R E A L
S N O W B O A R D I N G
19.2
Bez nazwy-6 1
05.11.2018 03:41
©2018 Vans, Inc.
192 FRONT COVER.indd 1 1 vans_method_FA18_all.indd
05.11.2018 03:50
ADS 192 FRONT.indd 3
05.11.2018 16/10/2018 01:24 11:03
ADS 192 FRONT.indd 4
05.11.2018 01:24
ADS 192 FRONT.indd 5
05.11.2018 01:25
For over a decade, Bataleon has led the industry in 3D shape technology. We’ve perfected our patented Triple Base Technology™, producing boards with traditional camber and lifted contact points, making snowboarding more enjoyable for all.
Tobias Hjertonsson and Alexander Klerud tearing up the Absolut Park on the Global Warmer
ADS 192 FRONT.indd 6 METHOD_ALEX_TOBI.indd 5
05.11.2018 01:25
bataleon.com
ADS 192 FRONT.indd 7
05.11.2018 15:10 01:25 01/10/2018
ADS 192 FRONT.indd 8
05.11.2018 01:25
ADS 192 FRONT.indd 9
05.11.2018 01:26
ADS 192 FRONT.indd 10 METHOD_MAG_156-FRONIUS-320x225.indd 1
05.11.2018 01:26
ADS 192 FRONT.indd 11
05.11.2018 01:26 10/16/18 11:51 AM
ADS 192 FRONT.indd 12
05.11.2018 01:26
ADS 192 FRONT.indd 13
05.11.2018 01:27
P H O T O : R U D I W Y H L I DA L RIDER: JORIS DOORN
192 HELLO.indd 14
05.11.2018 01:37
19.2
L O C AT I O N : O E T Z TA L , AU S T R I A TRICK: SNORKELIN’
192 HELLO.indd 15
05.11.2018 01:37
PHOTO: PONCH I KZ R I D E R : P E T R U S S A I K KO N E N
192 HELLO.indd 16
05.11.2018 01:39
19.2
L O C AT I O N : T O R N I O, F I N L A N D T R I C K : FA S T P L A N T
192 HELLO.indd 17
05.11.2018 01:39
192 HELLO.indd 18
05.11.2018 01:39
PHOTO: HOWZEE RI DER: N ICOLAS MÜ LLER
19.2
192 HELLO.indd 19
L O C AT I O N : L A A X TRICK: FS AIR
05.11.2018 01:40
Welcome to Issue 19.2. I will keep this one brief to allow room for our cover shooter, Evgeny “Ponchikz” Pavlov, to explain his image in a little greater detail. It is such a pleasure to have Kas Lemmens on our cover this issue. This kid has been so good for so long, yet it often seemed that he hadn’t quite found his place in snowboarding. I might have described him as one of the more underrated guys out there, just in need of some luck to be a top name. In early 2016, a torn ACL marked the beginning of what would be a few extremely tough and challenging years for Kas. In short, he persevered, gained valuable perspective along the way and, by all accounts, came out firing this year. The fruits of his effort are beginning to be unveiled in the movies and the magazines, and the visual evidence supports those claims. We’ve got more from Kas inside this issue, and here, a few words from Ponchikz on this excellent cover snap and their captive audience. Keep the kids hyped, - Mike ABOUT THE COVER In the beginning of January 2018 I went to Kuopio, Finland to meet up with the Postland Theory crew. It’s such a pleasure for me to go on trips with them, especially after the results of the previous year – my very first cover of Method! I was super inspired and motivated for the upcoming season. This was the first spot of my first day on the trip, a double-down, donkey-dick rail, right next to the primary school. Kas already had this spot on his list. On the one hand, it was a good spot for a small crew, where you can build a drop-in and don’t need a lot of people to pull bungee or build a huge landing. On the other hand, it was Wednesday and when we arrived there were a lot of kids playing, running and screaming in the school’s yard and playground right by the rail. We knew that without permission we’d be kicked out straight away so Kas went inside to ask the principal for permission. I’m an optimist, but frankly speaking, it didn’t seem like there was much chance of us getting permission. We’d already started thinking about a possible time to return when the area was empty when Kas came out after 15 minutes with a smile on his face! We were shocked! We started building a drop-in ramp and a take-off and then the bell rang marking the end of break. All of the kids ran back into the building. That was a shame for me because I was envisioning how good it was going to
look for photo and video with the pure reactions of all the kids. But we got started and I was looking for the angle, checking several options and changing lenses. The picture was a little bit dull without all the kids, but I really wanted to convey that atmosphere still. I wanted to tell a little story about the school full of kids and them looking on as Kas is riding. So I took four bikes and placed them in the frame. Kas had landed it almost perfectly several times (note: he ended up landing this a number of times. The version in the Postland video is a different shot than this one, but both were landed cleanly) and then a miracle happened. The bells rang again! The crowd comes running back, and now they are able to watch the rider in action. They were really stoked, as was Kas. I think this young audience gave him so much inspiration. More and more kids came to watch and we had to keep asking them to stay back, for their safety. But at one moment, there were so many of them that the most naughty and curious came down to stand next to the stairs. That was the moment! Kas nailed this switch boardslide. I remember the kids’ reactions and that was the best reward. They gave high-fives, asked for Kas’ Instagram, took selfies with him and all that. You can see him walking up the stairs after the trick, smothered in attention from his new young fans. COVER PHOTO AND WORDS: PONCHIKZ
EDITOR: Mike Goodwin michael@methodmag.com
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS: Keenan Cawley, Jack Hewitt, Danny Kern, Cole Navin, Joe Sexton, Thomas Shapiro
SENIOR EDITOR: Chris McAlpine chriso@methodmag.com
PUBLISHER: Method Media Ltd CEO: Chris McAlpine CTO: Steve Dowle FINANCE DIRECTOR: Steve Dowle
ART DIRECTOR: Maciej Przężak PWEE3000.com ONLINE EDITOR: Will Radula-Scott will@method.tv ASSOCIATE EDITORS: Thomas Shapiro tom@methodmag.com Alastair Spriggs
Derby - DE742TW United Kingdom METHOD MEDIA LTD Method Media Pantiles Chambers 85 High St Royal Tunbridge Wells TN1 1XP England Tel:(+44) (0) 871-218-9978
ADVERTISING: Chris McAlpine chriso@methodmag.com Skype: chrisomcalpine +46 729 338 556
Copyright 2018 Method Media Ltd. No liabil-
DISTRIBUTION: Steve Dowle steve@methodmag.com
original material is held by Method Media Ltd
PRINTERS: Buxton Press Palace Road CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS: Buxton Theo Acworth, Fabian Bodet, Sam Bones, Liam SK17 6AE Glass, Matt Georges, Danny Kern, Kristin Ludwig, Sebi Madlener, Cole Martin, Marc O’Malley, United Kingdom Evgeny “Ponchikz” Pavlov, Jake Pollock, Markus DISTRIBUTION: Rohrbacher, Kealan Shilling, E-Stone, Sean Kerrick Sullivan, Rudi Wyhlidal, Dominic “Howzee” Spatial Global Ltd Spatial House Zimmermann Willow FarmBusiness Park Castle Donington
ity is accepted for the accuracy of the information contained herein, nor are any guarantees given by the magazine. Copyright worldwide of 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
G T L
Eng in p this
Method Mag. We sure hope you like it!
VICTO Cham
192 EDITORIAL.indd 20
06.11.2018 11:42
GEAR FOR THE OUTER LIMITS Engineered from the ground up in partnership with our athletes— this is one kit for any mission.
VICTOR DE LE RUE Chamonix, FRANCE | Photo: Fabian Bodet
192 EDITORIAL.indd 21
05.11.2018 01:42
A
flash of action in a placid landscape. You read it right - what a difference a letter makes. Herby Thaler bones a stalefish through the calm. Nothing flabby about it. PHOTO: MARKUS ROHRBACHER
191 REVENGE OF THE BONER.indd 22
05.11.2018 01:43
191 REVENGE OF THE BONER.indd 23
05.11.2018 01:44
5 things that have kept you in Innsbruck, aka, IBK The mountains My friends All the beautiful girls Easy livin’ and of course, the expensive rent 5 albums you will always have in rotation Beastie Boys, any album Outkast ATLiens Descendents Milo Goes to College Ceremony The L-Shaped Man Fudge Tunnel Creep Diets 5 favorite shows you’ve seen at PMK (Rock club in IBK) Black Lung Vales Oathbreaker Easy Giant I hope the Munsens one day 5 favorite Austrian mountains/glaciers/zones Nordkette Ötztal
192 5 THINGS.indd 24
Arlberg Kaunertal Montafon 5 favorite restaurants in IBK John Montagu Madhuban Himal Machete and of course, my mothers kitchen (Unfortunately not in IBK) 5 snowboarders taller than you Sebi Müller Levi Luggen Herbert Thaler René Schnöller (One day he will be) x ....... 5 nicknames you’ve had over the years Xandel Raillex Wookie Axel El Pescador
5 rider’s methods you envy, past or present Gigi Rüf Jamie Lynn Ingemar Backman Manu Bernert Franck Screm 5 things you’d tell a younger Alex You’ll see, All Gonna Be Fine 5 last words No Racism Respect Nature PMA * Fast as all hell, smooth as silk, with an insane method… Alex Fischer’s got all the really important aspects dialed. A truly impressive snowboarder. P H O T O : R U D I W Y H L I DA L
05.11.2018 01:45
192 5 THINGS.indd 25
05.11.2018 01:45
* Blastin’ off in the Utah BC PHOTO: E-STON E
Years on Earth?
Most people packed in a taxi/Uber?
Years boarding?
Years on Team USA?
Surfboards in your quiver?
Pets owned? Number of instruments you play? Successful prank calls?
Countries visited?
Concerts attended this year? Biggest prize purse won?
Number of podiums?
192 CRUNCHINGNUMBERS.indd 26
Biggest wave ridden?
05.11.2018 01:46
192 CRUNCHINGNUMBERS.indd 27
05.11.2018 01:46
Keenan Cawley, where to start? Most likely your favorite snowboarder’s, favorite snowboarder. Born in Connecticut, raised in Vermont. His unique, friendly personality is impossible to forget once you’ve met him. Cat-like on his feet and stubborn as can be, he rarely lets a maneuver get away with defeat. A literary wizard, an artist, he’s the beauty and the beast. - DAN NY KERN * More from Keenan on MethodMag.com and @psych_ on IG
FART 182.indd 28
05.11.2018 01:47
32_MET
RIDE LITE
+ + +
T 32M
KAS LEMMENS RIDE LITE. RIDE LONGER.
FART 182.indd 29 32_METHOD_KAS.indd 1
05.11.2018 01:47 10/22/18 11:15 AM
J
ust going to let this sink in, all ya street-booter builders.
Cees, we love you. Mr. Wille with a raw BS 50-50 in Kuopio PHOTO: PONCH I KZ
T
FULL ZOOM 192.indd 30
05.11.2018 01:48
TRENCHOVER JACKET | ELASTIC BOSS PANT | @69MAX420
FULL ZOOM 192.indd 31
05.11.2018 01:48
I
t was early December 2012 and I was driving back east to spend Christmas with my family and a little time on the East Coast. I decided to take the northern route and stay in Minneapolis for a few days with Jordan Michilot. During that time we went with Brandon Larson and Matt Boudreaux to this old rec center that was set to be torn down. Everyone threw down some pretty heavy tricks that day, Brandon getting several bangers. This was a film shot I took of Brandon’s backside 50-50 gap to boardslide firecracker using a fisheye and an on-camera flash. It got passed on at the time by the major mags and never ran, but I always liked the subtle motion and moodiness of this shot. That’s Jordan and Boody in the background pulling bungee for Brandon. Thanks for making me dig in the hard drive guys. PHOTO AND WORDS: KEALAN SHILLING
192 FLASHBACK.indd 32
05.11.2018 01:49
# L A A X I S N I C E Y O
LUCAS BAUME @YUNGDOLI [ SNOWPARK L A A X ]
WELCOME TO THE TEAM
192 FLASHBACK.indd 33
# S U R F S E X Y
05.11.2018 01:49
A
boardslide on this Finnish kink would be a fine trick for a video part in it’s own right, but navigating the rail’s entirety with half a board and one binding?! Freaky shit! Artem Smolin charging through untrodden territory for both boarding and balance in general. PHOTO: PONCHIKZ *didn’t happen. would have been cool, though. 2018 - anything’s possible.
HOLYSHIT 192.indd 34
05.11.2018 01:50
HOLYSHIT 192.indd 35
05.11.2018 01:50
Rav nosepressin’ the backyard score
with Brandon Cocard and Mike Rav Photos: Danny Kern
OK, so you guys paired up in Tahoe last March for two weeks of filming and created a short film. You also wrote and recorded an original soundtrack for it. That correct? Mike: That is correct. Where did this idea begin? Was it a spur of the moment, “Hey, we are both in Tahoe. Let’s make something,” sort of conception, or had this been cooking a while? M: I think Brandon and I spoke about it pretty minimally. It was more of a, “Hey, that would be cool” idea but never really got the gears turning. But Mark Dangler (marketing manager at CAPiTA) saw the potential in it and got it going. I would say he made it happen one-hundred percent. Thanks, Mark. Brandon: We came up with the idea sometime around Christmas of 2017. Mark Dangler and I were chatting on the phone about some music I had sent him and he was like, “Dude, we should film sometime in the Spring and make a short film about snowboarding and recording music!” I immediately called Rav and he loved the idea. The rest is history. Who else worked on this with ya? B: Our crew was Mark Dangler: filmer and overall team management/daily planner, Skylar Brent: filmer and editor extraordinaire, Danny Kern: photo man, Keenan Cawley: coffee loving poet, Rav: bat out of hell and bass man, and I: jack of all trades.
Tell us a little bit about the goal or vision for the project. Was there much of an agenda or a schedule or was it more natural and spur of the moment? M: Honestly, we had basically zero direction. This method works best for me I think. Where you just get together and let it just shape and mold however it goes and however your environments and variables allow. The two main pieces were snowboard every day and get home and jam. The rest just fell into place. B: The goal was to snowboard around Truckee, California all day everyday and document the riding, and then when the moon comes out, shift focus to writing and recording music in my garage. Then throw all the music and footy together and see what comes out. Oh yeah, and we only gave ourselves two weeks to do this, forcing ourselves to be as creative as possible. Is this musical collab a one-time phenomenon or can we expect to see more tunes from you two? Does this act have a name? M: I really want to make another this season. Maybe go make music in a castle somewhere, who knows? Our names change every day, which is fun. One of them is Snack Monk. B: Depending on how this is received we might make another. We are calling this project “EP,” which stands for
M HIGH VOLUME 192.indd 36
05.11.2018 01:52
SNOWBOARDING
MARKKU KOSKI HIGH VOLUME 192.indd 37
SHOT BY HARRI TARVAINEN - SEASON IV NOW ON VIMANASNOW.COM
05.11.2018 01:52
Ah, that’s how you get that tone! Noted. Cocard fastplant
extended play. If you don’t know, that’s a record biz term for a shorter record, kind of like a demo.
individually record the music into the computer. Tim Eddy joined us and handled the drums.
How did each of you get your start in music? M: I’ve always played air guitar, and four years ago I figured I’d learn the real deal. It’s been one of the greatest things I’ve ever done. It’s opened my life to so much, whether it’s other instruments or new people. It’s a whole new language. And you don’t even need words to communicate with others. Very interesting stuff.
B: We kind of all switched off playing everything. We used my lap top, an interface, and a bunch of mics to record everything. It was a pretty basic set up but it got the job done.
B: I started playing music when I was 13 or so. My dad bought me a guitar and I’ve been in bands ever since. I think Rav and I started playing music together around the campfire at CAMPiTA. We would always be the last ones up just singing and strumming away. We both have the passion.
How would you describe the songs and your sound? M: Sporadic. B: We wanted to try and hit every genre. So we got some country, electro, punk, jazz, and good ol’ garage rock, Weezer style. Where’d you find the old piano you rode and shot on? M: We snuck into Danny Davis’ yard and sessioned this piano he had sitting behind his house. He’ll never know.
B: Thanks, Danny! Who handled what instruments? And how did you go about the recording? Scope the film on MethodMag.com! M: I played bass for most of the time. I play the guitar on one song I think. We would hash songs out in the garage, and then
HIGH VOLUME 192.indd 38
05.11.2018 02:53
HIGH VOLUME 192.indd 39
05.11.2018 01:53
ADS 192 MIDDLE.indd 40
05.11.2018 01:33
All neW // oVerBoaRd
K2 Snowboarding // 413 Pine Street – Suite 300 – Seattle, Washington 98101 // www.k2snowboarding.com // @K2Snow // #WeAreAllEnjoyers
Parker Szumowski // Snorklin’ // Overboard Board, Formula Binding, Whatever “Kind Brew” Tim Picked Out // Photos: Colton Jacobs // Location: The Press Room resort grand targhee
ADS 192 MIDDLE.indd 41
05.11.2018 01:33
HALLDÓR HELGASON EIKI HELGASON T Y L E R C H O R LT O N MÅNS HEDBERG ANTTI JUSSILA
PROWLER JACKET FW18/19
ADS 192 MIDDLE.indd 42
Water repellent laminated membrane
15.000 mm waterproof 10.000 gm breathable
PrimaLoft 40g insulaton
Outer C6 DWR treatment
YKK zippers
Threads by Coats
05.11.2018 01:33
W W W . H O R S E F E AT H E R S . E U #HFSNOWBOARDING
ADS 192 MIDDLE.indd 43
05.11.2018 01:34
ADS 192 MIDDLE.indd 44
05.11.2018 01:34
ADS 192 MIDDLE.indd 45
05.11.2018 01:34
Working in the darkroom isn’t for everyone, but in our current digital world printing a photo with your hands is a rewarding feeling. Plus, there’s no screen to burn your eyes out. Portrait of Desiree Melancon in Minnesota.
M
arc has always had an eye for detail and I think it is a reflection of himself. It’s been inspiring to watch Marc develop and refine his craft into what it is today. He has an especially clever way of sifting through moments and capturing the fleeting glimpses of beauty, arguably the most difficult task in creating a photograph. I’m continually thrilled by what Marc is able to create and can’t wait to see what the future holds for him and his creative pursuits. - Cole Navin
182 MY PORTFOLIO BRAGOTTO.indd 46
05.11.2018 01:54
Bryden Bowley showing off the goods Powder Mountain has to offer while filming for The United Slopes of America.
182 MY PORTFOLIO BRAGOTTO.indd 47
Immobilized in stone forever, jealous sculptures admire Cole Navin’s flexible body.
05.11.2018 01:55
Let’s call this photo of Desiree Melancon a nose picnic slide.
Also an incredible photographer, Jesse Gouveia gaps to back lip as the sun sets on Mt. Hood. Find his Instagram to check out his beautiful work behind the lens.
182 MY PORTFOLIO BRAGOTTO.indd 48
A creative soul spiraling in the woods of Mt. Hood.
05.11.2018 01:57
Board and body seem to become one as Mike Rav straps in. Truly a treat to watch.
182 MY PORTFOLIO BRAGOTTO.indd 49
05.11.2018 01:57
This kid is so good; we are still just getting a taste of what Kas can do. Cover guy lines up a heavy nollie boardslide
PHOTOS: PONCH I KZ
How are you feeling these days Kas? What’s new in your world? I’m good. I have been hanging out with my friends a lot lately and I have been working a lot. The weather has been so nice here (in the Netherlands) up until now, so there hasn’t been a lot of snowboarding on my mind lately. It’s getting colder now, though. Cold and rainy, so I’m getting pretty excited to snowboard again. You have had a very tough few years. Care to talk about that at all? How you have worked through it? I don’t mind. It’s a long story, though. I tore my ACL in January 2016. I think I just needed that reality check that my body can’t handle everything. I did the whole surgery and really worked my ass off at physical therapy for nine months straight. It sucked to be injured, but overall I stayed really positive throughout the whole process. I didn’t have any big complications either; everything seemed to heal up very well.
192 RORSCHACH KAS.indd 50
So I finished physio in October and I went on a trip to Austria with all the Postland boys pretty much straight after that. Snowboarding went surprisingly well. My knee felt good and I felt really confident on my board again. Then halfway through the trip, I received a phone call from my mom, telling me that my father was about to die. My dad had a stroke a couple years ago and had his ups and downs going through cancer for several years. My brother, my sister and I hadn’t had contact with our dad for two years. I wasn’t really sure at first if I wanted to go home, but my mom said this might be the last time I was going to be able to see my dad. We went snowboarding that day, but when I was on the mountain I had no idea what I was doing there and I knew I had to go home as soon as I could. Luckily, I managed to get a ride from Innsbruck to the Netherlands that same night. The Postland boys were going to have a video premiere in Innsbruck that night, and everyone wanted to go skate before that. I thought it might be good as well to go skate for a bit to keep my mind
05.11.2018 02:54
of things. Somehow I did a wallie, landed with one foot on my board in a split, and heard the snap again. I just started crying, laying on the ground. I couldn’t believe what was happening. When I got home, we realized that my dad had a really close call, but managed to pull through. He really was as tough as nails. So I did another ACL surgery and we continued visiting him in the hospital as the doctors said he didn’t have long. We just wanted to spend as much time as we could with him. I’m so glad we decided to leave the past behind us and show up at his hospital bed, because we were able to have three months with him before he passed away. I think, in a way, maybe that skate slam also happened for a reason. If I didn’t get injured, I probably would have been on snowboard trips and never had the time I had with my dad now. As I was going through my dad’s passing, I still had to get my knee better as well. His passing wasn’t exactly helping my knee injury, and it wasn’t the other way around either. I just needed an outlet. I needed snowboarding, but I couldn’t. Luckily, I had wonderful friends who really helped me through it. They would take me to do things when I just wanted to stay home. They were really there for me. But mostly my weeks consisted of going to physical therapy and going to work, which was so lame, but at least it occupied my mind for most of the day. I had a lot more setbacks this time with my rehab, but I managed to get my body healthy after 11 months, last November. That is the short version. It was pretty tough, and it still is sometimes, for me as well as for my mom, my brother and sister. I learned that it really helps to acknowledge your depressions and to talk about them. I always used to keep things to myself, but I don’t think people should be afraid to show how they feel. You will realize you are not the only one out there feeling that way. What’s been your biggest motivation the last few years? I think what kept me going is that I’m just not finished with snowboarding yet. That’s what motivated me to get healthy. I still like doing it and there are still so many things I want to do. How did you end up filming for multiple projects on your first winter back after injuries? My plan was to only film for Postland this year, but before the winter started I had no idea how my body was going to hold up. I had only snowboarded indoors for a couple weeks. Tim came up with the idea to do a trip with me at the end of November, which was intended to test out my knee. That trip went surprisingly well, so we just continued filming all winter from that point. At the end of January, Toni Kerkela asked if I wanted to do a trip with him for his solo video project. It wasn’t really planned, but I was in Helsinki already and Tim was going to Japan for two weeks, so I joined Toni and Marco (Morandi) for a week in eastern Finland. Do you feel you ride a any differently now? Yeah, I think so. Probably not much in the way I snowboard, but more in the way I think. Before I got injured I would just ride everything I like, and then would see what shots came out of it. I think it came a bit more natural before. This year it was a little bit more planned out. I just wanted to spare my body for the spots I really wanted to do. I think I am still just
192 RORSCHACH KAS.indd 51
a bit insecure of what my body can take and what not. But that will go away again, and then it will be like before. I’m a little more thoughtful, though. I think twice now before I do something stupid. (laughs) How did getting hooked up with Public come about? It’s got to be pretty sick riding for someone like Joe Sexton. It’s crazy. Joe has been my favorite snowboarder ever since Child Support came out. In the last couple years, through Thirtytwo trips, we have been able to hang out and snowboard together. I think he already asked me when he’d just started Public, but I didn’t feel like leaving Signal. They had always treated me really well. I was injured as well, so I didn’t feel like leaving. When I was injured I didn’t talk that much with my sponsors, mainly because I wanted to keep my mind off snowboarding. I did have contact with Joe, though. When I was almost done with my rehab, I called up Marc from Signal. I was actually really scared, but he was really supportive. He said Public fits me and told me they were taking Signal in a slightly different direction. So it was a pretty natural transition. I rode Signal boards for eight years, so I was really scared about trying out other boards. However, I feel really comfortable with Public. The boards are good, and I believe Joe is doing the right thing with his company. You just had some cameo shots in Joe’s new Public part. What did you think of the part? I loved it. I love Joe’s snowboarding and I love Nick Cave, so it was the perfect match for me. How do you feel looking back at what you filmed last winter now that it’s all coming out? Are you hyped? I am. I mean, I don’t think I will ever be satisfied with my own footage. I’m just glad I was able to snowboard all winter without getting injured, and I did some things I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to pull off. Of course, it could have been better and it would have been nice to have a little bit more footage, but I’m happy with what I achieved this winter. Where and when can people see your footage? I have a couple appearances in Toni’s “Focus” video and Public’s “Waiting Room” and I’m going to have a part in Postland’s “Nothing But” video, which is going to be released soon. What or who in snowboarding are you real psyched on right now? Rene Rinnekangas. He can do it all: jumps, pipe, street. And he does it all with a smile. There are so many people I like to see snowboard. There would be a list with a hundred people here, but at the moment, he is the one that stands out the most to me. Any big plans for this winter? I’m just going to film with Tim and the rest of the Postland boys again and see what comes out of it. Any shout-outs or people you want to thank? I would like to thank my mom, my brother and my sister. I’d like to thank my grandmother, who’s always supported me in whatever I wanted to do. Thank you to all my friends, my physiotherapist, ThirtyTwo, Public, Switchback Bindings and everyone at Postland.
05.11.2018 23:09
Java Fernandez, Stance’s Senior Marketing Director of Performance Firstly, who is on the Stance snowboard team and how long have you been pushing the snow program? We’re working with Louif Paradis, Sage Kotsenburg, Chris Grenier and Mikey Leblanc. Each bring something different to the equation and represent originality in a way we value at Stance. Outside of our crew, we flow a lot of people on the mountain. Whether they’re riders, photographers, filmers, artists, etc. Each person gives us valuable feedback in some way or another. Our first socks we ever made were snow socks so, obviously, Stance has a lot of love for snow. Can you tell us a little a bit about the Stance Uncover the Uncommon campaign? Our Uncover the Uncommon campaign was made to encourage people to be themselves. To step outside their normal routines, take risks, and hopefully unlock something new in whatever their pursuit may be. Sometimes all it takes is a little nudge from someone to go out there and do something rad, whether it comes from music, art, watching a sick video, or even a brand doing something that they connect with.
192 LOUIF THING.indd 52
Louif is part of The Uncommon Thread, can you describe the process of how these portraits come to life and where they are showcased? It was pretty cool actually. We shot a combination of portrait, action, and product images and then worked with two noted artists who specialize in thread to create the artwork. The artwork you see in the final campaign is actually stitched onto the photographs. Each one with its own unique message, attributes, and flaws. It’s a truly hands-on way to approach the process. Louif’s image of his face reads “Reinvention Constante” which translates to “Constant Reinvention” in English. Ages ago, Louif told me that he’d never want to put out the same video part year after year, that he wanted to always evolve as a rider. If anyone can say they’ve done that, it’s him. Stance has been at the forefront of innovation and performance in socks for a while now, what’s next for you guys? We’ve launched underwear and t-shirts as well so it’s likely that we’ll focus on what we have going on for a bit and
05.11.2018 02:00
continue to evolve our own processes and products. If you haven’t tried those yet, they’re next level. After that, I guess we’ll have to see. Louis-Felix Paradis What are the best things about being on Stance? I’ve been on Stance for 4 or 5 years now and there are a number of reasons. Firstly, I get the best socks possible for snowboarding, skating, biking and everything else. But I also get to be involved in some of the designs every once in a while. I’ve had two signature models and I’m getting another one next year. I also get to work with a long-time friend, Java, who I love working with. Just staying connected with him through work and regular life is a real pleasure. They also invite me every year to go to Baldface for a week of cat-boarding. The text you wrote for the Uncommon thread reads “Reinvention Constante” What’s the story behind that? Java hit me up and asked me to help him figure out a way to
192 LOUIF THING.indd 53
describe me as an individual and a snowboarder in only a few words. We had a quick discussion about what I was into and we came up with that sentence since he knows I put a lot of effort into not being repetitive in my snowboarding career and exploring new ways and new features. He came up with that and those are nice words that mean a lot to me and I can sort of identify with. You have just finished your pro sock for next season, can you tell us a bit about that? Yeah Christian (Schrader), designer at Stance, and I just designed one for next year. I gave him a good round of inspiration images that I gathered and it gave him a direction and then he did all the hard work! I’m really happy with the result and I’m excited to see them in real life. I’ve only seen them in photos so far. It’s hard to describe and I don’t want to tell too much, but it involves a pretty cool character inspired by an old Japanese card game, and I’m all about these funny looking creatures. It gives an interesting, colorful design on an otherwise pretty simple piece of clothing.
05.11.2018 02:00
ETHAN MORGAN INTERVIEW
* Scooter goes
* Scooter, DJ Blueman and the ever-evolving faces of
19.2
Ethan Morgan
192 ETHAN FEATURE.indd 54
05.11.2018 02:01
To put it mildly, it seems like you guys had a good time this year working on the new film, The Future of Yesterday. It was a really good time, just all cruising in the RV together. We hit some spots and rode well, hit some spots and rode shitty and just kept going. We helped each other out, tried to make it the best for everybody and just have a good time. It started off a little bit rough for me. I didn’t really get any shots for like a whole month. Then, as soon as I got together with the gang, because they were in Japan and I was filming back home, I got into the right mentality just chill, cruise, have a good time and everything will work out in the end and what do you know, in the end it did he man with a million nicknames work out. tucks a couple more personas into his belt. Perhaps his best yet. One of the I was following along on social media riders making the most noise in Europe all winter. I’ve got to know, who is and well beyond last year, both figura- Scooter? tively and quite literally, Ethan Morgan Well, I don’t know who I am right now. seems to have found his most natural I am so many different people. (laughs) niche. Tossing style conventions to the I was playing a bunch of Scooter (Dance wind, hair dye in all directions, do-it- group from Hamburg. Founder H.P. Baxyourself park parties in off-the-map ter has a bleached blond look) throughplaces, ass-naked double corks and blast- out the season on the Soundboks and ing his Soundboks up and down your had gotten everyone hyped, myself instreet, Ethan’s been on a notable tear. cluded. At the end of the season we had to film for our movie intros and we all Loud, sometimes lewd, with an old- decided that I have to do blond hair and school attack, Ethan’s an insanely be “Scooter.” I just shaved my hair really talented, supremely versatile snow- short and had to go all in on Scooter. But boarder who’s always charged to his now I am not Scooter anymore - I am own beat. That beat’s been thumpin’ suddenly Blueman because I have blue loud of late, and whether you’re on hair. I don’t know what is happening board to fist-pump along or not, you bet- anymore. ter believe the Scooter train’s a’comin’. Scooter looked like you embraced your INTERVIEW: MOOSEMAN inner German and just went for it. ACTION PHOTOS: SEBI MADLENER I guess so. I was full-on rage status at PORTRAIT: HOWZEE the time. Once I got my hair dyed blond I was playing Scooter for another couple weeks and then I kind of got over it because it was almost too much. My hair grew out and I’d just turned into Guy Fieri - I had blond tips and was working as a cook all summer at Banger park. I had to dye my hair blond again to work on the movie intro, so I was back to Scooter for a bit. Then I just went all in on blue. I just felt like getting blue and now everybody is calling me DJ Blueman. I will take it. We will see what happens with that. (laughs)
T
What kind of clubs does DJ Blueman like to perform in? DJ Blueman likes performing interna-
192 ETHAN FEATURE.indd 55
tionally, going worldwide. First gig was in Monaco, second in London, third one was in Innsbruck. Just going all over the place, you know? Straight into an international star really. Yeah... It’s pretty easy to DJ nowadays if you have the right set up. And I just played off of my iPad. (laughs) It was a good start. You’ve got a new goggles sponsor to go with the new look. How did this Ethen x Ethan partnership come about? I was cruising Hintertux last fall, so a year ago, and saw a dude with my name spelled wrong on his goggles. I took a picture with him. I was so pumped. I sent it to my agent and he hit them up straight away. They (Ethen) are an Italian motocross company but they have a snow goggle line as well. I recently met up with them and they are super cool. They just don’t have that much knowledge about what I am doing in snowboarding. (laughs) It was kind of hard to explain to them why I should be on their team. They were asking what kind of race results I have and stuff like that. Somehow I got a pro model and I am hoping to work with them more in the future and sell some goggles with them. They make really nice goggles actually, which I was surprised about. I just thought it would be a funny joke to have my name spelled wrong on my goggles, but in the end I am really hyped on what kind of form they have. They look good and they are the best quality goggles I have had so far. I am not trying to sell these goggles to everybody out there right now, not trying to throw in a little commercial, but they are actually really good. On the obscure hook-up tip, how about the whole Soundboks connection? That speaker played such a big role in your year, the film and the identities of Blueman, Scooter or even just Ethan. Explain the connection. A friend of mine, Thomas Enk, won a Soundboks at an event on Nordkette and now it belongs to the whole Sane! Gang in Innsbruck. We’ve been using it during preseasons and stuff, setting up tube spots, kind of our own little European Bone Zone, and that speaker is amazing. It’s insane. I was so surprised what it is capable of. It was dumping
05.11.2018 02:55
snow all day and this thing is blasting music at the loudest volume, all day. It’s a really cool product. I had my DIYX event series starting and was trying to figure out a way to incorporate Soundboks. I asked if they would be interested in helping out with my event series and they hooked me up for the Postwiesen stop in Germany. They hooked me up with one to just kind of borrow for the event and then I would send it back. But they were so hyped on the content that I’d done and everything so they just let me keep it! Pretty pumped on that!
19.2
ETHAN MORGAN INTERVIEW
It’s not a small speaker either. It’s the biggest and loudest bluetooth speaker in the world. How did you get that on a plane and bring it to Mount Hood? (laughs) I just checked it in man. I just put it on the counter and checked it in and they were all good with it. Put a sticker on it and didn’t even ask twice what it was. I was thinking about carrying it on. It would have been pretty funny if I could have blasted techno in the plane but I probably would have gotten kicked out. (laughs)
into a DJ suddenly and all this kind of weird shit. I don’t know - I might have lost it since I got that thing. I am just the guy who’s always got the party going. And now, I just bought myself a car and there is no sound system in there. Of course I am going to dump the Soundboks behind the back seat and just blast it, get a little back massage. Where you at with the hair now, you still riding the Blueman wave? I am light blue now. I had to shower a couple times. It’s been kind of dying down since, but it’s still there. I am still definitely blue. You can definitely see that I am a wild human being. (laughs) For your video part, you recorded that drum track right? Yes, we recorded it on set. I brought my drum set into the bar, into Montagu in Innsbruck, where we filmed it. It wasn’t all in one take. We added some things together. I am not the best drummer, but I try, and I feel like it turned about pretty cool in the end. I thought it was a cool idea and I really wanted to try it. It definitely changes things up in the movie a little bit as well.
Speaking to the intro clip in your part - I see people, Americans When we were partymostly, who watch videos of you guys ing at the Ratskeller getting naked, and just ask, “Why?” in Govy this summer, What would you tell these people? you had half the bar I don’t know, I mean, I am American mygoing nuts in this kind of techno mosh self… I feel like Americans are afraid to show pit sort of thing, and half the bar super each other the true skin of their bodies. In bummed standing on the other side. Do you Europe, we go to the sauna and you have to remember that? be naked. You have to. If you go in there with (laughs) Who was in the other half that was clothes you are getting kicked out. That is bummed? I was just in the hyped area. how I grew up. Nudity is normal here. And especially for Halldór, it’s very normal to be It seemed like older people having a melnude all the time. I don’t really know, but it’s low drink, locals, a few American boarders nice to be free and just send it! who disapproved of the techno chaos. Mostly people who were confused, like, The reason why we did the naked double “What just came into the bar?” was because five years ago Halldór and That was a fun night. I don’t know how that I played this game on our iPads, a racing happened but we just thought it would be a game, and we said whoever loses has to do a great idea to bring the Soundboks to the bar. naked double cork in pow. He lost and then, yeah, somehow I got in there as well. I really It seems that with that speaker, you are wanted to do it with him. (laughs) It was really just one click away from starting a fun to get that out of the way because we’ve party. Or driving people nuts. It seems like been planning it for five years already. Misthe fastest way to turn things up. sion accomplished. Oh yeah. It’s a dangerous tool man. Ever since I got that speaker I have just been changing looks and going crazy and turning
192 ETHAN FEATURE.indd 56
Never too far from the club… Front lip outside the disco
05.11.2018 02:02
192 ETHAN FEATURE.indd 57
05.11.2018 02:02
It sounds like you are psyched on how your new part turned out? Yeah, I am hyped. It was a short one but that is exactly what I think is perfect for the video part, short and snappy. I like the fact that I had different music and everything, and a good intro with the naked double cork with Halldór. All in all, I am just hyped on the whole movie. I enjoy watching it every time because I just love watching everybody else’s video part, especially because we spent the whole season hanging together pretty much. It brings back memories from every shot that everybody got. Everyone killed it. It was really cool to see the direction everyone went in the movie. KB (Kevin Backstrom) with mad style, Max (Buri) into some street shit this year, which was insane. Tor (Lundstrom) had an insanely long part with sick shots, Ulrik (Badertscher) too and all those guys, and Halldór, obviously. Nothing to say about that. (laughs) It was sick! I like the whole movie. Shout out to Theo (Muse)! He did the best job out of all of us I feel, just to put all that shit together. And to actually put up with us all season is pretty insane, too!
19.2
ETHAN MORGAN INTERVIEW
You’ve been at this a while - still young - but you’ve been doing it for a bit. What are your goals these days? What do you want to get out of snowboarding? Well, obviously, the classic answer - I want to have fun. I am having a great time producing these events that I have been working on, the DIYX series. I want to keep doing that and get more of those events going. I have two more coming up this season. I feel like event-wise it’s always the best time everybody has in the season. I definitely want to keep doing that, but I am still hyped and hungry to keep filming. I am going to make my own project this year. I am not sure how much I can say about it yet, but it’s going to be very similar to my “Sponsor Me Tape” style. As loose as possible. It’s going to be a sketchy one. Stan is going to be involved as well so that is going to be pretty wild. For people who are unfamiliar, tell us a little bit about your DIYX events and what is coming up this season. DIYX is short for “Do it Yourself Extreme.” I always invite around 20 riders and we go to a resort that I feel looks like it has a cool D.I.Y. vibe. It’s an open event - anyone can come and join us - and we make sure they get everything sorted out, like free food, free lift tickets and everything, for the days they come to help out. We spend one whole day shaping the park however we all want. There are no rules - just pick up a shovel and do something. Whatever you want to do, whatever is on your mind, whatever you’ve been thinking about. The next day we get to shred it, which is the best reward ever after you’ve been shaping a whole day and can’t wait to ride all these obstacles everybody has been setting up. Some people shape random features that might make no sense to some people and to others they’re the sickest thing ever. And then you just shred and have a good time. That’s kind of the whole concept. Simple as that. That is what makes it so much fun.
Floater of a FS 360 at home in the Austrian Alps
How’d you decide you wanted to do an event like that? I started it because people nowadays, they go to parks and just expect the park to be perfect. It’s different than how we used to do it back in the day when you just picked up a shovel and built something in your backyard. People don’t do that as much anymore. I feel that’s been lost a little bit and I wanted to bring that spirit back. The kids who show up get into it, like in Belgium at our Ice Mountain event for example, where kids who had never picked up a shovel before just started grabbing boxes and dragging them into the indoor park. Seeing that kind of motivation really gets me hyped. I think kids are starting to realize more that it’s just fun to do your own shit, have a good time with your homies and not just show up and start complaining about how shitty a park is or something.
192 ETHAN FEATURE.indd 58
05.11.2018 02:56
192 ETHAN FEATURE.indd 59
05.11.2018 02:02
You also realize how much work it is for the shapers. A lot of these parks that I have been helping out, like the one at Ice Mountain, the shapers there don’t get paid for that shit. They do it all for the love of snowboarding and that is what I wanted to support. If I bring 20 riders and then another 50 kids show up to shape, you’ve got 70 people shaping the park and it makes the park so fucking crazy. With that many people you can make an insane park. That’s where the extreme comes into the D.I.Y. title. The next two stops are still being planned, but I want to bring it to Garmisch, Germany, where I grew up snowboarding. It’s been kind of dead there with snowboarding lately. Then, in the summer, I want to do a DIYX camp for a whole week in Zermatt. We did a one-week camp in Kaunertal last year and that was super fun, super loose.
Fleeing the scene in Obergurgel. Ollie from up top
ETHAN MORGAN INTERVIEW
And how about your younger sister, Annika? She’s crushing it right now! Oh yeah, Annika is on fire right now. She just got second place at the Junior World Championships in New Zealand. I am mainly pumped that she’s got such a cool attitude toward snowboarding. You see all these kids who are trying to get trained super hard and their parents are pushing them like crazy to become the next Olympian star because they didn’t make it in snowboarding or whatever. They are just trying to make their kids rich and famous. I don’t know why they would put them into snowboarding, they should rather go golfing. Annika really figured it out early on. I’ve done what I can to let her know what snowboarding means to me, to not just go do contests for “making it” and being famous. You should just have a good time. That is what is paying off for her now because she is getting deals left and right and the sponsorships are going well. It looks like this year she is going to be filming some street with me for my video project. She’s hyped and just having a good time. She’s going to a boarding school now, which is definitely going to help her get more into riding because it’s a sports school. She is still on the national team and everything, which is good though, and I think it’s great that she is doing that. It is a good opportunity to be able to ride as much as possible. What other advice have you given her on how to approach this crazy snowboarding world? I love the Too Hard girls, and she is really getting into them, but I just tell her that she shouldn’t take too many drugs or drink a lot of alcohol like they do because she’s my little sister, obviously. (laughs) No, we’ve had long conversations before where we would go up on the hill and she might complain about certain things and I’d remind her that that is not what it’s all about. I think she’s realized a lot of things and now she is just really having a good time all the time and that is what is most important. Have fun, don’t take anything too seriously. Don’t get all up tight and put too much pressure on yourself. At the end of the day, it’s snowboarding. Exactly. Just a bunch of grown ups and kids having fun on snow.
19.2
Couple quick ones to wrap this up. What track is DJ Blueman most hyped on right now? Hard one! My track list is always changing weekly, but in my first three sets, the first song I played was “Blue” by Eiffel 65. It was a pretty solid start into my DJ set. I think people were pretty pumped. (laughs) Any shout-outs or people you want to thank? I just want to thank snowboarding, my family and friends, and my sponsors.
192 ETHAN FEATURE.indd 60
05.11.2018 02:03
192 ETHAN FEATURE.indd 61
05.11.2018 02:03
ADS 192 BACK.indd 62 team-method-320x255-5mm-okt-18-ic.indd 1
05.11.2018 02:07
AUSTRIA | GERMANY | SWITZERLAND | NETHER LANDS
ADS 192 BACK.indd 63
05.11.2018 24.10.18 02:08 17:52
L1 UP NORTH 19.2
I have been trying to find a creeper rail to back 50-50 for a super long time. I am a fan of creeper rails and how precise you have to be for them to work. This one was in Helsinki and was super close to our AirBnB. We drove by it a couple times at the beginning of the trip and then one afternoon it lined up to hit it. It’s at this ice rink that seemed pretty empty at the time. Basically, before we could even get our shovels out of the car we got the boot. I pleaded with them to let us hit the rail. Getting kicked out of spots in Helsinki is super rare, so I was surprised that they would not budge. I offered to bring them a coffee or a beer, and still nothing. We decided to come back at night. We didn’t have a generator for the trip, but we did have a skate light. Simon held the skate light, and because it was against the wall it worked perfectly. He had to follow and light up the drop in, down the rail and the landing so we could see and the clip would work. It was a little unconventional but it totally worked! Thanks, Simon.
192 L1.indd 64
05.11.2018 02:09
WORDS: JOE SEXTON PHOTOS: MARKUS ROHRBACHER
This was my first trip as the newest team rider for L1. I have always been a fan of the brand, and was really excited to shred with the guys and start this new chapter. I had met most of them before, but I’d never went on a trip or anything with them. We had so much fun on this trip, and I feel like we were super productive. These guys are amazing snowboarders and even more amazing human beings. I am honored to be on the team with them, and look forward to more trips together in the future!
192 L1.indd 65
05.11.2018 02:09
19.2
L1 UP NORTH
This was my first time meeting Simon. The first thing I was struck by was his sheer power on a snowboard. And on a skateboard - he is a bulldog on the stunt wood. He also might be the nicest kid you have ever met. Simon came from a slopestyle and jump background, so I think he takes that same approach to the streets. He is no-holds-barred out there, taking slams and overshooting landings all with giant smile on his face. This back 50-50 was no different; he launched backside 180 into the down, nearly clearing the whole thing. Simon did a bunch of sick stuff on this trip and solidified his spot on the team.
192 L1.indd 66
05.11.2018 02:10
Justin Keniston’s nickname is “Chip.” I am not really sure where it came from but the more I hear it and watch him introduce himself to people as Chip it really makes sense. Chip is truly the king of cool. The way he carries himself, the way he dresses, talks, drinks beer - it is all done with a certain smoothness and care-free attitude that is hard to copy. (Believe me, I have tried.) This mentality and aura is no different when it comes to his snowboarding. He is methodical in his practice, only hitting spots that he truly deems worthy. Chip doesn’t want to put something out just to “put something out.” He wants it be something that matters. His less-is-more approach is really refreshing, and when he does decide to hit something it really has a lasting impression. (He was one of the first to do the under-bar slide.) Case in point: this 5-0 back 180 out in Estonia. Classic style, and just to spice it up, he wallied off a shovel to get onto the ledge. Slick as ever.
192 L1.indd 67
05.11.2018 02:10
L1 UP NORTH 19.2
Sam is one of the most well-rounded snowboarders I have ever met. The kid can also party! Sam reminds of what it must have been like back in the day for pro snowboarders. Just partying and snowboarding. Sam is very talented and fearless, and that combination makes for some really exciting snowboarding. Watching him go for it at every spot is really rad to see. He did multiple tricks on this rail-to-bank in Helsinki. The run-in was basically a boardercross track that Sam handled with ease. This front blunt into the bank was one of many things that he did, eventually shutting it down with back 180 on and 180 the other way into the bank. Truly impressive. All capped off by some beers at the house that night! Cheers, Sam!
192 L1.indd 68
05.11.2018 02:10
This boardslide is actually so much crazier than it looks. I’m not taking anything away from the filmer or photographer, but spots like this can be hard to translate. It is a short and steep kink with a cross bar going across at the most inconvenient section. I remember Sam was pretty nervous to hit this spot because there weren’t really any outs. You kind of had to fully commit for it to work. Again, Sam stepped up and said, “Fuck it.” We bro-towed him in and he committed. He rode away in less than five tries, unscathed. Really sick stuff.
192 L1.indd 69
05.11.2018 02:10
L1 UP NORTH
This was fairly early on during our trip to Helsinki. We went to this kink rail that Dominik had spotted early that day. I can’t really recall if it had been hit before. Dominik
19.2
is an amazing snowboarder and he had some wild ideas for this spot. Unfortunately, some of those ideas were put on the back burner because of speed issues. He ended up doing the switch board slide. A little known fact about this rail is that it is made of aluminum, which is a very soft metal and is not too metaledge-snowboard friendly. Not to worry. Dominik, being the prepared, mature, and ready-for-anything person he is, set up his Nitro “edgeless” board that was perfect for this occasion. I am jealous of people like Dominik. Life just seems so much easier.
192 L1.indd 70
05.11.2018 02:10
192 L1.indd 71
05.11.2018 02:11
L1 UP NORTH 19.2
This is one of those once-in-a-lifetime spots. There are not a ton of spots in Estonia, but this one made up for that. This whole zone held so many spots. Spots like this hold a special place in my heart. A massive ledge that is painted, and it’s blue?! How cool is that? The fact that it was painted meant that going sideways on it could be possible. However, there were raised cracks the whole way down. The Snowboarder Mag Beta guys were in Estonia at the same time, and I remember them saying, “Someone has to go sideways down it.” If they thought it was possible, maybe it was. This was one of the scariest things I have done. There is a huge drop on the side and you have to literally hop over the raised cracks as you are going down the ledge. Every try was so terrifying. Luckily I had the L1 boys there to hype me up and I ended up making it down the ledge alive. I was really happy to get this one. Markus shot this photo that ended up being the cover of Torment Mag! Sam, Dominik and Chip all got clips on the ledge as well. Days like this, when everything comes together, are rare, but that’s what makes them more special.
192 L1.indd 72
05.11.2018 02:11
192 L1.indd 73
05.11.2018 02:11
ADS 192 MERCH AD.indd 74
05.11.2018 01:35
ADS 192 MERCH AD.indd 75
05.11.2018 01:35
SKOLF
Andrew Brewer with a bit of fancy footwork at Boreal. Gold jacket, green jacket, who gives a shit! 19.2
P H O T O : JA K E P O L L O C K
192 AIRBLASTER.indd 76
05.11.2018 02:12
AIRBLASTER
WORDS: JACK HEWITT
S
KOLF began as an experiment. This is the brief history to bring you up to speed. Jesse Grandkoski - Airblaster Founder and Creative Director - walked into the office one morning with the rules and concept typed up on a piece of paper, handed each of us copy, and asked us what we thought. There are six people running Airblaster HQ, so he had a pretty captive audience. The idea was weird and awesome and we pretty much went straight to work on making it happen. SKOLF is the game of S.K.A.T.E and the game of golf mashed together on a snowboard. Thirty to 40 pro and am riders compete to land specific tricks on designated park features within four tries. Scores are recorded on an official scorecard. Lowest score at the end of the day wins. Land the trick first try - that’s a hole-in-one. Record your score and move on to the next feature. Get it? To make this vision a reality we called Krush Kulesza and made the arrangements to collaborate and co-produce SKOLF with Snowboy Productions. This was in the fall of 2016. Krush and Scott Stevens had produced The Loon Project at Loon Mountain early that year, and we had always wanted to produce an Airblaster event there. Loon’s staff, park crew and community are dialed. So, we reached out and pitched the SKOLF concept. They didn’t even flinch and we set the date for February 2017, right after the annual SIA trade show in Denver. It was on. Flash forward #1: We survive another SIA show previewing the new Airblaster line and fly out to Boston to then drive to Loon and produce the event. We had Max Warbington, Max Tokunaga, Jesse Gouveia and Freddy Perry in the crew. Alek Oestreng flew in from Norway and met us there. Arriving in Boston, we stuffed everyone in a minivan and drove straight to a print shop at 11:30 p.m. to print the official scorecards and signage we needed for the event. Personally, I was nervous as fuck about everything! It was a total experiment. We were burnt from the trade show grind, and wondering if we were going to pull this off. Will anyone we invited actually show up? If they do show up, will they have a good time? We drove north to find out. Flash forward #2: Loon rules and the Loon Park Crew rules, and we collaborate to design and designate 18 features that will make up 18 “holes” of SKOLF played over two days. Everyone we invited shows up. The concept is explained to the public for the first time. People get it and we head to the hill.
192 AIRBLASTER.indd 77
05.11.2018 02:13
P H O T O : K R I S T I N L U DW I G
A contestant takes on the down bar to box launch as the field looks on PHOTO: LIAM G LASS
19.2
SKOLF
Flo Corzelius with some proper lift on the course at Nordkette
192 AIRBLASTER.indd 78
05.11.2018 02:13
From the minute Freddy Perry drops in as the first competitor on Hole #1, the event goes off! Instant success. SKOLF is actually a giant community jam session disguised as a competition. Everyone is keeping score and trying the same trick together. The vibe is amazing. This is the start of something good. Alek Oestreng dominates the game with Max Warbington nipping at his heals from a close second place. Brandon Reis and River Richer tie for third. The tie is settled by a foot race later that night. Airblaster buys Chinese food for everyone and the decision is made that SKOLF must become a World Tour in 2018. Flash forward #3: We plan throughout the summer and turn SKOLF into a World Tour: five nine-hole feeder events building up to a two-day, 18-hole Masters Championship. The stops for the tour ran as follows: Timberline (Oregon), Big Boulder (Pennsylvania), Boreal (California), Sunshine Village (Alberta), Nordkette (Austria), and Copper Mountain (Colorado) for the Masters Championship. To summarize, the entire SKOLF World Tour goes off just like the inaugural event at Loon. The Timberline event lit the fire in early December 2017. Then Max Warbington, Max Tokunaga, Tucker Andrews, Patch Pimp and myself produce three events, East Coast to West Coast to Canada, on a nine-day, backto-back suicide run. Somehow it all works out. One flight cancellation could have severed the production of the entire tour! SKOLF then goes to Europe, which was a slam-dunk success with an awesome crew, and we catch the heaviest winter in the Alps in 10 years. The winners of each event win an invite and plane ticket to the Masters Championship, where we rented a slope-side mansion to house everyone and persuaded Crab Grab’s Preston Strout, Lib Tech’s Jesse Burtner and Airblaster’s Taylor Carlton to fly in and produce on-camera, live commentary and event coverage. The live commentary was hilarious, adding a whole new element and structure to the event coverage and recaps. This is our new model for SKOLF World Tour 2018/19. The experiment continues. All new locations. New weird tricks and features. Stay tuned to @airblaster to follow the tour. SKOLF!
192 AIRBLASTER.indd 79
05.11.2018 02:13
P H O T O : JA K E P O L L O C K
The ladies of SKOLF are all smiles at Boreal, rain be damned P H O T O : JA K E P O L L O C K
19.2
SKOLF
Scoping Hole #3 at Sunshine
192 AIRBLASTER.indd 80
05.11.2018 02:13
Max Warbington supplying the one-footed weirdness at the Timberline stop like only he can PHOTO: SAM BON ES
192 AIRBLASTER.indd 81
05.11.2018 02:13
SKOLF
Len Jorgensen representing Airblaster with a fine one-footed tailgrab
19.2
P H O T O : K R I S T I N L U DW I G
192 AIRBLASTER.indd 82
05.11.2018 02:13
Denver hits a very appropriate Hole #1 feature in Boreal, with a bit of John Daily blond poking out from under the cap P H O T O : JA K E P O L L O C K
192 AIRBLASTER.indd 83
05.11.2018 02:14
19.2
HOLY BOWLY
WORDS: GOODWIN
Hans Mindnich slashing in the sea of pockets. Let your mind wander in there for a second… PHOTO: E-STON E
192 HOLY BOWLY.indd 84
05.11.2018 02:15
192 HOLY BOWLY.indd 85
05.11.2018 02:15
Chris Beresford’s made a name for himself with his unique trick selection and execution. Back 180 method for the cam
HOLY BOWLY
PHOTO: E-STON E
I
was champing at the bit by the time Danny Kern and Brady Lem scooped me up from the Portland airport to rally up to Government Camp for Holy Bowly 2018. For me, the brimming excitement was driven by a pair of “returns”: returning to the Holy Bowly - the storied, roaming, snow-transition mecca - and returning to Government Camp, a sacred place for so many that’s served as an international summer gathering ground of snowboarders for decades. There was an exceptional feeling of nostalgia this year, an element oft-discussed over beers at Charlie’s on this trip. Government Camp looks and feels a lot different than it has for ages as the dynamics and campuses of the summer snowboard camps that call Mount Hood home have shifted. Some envision a bright future, but forward projections aside, almost all reminisce about the “glory days of Govy,” each individual holding tight to a personal memory of that idea.
19.2
In short, it was a real special time to be headed to Timberline on Mount Hood. With the absence of Snowboarder Mag’s Superpark this year, the Holy Bowly seemed to me to take it’s place as the end of the year North American meet-up. I couldn’t wait for these dudes to roll up.
192 HOLY BOWLY.indd 86
05.11.2018 02:57
Snowboy Productions head honcho, Krush Kulesza preparing to turn the horde loose PHOTO: E-STON E
The Holy Bowly is truly an event without rival, both in creativity and scope. This is by design. As Snowboy Productions founder and Bowly mastermind Krush Kulesza told us prior to the event, the goal is “to build shit that you don’t see anywhere else, but you wish you saw everywhere else. And to see what some of the best styles ever are able to do on it.” Bringing the highly anticipated annual event to Timberline in 2018 fulfilled a wish a long time in the making for organizers and attendees alike. “Hood was always on our dream list and the folks at Timberline were stoked for the opportunity,” says Kulesza. The Bowly is built and thrives on spontaneity, on experimentation and improvisation, from the way the course is designed and shaped to the sessions that flourish throughout the week. “It starts with sketches of individual features that my crew and I have compiled over the winter,” says Kulesza of the course brainstorming and design process. “We pick one feature to start the build with and then just build down the hill from there, using the sketches or new ideas that come to mind, that compliment the natural terrain. There is no auto-cad rendering or anything like that.”
192 HOLY BOWLY.indd 87
05.11.2018 02:57
Finn Westbury perfectly composed, launching out the back of the deep bowl
HOLY BOWLY
PHOTO: E-STON E
Brady Lem styling out a FS 360 melon while we logged some bonus content for Method Movie 3
19.2
P H O T O : G O O DW I N
192 HOLY BOWLY.indd 88
05.11.2018 02:16
Len Jorgensen flips one over in the triple spine section P H O T O : G O O DW I N
My first impression upon seeing the 2018 setup - and I know I am not alone here - was sheer amazement. A seemingly unending sea of contours, bumps, launches, bowls, hips and miscellaneous snow transition stretched out before me. It’s almost a bit intimidating at first, in a, “Where the hell do I start?” sort of way. But start is just the thing to do. Start feeling out some lines, some distances, some turns. Standing atop the run, you can practically hear the gears turning the the minds of the rider’s waiting for Krush to finish going over the ground rules and turn them loose in transition paradise. The rules, as they are each year, are straightforward and simple: 1.) No walking up the tranny. 2.) No walking up the tranny. 3.) No tail blocks until Saturday. 4.) If you don’t rake, you don’t ride. And on the final day, the whole thing is open to the public. It’s an egalitarian approach and serves to keep everyone equally invested in the condition of the course as the week progresses. For the most part, the honor system works exceedingly well. Inevitably, there are always a handful who shirk the responsibility and head down early at the day’s end, but that’s the way she goes. The sessions form in a similar, off-the-cuff manner. Perhaps a photographer has an angle in mind and is hustling around the course to snag his desired subjects and direct them in his vision. Or a train of riders is hot lapping some top-to-bottoms and builds a sort of conga line as other riders take note of the awesome line they’ve threaded through the course. Or a pair of rider’s decide they’re going to duck off and hike a certain section, each successive holler from the zone attracting more riders, and in turn more media, in an excited cycle. Maybe it’s Tucker Andrews and Forest Bailey gliding inverted over a step-up exploring the limits of the Miller flip, or the Death Label gang looking to out-tweak one another on a tight backside hip or Oliver Dixon Cider, Bode Merrill and Milo Malkowski launching one-footed into deep end. Or any other of an infinite number of creative amalgamations. These sessions build with a magnetic attraction and often dissipate just as quickly; there’s always another gap to scope, turn to navigate or section to cruise. The options are literally limitless. To me the Holy Bowly feels like miniature city; you can hear a buzz and an energy all around you, even if you can’t always identify where it’s coming from. Someone comes whipping by, or out of the corner your eye you snag a glimpse of blast off. Cheers ring out and echo down the mountain. It feels alive. The main features are attacked with predictable fervor, but there are always equally exciting, albeit less prominent, sessions going off in unexplored corners. This allure of endless possibility, of unrestrained experimentation sparks that innate individualism snowboarders so often possess. Nothing is definitive. There are always hidden gems to be uncovered. It’s just a matter of doing so.
192 HOLY BOWLY.indd 89
05.11.2018 02:57
PHOTO: E-STON E
19.2
HOLY BOWLY
This session got heavy! Milo Malkowski holding his own in a stacked session, cutting loose a big ol’ one-footer into the deep
192 HOLY BOWLY.indd 90
05.11.2018 02:17
192 HOLY BOWLY.indd 91
05.11.2018 02:17
19.2
VDLR’S FROZEN MIND
INTERVIEW: THOMAS SHAPIRO AND WILL RADULA-SCOTT PHOTOS: FABIAN BODET OPENING PHOTO: MATT GEORGES
192 VDLR.indd 92
05.11.2018 02:30
The artist and his canvas in Saas Fe
192 VDLR.indd 93
05.11.2018 02:30
B
ack in October we had the opportunity to sit down with Victor de Le Rue at the House of Vans, London prior to the release of his new film, Frozen Mind. Victor is a world-class big mountain snowboarder with a unique freestyle flair when it comes to hitting steep, icy lines in uncharted territories.
Victor is no stranger to the limelight, having filmed many standout video parts for the likes of Standard, Absinthe and TransWorld films. In his latest effort, Frozen Mind, Victor embarks on a solo filming project and the results are spectacular, setting a new benchmark not just for his comrades-in-country, but for big mountain extremism in general. Read on as we discuss this milestone project with the French revolutionary.
All about that ice. VDLR flossin’, east face of Mont Blanc du Tacul.
19.2
VDLR’S FROZEN MIND
Alongside fellow riders like Arthur Longo, Victor Daviet, Mathieu Crépel and, of course, his older brother Xavier, Victor has been helping to quite literally carve out the way for the current French revolution in the world of snowboarding. Blockbusting video parts and poignant work from French photographers like Jérôme Tanon, Julien “Perly” Petry and Fabian Bodet have helped this new guard make an outsized impression across the boardsphere.
192 VDLR.indd 94
05.11.2018 02:30
How did your new film, Frozen Mind, come about? The idea was to go and ride some steep lines with one of my best friends from high school in the Pyrenees. I’ve always snowboarded and he’s always been a ski racer, so I was busy with all my filming trips and competitions and he moved to Chamonix and wanted to become a guide. We decided, OK, let’s team up.
These lines that you venture to, do people ride them a lot? No, most of those places only get hit once or twice a year. You have to wait the whole winter, checking the face and the forecast. Then some days it’s like - “BAM!” - today is the day. Then the week after it’s like spring or summer (conditions) again. You have a very narrow window of opportunity and almost no margin for error.
The way that Frozen Mind is filmed with P.O.V. and drone cameras makes it feel very personal, like we are up there with you. Why did you chose to film it in that style? Well, we wanted the quality of shots to be great but it’s hard when you take a drone up that high. A drone only has a range of 500 meters and in the big mountains the filmers are always lower than that so they have to climb a little bit too, or even climb the whole thing. The drone footage helps to really show Last year we said, “Hey, why don’t we try to do a full movie, the perspective of where we are and is better than just having focus and try to do some really cools lines. To ride those steep a fixed angle where it’s often hard to tell how steep the line is. lines you have to wait until like April or May. In the meantime We used the P.O.V. cams to really show the behind the scenes I went on my own and I wanted to do more alpine stuff, ride of what it takes to climb and ride some of these lines, and next to glaciers, crevasses and seracs. I called Fredi Kalbermat- again, to show how steep those faces really are. If you watch ten and we teamed up and shot a bunch there in Sass Fee, his an edit of footage with just hits, it’s sometimes easy to forget home spot. I was super stoked to ride with Fredi again because the work that goes into even getting to the top. You just think, the first time I rode in an international production, for Stand- “Oh cool, whatever, this guy just rides sick lines,” but actually ard Films, he called me and said, “Hey, it’s Fredi. We’re going it’s so much work. To make this movie we went from the sixth to shoot together.” This was six years ago and he is the guy of January to the 25th of May. It’s a lot of work just to be ready who showed me everything. He taught me so much, like how every day in case the conditions are right. to build a proper cheese wedge and so many other things. So I was very excited this year to be able to reconnect with him six The steepness isn’t even the worst part actually. When you hit or seven years later and explore another chapter of us riding all those lines, they’re usually at 3,500 meters or something. together. It was way more extreme being on the glacier all You usually ride the north face so there’s a bunch of ice and the time because you have these crazy holes beneath you and the problem is that you can see that it looks white but don’t have to be very careful. Everything is way nicer looking but a know if it’s just five centimeters of powder with blue ice lot scarier. underneath. If it is just blue ice covered in snow and you lose your edge you will just slide and there’s no way to stop. You Let’s talk about your friend Pierre for a second. You guys just fall down the mountain. You need to spend a lot of time were high school friends? there to check the conditions and know what you’re doing. Yes, he was one of my best friends from high school when we were in the Pyrenees. It was a sports school. We always liked It seems like you were riding quite a lot with the ice picks to push and challenge each other and mess around. We used ready. to get into some bullshit together. It was the same way when You don’t really have a choice. If you try to access a zone we would ride in the mountains together, too. Always pushwhere there’s ice everywhere but you don’t know if it’s 15 ing each other, having a good time and messing around. centimeters deep and it’s OK or if it’s just five centimeters, you need to always be ready to go for it. I try not to overthink it, This was the first video production we did together. As I men- though. I just focus on my riding. You have the picks for safety tioned, he showed me Chamonix a few years ago and we had just in case something goes down. three amazing days that gave me a great taste of what was out there and the potential for more. He’s been a guide there Why did you decide to hike those specific lines? Is there a for years so he knew where to go when it came to planning story behind any of them? the film. There was one that I’ve wanted to do for a long time, the Aiguille du Plan. That’s the one I flew off with the paraglide. In the film you set off on a night hike where you reach the It is a crazy hanging glacier that you can see from the village peak for a glorious sunrise. Is this something you’ve atand you’re like, “How the fuck do people get down that?” You tempted before? can’t understand it. I’ve never done a night hike with ice axes and stuff before so that was the first time. It was pretty scary because you know I knew people had done it, and my brother (Xavier) did it years there are huge hanging glaciers and there’s nothing you can ago, so I knew it was possible. We took a good look at it and do about it. They could break at any time so you can’t waste that was one of the biggest objectives we had for the film. We any time getting through there. It’s also scary because it’s blue checked it out all winter from the bottom and I flew with my ice, which makes it super difficult to hike and climb. We had paraglide next to it to take a bunch of pictures. We studied to wake up at 2:30 a.m. and we reached the peak at 7:14 a.m. some books to get more information and watched old movies. That was pretty cool. Then, at some point, we just decided to go. The riding is actually not that bad if the snow is good but it’s also, as always, Actually, he called me two years ago and said, “You should come to Chamonix and I’ll show you a few lines.” On the first day we were doing some super mellow, classic runs and on the third day we were already riding under the cables of the Aiguille du Midi, which are super gnarly, super-exposed runs and we had amazing conditions. It’s crazy that we were able to do that on day three.
192 VDLR.indd 95
05.11.2018 02:31
19.2
VDLR’S FROZEN MIND
Ripping an insane descent down Mont Dulent
192 VDLR.indd 96
05.11.2018 02:31
192 VDLR.indd 97
05.11.2018 02:31
VDLR’S FROZEN MIND
Victor dropping in on the Aiguille du Plan north face
ally not that bad if the snow is good but it’s also, as always, a case of is it ice or is it snow? If you go, you have to commit, or else you have to climb it all back again. And if it’s ice and you have to climb it’s pretty bad - it’s a huge face with a huge glacier underneath, so sliding or falling isn’t really an option.
19.2
So the whole time when you’re riding you’re thinking, “If I fall I’m dead?” Well, that’s the spicy side of it I guess. What is it that makes you want to ride these lines, that draws you to this danger? I don’t know. You just see it and it’s attractive. You know you can do it and it’s an epic place surrounded by seracs. It’s super intense, so much energy. There’s always a way down and you dream to do it, you know you have the abilities. If you just look briefly at a face then yeah, it’s going to look crazy. But if you break it down, you find out that maybe it
192 VDLR.indd 98
will work. For the Aiguille du Plan, one of the problems with this line is at some point you end up on top of a huge hanging glacier. You have two options at that point: you can rappel down, but that’s super sketchy, and it’s super difficult to find a place to put the rappel. It’s super technical to go down with rappels because the rock is so smooth. You don’t really have anything to grab onto. The other option is to climb up again for an hour and a half and go down another super sketchy couloir. That’s kind of where I had the idea to jump off that huge serac with my paraglide. It worked out and it was so fucking amazing. I met my buddy a couple hours later at the bottom. Could you tell us why you decided to name the film, Frozen Mind? Because my friend and I are really drawn to ice. Whenever
05.11.2018 02:31
Line hunting at Bochard
we see a big ice sheet we want to go over and ride it. Also because we were so focused on our objective of hitting the Aiguille du Plan, the one I flew off with the paraglide. The title Frozen Mind defined the way we looked at what we were determined to do. I was so focused, checking lines out every day and training so that when the day came I’d be ready. Is that a mindset that translates to your everyday life and how you see snowboarding? Yes, exactly. When I do things I like to give them one hundred percent and Frozen Mind really captures that feeling for me. How was Frozen Mind different from other projects you’ve filmed in the past? This time I was producing the film. It was a lot more work to put everything together but it was cool to be able to make my own decisions and call the shots. This was a smaller crew where everyone was close. That’s important when you’re
192 VDLR.indd 99
heading into dangerous glaciers. It allowed me to take the time to hit exactly the stuff I wanted to hit. We understand you’ve just joined the Freeride World Tour? Yeah, I just joined but I’ve never done a freeride competition before. I’m excited to try a new format of snowboarding and meet some new people. We’ll see how it goes, I’ll give it a try. Why not? Do you consider yourself more explorer or snowboarder? I’m just a snowboarder who loves different sides of snowboarding. Freeriding in Alaska and steep lines in Chamonix, but I also love to throw a one-footer and get into some freestyle. I like the diversity. That’s what attracts me. I don’t like repetition and I’m always looking for something new to challenge myself. Learning feels good. This year my new challenge is to try these competitions but I’ll be filming in different ways, too.
05.11.2018 02:31
P H O T O : S E A N K E R R I C K S U L L I VA N
L O C AT I O N : OV R O N N A Z , S W I T Z E R L A N D
192 GALLERY.indd 100
05.11.2018 02:33
RIDER: JUDD HENKES
TRICK: SLASH
192 GALLERY.indd 101
05.11.2018 02:33
PHOTO: E-STON E RIDER: REID SMITH
192 GALLERY.indd 102
L O C AT I O N : Q U E B E C , C A N A DA T R I C K : WA L L R I D E T O 5 0 - 5 0
05.11.2018 02:33
PHOTO: OLI GAG NON
L O C AT I O N : W H I S T L E R
192 GALLERY.indd 103
RIDER: HANA BEAMAN
TRICK: PI LLOW CHARG I N’
05.11.2018 02:34
192 GALLERY.indd 104
05.11.2018 02:35
PHOTO: TH EO ACWORTH RIDER: DOMINIK BRUNNER
L O C AT I O N : S E E F E L D, AU S T R I A T R I C K : WA L L I E
PHOTO: TH EO ACWORTH R I D E R : M I C H I S C H AT Z
L O C AT I O N : N O R D K E T T E , AU S T R I A T R I C K : L AY B A C K
05.11.2018 02:35
192 GALLERY.indd 105
192 GALLERY.indd 106
05.11.2018 02:35
PHOTO: HOWZEE R I D E R : KO H E I K U D O
L O C AT I O N : A S A H I K AWA , JA PA N T R I C K : F S B OA R D S L I D E
PHOTO: HOWZEE RI DER: KEVI N BACKSTROM + TOR LU N DSTROM
L O C AT I O N : L A A X TRICK: DOUBLE TIME
05.11.2018 02:36
192 GALLERY.indd 107
PHOTO: COLE MARTI N R I D E R : C O L E N AV I N
L O C AT I O N : M O S C O W TRICK: 50-50
192 GALLERY.indd 108
05.11.2018 02:36
PHOTO: PONCH I KZ RIDER: SIMON HOULIND
L O C AT I O N : K U O P I O, F I N L A N D T R I C K : B OA R D S L I D E
192 GALLERY.indd 109
05.11.2018 02:36
192 GUIDE.indd 110
05.11.2018 02:44
Indeed it does. The trick is knowing how to roll with it. YUNG DOLI PORTRAIT BY HOWZEE
192 GUIDE.indd 135
05.11.2018 02:52
HAND BUILT AT THE WORLD’S ONLY 100% HYDRO POWERED SNOWBOARD MANUFACTURING FACILITY—THE CAPiTA MOTHERSHIP.
JOURNEY BEYOND DESTINATION
INTERDIMENSIONAL EXPLORERS CLUB
05.11.2018 01:30
ADS 192 BACK.indd 136
ULTRAFEAR
N
CAPiTASNOWBOARDING.COM
ADS 192 BACK.indd 137
05.11.2018 01:30
UNION SPECIFIC INNOVATIONS
PREMIER HIGH PERFORMANCE " Years in the making, when I sat down at the drawing board with the Union crew, we had strict goals for the Falcor: Create a binding that is crazy light, yet super strong with a flex range built for nearly all conditions. This is truly MY binding.” -TRAVIS RICE TECH HIGHLIGHTS: 1
2
FORGED HYBRID HIGHBACK
FORMA ELITE ANKLE STRAP
Lightweight heelside power combined with lateral freedom.
Rapid Response fused with pillowed comfort.
3
4
STAGE 6 MD BASE
VAPORLITE BUSHINGS
Strength to weight ratio second to none.
Multi-Layered design provides a natural 3° canting.
DEDICATED TO INNOVATION AND MANUFACTURING
UNION BINDING COMPANY
STRONGER.
INSTAGRAM:@UNIONBINDINGCO
ADS 192 BACK.indd 138
WEB:UNIONBINDINGCOMPANY.COM
05.11.2018 03:57
RIDER/LOCATION
TRAVIS RICE ALASKA
ADS 192 BACK.indd 139
05.11.2018 03:57
R E A L
S N O W B O A R D I N G
19.2
Bez nazwy-7 1
05.11.2018 03:43