Next point. The identity of who is pro is almost completely dead. For every 2 million Jonny Tsunami’s sending in an edit and expecting to make it big, there’s only one Shaun White actually pulling money into this game. And I know what you’re thinking, “Jonny Tsunami was the man”! Well, that leads to my next point.
TH E I N DUSTRY IS DYI NG AN D T H AT ’ S O K
We don’t even know what’s good anymore. Every kid can do every trick. Whatever we invent tomorrow is done by a complete unknown the very next day, not to mention a whole slew of punk teens the next winter. One day it’s the most shocking thing on the internet, and by the time you get a Facebook like for posting it, it’s already old news. Which is why the internet sucks… Web edits are the root of all evil. Seriously. Everyone thinks if they get their edit up on Yobeat or Method or whatever, they are on their way. Well, until you’re making someone else money, you aren’t going to be making any of your own. So keep that in mind the next time your sponsor-me tape or “homie edit” consists entirely of boring, irrelevant tricks on features any 12-year old can handle.
News Flash: the snowboard industry is dying. In fact, a committee has been formed to attempt its rescue. Comprised of various “core” company owners and their white-collar brethren, this committee is actively scratching its head in pointless oblivion. Why pointless? Well, simply put, this so-called crisis reaches far beyond what any consolidated marketing effort can fix. Observe.
Okay, deep breath, this next one might sting. We hate the only things bringing our industry any money. Sorry to say it, but Zumiez, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Decathlon, Dew Tour and the X Games are actually good for us. So stop hating them and point more idiots towards that shit. They bring money in. And they offer a great place for all those stupid companies mentioned in point #1 to have a stake in our world, financially.
The industry has outgrown its britches. Essentially, snowboard companies can’t support the money suck they’ve created. Employees, shipping costs, factory overheads and a culture of “gimme free shit” costs a lot of money, and when shops can’t even sell enough boards to keep a company like Forum afloat, things are obviously fucked. Snowboard movies and events with actual production values, or mainstream reach, are almost exclusively sponsored by giant corporations. Corporations who have no concern in building snowboarding as a platform for fun, but instead focus on giving children diabetes, nervous ticks or a gun and a uniform. Think about it, what major production these days isn’t sponsored mainly by an energy drink brand or the armed forces of the United States? You think the core can keep this behemoth alive? We’re talking salaries for employees, rent, utilities, actually making things and so much more. To support that economic need, we must generate sales, lots of sales. And all you brats who demand and feel entitled to free
022
Last notion. Snow is increasingly costly to maintain, the economy isn’t what it used to be, prices are going up at every resort and not enough people care to drive or fly countless hours to be mediocre snowboarders at best. Bummed? Upset? Think this is stupid? Well, that’s fine. In the end, as the industry shrinks and interest continues to drop, everything will simply get smaller, more independent and tighter-knit. Snowboarding will go from full-blown after-school sport to being an activity people engage in to tell the world to fuck off for a minute again. Wait? Isn’t that what we all wanted it to be in the first place?
model.o
GETTY ANORAK JACKET
CP @ CAM_PIERCE
CAM PIERCE
@ MIKEYOSHIDA IMAGES
THERMAL RATING
FAC E b O O K . C O M / 686 686 .COM
THERMO INSULATED MITT
HIGH TECH. GOOD TIMES.
@ 686
FIVE THINGS
5 things that keep you Down To Earth? - My fam - My girl - Good ol’ music - Nature - a Blunt
MARC SWOBODA
5 favorite songs you can play on your guitar? - I’m not sure if I can even play 5 songs!! 5 things you won’t put in your mouth? - A whole banana - Poop - Moving animals - Basti Rittig’s cooking - Aluminum ----------------Swobs shutting the sun and the spot down, switch front board on the DFD. P H OTO : B O B P LU M B
5 things people should know about Dominik Wagner - He likes to be the inside spoon - He likes to wear tight race suits when he’s sledding - He is single right now - He’s hiding a pretty big belly under his hoodie - He is a big fan of Katy Perry
5 reasons why everyone should watch your new movie DTE? - Because it’s fucking “down to earth” - No big money involved - Dominik’s ender - Good music - It’s short
5 things people shouldn’t know about Benny Urban? - He has a girlfriend, haha - How nasty his farts smell - How angry he gets at spots sometimes - How he likes to be the outside spoon while Dom is the inside one - He is also a photodawg but don’t tell anyone
5 lies you have told to filmers and photographers? - “I love that shot.” - “The flash hurts my eyes.” - “READY!” - “Dropping!” - “Just one more try!”
5 things that make you proud to be Austrian? - Our nature - The beer - Austrian food - Norbert Schneider & Peter Kern - Mojo Music Club
5 things that would make the perfect day? - No mobile phone - Sunny slush sesh at a rail with the crew - Good food - A beer - Blues-y concert
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PHOTO: OLI GAGNON
PHIL JACQUES ON THE HORRORSCOPE
WE DEVOUR EVERYTHING
HOW SWEET(IN) ARE YOU ON A SCALE OF 1-10?
10 05
HOW MANY DAYS DID YOU SPEND ON YOUR SHRED STICK THIS SUMMER?
HOW MANY KINKS HAVE YOU GOTTEN THROUGH?
04
HOW MANY TIMES HAVE YOU SAID YES THIS YEAR?
EVERY DAY!
----------------Austen with a sweet, sweet back lip in Pittsburgh, PA. P H OTO : A N DY W R I G H T
HOW MANY TRIES IS TOO MANY?
100 36DD BEST BOOB SIZE?
WHAT SIZE BOARD DO YOU RIDE?
46&52
HOW MANY TIMES DO YOU CURSE A DAY?
10
HOW MANY TIMES A YEAR HAVE YOU LOOKED IN THE MIRROR AND SAID "WHO AM I" ?
365
CRUNCHING NUMBERS
AU ST E N SWEETIN
HOW MANY YEARS HAVE YOU BEEN SHREDDING IN THE STREETS?
05
01
HOW MANY CONCUSSIONS HAVE YOU HAD?
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HOW LONG IS YOUR PART IN “NATION”?
3-4 MINS 02 22 HOW MANY FLIGHTS HAVE YOU MISSED?
HOW MANY YEARS HAVE YOU BEEN ON THIS EARTH?
SNOWBOARD COMpANiES ShOulD BE OWNED By SNOWBOARDERS.
R O M E S N O W B O A R D S . C O M
LITTLE LABELS
THE L.A. RIVER -----------------
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P H OTO : DA S H A N O S OVA
P H OTO : DA S H A N O S OVA
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P H OTO : W I L L S M I T H
P H OTO : T I M S C H I P H O R ST
Where do you call home base? (Stephen Carballo) Home base will always be Los Angeles, but I spend most of my year on the road, so many places have become like a second home to me. This whole year me and the crew have been debating where we should setup our headquarters, but as none of us can stay in one place for more than a week without getting bored, I’ve come to the realization that we just gotta have a home base in all of our favorite cities. Den Hague, Stockholm, Oslo, Umeå, Copenhagen, Truckee, Big Bear, San Francisco, Government Camp are all cities that truly feel like home.
So what kind of stuff do you guys actually make? I consider all of my creative works part of LA River. So that includes clothes, gloves, furniture, luggage, backpacks, jewelry, paintings, sculptures… Anything and everything that seems fun to make. As for consumer goods, it’s mostly just clothes and accessories, look out for the Denis Bonus x LA River collaboration gloves this season. A lot of new stuff will be dropping mid-December so keep on the look out! Is it true you are also a traveling tattoo artist to make some extra money on the side? Yea, tattooing is my hobby, and my job. LA River was started 100% funded by us. We don’t take money out of the brand either, we just use profits for team trips, throwing events, and making more product. Having a mobile business like tattooing allows me to fund my travels and invest all extra money into the company. It’s really like a dream come true, having such a flexible side job that I enjoy.
How would you describe The Los Angeles River as a company? The Los Angeles River doesn’t really feel like a company to me. I would say it’s more of a collaboration between friends. Everyone is good at what they do individually, we come together as a team and just travel and have fun. I’ve been making stuff my whole life, painting, sewing, welding, woodworking and designing, now I’m able to apply my creativity to build one unified identity for the crew, and for anyone who can relate to the lifestyle.
Where can we get The LA River gear? TheLosAngelesRiver.Com, DankDonuts.com and Heaven Store Tokyo. We got some new international distributors lined up so it should all be available in a store near you very soon!
How would you describe the actual LA river to people that have never seen it? Haha, it’s a concrete shithole. Huge cement banks that slope down to a thin stream running thru the flat concrete middle, with the greenest, gnarliest shit-water you’ve ever seen. In the LA river you’ll find dead rats, broken shopping carts, discarded needles and more. All the hobos go down there to shit and piss. I used to hang out there a lot as a kid to paint graffiti, skate and ride bikes, a couple of the homies have actually fallen in, haha. I think you get automatically sick if you touch the water.
thelosangelesriver.com
028
----------------Sage K, BS180 Japan
Who is LTC? (Big Jerm) Lick The Cat is just a bunch of friends who like to snowboard and party and basically try to have a good time.
----------------Sage again, Andrecht
Have you ever actually licked a cat? Did you cough up a one of those lovely phlegm-covered fur balls after? Sam Taxwood is really into it, so you will have to ask him about that. Have you spent a lot of time in Australia? How come you guys say “NOICE!” so often? Haha, I don’t think any of us has really spent much time in Australia. Honestly, I don’t even know how it started, I think maybe Sage (Kotsenburg) started saying it and it just kinda caught on. But you can’t forget about the “SPOICE” aka hot chicks. You guys put out some of the edgiest edits in snowboarding set to some of the most mainstream music, what’s up with that? I like to use hot tracks because I think it’s funny. There are too many serious edits out there with serious music and it just gets kind of boring, I guess. I like to listen to party music so that is what I usually use, haha. Make constitutes a good edit, in your opinion? I like watching edits where I can tell that the people in it are having fun, and also if the edit makes me want to go snowboarding.
----------------Griffin Siebert reporting live for LTCTV
What are your plans for this winter, another full length flick? Probably not another movie, but we are going to be working on something this winter, it is a surprise. Stay tuned! facebook.com/lickthecats
P R O D U C T I O N VA L U E S
LICK T H E C AT -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - A L L P H OTO S : R O B M AT H I S
----------------Griffin gets a helping help, front board
030
P A D
6 L A
Jan Stรถckli, LAAX Rider
0 L Y
----------------Mute to back board
P O S S E PA G E
TIKUT
P H OTO : T E E M U H E I J O
----------------The whole Tikut crew and way too many shots of Aleksi Kemilainen…. P H OTO : R O SA S E P PA N E N
----------------Corrugated wizardry P H OTO : N I K I R U TA N E N
Do you guys have any funny nicknames for Toni Kerkelä? Nutipää (“skinhead” in Finnish), Nopo, Simo, Nopponen, Roni, Tino, Noporius B.I.G. and, of course, THE KERKELATOR.
- - - - - - - - - - - - ----Aleksi taking a break P H OTO : N I K I R U TA N E N
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - --nice 5-0, bro P H OTO : R O O P E H OY N A
What does “Tikut” mean? (Aleksi Kemiläinen) Tikut is a crew from Jyväskylä, Finland. It was founded in 2008. We were watching Nick Visconti’s part in Stack Footy and he wore pants so tight in it that his legs looked like two sticks (in Finnish, “Tikut”), especially in the shot where he does a tailpress on that wooden down rail. After that we started calling our “thing”, and later the blog, Tikut. What is the point of Tikut? Have good times with friends and make snowboarding movies for snowboarders. Who is in the posse? Roope Höynä, Ville Väisänen, Roope Koitola , Miika Lappalainen, Toni Kerkelä, Sebastian Parhiala and me, Aleksi Kemiläinen.
What is something that always happens when you guys get together? It depends if it’s a filming trip or just hanging out. When we film everyone gets a little more focused. When it’s party time things get a little out of control, haha. Is party time mandatory with Tikut? No, but it often goes there. Why don’t you guys ever use a beer bong? Haha, because beer bongs are for pussies. Who always lands the trick first? It depends on the spot, but mostly it’s usually The Kerkelator. Who never gives up? I think none of us gives up. If someone is about to give up, we all tell him to hit it one more time.
032
Do you guys have a movie coming out this year? Tell us about it. Yes, it’s called “WAY TO GO” and we just had a premiere in Jyväskylä, it was off the hook! “WAY TO GO” is our second movie and it’s filmed mainly in Finland. It’s a zero budget movie. We don’t have a main filmer, so we just film each other. You can watch our movie at tikut.tumblr.com. What is the science behind jumping into snow and then into a sauna? It’s like heat and cold therapy, Suomistyle, haha. It gets your blood circulating and makes you feel good. What else is something super Finnish you guys do together? We get together in a cottage for the midsummer fest. Usually the evening starts with some sauna, BBQ and beer. After that we might do some random shit like a darts competition, etc. It’s a Finnish tradition to gather around a big bonfire at midnight but somehow we always forget to make the bonfire, haha. A lot of people also have their own “Summer Games”type events with their friends and/or families. There are some pretty strange games… for example, there’s one where people throw their old Nokia phones, whoever throws it farthest wins!
TOUCH THE BUTTON.
EERO NIEMELA WEARS THE
GIGI R端F
FA L A F E L S TA N D
-- - - - - - - - - - - - ---Respect ya elders, kids! First hit lien air for the adoring masses. P H OTO : DA N I E L T E N G S
034
NICK POOHACHOFF
H O LY S H I T
There is so much that could go horribly, horribly wrong here. Impalement is a word that comes to mind. Image getting taco’d on the green rail in the gap. How about snagging your nose on the lip of the fence. Or even missing the tranny altogether? Knee meet face! Nick Pooch keeps his composure whilst displaying massive testicular fortitude, BS transfer to fence smash in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. That’s in Canada, in case you were wondering. ----------------P H OTO : E - STO N E
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( F ) A R T PA G E
ZAC MARBEN
Mr. Marben is what some call a Renaissance man: he snowboards, he plays music, and he makes art. Whichever medium Zac is applying his prodigious talents to, the results tend to be most excellent, from hammer full parts to sharing the stage with Jamie Lynn and creating some truly eye-catching art. Zac also happens to be color-blind, which obviously affects his choice of palette. Here are some of his favorite pieces from over the years.
"Black and blue panther. I'm still working on this, it's not finished yet.”
“This painting took longer than average to complete, think I painted this one for about 3 or so months, I was 20 at the time.”
“Pretty simple stuff, two lion paws on wood. Acrylic paint.”
038
“lassic naked babe, clay board painted with acrylic. I keep my stuff sort of simple, since I'm red-green colorblind.”
“This is a portrait of Roky Erickson, I used a technique called stippling, which is basically just a shitload of dots. “
JEFF BRUSHIE
FLASHBACK
- - - - - - - - - - - - - ---Respect ya elders, kids! First hit lien air for the adoring masses. P H OTO : T R E VO R G R AV E S
Keep in mind the year is 1992, at the US Open. While Stratton’s pipe was world-renowned, it was hardly the pipes that we see at major events today. It was kinked and good riders knew how to ride the ruts to get the pop needed for their airtime. Brushie was a master at riding these ruts. What really differentiated Jeff from the competition was his style. His style felt smooth yet it had a very sporadic energy. By then Jeff was already no stranger to the podium. When I look at his expression, it’s very calm. He’s in control. The first hit of the pipe always set the momentum and energy for the rest of his run. On a fashion note, this was the first contest postBrushie’s famous dreadlocks. I also remember him starting to be a little more conservative with his outward fashion statements. Jeff was the hometown hero at the US Open events. Snowboarding was starting to be a global sport. The Open was the stage where East Coast battled West Coast and everyone wanted to beat the Europeans and Scandinavians. What I love about still images is that you can make up your own story about what’s going on in the photo. The story that this picture isn’t telling you is how loud the fans were cheering for Brushie at this event! Love ‘em or hate ‘em, people from New Jersey know how to party. Jersey Rulez. Brushie Rulez! - Trevor Graves
040
ANTONY GUMBLEY So you are a bit of a mutt, you’re English but you’re Australian but you’re French, or something like that? Please enlighten us! Born and raised in Australia by my Fijian single mum, dad fucked off back to the UK when I was young so I came to Europe to be reunited with him aged 19. Moved to France when I was 21, met a hot French girl when I was 30, fell in love, got her up the duff and now we have two kids and a house in Aixen-Provence. Yes, I am a mutt, you should meet my kids! You’ve been in Val d’Isere for a long time now, how long exactly? What drew you there to begin with, and is that where we’ll find you 30 years from now? I moved to Val d’Isere in ‘94, the year after the Albertville Olympics, Val d’Isere was buzzing at that time and loads of new chairlifts had been installed in the years leading up to Olympics. I’d already done 4 seasons in Australia and New Zealand and my first European winter was in Kitzbuhel before I came to Val. But once I got here I quickly realized I had stumbled onto one of the sickest freeriding ski areas in the world, and as the years went on, traveling around the world on Quiksilver’s dime and discovering other resorts, I’d come back confirming the resort I’d started calling home was THE one. You’ve been involved in alpine culture for a long time, from a career as a pro snowboarder to organizing one of the biggest events on the contest calendar in Big Day Out to running your own bar in a ski town and all sorts of other stuff in between. It’s been a long road, what conclusions can you draw from it all? That’s a tricky one… Yes, I’ve spent most of my working life in and around snow sports, I love it, that’s why I do it. I’m addicted to snow, I do my very best to make a living from it so I stay as close to it as possible. It’s hard sometimes because I’m not from here, but I like that it that way, it’s more challenging. My conclusion is, if you work hard and never give up then you will succeed in the end. Used to be, back in the day, you had a reputation as a madman in the backcountry, a “don’t follow Gumby…” kind of thing. Whereas nowadays you’re the guy who’s always looking out for everyone’s safety, especially the younger, more freestyle-oriented guys who are pretty clueless in the backcountry. What do you attribute that change to? What change? You don’t want to follow me on a good day with deep snow, not unless you’re Gigi, haha! I didn’t change, it’s snowboarding that changed, fucking kids
----------------Somewhere along the road the original slide disappeared, but Gumby sent a memo on his next hit off this cliff, the crazy bastard. P H OTO : F L O R E N T D U C A S S E
now don’t know what snowboarding is. As far as I’m concerned a good snowboarder does it all, riding rails is one of the easiest things to do on a snowboard, piece of piss! If you can’t ride park, pipe, rails, BC kickers and big lines, then fuck off. But seriously, though, when you have ridden as long as I have, you lose too many close friends, and nothing will make you learn faster than that. It’s something I wish upon nobody and a subject I take very seriously, I don’t want bad shit to happen on my watch so I do my very best to avoid it, simple as that.
042
All that being said, you’re always the first one to “send a memo”! (Ed. note: This is how Gumby calls getting inverted.) Not really the first one anymore, I ride with guys 10-20 years younger than me, they love sending memos. They want to laugh at the old man upside down, well, sometimes they laugh, sometimes they cry!
- - - - - - - - - - - - ----Sven clocking more airtime than Norwegian Airlines, FS 1080 in the Leogang backcountry.
C
M
P H OTO S : LU C A S N I LS S O N
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GUILTY OF BEING TOO GOOD FOR YOUR AGE
SVEN THORGREN What kind of meat are you? I’m Sven Thorgren, 19-years old from Stockholm, Sweden. I’ve been snowboarding pretty much my whole life. Would you describe yourself as a bag of bones or meaty? I’m kind of meaty. You gotta be strong to take those nasty slams without breaking your bones. One person’s meat is another person’s poison. Which are yours? I’m really into riding pow when I get the chance. I love to skate, party and hang out with friends. I’m still in school so that’s not the best when you travel all the time. Have you ever been put through the meat grinder? Not too bad. I broke my arm when I was twelve, since then I haven’t broken anything. I did have a few concussions on the road but I’ve been lucky.
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Once you get past your spring chicken phase, where do you imagine yourself after you beef up and get older? I still want to be a part of the snowboard industry, I think. Haven’t planned anything yet, though. I will be snowboarding for a long time still so I don’t really have to worry about that right now.
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What is the meat and potatoes of snowboarding? The most important things for me are to have fun, progress my riding and, of course, impress chicks, haha. Who would you consider a fine aged meat? There are a lot of riders out there that I look up to, but guys like Nicolas Müller and Gigi Rüf seem like pretty fine aged meat to me right now. Do you have any bones to pick? Russian alpine skiers are the worst. I better watch out for them at the Olympics. When was the last time you thought you were dead meat? My brother and I were driving really fast on the highway and a moose suddenly jumped out into the road, it was about
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a meter from my head so it would have been really bad if we had hit it. Close call… Who puts the meat on your plate? Oakley, Burn Energy, Nitro and Hestra
- - - - - - - - - - - - - ---Andrej ain’t no tree hugger, check him out trying to hack down two at once. P H OTO S : K AT JA P O KO R N
AN DREJ MARI NCIC GUILTY OF BEING TOO GOOD FOR YOUR AGE What kind of meat are you? I’m Andrej Marincic and I’m an eagle from a Slovenian nest! I actually don’t know how old I am because I was a military experiment so I might be like, older then Chuck Norris, if that is even possible. But on my fake ID I’m 18. Would you describe yourself as a bag of bones or meaty? I’m meatier then Muhammad Ali, Arnold Schwarzenegger, BruceLee and Rocky Balboa put together! One person’s meat is another person’s poison. Which are yours? Well, I’m into girls and snowboarding, playing video games and I really don’t know why scientists think that video games are bad and violent, I think they are super cool! I don’t like school, it is #stupid! Or maybe I’m just too smart for the school system, 9+6=98! What makes you still feel like fresh meat on the scene? Hmm, I don’t know why but there’s always something new everywhere I go. Like one year ago was the first time I saw an electric light, we don’t have that back home! Have you ever been put through the meat grinder? Yes, I’m definitely mentally hurt big time, but in a good way. I’ve never gotten injured on my snowboard, I’m knocking on wood right now!
Once you get past your spring chicken phase, where do you imagine yourself after you beef up and get older? Selling my used underwear on eBay maybe?! My dream job would be to be Superman, or at least part of the X-Men, because Batman is way overrated! Seriously though, I hope I’ll be snowboarding and filming as much as possible and staying healthy. What is the meat and potatoes of snowboarding? Definitely going for the gold! Yeaaahh FIS, the Olympic Games roooock!Hahaha, no, I actually think it’s impressing chicks, but that’s not really working out for me, maybe because I don’t have 2k Facebook friends. Oh, and fo shizzle having fun is important too! Who would you consider a fine aged meat? JP Walker! He is the reason I started snowboarding. Do you have any bones to pick? I hate JB, Twilight and MTV. Also, shitting in public toilets is so uncomfortable, foreal!
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When was the last time you thought you were dead meat? I’m a ninja, I can’t be dead meat, my spirit is everywhere! Hang on, let my think, maybe last week when my brother ran over me with a tractor! Who puts the meat on your plate? George Bush! No, my sponsors are Nitro, Monster Energy, L1 outerwear, HML gloves, and Smith!
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What kind of meat are you? They call me Corinne Pasela and I hail from a land of corn and water, more widely known as Ohio. You’ll most likely find me flocking with sheep or acting a like chicken, having aged some 22 years.
Have you ever been put through the meat grinder? I’ve had my share of tacos and stair massages, but nothing more than a bruise and a bloody nose from the meat grinder so far.
Would you describe yourself as a bag of bones or meaty? Bag of bones. But we’re all just a bucket of water held up by skin.
Once you get past your spring chicken phase, where do you imagine yourself after you beef up and get older? I’d imagine, days from now, I’ll be a bit wiser.
One person’s meat is another person’s poison. Which are yours? I’m more into the cool than the hot. Unless it’s a hot day of boarding on a glacier. I also enjoy drinking water, reading books, and running through the woods.
What is the meat and potatoes of snowboarding? It’s all about having fun.
What makes you still feel like fresh meat on the scene? Fresh meat gets transported from place to place, herded towards scary obstacles, handed shovels and tossed down stairs, but still fit for the butcher’s block at the end of the day. I’ll always have more to learn. Always fresh, never frozen.
Who would you consider a fine aged meat? David Benedek. Do you have any bones to pick? Technology, in general. When was the last time you thought you were dead meat? Probably the last time I felt most alive. Who puts the meat on your plate? Thank you Roxy and Martini Skate + Snow.
GU GO ILTY O OD F FOR BEI N YO G TO UR AG O E
CORI N N E PASELA
----------------Corinne keeping it fresh and crispy with this tailpress in Quebec. P H OTO S : K E A L A N S H I L L I N G
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----------------P H OTO S : O L I G AG N O N
1) Approach the obstacle (box or rail) flat based as you would for a regular nosepress. 2) As you ollie onto the nosepress, remember to keep your shoulders turned with a slight backward angle (with your chest facing back towards where you came from). It’s just like you would if attempting a nosepress BS 180 out, basically. 3) While nosepressing, lean forward on your nose with extra weight and focus on where the obstacle ends, because this is where you want to trigger the flip.
4) Pop off your nose as if you’re doing a front flip. With your shoulders placed in the right backward-facing angle, it should throw you automatically into a front flip with a BS180 in it, aka the Misty Flip. 5) This trick is fun because you can spot your landing mid-flip and adjust if you need to spin a little more to stomp it. 6) Try to ride away clean (better than I did, at least). Good luck, have fun, and get ready for some funny falls attempting this trick! - Nic
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- - - - - - - - - - ------”Once it hits your lips it’s... it’s so good. It’s so good!” Alex the Tank savoring a tail snatcher into some ice cold Austrian powder. P H OTO S : ST E F F E N KO R N F E L D
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ALEX TAN K
“Alex Tank is the best guy, period. He’s just the best in everything. Not only is he an incredible snowboarder with the best style I’ve ever seen, he is also the best friend one can think of. As the producer of a snowboard film, one naturally has a good connection with one’s riders. Well, most of them at least. But Alex and I are friends first, and then the whole snowboard-film circus is secondary. Many professional snowboarders often seem a bit jaded by life, having their team managers pamper them, they’re generally just unreliable and it’s hard to have a deep conversation with them. But Alex is the opposite. I can’t even recall how many times we’ve been on the road together, talking about life for hours and hours. He’s got intelligence and street smarts, he understands how the world works and knows how to be a good guy when dealing with other people. This shouldn’t sound like Alex and I are in some kind of bromance. We are best friends, is all. But he can be a fucking diva sometimes too and then I just want to strangle that little fucker. Luckily that’s usually only when we’re filming. He is so determined to get shots, he wants to ride the spots he found and also have his tricks filmed exactly like he pictures them in his head. As a filmer, you need to learn how to deal with Alex. He’s got his principles when it comes to filming. But as soon as you understand how he wants to work, you’ll have the best time and he will deliver banger after banger. A filmer’s dream.” - Alex Schiller
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How is the European mentality different from the Japanese? Dear Europe, you are so beautiful. How is the American mentality different from the Japanese? Dear America, you are always killing me. How is your mentality different than a cat’s mentality? Hopefully it’s the same. When your mind says that you are going too fast on your snowboard, how do you respond? Like playing music, but I can’t perform any instrumental. Do you land most of your tricks with your mind first? If I don’t want, I can’t land. I believe in my center of snowboarding.
How did you become part of 1817? Friendship. What is new with Stonp? Mind-blowing. Tell about the videos you have been making and releasing on the internet. I’m just focused on the way of life, with friendship. Why is it important to film snowboarding? In compensation for my life. Do you ride better when the camera is recording? Might as well. They push my limits. What would you prefer, cheese on sushi or fish on pizza? Ha, both, dude. Could you get my pizza with anchovies?
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----------------Yusaku believes in his center of snowboarding. You should too, then you might even be able to blast a method like this P H OTO : C A R L O S B L A N C H A R D
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- - - - - - - - - -------We weren’t sure which caption was better, “Grab crail and you’ll never fail!” or All hail the crail!, so we went with both. P H OTO : E - STO N E
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How was shredding in Saas Fee, we heard you lost lots of bets and had to do some nasty shit. The Frenchies love playing UNO, and usually when you lose there is some consequence. I lost UNO and everyone got to spray me in the face with snow, I was wearing no hat, no goggles. It was mad cold.
You were just in Europe, last time we saw you you were getting kicked out of a club in Annecy at The Reels, what happened? I had been sober for a few weeks, but the first day I got to France I was so hyped to party with the boys. At the bar, these big douchebags were messing with me, so Zak Hale punched one of them in the face, got kicked out, then got pepper-sprayed. I just got dragged out. I’m not too hyped about that shit, fuck the bar bullshit, all that shit is so lame. Are you a fighter or a lover or just a plain old redneck? That’s pretty funny you ask, me and my lady were driving to go camping recently and she turns to me and says “babe, are we turning into rednecks?”, hahahaha. I mean, maybe I’m a redneck, I like diesel trucks, camping, motorsports and America, so I guess I am, hahaha! As far as being a fighter, I am not a fighter at all. Every time I have attempted to fight I get my ass kicked. I suck at fighting and I think it’s stupid.
You filmed for your own web series last year called “Pull Fart”, why did you want to have a solo project, don’t you like hanging with the Videograss kids anymore? Hahaha, I know either Sexton, Meyer, Jake or Stevens came up with that question for you. I love VG, been filming with VG for years. But it’s nice to switch it up and film for something else, keeps it fresh and exciting. Web videos are fucking wack, though.... hahahaha.
What is the Jockey Lounge? The Jockey Lounge is my brother’s car, he goes and crushes beers in it on his lunch break and after work. The Jockey Lounge is a very exclusive club, not just anyone can hop in and drink a beer with the boys. What is “buckweed”? It’s actually buckwheat, and it makes no sense, really. The Salomon team went to the opening of this shop called Buckman’s and Scotty Arnold became obsessed with saying “BUCKMANS” really loud all the time, which eventually evolved into buckwheat. It’s so stupid, hahaha. People say that you a nasty son of a bitch before you get your first coffee, is this true? Scotty Stevens gave you this information. This is not true, it’s mainly because on these Euro tours with ThirtyTwo, Scotty is really annoying first thing in the morning, and I can’t quite handle it. Sexton will back me up on this one. Fuck you, Scotty, for telling METHOD to ask this question, hahaha!
How many VHS videos do you currently own? What’s your obsession with VHS? Not sure how many, but a lot. I love snowboard videos, I’m a fuckin’ nerd.
How upset were you when the Bruins lost in the Stanley Cup this year? I was crushed, but hey, it was a great season. Fuckin’ Patrick Kane is a beast.
Would you rather shit in your hands and clap or... Ummm, I’d rather not shit in my hands if at all possible.
What are your filming plans for this year? Not entirely sure, probably VG if the boys let me back in the gang.
Do you think lesbians should be allowed to buy dildos, since they have already made their choice? That’s an interesting question, I think lesbians should be able to do what they want. Lesbians are awesome!
Last words are yours! Thanks for giving me this interview, fellas! Snowboard how you want and for yourself, not to impress other people. Thank you snowboarding! Thank you, homies, thank you, haters.
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“So what I am, really, is just a witness. I ride behind passionate dudes, so passionate that I feel the need to share what they do. I take photos in an attempt to spread the word. I’ve been snowboarding since I was 12 and it’s been the one thing that has taken me off the rails that were there for me since I was born, rails that were supposed to go on. Snowboarding’s been my gate to freedom in life. I left Paris, high school, family and friends and went for the big jump in the Alps. I started freestyling in the snowparks and took shots of my friends for good memories, then I realized there was a whole world-wide community of people who share this same passion, and a possible job for me in documenting it. I battled for a while to join the big, beautiful family of shooters who have this same ideal. Personally, I’m looking more for a timeless fragment of snowboarding that I can still relate to in a decade than the actual physical documentation of an event. Snowboarding is a feeling and it’s that feeling I’m following around, which brought me to film photography, making B&W prints in the darkroom and this grainy kind of style, since I don’t really care about the rest. This, mashed with the obvious love of shooting a sick trick, a crazy tiny little moment in the air when the rider and his environment shine beauty through style and commitment. They are the heroes of the story, not us. Every day, I try my best to keep making a living from this passion for as long as I can, but damn, it’s hard! Ask any photog these days how tough it is at the end of the month, it’s a constant battle to keep your personal flame alive with all the commercial aspects of the job. I’m living in a lucid dream, fighting not to wake up.” - Jerome
Vic De Le Rue. You can see bits of water around his boots as we had been walking around the forest for a while, for no reason, before laying on the empty road to take a nap and watch clouds pass by. Down days in Alaska can be a pain in the ass just as much as an awesome meditation about nature. You don’t usually take a full day to wonder around and think, up there you are forced to.
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Victor De Le Rue's first year with Absinthe was a blast, earning him the last part in their new movie "Dopamine". Victor can do anything with style and ease, for the fun of it. Here's a FS3 handplant in San Martino Di Castrozza, Italy. The picture is a "I've seen this a thousand times" kind of shot, but I find a tiny bit of beauty in that spraying snow and the weird colors of the negative.
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30 x 40 cm lith print of Victor Daviet flying off a windlip with a BS 540 hand drag. Everything came together in this picture. The video shot is in the Almo movie but for some reason it doesn't live up to my personal memory of this trick. It was a beautiful move, totally loved it.
Gigi R端f took Johnnie Paxson scoping around the forest for their first day shooting with Pirates/Nike in Arlberg when a deep fog rolled in. They were in no rush, everybody stopped, unstrapped and looked around in silence, staring at trees and rocks. Then you understand that filming video parts is a job only if you see it as one. We walked here and there, losing sight of each other, minutes turning into hours, exploring in the mist.
THE END
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