Method Mag Issue 22.3

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BRADY LEM, SWITCH BOARDSLIDE PHOTO. DARRELL MATHES

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METHOD 21 -----------

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16. FABRIC 34. NORA BECK 40. STEP MOTHER 50. LYON FARRELL - WHAT AM I DOING? 60. ANNIKA MORGAN 64. THE UNTITLED PAGE 66. WOLLE NYVELT ---------- 22.3

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74. M62 82. HANNAH EDDY 90. GOT THE SHOT 92. NATURAL SELECTION 98. ESCAPE 4 U 106. BAD PLANS CO-VID

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CONTENT

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AS

snowboarders, it’s in our nature to find ways around the obstacles that life puts in our way. How we find our way home when we get lost in the woods on a pow day? How do we get speed for this rail? And how do we avoid the pedestrian who’s walked into the landing as you’ve just locked in? The COVID-19 pandemic is the latest hurdle we’ve all had to face, but face it we have, and the content from Volume 22 of Method Mag is a testament to the fact that snowboarders are pretty good at overcoming problems and getting shit done.

I can draw comparisons to my own experience as the editor of this magazine. When I started this job two years ago, I had no idea how to do it. I was a huge fan of the mag and had always dreamed of working for Method, but I’d never been an editor before. I’d submit a hopeful folder of photos each year and I’d written a few stories, but that was as far as my experience extended. So when I was asked if I was interested in the role, my options were to either take a shot, or to say no. It’s pretty obvious which choice I made.

I still regularly second-guess myself, but I crack on regardless, and I’m having so much fun figuring out how the hell to do this.

But this is me talking about myself again, and Method isn’t about me. Method is about all of you, and it always has been. The more people who contribute, the more interesting this mag will be. So consider this an open call. If you have a story that you think should be told, if you have a friend you think is worthy of an interview, if you think there’s something lacking that you’d like to see in the mag, please let us know. Better yet, have a stab at putting a piece together yourself. You don’t have to be a qualified writer or photographer, you just have to be willing to try. We can’t guarantee that we’ll run what you send us, but just making an effort is enough to get our attention, and Method is an open door for anyone who wants to take a shot. That’s what I did, and I’ve ended up as the editor.

Hold fast, tweak hard, and enjoy the winter.

THEO X

We [Beyond Medals] found this natural quarter pipe in Riksgränsen, and the guys got some shots on it in the first week of shooting. Sharing our tales got the other crews in the area psyched to join in if we returned, so at the end of the second week we got everyone together for a really epic session. Tor Lundström, Kevin Backström, Sebbe De Buck, Ludvig Billtoft, Ulrik Badertscher, Johan Nordhag, Ylfa Runarsdottir, Sven Thorgren, and Rene Rinnekangas, plus four filmers, three photographers, and a few friendly locals beating their drums and downing beers. A proper seasonender.

JOHAN NORDHAG, BARREL-ROLL METHOD TO FAKE PHOTO. ALEX ROBERTS

Out of all the heavy hitters riding in that session, Johan’s shot was my favourite as it’s a really unique trick - Barrel-roll Method to fakie. Check his film All Spice for the footage. Johan has such a smooth, calm style, especially when inverted.

What also makes this Swedish Method in Riksgränsen significant is that it was 25 years to the day since legendary Swede Ingemar Backman did his iconic backside air at Riks, which ended up on many magazine covers in the 90’s. I’m so stoked you chose this one for the cover, thanks heaps guys! - Alex Roberts This spot. Andreas Grong and I had shot two spots that day in the freezing cold, one with Ærø and one with Rustad. We decided to grab some food and go check out this big ass lamp we’d heard about.

We got there, and all the snow was hard as ice.

We were in the middle of a global pandemic, there was a real chance we wouldn’t make it back there again that season, so we were motivated to at least get something. We got the spot set up, and the temperature dropped dramatically. I managed one shot before all my equipment froze and refused to work. We came back first thing the next morning, set the spot up once again and managed one more shot before the giant lamp switched off. Two frames. That was it. Never did we image it would end up as a cover. We were out from 10 in the morning until 1am, and it was probably the best day of shooting we’ve ever put in. All three of the spots are in the magazine. - Chris Baldry ANDREAS GRONG, FS BOARDSLIDE PHOTO. CHRIS BALDRY

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EDITOR IN CHIEF:

THEO ACWORTH theo@methodmag.com ONLINE EDITOR & SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER:

WILL RADULA-SCOTT will@methodmag.com

NORTHERN CORRESPONDENT:

CAITLIN MURRAY caitlin@methodmag.com ART DIRECTOR:

MACIEJ PRZĘŻAK ONLINE GRAPHIC DESIGN:

AGATA SZKARŁAT

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS:

Darrell Mathes, Erin Hogue, Tim Zimmerman, Matthew Bruhns, Chad Chomlack, Jianca Lazarus, Adad Leiterman, Aaron Sterwerf, Syo Van Vliet, Leonie Sailer, Theo Acworth, Stephan Jende, Jake Pollock, Ponchikz, Riley Smoller, Finlay Woods, Myles Laurion, Troy Tanner, Campbell Farrell, Ryan Johnson, Mark Wiitanen, Josh Bishop, Perly, Beckna, Hidde Hageman, Will Smith, Nauris Putenis, Craig Robinson, Nando Dullaart, Kasper de Zoete, Liam Glass, Jaysson Gallant, Roni Järvensivu, Oli Gagnon, Vitalik Drachuk, Daniel Loosli, Dario Burch, Antonin Maudry, Kevin Kathers, Chris Baldry, Ponchikz CONTRIBUTING WRITERS:

Chris Baldry, Caitlin Murray, Robin Van Gyn, Estelle Pensiero, Spencer O’Brien, Rose Archie, Jessa Gilbert, Maria Thomsen, Marie-France Roy, Chelsea Woody, Danielle Black Lyons, Martina Duran, Kirill Korobkov, Hugo Dubé Bouchard SALES & ADVERTISING: Chris McAlpine chriso@methodmag.com Skype: chrisomcalpine +46 729 338 556 DISTRIBUTION: Steve Dowle steve@methodmag.com PRINTERS: TUIJTEL Industriestraat 10 | 3371 XD PO box 18 | 3370 AA Hardinxveld-Giessendam | NL DISTRIBUTION: Rhenus Logistics Eektestraat 2, 7575 AP Oldenzaal The Netherlands METHOD MEDIA LTD Method Media Pantiles Chambers 85 High St Royal Tunbridge Wells TN1 1XP England Tel:(+44) (0) 871-218-9978

Copyright 2021 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! METHOD 21 --------------------- 22.3

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De te Th

Designed to reflect diversity in terrain, snow, and riding styles.

This is our vision of powder riding.

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METHOD 21 -----------

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SPENCER O’BRIEN PHOTO. ERIN HOGUE

INTRO. CAITLIN MURRAY

FABRIC, A 5-PART VIDEO SERIES CO-DIRECTED AND PRODUCED BY ROBIN VAN GYN AND HER TEAM, NARRATES THE RAW AND UNIQUE STORIES OF A GROUP OF ATHLETES, ARTISTS AND ADVOCATES FOR WHOM SPORT IS THE VEHICLE, NOT THE DESTINATION. EACH EPISODE FEATURES MENTORS, STUDENTS AND POSITIVE ROLE MODELS IN SNOW, SURF, AND SKATE, ALL WITH A SHARED GOAL OF CREATING SPACE AND EQUAL PARTICIPATION FOR OTHERS TO THRIVE AFTER THEM. THE LADIES INVOLVED IN THIS PROJECT ARE ORCHESTRATING CHANGE ON THEIR OWN TERMS, AND IT’S CLEAR TO SEE THE DEPTH TO THE NARRATIVE OF WOMEN IN ACTION SPORTS. WE SPOKE TO A BUNCH OF THEM TO GET A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THEIR ROLE IN FABRIC AND WHAT IT IS THEY STAND FOR. AT THE END OF THE DAY, THE CONNECTION WE HAVE TO THE PEOPLE AND THE PLACES AROUND US IS WHAT MAKES OUR LIVES RICHER, SO LET’S ALL SHOW UP, BE KIND AND MAKE THE FUTURE A BETTER AND MORE INCLUSIVE PLACE TO BE.

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ROBIN VAN GYN Hey Robin, you’ve put together an amazing documentary series and film that highlights the stories of athletes, artists and advocates of various sports. How did this idea come about?

Honestly, I was just surrounded by so many amazing humans contributing to forward progress, but there was a big question mark over why, outside ripping, the other parts of their life weren’t being featured. I think we tend only to celebrate the people who are elite athletes, and it’s weird. Our heroes should be the people doing the work to make our futures better, not necessarily who is going the biggest.

There are some incredible women and stories to be told in this project.

How did you pull together such a diverse line-up? Did people reach out to you, or are these people you’ve met on your travels?

Some of them were close friends, others acquaintances, and some I only followed on social media but was a total fan of. Once there was some strategy for filming the project, the people we needed to work with became very obvious organically.

You co-directed and produced Fabric, is this your biggest & most

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PHOTO. TIM ZIMMERMAN

ambitious video project to date?

Ya, this is definitely the biggest undertaking I have ever embarked on. Nothing I have done stacks up to this mountain of a project *laughs*. It became so much bigger than it was originally supposed to be. But once we got going, the stories became so much bigger because they were important, it was just too difficult to leave much behind. In truth, we had to pick and choose our battles, but most of these women are deserving of their own films dedicated to what they do.

This idea that connection to people, place and pursuit is what makes us human. How do you follow this in your daily life?

Honestly, I just do what I can with the tools and skills that I have. I am by no means perfect, and I am a hypocrite in so many ways, but I just make a conscious effort to pay attention and be respectful as much as I can.

Do you have any advice for anyone else pushing their sports in similar directions?

I would say that if it seems like it’s unattainable, make small goals and baby steps that will get you there eventually. It will take time and a lot of work, but you will get there eventually if you stick with it. I was never

naturally talented at snowboarding. I just loved it and kept at it long enough to get where I am now.

You won Natural Selection last year in an epic battle with NZ ripper Zoi Sadowski-Synott. Any big winter plans this year?

Ya I did. It was a huge accomplishment for me. I was so stoked to compete against Zoi, I just have so much respect for her snowboarding, and when you’re competing, I think it’s rad to compete against the best in the game. That’s when you get a good battle and progress in snowboarding.

I will definitely be back on tour and can’t wait to stand next to all the amazing athletes that will be invited.

It’s a true honour to be on that roster of humans.

Last words are yours: I just want to give a special thank you to all of the women who trusted me with their stories and supported this project. Also big thank you to all of my family, my sponsors and especially our team working tirelessly on Fabric with me. RESPECT.

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PHOTO. ERIN HOGUE

ESTELLE PENSIERO I think that the backcountry is a place where gut feelings are respected more than anywhere else. If a group member speaks up about their intuition telling them not to ride a certain slope or not to tour up a certain route, more often than not, everyone in the group trusts that feeling and changes the plan. Somehow, we just know deep down when it’s not the time to do something and when people’s lives are on the line, that intuitive knowledge telling us to save that line for another day has some serious weight. I am honestly still learning how to tell whether the voice inside my head is the voice of fear chirping at me not to try new things or the deep intuition guiding me towards safe decisions. My struggle has been learning to differentiate the two.

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more than anything. Learning about the actual mechanics of avalanches and the factors that produce them has also helped. I used to have no idea why I had these feelings of yes and no, so it was way harder to trust them and believe that they had any merit. But after learning how to understand what’s going on under the snow and what conditions and terrain would produce an avalanche, my gut feelings are informed, and I know they are valid because I can back them up with evidence and realworld, concrete data.

Last winter, I spent a lot of time with Robin and other guides who have mountains of backcountry experience. I am so grateful for the opportunity to learn from them and watch the graceful way they move through the backcountry and make hard decisions look easy.

Robin has so much more experience in the mountains than I do. Through experienced people like her sharing their knowledge with me, I have been able to build my own backcountry knowledge with a stepping stool instead of starting from ground zero. I guess that’s what mentorship means to me. I can learn from the experiences of those before me, so I don’t have to make the same mistakes as them. I can make my own mistakes and share my own stories alongside my mentor’s stories with the generation after me. Essentially, everyone’s just paving the way for whoever they choose to mentor by making their own mistakes. I’m just so thankful for everyone who has taken the time to share their knowledge with me. It means more than anything. It sounds so cheesy, but the gift of knowledge and experience is the best gift of all.

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FABRIC 17.11.2021 00:18

ROSE ARCHIE

SPENCER O’BRIEN

My journey with my culture has been very complex. It wasn’t prominent in my household growing up, and I didn’t feel connected to my heritage on a deep level. It was something I acknowledged but didn’t act on or integrate in any real way.

Through my sister’s Meghann and Avis’ individual journeys, I have connected the dots and found a part of myself I didn’t know was missing. Each person has a unique and beautiful cultural makeup, and I am discovering how much power lies within that. I am finding that when we harness that power of understanding ourselves, we are capable of so much more than we ever imagined. I see this power in women like Sandy Ward and Rose Archie, and I’m inspired when I hear their stories and watch them walk their truth.

Creating visibility in action sports is so important to me. I believe it will empower the next generation.

The opportunity to break down barriers and give space will allow others to learn about the traditional and cultural differences that connect us all together in different ways. If we continue to build a community where everyone can be proud of who they are and where they come from, the action sports world will be honouring and preserving so many cultures. Part of one’s confidence is being heard and seen for who they are, and everyone should feel comfortable in their own skin and not ashamed to showcase their true identity. Action sports can help lead the way and change the narrative to be more inclusive when it comes to visibility.

My first time meeting Spencer was super special.

I invited her to be a guest at an event that Nations Skate Youth did on Indigenous Day called „Skate for Change”. It worked out perfectly because our Fabric episode is focused on Cultural Heritage.

After hearing Spencer’s story, we connected right away, and Fabric did a great job documenting it for everyone to see and get inspired.

PHOTO. ERIN HOGUE

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METHOD 21 -----------

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JESSA GILBERT

I think for a long time, I compared what I was doing to others and tried to make myself fit into a box, whether that be athlete or artist. No matter how I contorted myself, I never fitted - my passion for snowboarding didn’t seem to belong in the art and gallery world, and my art didn’t seem to align with my outdoor community. I always felt like an anomaly and tried for a long time to keep those passions separated, almost as if I were trying to hide one from the other. I moved to BC in 2013, and for one reason or another, I decided to stop caring about belonging and just go towards what felt good [moving to a city of strangers and coming out of the dark hole of injury makes you look at the world a little differently, I guess]. I didn’t wake up one day and know what my future would look like, but I decided to get out of my own way and take a chance at trying something new, one day at a time. I realise now that I thwarted my growth by constantly telling myself what and who I wasn’t rather than focusing on cultivating my passions. I try to forget about the galleries I’m not in, the snowboard tricks I don’t do, and the titles I don’t have. Instead, I focus on how good it feels to create from a place of wonder, awe, and joy. Those feelings you get from play, exploration, and snowboarding. I think my artwork connects with others because of all that. Because, for many of us, snowboarding started as an activity and became more of a lifestyle, community, and place of refuge.

PHOTO. MATTHEW BRUHNS

MARIA THOMSEN

I have come to realise that you can create your own reality even after having children. It took me a while to get there. While being pregnant, I had a mountain of worries about how motherhood was going to fit in with my lifestyle as a snowboarder.

I didn’t have any role models that seemed to have the same life as me. My own mother stopped her handball career when she was pregnant with me.

It was hard to picture that it was possible. But determination, adaptation and trusting my own intuition have made me understand that you can shape the life you want with or without children.

With overcoming any challenge, there’s a reward of empowerment. It was an important lesson for me to learn that the power is in my own hands, and it translates to any part of my life. It has also benefited me to witness and connect with other mothers pursuing their ambitions. Just trust yourself and work hard. I don’t think there’s only one recipe. We’re all different. I can’t tell anyone how to live their life or how to parent, but whatever your dreams and goals look like, you got this.

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PHOTO. ERIN HOGUE

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PHOTO. ERIN HOGUE

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METHOD 21 -----------

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PHOTO. ERIN HOGUE

MARIE-FRANCE ROY

PHOTO. CHAD CHOMLACK

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As people who benefit so much from nature, I feel that it is our responsibility to do all that we can to help protect it. The outdoors and wild ecosystems are essential not only to sustain life and ensure our survival but are also vital for our wellbeing, for a sustainable economy, for true reconciliation with Indigenous peoples and their land, as a source of joy and a space that creates community. To have access to the outdoors, fresh air and clean water on a daily basis is a huge privilege, and with it should come a mutually nurturing relationship. If we, the people most privileged and the most directly connected to nature, fail to show up and stand up to protect what is left, then who will?

It can be challenging and daunting to find the right ways to activate, and none of it will ever feel perfect or good enough, but I believe that we must keep faith in the power of people coming together to take action. Many movements throughout history have proven that they can create positive global change.

Nobody has to save the world alone, but if everyone just shows up to the best of their abilities, with whatever time they can spare, with whatever skills they can offer that feel comfortable to them, with respect, love and support for each other and for Mother Earth, we can make the world a much better place.

This is a time of emergency, we are living in a climate crisis that affects us all, and that is also directly linked to social justice. We owe it not only to the future generations but also to our own because we all benefit from protecting what gives us life in the first place.

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CHELSEA WOODY, DANIELLE BLACK LYONS, MARTINA DURAN INTERVIEW. CAITLIN MURRAY PHOTO. JIANCA LAZARUS

What is Textured Waves, and how is it connected to the idea of community?

Textured Waves was created by three African American female surfers to amplify diversity in surfing. As black women who surf, we often felt our imagery and women who looked like us were missing from the narrative.

Although the imagery is starting to emerge out of the woodwork, media outlets and mainstream surf have essentially ignored the existence of black women in this space. We decided to stop waiting for someone to share our stories and create the space and community we wanted to see and felt needed to be represented. We started out as an online platform because this allowed us to control our own narrative.

We then branched out to working with brands and eventually holding our own meetups and gatherings.

We feature women from all over the globe, whether professional or

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leisurely surfers. We feel that the imagery, films, books, etc. should reflect the world we see every day.

know that whatever they dream can be theirs. We are not limited by the things we cannot yet see.

You have a very powerful voice in surfing in empowering the voices of African American women. What are your aspirations with TW? Our motivation was giving the next generation of young black women who may take up surfing something to stand on. We want to give them what we didn’t see. We hoped what we would create would make black women, especially African American women, never question their presence in outdoor and aquatic spaces. We don’t want the future generations to worry about seeing the imagery or building the community, but just to be free to enjoy the art and feeling of surfing without hesitation. Ultimately this is not just about action sports. It’s a reflection of society at large. We want black and brown women to

Last words are yours: We are reclaiming a space that was always meant to be ours. When the narrative is dominated by a particular voice, you often don’t get other viewpoints, and folks feel that they do not belong. We want black and brown women to confidently take up space. We have seen so many new groups getting brown and black women in the outdoors emerge since the pandemic, and we are so excited about that. We know there is still a long way to go, but we do see change happening before our eyes, and that is amazing. Sometimes you work so hard at something and don’t get to see the effects of it until later down the road, and it’s really empowering to see how the narrative is shifting.

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IAN, AL NASH, DANNY SOKOL, TANNER MANNINEN. PHOTO. ADAM LEITERMAN

DANNY SOKOL. PHOTO. ADAM LEITERMAN

AL NASH. PHOTO. AARON STERWERF 22.3

POSSE PAGE

WORDS. IAN CICHACKI

Where is American Dirt from?

Southeastern Wisconsin, USA What does the name mean?

Some dirty dudes from the Midwest make a shred flick.

Who’s the most organised of the crew?

We all work pretty well together.

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Who’s the loosest member of the crew?

The homie, long neck Kramer, wild as hell. Absolutely off his shits. Hits the bong while driving, straight chucks carc, no regard for human life.

What gets the crew fired up the most?

Kwik Trip and a fresh pack of natives.

What’s the crew technique for dealing with kickouts?

It depends on the spot. Usually, explain yourself and try to reason with the hero that is wanting to kick you out. Offer to clean up the spot better than it was before you got there. „We will come back and paint the rail”.

Feel out the vibe of the hero and see if you can convince them for a couple more attempts. If the hero calls in the feds, give it a few more tries and start to clean up. Or at least act like it so

when/if the narcs show, you can say you were in the process of leaving.

One memorable story from the winter: We were at this spot, and Mikey was banging this girl in the back of Kevin’s Jeep. Sammy D was running the generator, wasted, and went back to the car to grab more beers. He doesn’t even notice the two in the car.

He comes back to the spot and starts asking if anyone had gotten a fish fry cause he thought Kevin’s car smelt bad.

What’s up with American Dirt 4?

One-year project to be released this year. Coming soon.

Last words are yours: Don’t get caught slippin’. Less is more.

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Giro_Con

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9/1/21 9:28 AM 13.11.2021 14:53

22.3

LITTLE LABELS

How did Brethren start?

A: I was studying Fashion at university and Chris had been snowboarding around the world for a few years.

He called me about making a few products for himself that he couldn’t find on the market. We realised that if he wanted this gear, maybe other people would too. We made a few samples, and then a small batch of hats which he sold out of the back of his van at the snowdomes in the UK. Eight years on, we’ve got a full range of garms, stockists throughout Europe and sell internationally online.

What’s the attitude behind Brethren?

C: The real heartbeat of the brand is the people-over-profit mantra. There’s something about the community aspect of this lifestyle that drew Chris in from an early age, long before Brethren began. We try to convey that in how we present ourselves to the market, how we treat our customers and the people we work with, even down to the name of the brand [which is the old English term for brothers].

How do you split your roles?

A: We’re still figuring this out! It’s very much a ‘whatever needs doing gets done’ kind of approach. We work on the designs together. I still make the initial samples right on the kitchen table and am mostly in charge of getting them from A to B. Chris does sales and the webstore. We’re both awful at marketing. If anyone would

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INTERVIEW WITH SIBLINGS CHRIS & AISLING KYTE PHOTO. SYO VAN VLIET & LEONIE SAILER

like to help out, apply within! We’ve never been ones to toot our own horns and say our gear’s really great and you should buy it… But it is, and you should!!

£500 to buy fabric. So we’ve grown organically, but we’ve never really had the budgets to promote ourselves up there with the industry giants, so not too many people know about us.

Tell us the story about winning that competition.

A: So when we were first starting up, we were given an opportunity to enter a Santander Dragon’s Den contest and win £5K through my university.

Anyone who’s met us will know that we don’t really believe in polishing ourselves into something we’re not, so we came pretty casually dressed, mildly prepared but pumped to talk about our ideas and plans. We were met with rows of suits who’d been there all day and instantly thought, ‘Ohhhhh lucifer, what have we done?’.

When they first announced the winners, they pronounced my name wrong in a way I didn’t recognise.

[Ed. It’s pronounced Ash-ling]. I thought someone else had won, so I sat politely clapping until Chris shook me and said it was me, we won! It seems our approachable style was well received. That paid for our first production run in London and was the end of me making everything by hand in the garage.

What have you learnt along the way?

C: Everything. We started with zero business acumen and definitely could have made some better calls. One of the most valuable things we’ve taken away is the importance of a solid network. We’d not be where we are today without all the people who’ve helped us out along the way and are still helping us now. We’re grateful for every single one of ya! We try to pass this forward whenever we can.

What are the biggest challenges you face as a small brand?

C: Promotion. We’re completely independent and have never taken financial backing, except from our grandma, who loaned us our first

What might people not know about Brethren?

C: We’ve started donating to snow charities with every online sale, directly off our own profit margin.

There’s also the option to add your own donation at the checkout, where we wholeheartedly encourage everyone to contribute.

What’s coming up in the future for you?

A: We’re dipping further into the softshell outerwear line. Watch this space!

Last words are yours: Be kind, but give ‘em hell. Also, don’t break the law while you’re breaking the law.

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RIDE_PS

SNOWBOARDS FOR EVERYBODY

RIDER: HANA BEAMAN PHOTO: ERIK HOFFMAN

RIDER: SEVERIN VAN DER MEER AS SEEN IN CHROMA PHOTO: SILVANO ZEITER

EQUALLY PSYCHO

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ART PAGE

GRIFFIN SIEBERT

Do you have a background in art, or is it a more recent thing?

Not at all! I actually have a degree in geology. But when my dad first got out of college, he was an art teacher, and he recently gave me all these art supplies and linocut stuff, which I’m hyped on. I did some of my own Nitro graphics, and a couple of years ago I did an internship with Paul Brown. I showed that I was willing to learn, and Nitro gave me the opportunity. Then COVID hit, and I worked at a little local grocery store for that summer. It was actually pretty fun. I was still painting and playing on the computer, then last year Nitro offered me a job as a graphic designer.

on furniture at the moment. Most of my board graphics have been painted or drawn by hand. I’m a huge advocate for that. It has that human touch, and you start to love the imperfections.

22.3

How do you balance the two?

It can work, but it can also be a little tricky to give each one enough time.

Sometimes I’d feel like I was blowing it with one or the other. This year Nitro gave me a cool little window where I have more freedom to ride. It’s nice because they obviously understand what I need to do in the winter because I work for them in that regard too.

Do you bounce from one medium to another, or do you have specific things that you get into for a while?

A bit of both. I’ve always been a fan of surfboards and how they’re glassed, so I kind of got into resin art. I’m the sort of person who has to go do something outside like climb or skate, then all of a sudden, an idea pops into my head, and I just have to get home and do it. I like to do different things, so I would say mixed media is my thing. I’m also stoked about painting

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What other things do you find inspiration from?

Lately, I’ve been stoked on old cars and basketball. Just random stuff that’s not in snowboarding. Skateboard art is so disposable, so I think they can get more wild with ideas. Snowboards are a bit trickier because they’re a big purchase for someone, but I think we need more of that skateboard art culture in snowboard graphics.

Obviously, there’s room for clean boards like Gentemsticks that are just so pretty, but it’s also fun to get colourful and weird.

You’ve done a few designs with Autumn. How did those come about, and what’s it like working with them?

Brad [Alband] and Jeff [Richards] knew that I doodled and painted, so they asked me to do something for them. Working with them is always super fun and easy. They kind of let me do whatever. Sometimes Brad has ideas, and I kind of like it when people have a concept. I feel that if I contain my creativity, then it can expand. But if someone tells me that I can do whatever I want, I can get caught up and can’t think of anything!

We used one of your Autumn illustrations on our collab beanie this year. Not sure if you actually knew that?

I did, and I was stoked. I’m hyped if

INTERVIEW. THEO ACWORTH

my work goes to a snowboard mag.

I think that one is Nick Russel. It’s an abstract drawing, but a lot of those figures are actual people.

You recently made a film called Groove, which was sort of a patchwork of snowboard feelings…

I don’t really have a question. I just wanted to say that I liked it.

Thanks, I appreciate that. We wanted to make something that was more an art project than a snowboard video.

We wanted to leave it mysterious.

Hopefully, it’s something relatable that people can get stoked on. We were just searching for moments, like a weird shadow on the snow or something. Stuff like that gets me super stoked.

So from your artwork to your riding and your films, you seem to do pretty consistently cool things. What’s the secret?

I don’t even know! I feel like I’m always scrambling last minute, and then something comes together. I was kind of mentored by Austin [Smith] and Bryan [Fox]. I always respected them because if they wanted something, they just went and did it instead of waiting for someone to do it for them.

Even if it turns out to be shitty, at least you’re going to learn something. I just truly, truly love snowboarding, especially in powder. No matter what, I want to create stuff that captures that feeling and will maybe inspire others to go out and try it. It’s just so damn fun that I want everyone else to experience it.

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A R TI S T: GR I F F I N SI EBER T

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HOLD FAST TWEAK HARD

STIFFY’S LOOK BETTER WHEN YOU’RE 6FT 3.

JONAS INSAM PHOTO. THEO ACWORTH

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22.3 INTRO & PHOTO. STEPHAN JENDE INTERVIEW. THEO ACWORTH

H

ey Nora, where are you right now?

I’m in Bend, Oregon. It’s a nice place, Mt Bachelor is its own little world, and I love our little bubble that is this town.

I’ve heard it’s nice. I need to come and visit sometime. So besides these photos and your sick ender part in ‚Seven’ from Too Hard, I don’t actually know too much about you.

So, who are you, Nora?

I’m Nora beck, I’m 24 years old, and I grew up on the East Coast just outside of Washington DC. I graduated high school moved out to Bend, and have just been trying to board. I’m kind of an idiot, and I’m just trying to have as much fun as I can.

Would other people describe you as an idiot, or is that just you?

No, that’s just the little selfdeprecating side of myself.

„ANYONE THAT HAS FILMED IN MINNESOTA LATE SEASON WILL TELL YOU THE WEATHER CAN GO FROM SINGLE DIGITS AND SNOWING TO 45F AND SUNNY IN JUST A SINGLE WEEK. NORA CAUGHT THAT EXTREME SHIFT IN WEATHER WHILE SHE WAS IN MINNESOTA. NORA BEING NORA, DIDN’T LET THAT PHASE HER. SHE STACKED MORE HEAVY CLIPS IN A 2-3 WEEK SPAN THAN SOME DO IN AN ENTIRE WINTER HERE, ALL WHILE KEEPING THINGS ENTERTAINING AT THE SPOT” - STEPHAN JENDE

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Well, lots of people have told me they like you, so I’d say you’re doing something right. So outside of Washington DC means you grew up in Virginia, right?

Yeah, so Virginia kind of comes up into this point right next to DC. I have an image in my mind of quiet backroads and woodlands, but I don’t know if that’s in any way accurate or if that’s just what movies have taught me.

No, that’s very accurate. There are lots of roads that are deemed too historic to pave because of Civil War stuff.

So they have all these gravel roads everywhere that they can’t maintain because it will ruin its history or something.

How did you get into snowboarding there, is there much of a scene?

Not much of a scene, but there are a few hills close by. It would take about an hour to get out to them. Just little trash hills, maybe 600 vertical feet or so. I don’t know what that is in meters,

200 something maybe?

Something like that. But I guess it was enough to interest you in snowboarding if you’re doing it now and you’ve moved to a place where you can do it all the time?

Yeah, I think about that sometimes.

Something must have just clicked.

When I was a kid, my Great Uncle lived up in the mountains, and I remember when I was eight or so, I tried snowboarding up there in a resort near New York, and I was hooked from then on.

Yeah, I think everyone has the same story. You do it once, and then it’s got you.

So I did the once a year, or every other year kinda trip with my family. My dad wasn’t all that into it, and my mum had actually blown her knee out when she was skiing while in the Navy back in the day. She fucked her knee up and got discharged from the Navy, so she was never a big fan of skiing after that.

I had some friends in high school, and one of their moms worked up at the ski resort, and I got a job there at fourteen. I was an assistant instructor, even though I didn’t know anything about snowboarding or instructing.

That got me on the hill and got me a free pass from fourteen to eighteen.

That’s rad.

Even the instructors there didn’t really know what they were doing. It was a pretty loose show, to be honest.

All the best shows are. So how did you go from being a non-qualified instructor to filming street with Too Hard?

I’m not sure, really. I didn’t really have any plans or intentions of getting into the snowboard industry at that point.

I was just not really making good life choices and running myself into the ground. So I just needed to get out of Virginia and go snowboard as much as possible. And then when I METHOD 21 -----------

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BOARDSLIDE THROUGH THE ELBOW

was nineteen I think, or twenty, I got in touch with Danyale Patterson. She invited me out to go and film that one year. And that’s how that Seven part ended up coming about. And I’ve just been on that constant loop ever since.

Most people will never have that spark or moment when they make themselves change their lifestyle, so well done for making a change happen.

Something just had to happen. I just felt that I didn’t really have much of a future left for me in Virginia. There’s nothing to really do over there. If you’re happy doing the same thing, sure. But you can get stuck doing it.

It’s just farmland, pretty much.

So filming for Seven was just one winter?

Yeah, that was 2017/18 winter.

Had you ever filmed anything before that?

No, not really. I’d done some stuff at the resort. But I never really filmed anything in the street.

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How was that as a jump for you?

I definitely got worked that year. I knocked myself out. I bit all the way through my lip and split it open and had to get like eight stitches. So that was definitely a wake-up call. Like, oh, you can’t just toss your body around like you do on the mountain. You’ve got to be a little more in control.

Well, it seems like it all came together pretty well because your shots in that were savage.

Thank you. I appreciate it.

What have you been filming for this year?

The Uninvited 3. So this year, I was only focused on that project. Or as much as I could with COVID, at least.

It was definitely a challenging year.

Understandably, no one wants to be travelling or putting themselves out there too much, and I hated every second of the travelling. But if I hadn’t, I think there would have been a part inside of me that would have said, ‚Yo, you’re not doing anything, you gotta get up and go’.

Where were you shooting for it?

I spent two weeks on the East Coast up in Vermont with Joey and Maggie Leon and the Spot Heads crew. Then I went out to the Midwest to Minnesota for a few weeks after that with Dan Tyler and Benny Milam. Those two have always been a big help to me when we’ve had to film stuff. And also filming a little bit around Bend. I tried to keep it simple.

You happy with the shots you got?

No, but you should never be happy, right? You should always want a little bit more. I think it’s a bad thing to be content with what you did. It’s definitely a tough relationship. For your own mental health, I mean. You want to feel content with what you did. But then you know, in the long run, that contentedness could bite you in the butt. So you should really keep pushing yourself.

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What’s the process of shooting street like for you?

It’s a little bit of psyching myself up and a lot of pretending that nothing’s happening. Pretending I’m just standing there and I’m just watching, or I’m just in the park. And then, once I’m completely removed, I just go and drop in before I can start thinking about it because it is terrifying most of the time. Falling 40 times in a row down some stupid stairs and breaking yourself off? And then you’re just supposed to get up and do it again?

So for me, it’s a big mental game of pulling myself out of the situation instead of trying to overcome it.

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Because if I don’t, then the anxiety and the adrenaline are just fighting each other in my stomach. And then I don’t want to do anything. You’re not gonna fight that fire with more fire.

You’re just going to want to puke and do nothing.

Which probably isn’t the best end result for anyone. I know you’ve ridden the Dew Tour rail jams, and you were also at Red Bull Recharged. I was wondering how you feel in those competitive environments compared to street?

To be honest, I still don’t know how I feel about them. Every one of those

competitions has such a different feeling to it. The Dew Tour ones I was kind of like, ok, when else am I going to actually get to ride at a Dew Tour? I didn’t necessarily want to, but I didn’t want to regret missing the opportunity. At the Recharge thing was I was a total fish out of water, so much so that I just didn’t feel any pressure at all. It was like, I know I don’t belong here, you guys have fun, and I’m just going to try my best to keep up and hit these massive jumps, and whatever happens, happens.

How did you end up being invited?

It was really last minute. I was at It’s

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GAP TO BOARDSLIDE

Tits in Hood, and I got a call that they wanted me to come down to Mammoth.

They said they’d pay for a flight and hotel room, so I can’t say no to that. It was a total mess getting down there though. I got my second vaccine shot in the morning, and then I had the flight in the afternoon.

So I walked into the airport feeling like I’d just eaten 10 edibles. I left my wallet on the seat next to me in the airport, and I showed up in Reno at 10pm, and they wouldn’t give me my rental car. Shout out to Steve the Red Bull guy.

He Venmo’d me $300 for an Uber. The poor Uber guy just dropped me off at the Mammoth Mountain parking lot at 1.30 in the morning. It was a mess, but it was an amazing experience.

And a good story as well.

Yeah.

How was it riding that setup? Those features didn’t look too mellow.

No, they weren’t, and it was so long. I don’t know how these slopestyle people can do it. Jump jump, jump. Jump for like 3 minutes straight, going down a whole run. And then get back up and do it again. It makes sense when they all say that they only snowboard for like 4 laps a day, and then they just go home. An event like that was something I would never have done normally. And all of those contest kids are such insane snowboarders. I was just happy to be sitting on the sidelines. But I got 3rd place which is crazy, and I won a Traeger grill.

Oh nice, congrats.

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Somehow I was on the podium next to Jamie Anderson and Hailey Langland, which is something. I would never have thought I’d do in my life. Usually, I’d be happy with a water bottle as a prize or a nice hat.

the owners of Tokyo Starfish, was a Burton team manager back in the day.

So the guys at Tokyo are all boarders, and they support snowboarding. And Burton doesn’t really mind, which is nice.

Same for me, or stickers. So you’ve ridden some pretty high profile events, but the contests you’ve really dominated are Skolf. I would say that they are the ultimate test of a snowboarder’s abilities more than any other event. Seems like they’re a pretty natural fit for you?

I would definitely say that I’m a much more natural Skolfer than anything.

I talked to Pat Dodge at Burton after Dew Tour last year, and I said I’m way more of a Skolfer than a Dew Tourer.

Some things just make more sense.

I love Skolf though, everyone at Airblaster is amazing. I’m so grateful that they came up with Skolf and continue to put it on every year.

That’s cool to hear. I’ve read things about more mainstream athletes who like to partake but can’t do so publicly because they will be crucified by the companies that support them.

I try to walk a fine line. I’m not filming myself taking bong rips and tagging Tokyo and putting them on my story, you know?

Absolutely. Do you get contest incentives from Burton for winning Skolf?

Not for Skolf, unfortunately.

I didn’t think so, but it was worth asking.

Most of the time, we just got a pat on the back.

I can’t imagine them ranking Skolf up there with high profile contests, despite the fact that Skolf has far more credibility within the snowboarding community than most other events.

Love to hear that side of it.

So as we’re talking about sponsors and how they feel about things, I know that you’re sponsored by Tokyo Starfish, which is a weed dispensary. I was wondering if there’s ever any clash between that and Burton?

Not ever. Button has always been very supportive. Kevin Porterfield, one of

So how does a sponsorship with a dispensary work? Do they give you free weed?

Legally, they can’t give away products.

It all has to be inventoried, so we get a certain amount of store credit as part of our sponsorship. Those guys are great. They’re right down the street from me, too, only a block and a half away.

Very convenient.

So is snowboarding something that you’re able to make a living from full time? Or are you still doing other stuff on the side?

It’s still a part-time thing. I still find myself out on the weed farm in the summer. But that’s just the state of the industry at this point.

Fair enough, better to have a few irons in the fire if possible. But it sounds like your sponsors are all pretty supportive of what you do and how you approach snowboarding?

Yeah. I’ve never been pushed to do anything other than what I’m doing, which is really nice. Maybe that’ll change one day. But I feel like, at this point, most people are getting support based on who they are and not to turn someone into something else. Because that just feels forced, and you can tell when it’s forced.

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H S

CHRISTIAN CONNORS

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O H

PHOTO. JAKE POLLOCK

THIS IS A PHOTO OF A GUY CALLED CHRISTIAN, WHO’S AIRING ONTO A GIANT CROSS, AND THE PHOTO IS ON THE ‘HOLY SHIT’ PAGE OF THE MAG. IF THAT’S NOT FUNNY, THEN WE DON’T KNOW WHAT IS.

L I

*We’re sure Jesus will forgive you for your blasphemous behaviour. That’s what he’s famous for, right?

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Pic: Sani Alibabic | Blue Tomato Team Rider: Anna Gasser

Y T

Blue Tomato Book | blue-tomato.com/book instagram.com/bluetomato | #yourrideourmission

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I

N MANY PLACES, RIVERS ARE THE OLDEST ROADS IN THE WORLD. A LONG TIME BEFORE PEOPLE BUILT ROUTES ON LAND BETWEEN DIFFERENT PLACES, THEY USED TO NAVIGATE WITH RIVERS. FOR ANCIENT PEOPLE, IT WAS EASIER TO BUILD BOATS OR WOODEN SHIPS AND CONNECT LOCATIONS BY WATER THAN ORGANISE FULL-ON LONG-DISTANCE PATHS THROUGH THE UNPEOPLED TERRITORIES WITH FORESTS AND ALL KINDS OF CHALLENGING TERRAIN. RIVERS PLAYED A VERY IMPORTANT ROLE IN ANCIENT RUSSIA. SLOWLY, THE RIVERS LOST THE COMPETITION TO DIRT ROADS AND LATER TO RAILROADS, HIGHWAYS AND AEROPLANES. BUT UP UNTIL NOW, BIG RIVERS STILL PLAY IMPORTANT COMMERCIAL, RECREATIONAL, ECOLOGICAL ROLES AND SUPPLY PEOPLE WITH WATER AND ENERGY. AS FOR SNOWBOARDING, RIVERS ERODE LANDSCAPES AND CREATE SLOPES AND DOWNHILLS, AND ULTIMATELY, SPOTS TO SHRED. IN FEBRUARY 2021, THE VANS RUSSIA TEAM HEADED DOWN THE VOLGA RIVER TO FIRE UP THE COLDEST AND SNOWIEST WINTER RUSSIA HAS HAD IN THE LAST FEW YEARS. IT FELT GOOD TO WORDS. KIRILL KOROBKOV SEE THAT GOOD OLD RUSSIAN WINTER WAS BACK. PHOTO. PONCHIKZ

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The original plan had four cities and was supposed to be an almost a month-long adventure.

Unfortunately, it was cut into two weeks in two cities because of the last-minute injury of Vans Russia’s master and commander Nikita Sekh. Torn ligaments in the knee changed his status from captain to mascot, but his demons still needed to break free, and the team headed East of Moscow towards the Volga. The city of Nizhny Novgorod, with a population of over 1.2 million people, was the first stop. For the last couple of years, Russia has been experiencing problems with snow. I know it might sound like there was a lack of sand in the Sahara, but it was true. The winter before this one, we were barely provided with any snow in many Russian cities, something that has never happened for as long as I can remember.

DIMI SHUBIN HIPPY JUMP

ARTUR KURGAK CREEPER 50-50 BS3 OUT

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Siberia was a bit more natural, but even in Siberia, winter 2019-20 had ended way sooner than it was supposed to. It was too warm for Russia. With all these climate extremes, we didn’t know what to expect from the current season, and it felt nice to see that good old frosts and snowfalls were back. Proper winter is an important part of the Russian lifestyle, culture and iconic visual symbol. I could even call it the intangible climate heritage of planet Earth. On top of everything else, it turns the biggest country in the world into a snowboarding playground.

ARTUR KURGAK FRACTURE

with maximum capacity.

Nizhny Novgorod is as Russian as it can be. There’s a Kremlin on the top of the hill above the rivers.

Numerous tops of ancient Russian Orthodox churches shine brightly when it’s sunny. Traditional wooden houses in the city centre give you the feeling that this place is old. The Communist age left a huge mark on the urban landscape. Examples of Soviet architecture are spread all around the city. Most people still live in Soviet housing blocks and use infrastructure from that era. At the same time, Nizhny Novgorod has its modern face. The city hosted games of the 2018 World Cup and had gone through a renovation right before that. The crew even got invited to the World Cup’s football arena to inspect the stadium and park around it for snowboard spots. The season of snowfalls resulted in a unique opportunity to do midday freeride or street snowboarding in the centre of the city. The boys saluted the comeback of powerful Russian winter

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Well, it’s about the time to introduce who else we had on board. It was nothing more or less than the first Russian national Vans snow team trip. I already mentioned Nikita, who was in charge of the whole project and came up with the route.

Egor Chebanov is an experienced warrior who had guest appearances in several international street stories and numerous successes in national jibbing contests. He started snowboarding in the city of Perm, so he was definitely experienced with street missions in Russia. Vadim Taran studied in the States (SLC). In his case, the verb study refers to both education and snowboarding. The USA days upgraded his disaster tricks game, moustache style and turned him into a gin-tonic fan.

Now he’s is fully back in Russia and is an indispensable part of the national scene. Anton Borodachev, also known as Brook, is another charismatic Russian who’s been a key player on the national scene for a while. He’s done it all from the Moscow city snowboard team to membership in the Dog with Sword gang. When he is off his board, he runs a tattoo studio with his girlfriend and DJs at parties.

Dima Shubin came from Belarus.

Belarus is a neighbouring country of Russia. The president of their country has been denying COVID for a long time and recommended sauna, vodka and even tractors as weapons against the coronavirus. Around the second

part of the year, he almost lost the presidential elections and started tyranny to stay in power. It didn’t take him long to start using the pandemic as an excuse for restrictions. As a part of his aggressive campaign, he started the national quarantine and closed all the borders, so people were not able to leave the country and go abroad. Dima had to look for an illegal bus ride that followed dirt roads and took the passengers through the fields and forests all the way into Russia. This was the risk Dima had to take to join the tour. Roma ‚Mitsybissi’ Romanov could be a character from the ‚Look at this Russian’ Instagram account. He’s got a hooligan’s look, warm heart and cool mind when it comes to snowboarding. He is a young blood machine with a personal army of followers on social networks who is stepping up his personal game right now. Arthur Kurgak was another up-comer who migrated all the way through Russia from Kamchatka to Sochi. It was his first street experience, and sadly he got hurt after only a few days. Still, he managed to get a couple shots before the injury.

Right now, Arthur is on the way to recovery, itching to get back on the board. Russia’s finest snowboarding photographer Zhenya Ponchikz was behind the lenses to capture all the action and Sasha Dorinov plus Dima the W1zzzzzzzzzzzzzard took care of the video. As for myself, I am the Volga river region local expert who got a green light to join the trip in exchange for this story and party manager’s duties. I am also Vans Russia’s skateboarding team manager who was free because skateboarding life was on winter pause.

Both cities haven’t seen too much street snowboarding, and with Russian people’s tempers, the boys were ready for potential conflicts and kick-outs. How awesome it was to realise that by the end of the trip, we didn’t experience even one single issue with police, security or even local people. People were happy about what we did and showed support. It feels good when „from Russia with love” is not only a famous quote from the postcards, but also reflects mood of the trip. This type of luck and tolerance for snowboarding surprised even Nikita who had prepared for local wars, but definitely resulted in good stacking of clips and tricks, and kept the tour vibes high.

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One of the bigger hills right above the river has been asking for joint freeride the whole stay. It was full of fresh powder and contained a few different levels that made it even better. One morning Nikita made his boys ride it and posted the clip on his personal Instagram. Half a day later, this video went viral and got reposted in many public accounts related to the city. The Gang had become big in Nizhny Novgorod! Taxi drivers and random locals started to recognize the new city heroes. When we went to a party organized by one of the local media outlets, the team pretty much took over. We could even hear people whispering Vans Russia team here and there. A couple of local snowboarders showed up at the party with boards wearing full-on gear and masks like back in the days.

Another cool little episode we went through while in Nizhny Novgorod was meeting a homie from a different city who drove 300 kilometres, alone, just to met Roma ‚Mitsybissi’ who he knew from Instagram. He had some other stuff going on and could stay

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MITSYBISI BS BLUNT 270

EGOR CHEBANOV FS 5-0

with us only one day. Nevertheless, he drove 600 kilometres in total in the dead of winter just to spend one day with the snowboarder he liked. We found this story inspiring.

The second chapter of the trip was based around Cheboksary city. It’s located 250km further down the Volga. I assume that some of you may have heard about Nizhny Novgorod due to the World Cup or some other sport events, but I am pretty sure that Cheboksary is the combination of letters that you’ve never seen or heard before. This place isn’t famous, but it’s interesting in its own way. First of all, it’s the capital of the Chuvash Republic. It’s a federal subject of the Russian Federation that was created around the local nationality known as the Chuvash people. Russia is a melting pot of its own that includes more than 150 different nationalities besides Russians. All of them have different origins, historical background, history and culture. With such a huge piece of land, Russia is one of the most interesting countries

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in terms of ethnic diversity. You can drive for a few hours and end up in the place where people are bilingual and use both Russian and their own native language, follow local traditions and just look slightly different. The second cool thing about Cheboksary was the fact that it turned out to be a secret El Dorado for jibbing and street snowboarding, and this was what Nikita’s demons liked the most.

Once again, the riverside location provided all the spots. A big piece of the city turned out to be a huge spot garden with all kinds of rails and other random things to shred with an absolutely empty ABD list.

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The spots shaped the bright side of the Cheboksary, but the accommodation was our local defeat. When you go to small Russian cities, it’s quite hard to find a proper base for a crew of 10 people. Most accommodation options are smaller.

You can find a big hotel but most likely it will be expensive. Hotels also mean a lack of team vibe because the gang gets separated. We really want to stay in one big house, and after few days of research, we found an option that could fit us all. The place was called The House with a Domed Roof. It was described as a legendary spot, widely known all around the city. They also proposed that we Google the place to find out all the craziness that had gone down in this place over the years.

The legend said that originally this has was supposed to be home to the Miss Russia 1996 winner Sasha Petrova who was from Cheboksary. While the house was under construction, she got shot down with her boyfriend by professional killers. Her boyfriend was in charge of the local central market, and probably this murderous assault was aimed at him, but she happened to be nearby. A few years later, the new owners of the property finished the construction the way he wanted and started to rent it. Surely, we said yes to this place. Quite soon after arrival, we found out that nowadays this was a place where people go to have sex and party but not to live, sleep and rest. The house was big and had an endless number of bedrooms but didn’t have a kitchen or even dishes. Parties were fun, but first of all, we looked for the rest house after the sessions. Also, even though we were supposed to have the whole house, the owner decided to rent out the second part of the place to another group of youngsters to make some fast extra money. We said yes to this sketchy deal because we didn’t need that much space. The second half of the house got filled with teenagers who ended up looking for interaction with us. It was all good till one of them declared that with my age, I could be her dad. This was the first-ever time someone something like this to me, so it was about time to separate our companionships. It was all relatively ok until one night the house heating system went down. It was around -20 Celsius outside that night. It didn’t take long till it got super

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cold inside. We called the owner, but all he did was give us instructions on how to restart the boiler.

It didn’t help because all the water in the heating system was already frozen by then. The temperature conditions felt like we were close to sleeping on the streets. The following day a few of the guys woke up cold as ice. One day later, the plumbing specialist managed to warm up the system and restart the heating. We also had a sauna in the house, but I think needless to say that the maximum capacity it could produce was a temperature where you still wished you were wearing a hoodie.

VADIM TARAN REY MYSTERIO SLIDE

Other than that, it was all good. While in Cheboksary we broke the bumper of the van and we fixed it. We lost the keys from the car roof rack and managed to get a duplicate from old key that was broken into two pieces. We had an endless amount of pelmenis (Russian dumplings) in the local restaurant and cooked BBQ on a grill. We invited the locals to our places every night and partied like there would be no tomorrow on the last weekend. The boys were still hungry for the spots and tricks and went snowboarding even on the last morning when they were supposed to be packing for the ride back.

Even Nikita, with no ligaments, couldn’t resist to session a double-sided curb.

Traveling in Russia is fun. Russian winters are fun.

Snowboarding is fun. The privilege of good times on a road trip is golden. Check out the tour video when it’s out, don’t stay in the house with a domed roof when you’re in Cheboksary and spasibo (thank you in Russian) for reading. Hope to see the guys on the next trip.

NIKITA SEKH

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MIDWEIGHT FLEECE & FLEECE BEANIE

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FLORIAN FISCHER [ SNOWPARK LAAX ]

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INTERVIEW. THEO ACWORTH PORTRAIT. RILEY SMOLLER

I MET LYON FARRELL IN WINTER. ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS ENIGMA’. THIS MADE ME LAUGH. ACCURATE, AND SECONDLY, HOW USE THE WORD ENIGMA? THE OR THING THAT IS MYSTERIOUS OR NOT SURE IF THAT TOTALLY APPLIES HIS SLEEVE. EITHER WAY, I LIKED WHEN HE WAS HOME ON THE ISLAND WHAT IT WAS LIKE TO HAVE MIKE ELEVEN, HIS YEARS ON THE CONTEST SIMULTANEOUS AWARENESS THAT THAT DOESN’T EXIST. I GOT THE QUITE KNOW WHERE TO DIRECT HAVING A GOOD TIME FIGURING IT

SWITZERLAND AT THE END OF LAST I HEARD HIM SAY WAS, ‚I’M AN FIRSTLY, BECAUSE I DON’T THINK IT’S MANY 22-YEAR-OLD SNOWBOARDERS ACTUAL DEFINITION IS ‚A PERSON DIFFICULT TO UNDERSTAND’, AND I’M TO HIM, AS HE WEARS HIS HEART ON HIM, AND CALLED HIM UP FOR A CHAT OF MAUI, HAWAII. WE DISCUSSED RANQUET AS A CHAPERONE AGED CIRCUIT, A DESIRE TO WIN, AND A HE MIGHT BE CHASING SOMETHING IMPRESSION THAT HE DOESN’T HIS ENERGY, BUT REGARDLESS, HE’S OUT.

AT SOME POINT, HIS MOM ANGELA CHAMPION AND EXTREME WALKED INTO THE HOUSE, AND UNEXPECTED AND ENTERTAINING THESE THINGS, SOMETIMES YOU’VE EXTENT, THAT’S EXACTLY HOW LYON SENSE THAT THE INTERVIEW WENT

[TWO TIME WINDSURF WORLD GAMES 1995 GOLD MEDALIST] THE CONVERSATION TOOK ON AN DYNAMIC. YOU CAN’T ALWAYS PLAN JUST GOT TO ROLL WITH IT. TO SOME MOVES THROUGH LIFE, SO IT MAKES THIS WAY TOO.

What was it like having Mike Ranquet as a skate coach for a short time? Do you ever bounce ideas off of him or talk about where you’re at with your snowboarding?

L: Oh yeah. For me, he’s a sounding board. He’s also like the crazy uncle. I wouldn’t be surprised if right now he just kicked down the door and said, ‚What’s up motherfuckers!’.

How did you meet him?

L: I actually met him before snowboarding was really a thing for me. He was skating my local park.

He’d just got his hip replaced and was barely able to skate though. His buddy Steve knew that I had a vert ramp at my house, and he asked if Mike could come and skate it. I was like, dude, I don’t know about this guy. He can barely roll around on a board! I was such a little shit when I was younger.

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So he comes over and just blows my mind, doing huge backside airs. *Lyon’s mom Angela walks into the house* L: Hi mom. Theo, this is my mom Angela.

Hi Angela, how’s it going?

A: Who’s that?

L: It’s Theo, say hi.

A: There’s so much pizza here!

L: I got two mopsis, because it’s better to have a mopsi on deck.

What’s a mopsi?

L: It’s a type of pizza that’s so good that everyone wants to eat it, so you get two of them.

Angela, what do you think about your son’s dietary habits while he’s recovering from his knee surgery?

A: When I’m in charge, they’re good.

When he’s in charge, they’re shit.

Lyon, who is this person I’m talking to?

L: This is Theo.

I work for a snowboard magazine, and I’m interviewing your son.

A: Would you like to interview me?

Because I’m way more famous than my son. Especially at 11 o’clock at night when I’ve had a few tequilas.

For sure. Are you proud of your son?

A: Very. He’s phenomenal. He’s an amazing human being.

L: Thanks mom. She doesn’t usually drink, though, so this is good timing.

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It sounds like you give him the space to do what makes him happy?

A: From the moment he came onto this planet, he knew who he was. He was born pretty much saying, ‚Hello!

I’m here!’ I thought he was so cute, then his brother came, and he was way cuter. Sorry.

Tough break, dude. But to let your kids wander around the world from a very young age is pretty cool, so I guess that makes you a cool mom?

A: I am a cool mom, right?

L: For sure, she’s the coolest mom.

Are there any particularly good stories you can tell me about Lyon when he was younger?

A: We had this quarterpipe at the bottom of our driveway, which was really steep. I don’t know why we put it at the bottom. I don’t think we knew anything about skateboarding. He’d look at us, and we’d tell him to be careful. He’d look back and say, ‚Mom, I got this!’ Aged seven or something, flying down the driveway. I’d be freaking out, and he’d look at me like, ‚God, what’s your problem, I got this’.

And he actually did have it. I really learned that you can’t tell a person that they can’t do something if they think that they totally can. Encourage someone to do what they think they can do instead of taking the cotton wool approach. As soon as you tell them to be careful, they will be, and that messes up the entire process.

Well, you seem to have survived thus far, Lyon. Angela, you were a professional windsurfer, right?

A: Yeah, but that was between the ages of nineteen to thirty. So no one told me anything. But when you’re seven or something, then your parents will be telling you what to do. When he was eight we told him that we’d pay him to clean our toilets, thinking he’d maybe do it once. The freaking kid, he cleaned them three times a day and expected me to pay up. I had to make him stop.

Hustler. It sounds like he had a good work ethic from a young age?

A: A very good work ethic, very business-minded. That’s why he’s a billionaire, and he’s only twenty two.

I didn’t know you were a billionaire, congrats.

L: Yeah.

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A: We’re going to have a plane.

You want to buy Method Mag? L: Yes. I’ll buy that, I’ll buy XGames, we’ll just do the whole thing. We have a pilot too, my uncle Bob can fly the plane. Mom, what was it like seeing me at 13 just going for it and trusting me to do it?

A: Trusting you? I trusted that lady from your middle school.

L: Oh, Miss Peterka?

L: Oh my god. So this woman. We

were going to put him in this very fancy school here. Everyone said that if you go there, there’s no skipping school. I told his teacher that he’s a skateboarder and that he had to go to a contest. And then she told me that Stacey Peralta used to be her neighbour, and they had the first halfpipe in their backyard, and that whatever Lyon wanted to do was fine.

Then she said if you were going to skip school, skip 8th grade because that’s the best one to skip.

Great advice.

PHOTO. FINLAY WOODS

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A: So that’s why Lyon took that year off aged thirteen. He went to New Zealand for four months, and then Breckenridge for four months.

Because of her.

when I fell and hurt myself skating at XGames, I would be able to fix myself up on the spot. They loved it.

I only went for a little bit, it was really pretentious.

L: Really? I didn’t know that.

Angela, do you ever make it out to any of his contests?

A: Not as much as I should.

But I actually bought a ski pass this year so I can visit him all the time and shout from the sidelines, ‚That’s my son!’.

A: Yeah, she was square as square PHOTO. MYLES LAURION

Are you that kind of mom?

A: Screaming with pompoms? That’s totally me.

No. I’d be the quiet one asking if he or his friends wanted some water.

Lyon, are you down to have your mom around you at competitions?

L: Yeah, definitely.

You should be proud of that, Angela.

L: My mom being around at contests helps me do better. She doesn’t come to many, so when she is there, it’s amazing. I feel pretty lucky. could be, but she was so cool, she just said go for it. I mean how the hell are you supposed to know what to do to? I’d never had kids before.

That’s awesome.

A: No one at the school ever thought they’d let us do it. They were all very preppy. To get in, you have to do this whole interview and tests. Lyon’s scores were really bad, 64 and 64.

L: Yeah. Consistent, though.

A: They totally loved him. He talked his way into it.

L: In the interview, I told them that I wanted to be a doctor so that

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A: But I am quiet. I’m not the jump up and down type. As much as I would like to be, it’s just not my personality. But I am really proud.

That’s ok. I don’t think it’s a requirement to jump up and down.

L: It’s funny how the people who are around you at a contest can affect you. Everybody came to XGames the first time I went. That was major. But I also like being by myself when it comes to contests.

A: He’s a Sagittarius.

Ah, that explains a lot.

A: It’s true! They’re very independent.

L: I love my family being there. But sometimes I get too emotionally attached to how they’re feeling. I want to make sure that they’re stoked and happy, which can be a lot to take on.

I do wish my mom would have been there a lot more though.

A: I wish that too. It was just a hard time. Life. Divorce. Life. Shit. Crap. All that stuff. And Lyon sort of got moved off to the side. I know he’d wished we’d been there more, but somehow all of the other crap took over. But he did really amazingly, despite it all.

That’s what I think.

L: It was a lot to navigate at a young age. Looking back on it, I wish my family could have been at everything.

But everyone was going through shit, and there was a life at home that was being navigated too, and I was out in the world doing my own thing.

A: Actually, and this is being completely transparent, it was a lot for a young teenager to be taking on while your family is in chaos and going through shit. You’re trying to be the best that you can be, and no one is there to actually be at your contests because we were all freaking out at home and not able to do that.

Ok, I didn’t realise that was the family dynamic at that time.

A: Yeah. Lyon handled himself. It’s a lot for a fourteen-year-old to be away from their family when their family is going through total upheaval. To function and do what he’s done without what everyone else had, without the family cheering from the sidelines at every contest, he really did it by himself. I was sending him to stay with this coach, or that person, whoever. Telling him that you can do this or you can do that, but guess what, I’m not there, so handle it.

That’s a lot for a person to take on.

That is a lot. But it seems like you’ve managed to navigate it ok Lyon.

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reflective than most people your age. So I guess harder journeys can sometimes have good results, in the end. The relationship between the two of you also seems really special.

L: I always know my mom has got my back 100%. The whole divorce thing was right when I started snowboarding. When I was skating, I was one of the only people in my friendship group with parents who were together. Then I moved into snowboarding, and all the other kids had such solid family structures, and that was right when my own family was starting to fall apart. I didn’t want to say that, but fall apart.

A: Yeah.

L: I really appreciated sitting at the dinner table with families like the Gerards, the Henkes, the Hunts, the Canters. Just doing that is really important. It was a bummer to be so far away from home, but I still got to feel that love and feel supported. My mom was really good at making sure I was in those kinds of environments.

Her knowing how to navigate that was really nice for me. I was also living with Simple Snowboarding for a while when I was fourteen, which is this crew of Kiwis and Canadians.

That was hectic. I was the youngest one, and my parent’s divorce was really fresh. Me and Tyler Nicholson did not get along. Like not at all. We were supposedly so similar, but we would just butt heads.

A: Lyon would call me from the closet for an hour and a half, just totally bumming out. But now they’re buddies. Tyler is so lovely and cute.

L: I definitely got thrown into the deep end. There were so many kids in one house. It was full-on. When the landlord would come over, we’d have to break down our bunk beds and put them in the vans and drive them up the street, so they didn’t know they were housing so many kids. When I first met Mikey Ciccarelli I thought he was the

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Justin Beiber of snowboarding, just a superstar. Carlos Garcia Knight and I were fanboying so hard. He was the coolest.

A: He’s the nicest person on the planet. *Angela leaves* I’ve never met anyone you’re talking about. Maybe Method needs to come and hang at a major contest?

L: You should! So many of the kids are so rad. It’s so sick that we’ve known each other for so long. Going from crying in a closet because Tyler was bullying me to where we are now, dropping into US Open, and we’re best friends. I couldn’t have lucked out harder. There was a lot to navigate and figure out, but I had snowboarding to help channel all of my frustration and energy.

I just attached that emotion to snowboarding because of the timing of the divorce and stuff. It’s cool now with my mom saying that stuff.

It’s actually only recently that she’s started talking about it and feeling like she needs to show up. I’ve got to do so many amazing things, and I wish my family had been there to see it all. They got glimpses of it, though.

It’s cool that we’ve come to this place where we all feel a lot closer and more healed and comfortable.

the whole Ranquet era.

Hold on, I thought you were a windsurfer? How come you were with the Sims team?

A: I had friends.

L: During your professional career, you might have been quiet, but you made so many friends around the world. Wherever I was, you would tell me, oh, you should hang out with this person, or visit these people, and they would just take me in and treat me like family. That really pushed me to want to be friends with everyone from everywhere. I sometimes feel like people think it’s weird that I want

*Angela returns to the room, arguing with her daughter Phoenix and talking about a game called Mexican Train, which is apparently more fun than dominos* L: Mom, do you have any good Mike Ranquet stories?

A: When Lyon first told me that ‘some guy’ called Mike Ranquet was coming to skate our ramp, I was like, ‚What? Are you freaking kidding me?’. When I first started snowboarding, Mike Ranquet was really fucking cool. To me, he was the bomb, the guy. I went to New Zealand in 1995 with the Sims snowboard team for a photo shoot, and that was

to snowboard from people with other countries. One day I’ll be 50, and everyone is going to want to know each other and not just the small bubble of American snowboarders.

I want to be homies with everyone because you never know where life will take us. We won’t always be doing these contests, so it’s nice to have those connections.

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A: Tell him the smoking story. That one was funny.

L: It wasn’t funny for me!

Ok, I have to hear this one.

A: So we hired Mike to take care of Lyon. We sent him to California to skate all these parks.

L: It was for the Woodward Am Jam. A: Lyon was always very anti-smoking when he was little. The worst thing you could possibly ever do was smoke a cigarette. So he calls me from the Venice skatepark, freaking out.

I asked him what was going on, and he says, while hyperventilating, ‚Mom, Mike is smoking a cigarette!’.

walls. It was so bad. Mike hadn’t had kids yet, so looking back, him having to navigate that whole thing was so funny. He has these crazy arms and was waving them all over the place and freaking out, just saying, ‚You got this little buddy!’. Poor him. We didn’t end up going to Bob’s house.

Maybe we should make this into a book. The adventures of Lyon Farrell and Mike Ranquet. *Angela comes over and reminds

L: It was actually a joint. He told me that later on. He said he just took a hit from a random dude at the bowl and then gave me shit for telling my mom. That was hilarious. I don’t know why I was so anti-smoking.

I think it was because dad smoked cigs for a while. But back to Mike. He was kind of chaperoning me to all these contests. I guess I was about eleven.

You were eleven, and you had Mike Ranquet as the person responsible for your wellbeing?

L: Yeah, we just went to California one time. We’d pull up to skate contests, and people would recognise him and say whatup. I just didn’t get it. Snowboarding wasn’t a thing for me at that point so I didn’t know who he was. At the end of our trip, we were down in San Diego. He got in contact with Bob Burnquist about skating his megaramp the next day. I ended up eating some bad food, and in the middle of the night, I started projectile vomiting all over the hotel room we were in. Literally painted the

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Lyon to take his blood thinners* L: Thanks Mom. *Angela leaves again* L: Mike is the funniest dude. On Maui, there were literally no kids my age that would skate vert or pools.

I’d have to skate with forty-year-olds.

We would have these sessions, and

I would always just be such a little shit. There was this one guy called Emmet and he had the wildest style.

Trucks with no bushings, his kingpin was so fucked. It made no sense how he was able to ride his board. I would always make fun of him, and I did it so badly one time he actually left the ramp. He was so baffled and pissed off that I was talking shit to him that Mike wrote me a full-blown letter. My parents printed it and handed it to me.

He was saying that you should never talk bad like that, that I should respect my elders. He really put me in my place. I was a cocky little shit, so he wrote me this massive letter, and I bawled my eyes out. I felt so bad and so sorry. He really checked me at a young age.

That’s cool that you got that side of him too.

L: My parents were progressive, and they thought Mike was cool, so they trusted him to look after me. I don’t know how many other people would let someone take their kid to California. If they told anyone, they’d probably think they were crazy. Mike would talk shit on a whole other level, and I would just listen and copy him.

It was such a contrast between him and me. This wild, hip replaced guy who had a huge influence on snowboarding and me not knowing shit about him.

He fucking revolutionised the way people looked at snowboarding. He brought skateboarding into it. If you know, then you know, Mike Ranquet is the fucking man.

I got to ride with him and Chris Roach, such rad dudes. They changed the game in a lot of ways. I feel really lucky to have that kind of sounding board.

As much as people think he’s a wild man, he’s a pretty incredible human being and has an amazing outlook on snowboarding and life.

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PHOTO. TROY TANNER

LYON & MIKE PHOTO. CAMPBELL FARRELL

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I presume you’ve been snowboarding with him as well as touring skateparks?

L: Yeah, he showed me around Mount Baker. After transitioning from skate to snow, riding with him during LBS and experiencing that place with him and guys like Terje and Temple Cummins, that was probably one of the most memorable and special times that I’ve had so far in snowboarding. That was special. Mike made me realise that you’re chasing that childhood energy. You’re just having fun and only focused on what you’re doing.

He was doing the same exact thing that I’m experiencing now. Knowing that I get to carry that same energy with my friends when I’m older, that’s awesome. I see the future, and I can’t wait for that part of my life too.

I’m so stoked on where I’m at now, but hanging with someone like Mike who’s been in and out of it. He’s true to himself, and when he’s with everyone, he’s just there, and the vibes are high.

PHOTO. RYAN JOHNSON

Ok Lyon, we’ve been rambling for a while and I think we can leave things there for now. Any closing thoughts for us?

L: Mike taught me another amazing thing. My dad’s best friend Phil lived in Marina del Rey, and we stayed a night with him when we were in California.

He met Mike, and then a few minutes later, he looked at him and asked if he was in a Coors Light commercial like twenty years ago. It turns out that they’d met each other there, and they fully hit it off again! He said, ‚Lyon, you see that? I just ended up in a random person’s house. It turns out I know the guy. Twenty years prior, if I was a fucking asshole to him, he could have carried that with him until now and might have just kicked me out of his house. This whole experience could have changed.’ That was so interesting to me. The way you show up now will have repercussions in the future, and you never know when you’ll end up in that situation where you’ll see someone again. He provided a lot of insight to me at a young age. Both about wildness, but also about respecting people and appreciating the time you spend with them. From my experience, he shows up as a very caring and loving person.

Some people would say that he talks a lot of shit, and maybe that’s true, but it’s also true that there’s a lot of gold in that shit.

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686_MET

G ig i Ru f / Vi ct or Davi et @68 6

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13.11.2021 15:49 10/22/21 11:25 AM

A WORD FROM METHOD MAG We just want to let you know that it’s ok to not be ok.

Depression can happen to anyone. Asking for help isn’t giving up. It’s refusing to give up.

Feelings might seem like they last forever, but like all things, they are temporary, and they will pass.

Don’t be too hard on yourself, you’ve only got one you.

Life is an experience, not a performance. It won’t always be perfect, and that’s alright.

Rule 32. Enjoy the little things.

If you’re feeling stressed, take two short breaths in, and one deep breath out. This is a quick way to bring your body to a calm state.

Tell your friends you love them, and don’t be afraid to tell your friends if you need their help.

Also, ask them if they need your help. Your solutions might not be their solutions, so do your best to be patient and understanding with them if they need you, and regularly check in on them.

Being physically active can help you to lead a mentally healthier life and can also improve your wellbeing.

You don’t always have to splitboard up giant peaks, it’s also ok just to go for a walk.

Talk to strangers on chairlifts instead of looking at your phone. A conversation doesn’t have to be long in order to be meaningful, and that goes both ways.

Smile at people. You never know how much a smile will impact someone’s day, and it’s nice when you get a smile back.

Whenever possible, bomb a hill on your snowboard. Going fast is very fun.

Social media might might make it seem like everyone is living a perfect life of adventure, but don’t forget that you’re only seeing the best bits, and there’s usually a lot more going on beneath the surface.

In the action sports communities, depression is a leading factor contributing to death by suicide.

Depression can be treated with talking, various forms of therapy, medication, or a combination of them all.

WE LOVE YOU.

IF YOU ARE SELF-HARMING OR FEELING SUICIDAL, CONTACT SOMEONE YOU TRUST AND ASK FOR THEIR HELP, REACH OUT TO YOUR DOCTOR, OR CALL THE EMERGENCY SERVICES. SCAN THIS QR CODE FOR A FULL LIST OF INTERNATIONAL SUICIDE HOTLINES.

R

B

B

P

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ALL WAYS DOWN ALL WAYS DOWN ALL WAYS DOWN

RIDER / IVIKA JÜRGENSON

BOARD / MUSE

BINDINGS / KATANA

PHOTO / TIM SCHIPHORST

PROOFED_WORD FROM METHOD.indd 59

@romesnowboards

17.11.2021 01:14

22.3

PHOTO. MARK WIITANEN, FISCHI, JOSH BISHOP INTERVIEW. THEO ACWORTH

IF YOU DON’T KNOW ALREADY, ANNIKA MORGAN IS RAD. SHE’S BEEN QUIETLY GRINDING AWAY AND IN THE LAST FEW YEARS HAS REALLY STARTED COMING INTO HER OWN, BOTH INSIDE AND OUTSIDE SNOWBOARDING. SHE ALSO ISN’T AFRAID TO CRANK SUITCASE METHODS AND KNUCKLE FRONTFLIPS IN A CONTEST RUN WHENEVER SHE GETS THE CHANCE, AND IT’S CLEAR THAT SHE’S GOT THE MORGAN WILDCARD GENES. THERE MIGHT HAVE BEEN A TIME WHEN PEOPLE WOULD REFER TO ANNIKA AS ‘Ethan’s sister’. THE WAY SHE’S HEADING, PRETTY SOON WE’LL BE CALLING ETHAN ‘Annika’s brother’.

Hey Annika, what’s up?

Not much, I’m at home. Kinda sick.

Oh damn, hopefully not COVID? No, I’ve been tested a bunch of times.

I’ve just been sick since Saas Fee. I just got some antibiotics.

Are you riding much at the moment?

I’ll be riding this weekend, and then I have a press conference on Monday.

this whole situation and going to the Olympics. I’m quite chill about it, and I feel like I ride better when there’s zero pressure.

It seems like your family plays a big role in your life. I guess they’re all pretty hyped for you?

A press conference? That sounds serious.

It isn’t really. It’s for Snowboard Germany, and we do it every year.

You take pictures, and people get awards. It’s when all the racers get their outfits and stuff.

What’s going on with the Olympics?

I guess you’re going?

Yeah, I qualified in Chur at the Big Air. How are you feeling about it?

It still seems like a dream to me, and I’m just waiting for someone to pinch me. I remember watching Anna [Gasser] doing her tricks at the Olympics, and now I’m going, and people will be able to watch me, which is kind of unreal.

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So can anyone go with you?

No, no one. I’m pretty bummed because I know it would have been awesome to have them there. They were really looking forward to watching me live. My parents have been to comps, but my full family has never been to a competition. I was looking forward to partying with them.

Hopefully you can all tear it up when you get back. How does it feel to be competing against people like Anna and Jamie [Anderson]?

I’ve been riding with them for quite a while now, so it seems kind of normal.

Being able to ride with the girls is sick for me for sure. It’s always really fun.

The Olympics is a huge event, but it won’t be that big of a change for me.

It’s just like any other competition.

It’s not like I’m gonna be freaking out at the drop-in.

So you get to hang out with the real athletes?

Yeah, basically.

Do you feel any pressure from anyone?

I don’t feel any pressure coming from anyone. I don’t feel like anyone is expecting much from me, so I guess that’s making me less nervous about

about that, but when I qualified, I wrote in the family group chat, and they were all so hyped. And I know that my parents are proud of me, and so is Ethan.

They’re so hyped. They all booked flights and accommodation in China, then a few months ago the Olympics announced that there wouldn’t be any spectators. So they’re bummed

Does riding with the other women push your own riding?

Oh, for sure. Riding with Anna is crazy. Her way of snowboarding is so progressive. We don’t have any girls on the Snowboard Germany team, so when I ride with her, it really motivates me to be a better snowboarder. Not even in a competitive way. It just helps me.

What sort of tricks are you working on at the moment?

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I tried a back 10 in Saas Fee, but I didn’t land it. I went straight to my ass. But I’m working on that for sure.

Also cab 9’s.

I heard that you’re trying to sneak Diggles into the Olympics as your filmer for the Meet the Morgans series? How’s that going?

We’re still trying to figure that out.

Diggles can’t come as media with Snowboard Germany. I think he missed a deadline or something.

So he’s trying to get in with Klaudia [Medlova] and the Slovakian team.

It’s a struggle. It’s really hard to get there. The COVID situation doesn’t make it any easier. We’ll see how it goes. If it’s doesn’t work, I’ll just put a GoPro on my helmet and film every single move.

I love that he’s pretending to be a Slovakian coach to get in. Do you enjoy filming with him?

Yeah, it’s so fun. He’s like a motivational coach. He always has these quotes in his head, and if I’m feeling down or worried about a trick, he always helps me out. He’s a fun guy to hang out with.

Bringing things back to family, what was Ethan like when you were younger?

I think he moved out when he was 17.

Before that, I barely saw him because he was travelling and filming all over the place. I remember going to Air & Style in Munich and watching him ride. It was my birthday, and he started singing happy birthday into the microphone, which was really nice. He was the best brother, but I wish I could have spent more time with him.

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PHOTO. FISCHI

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He’s done a lot of contests, so I guess he’s able to help you out with advice and stuff like that?

Absolutely. He’s been helping me with that stuff all my life. Not only tricks, but also about the snowboard community. He’s been the best mentor and coach for me.

I’m also proud of him for what he’s accomplished, and I think he’s proud of me for sort of following his footsteps. Not following them too closely, though, otherwise I might be a bit crazier than I am.

But we know you like to party too.

There’s some Ethan in there. Do you ever party together?

No, Ethan has been complaining about that for a few months now. I was partying with my other brother recently. We were both at the local club, and I saw him there. When Ethan heard about it he was so jealous and was complaining to all my friends. Hopefully at STRT JAM we can party.

Is it ever weird partying with family?

It kind of was. When they found out that I occasionally got drunk, I was embarrassed, but my siblings have done way crazier things. I think the first time I got drunk with my family was at Christmas, and it’s always mayhem at the Morgan house. It was so embarrassing the next day because they’d seen a different side of me that was quite crazy. It still feels weird having a glass of wine in front of them, but I’m getting better at it.

Let’s see what happen at the STRT JAM. I think the beer is free.

I think my whole family is coming out

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for that. I hope so.

So besides snowboarding, I know that fashion is something you’re pretty interested in?

Oh, I love fashion. It’s become a bit of an addiction lately. I’m really into thrift shopping. I love the concept of them, they’re more sustainable, and there’s always a little story behind each piece. I love it. I keep on finding so much crazy stuff, these twentyyear-old jackets and designer bags that are usually 400€ and you can get them for 20€.

Where do you shop? Are there many places in Mittenwald?

I found one. It’s super low-key and pretty hidden and is only open one day a week. There’s also one store on the American military base here, which is nice because no one can really get into it, but I can because my dad works there. They have quite nice stuff, and I’m pretty much the only younger girl going shopping there.

Damn, your own private shop?

Pretty much, it’s huge. Whenever I’m travelling, I always try to find thrift stores or flea markets. Also in other countries, the clothes and styles are always different.

Do you have any fashion icons?

Anna Wintour, the Vogue editor.

She’s accomplished so much. She started from zero and worked her way all the way up to the top.

Is there anyone in snowboarding who you think dresses really well?

Male or female?

I don’t know. Is it weird if I say that I like my style?

*Laughs* No, that’s fine. We’d love to see you wearing your trench coats while doing slope runs. That would be epic.

I’ve got a few. I’m sure that could work.

What else are you doing besides snowboarding and thrifting?

I’m also figure skating and trying to practice as much as I can. I only get to do it occasionally because I’m still snowboarding and travelling. But whenever I’m home, I get out and do some skating.

Is it a way for you to relax?

I don’t know. Figure skating just makes me so happy. If I’m feeling down or feeling like I haven’t done much athletic training, I’ll just go figure skating. It’s really good for cardio and everything. I guess it’s relaxing for me, but also really exhausting.

Do you think about the future?

Where do you see yourself in five years time?

I’m definitely still going to snowboard.

I’d also like to go to the Olympics in Milan if I qualify for that, then my whole family can come and watch because it’s only four hours away.

I’d also like to film a lot, backcountry and street. I don’t want to only focus on competition. Sometimes it gets a bit one-sided, and I want to see different sides of snowboarding and be a part of them too. I’d also like to go to college or uni. I’m still figuring out what I want to study. Something that I can keep for the future.

That’s cool to hear that you’re looking at doing other things, both

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PHOTO. JOSH BISHOP

in snowboarding and outside it.

Are there any snowboarders in particular that you really look up to?

Hailey Langland is number one.

She’s been my idol for so long. The first time I saw her ride was at Dew Tour when she was fifteen, doing the sickest 5s. I always wanted her style.

I’m a big fan of Jill Perkins. She’s such a good snowboarder. She does the gnarliest tricks on the gnarliest rails.

It’s crazy. Ethan has been my idol since day one. Also, Cooper Whittier, I love the way he shreds.

gnarly rail tricks yourself though, and I can definitely see some of Ethan’s style in your riding and the way you cork your back 7s.

I guess it’s in the genes.

Last question, and the most important. Will you do a knuckle frontflip at the Olympics?

If the knuckle isn’t too hard, then yes, for sure.

Definitely. I know you’ve got some

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INTERVIEW. THEO ACWORTH

WOLLE NYVELT IS NO STRANGER TO POWDER. FROM HIS HOME IN THE ZILLERTAL VALLEY ALL THE WAY TO THE SPINES OF ALAKSA, HE’S SEEN AND RIDDEN IT ALL - BOTH WITH BINDINGS AND WITHOUT. ALONGSIDE AESMO, HE’S NOW CHANNELING HIS YEARS OF SKATING, SNOWBOARDING AND SURFING EXPERIENCE INTO THE HILLSIDE PROJECT. WHEN IT COMES TO SHAPING BOARDS FOR THE POWDER, THERE ARE FEW PEOPLE MORE EXPERIENCED AND KNOWLEDGEABLE. WOLLE WAS KIND ENOUGH TO SPARE US A FEW MOMENTS FROM HIS BUSY SCHEDULE IN THE WORKSHOP AND TALK TO US ABOUT WHAT IT TAKES TO BRING THESE BOARDS TO LIFE FOR THE TEAM, AND ALSO FOR THE REST OF US. PHOTO. PERLY

PHOTO. PERLY

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Hey Wolle, let’s start off with an introduction to the Hillside Project.

What exactly is it?

They are a quiver of powder influenced boards that I help design and make for the Salomon team.

Each year, another rider gets a board.

They are designed by the team, and the prototypes are built by myself/ AESMO. We do all the development processes here in Zillertal [Austria].

We really work out what is best for the riders. They usually get four to five prototypes, and then the molds are launched into production.

So these boards that are really personalised to what the team riders want, and then get produced and are available for anyone to buy?

Exactly. It’s strictly rider focused on what they want, and we do almost everything before the brand and marketing people even see it.

That was Salomon’s choice, and they were really cool not to hinder innovation. I just work with Riton [Henry Rancon] and the riders. It’s always a test for every technology, like our Quadralyser sidecut or flexes and whatnot. The riders can really choose what they want, and all of these concepts get put to the test each year.

How did the Hillside Project start?

The roots of Hillside go back to AESMO. Salomon always supported it, and they never saw it as a threat or ---------- 22.3

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something like that. They always saw the benefits, even when I was fooling around on those boards and not devoting all of my time to them. After ten years, it went full circle, and they said that I should make a snowboard with them. So we measured a board and worked out what measurements would be in the tolerance of their production capabilities. How I do the prototypes is pretty unique in the sense that there are no mold costs.

Whereas in China, each mold costs a few grand. So you can’t quickly or easily just change the sidecut, change the flex or whatever. That’s the benefit that having the workshop here in the alps brings to the table.

Is it a difficult process?

Somehow what we’d taught ourselves with AESMO was good enough to transfer into making snowboards.

Salomon was always very open with us from the beginning. They would really explain what’s going on and how things go together. Take a board that has a 7.5-meter sidecut, and you just love 7.5 meters. But that sidecut is always going to change with the flex of your board. So a board with that radius that’s fairly stiff isn’t going to turn as well as a board that’s soft.

It’s not rocket science. It’s pretty simple to build a snowboard, and anyone can do it. But to really find out what you want is something else.

Salomon was always very focused on gathering data from the team,

knowing who is riding what. They’ve always been a very good company in terms of R&D and testing products.

How long does it take to make a board?

The longest process is doing the CAD work. You put the design down and let it sink for a week. Same as an edit. Then you come back to it and see if you get the same feeling for it. Once all those files are done, I can make it pretty quick, in two or three days. I’ve obviously got faster and changed my techniques over the years too.

So you have a role as both a team rider and also a product developer and tester. That sounds like a pretty nice combo.

For me, it’s just awesome to find that role within snowboarding.

To lengthen my career, so to say.

I don’t like to call it a career at all, but you know what I mean. I love snowboarding, and I always want to be involved in snowboarding. To have the chance to do this is really a pleasure. What I love in this role is being able to cater to the riders. I know how picky I am with what I like, and I might not necessarily know what the rider wants, but I always put them first. Working with Riton on this project, he thinks the same way, and the whole team at Salomon are really supportive of it.

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MAX BURI PHOTO. PERLY

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That’s cool that they give you the space to do this.

It’s not totally out of the box, though.

Look at Gigi [Rüf] and Travis [Rice]. A lot of riders know what’s up and are really involved with their companies throughout their careers. It’s not something totally crazy. But it’s cool that a company as big as Salomon really cares about that. They treated AESMO well, and they treat it with respect. They really support us with materials and with knowledge.

AESMO started with the Salomon Powder Snowskate. I was skating before anything else, and I started making skateboard decks for that.

I’d get tips from Riton about how to do this and that. They always saw the benefit that it would bring back to snowboarding. And that creativity came full circle and eventually found its way back into these boards.

How do your mindset and design approach have to change from making AESMO boards compared to the Hillside Project?

It’s more precise. With a powder board, you can pretty much do it in centimetres, and anything is fine. Snowboards are fine-tuned to perfection. Seeing how things shift with a few tenths difference in the mold layup and stuff like that. It’s much more precise. So the approach is different in the sense that you need to take care of little details way more.

But there can be more pressure too.

You don’t want to fuck up boards for these riders. They’re at the top of their game. Out of respect for them, you don’t want to fuck it up!

How does the design process start with the riders?

In general, the design approach is different every time. The conversation with Louif Paradis will go very differently from a conversation with Josh Dirksen, or Annie Boulanger.

Taka Nakai actually has his feedback translated from Japanese. We also do a lot of R&D outside of the Hillside Project. We test different materials and build prototypes for Nils Mindnich and Victor Daviet, which ended up being boards in the main range. So what we do can go a little further than just Hillside. The next task is to redesign the Sick Stick. This year is its 10th anniversary and is where the Hillside Project kind of started. So I have free hands on the board and can do it how I want it. But you also have ---------- 22.3

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to respect the history of that board, what its role is and where it needs to fit into the whole Salomon quiver.

With the Hillside Project, are there some riders who know exactly what they want and others who are happy to let you surprise them?

Who really knows what they want?

Remember that you’re talking about their second boards here. These aren’t your main boards that you’d go and ride the Baker Banked with or that Louif would hit street on. So the rider’s mindset is already a little bit freer. Dirksen knows everything down to the millimetre, and he’s really set on numbers. He’s fast as fuck in a turn. If he says he’s not getting speed, you’d better listen. Then someone like Taka is just talking in terms of feelings! So when Riton and I get his messages we try to decipher what he’s saying into numbers and put down the CAD drawing. Taka’s feedback is very different, and we a lot of fun discussions trying to figure out exactly what he means!

That’s cool that you have such a variety from the team - both extremes of the scale.

Yeah. But I’m also a student to Riton.

He really knows a lot. I thank him for that chance, and he really trusts me.

We also trust in making mistakes, which can sometimes be the raddest part. Fucking up this, or fucking up that. Then it turns out that the mistake has a sick attribute or it helps you understand something better for the next time. Riton is the kind of guy that’s super open to that. It’s not strictly numbers. He also understands the emotion of the riders.

I know that I’m not very good at taking criticism on my work, especially if it’s something I put a lot of time into. How do you handle it yourself?

A lot of the time, it happens when I’m out riding. I’ll get a message saying ‚something sucks’ about the board, and there isn’t always a lot of sensitivity about how much work gets put in to arrive at the point! But blunt feedback like that is also a strong point. I want the riders to tell me what sucks, and I can only work with that feedback. If they just say that everything is cool, that’s even worse. I’d rather have someone tell me that they like something about it, but there’s also something that sucks.

That’s perfect feedback because you know exactly what that rider is feeling.

You can get closer to understanding them and how they feel and try to understand more for the next prototype.

How different are the Hillside Project boards from each other?

Buri’s setup looked pretty rad at the back.

His has a short swallowtail. We put him on that board, and he just clicked with it. I think where the boards are similar is that we pay attention to the details a lot on contact points, sidecuts and flex patterns. We have that pretty dialled. It’s just plus and minus things. You tweak some attributes, and you might lose or gain something here and there. So I’d say the basic DNA is the same, but the boards do ride completely differently. There’s a super-wide 157 in the range, which rides completely different to Taka’s board, which has a lot of entry rocker in the front. You just need to adapt your stance and approach to riding each one. But what you might lose in one area, you gain on traversing or surfing because it just cuts up really well, or is good in bottom turns, if you want to look at it like that.

So I guess you’re with the riders as much as possible when they’re testing the prototypes?

Yes. You can follow them and really see how they ride. Talking about Buri, he’s such an amazing talent. He has his own approach to snowboarding and is really sensitive to his environment. You can really see when he clicks with everything, and his magic happens.

MAX BURI PHOTO. PERLY

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I guess the surfing mentality also integrates pretty well with your partnership with Billabong?

Billabong goes way back. I was pretty much raised by those guys. Reid [Pinder] and Derrek [O’Neill] from Billabong Europe sponsored me as a shop kid. I got my first ad with them.

I’ve never had another outerwear sponsor, and I’ve been with them for twenty-five years now. They’ve always been loyal, and I always found my place there. For me, it’s one of the realest brands out there. Seeing the connection to surfing, that’s where our roots are from, you know? I owe a lot to them. They brought me to my first shaper and got me my first board. All the surf trips I got to go on was all because of them. They definitely listen to their people. Back in the days, they always had a sick team, guys like Noah Salasnek, Kevin Jones, Axel Pauporté. You might view them more like a surf company, but they always put the work in with snowboarding. From the technical side, the clothing has got really good in the last four years. They’re using the best materials, and I’m stoked to ride it. It’s like family for me.

here with Vlad [David Vladyka], just shredding at home.

VICTOR DAVIET PHOTO. PERLY

There’s definitely a lot of surfing mentality in your approach to making and riding boards.

To me, it is like surfing. You have to read the terrain, and you need the eye for it. Knowing how conditions come into play, being at the right place at the right moment, and being spontaneous.

Last question, and I’ll let you get back to the workshop. What’s the secret to a good spray? Yours are some of the finest and always seem to have some extra height to them.

Just don’t do a hockey stop, do a real turn and slash it in the end. It’s about the slap and not the hook. We all like to come through a spray, but whatever dude, just have fun! We turn on a skateboard, and we turn on a snowboard. Just do a fucking turn!

So what is the Adventure Division?

That actually started in France with surfing. Guys like Francois Liets and Benjamin Sanchis just wanted to have the best equipment. That whole story opened the door for them to apply the same focus and approach with technical products to snowboarding as well. They are really making gear for people who shred all the time and working with materials like Sympatex and stuff like that. We want quality before design. From when they started the Adventure Division, they really stepped up their game.

WOLLE PHOTO. BECKNA

Is there a video in the works from the team this year?

Yeah. COVID split us, though. The US guys were in Idaho and did a backcountry hut trip with Bode [Merrill],v Worm [Garrett Warnick] and Maddie Mastro. Unfortunately I couldn’t go, but I filmed a little edit

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PHOTO. NAURIS PUTENIS, WILL SMITH, CRAIG ROBINSON INTERVIEW. THEO ACWORTH

FOR SOME PEOPLE, SNOWBOARDING ON THEIR HOME TURF IS NORMAL. IF YOU LIVE IN MINNESOTA, OR QUEBEC, YOU’RE PRETTY MUCH GUARANTEED TO GET SNOW ON THE GROUND. IF YOU LIVE IN THE UK, THAT’S FAR LESS LIKELY TO HAPPEN. IT’S PROBABLY GOT SOMETHING TO DO WITH THE PROXIMITY TO THE OCEAN, BUT I DIDN’T PAY ENOUGH ATTENTION IN SCHOOL TO FULLY UNDERSTAND WHY. WHATEVER THE REASON, IF YOU LIVE IN THE UK AND YOU WANT TO SNOWBOARD ON THE STREETS, YOU DON’T HAVE MUCH OF A CHOICE BUT TO TRAVEL FOR IT. FOR PEOPLE LIKE WILL SMITH, THIS IS BUSINESS AS USUAL. HE’S BEEN JUMPING ON PLANES AND PUTTING OUT HEAVY STREET PARTS FOR OVER TEN YEARS. HE’D PLANNED TO DO MORE OF THE SAME, THEN COVID HIT, AND NO ONE WAS ALLOWED OFF THE ISLAND. SOME COUNTRIES WERE MORE TOLERANT OF PEOPLE CROSSING BORDERS, BUT THE UK HAD IT BAD. LOCKDOWNS WERE LONG, RESTRICTIONS HEAVY, AND ACCESS TO TESTING WAS EXPENSIVE AND DIFFICULT. JANUARY CAME AROUND, AND THEY WERE BLESSED WITH THE RAREST OF THINGS, SNOWFALL ON THE STREETS. Ay up lad. When did you last leave the UK? About a year and a half ago, maybe longer. This is probably the longest I’ve been in England since I was fifteen, so for twelve years. I tried to go to Finland last winter, and because of fucking Brexit, my passport was invalid. It hadn’t expired, but the new regulations meant that you had to renew it earlier than usual. It took six weeks to get a new one, and in that time, all the rules in Finland changed and no one wanted to accept travellers from the UK. I think this break’s been good for me to be honest. I was feeling a bit burnt out. I’ve filmed so hard for so many years, it was actually nice to step away from snowboarding for a year. The passport thing was a blessing in disguise, really. If I’d gone to Finland, then I wouldn’t have got to snowboard and film street at home.

When did it snow in the UK? It was January 9th. There was no snow at my house, but there was snow three miles up the road. It was bizarre. But it all melted by four or five in the afternoon. I thought, oh, ok, that’s the end of winter!

Season done in under twelve hours.

I was still hyped that we got one day.

How early were you out and riding?

Normally I wouldn’t be out too early, but I took my girlfriend Josie to work, and it was just dumping. I wouldn’t have even known about it unless I’d driven her. So I drove home, rang Albie [Edmonds] and Ian [Thrashmore] and asked if they were going snowboarding! It was sticky though. You’d go downhill and be slowing down, but it was still fun.

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“THAT WAS THE FIRST TIME IN SO LONG THAT LIFE FELT NORMAL AGAIN” Was this still lockdown when you weren’t supposed to leave the house?

Yeah, that was the weird thing. Up until then, no one was doing anything or even leaving the house. I thought fuck it. I’ll take a fine if it means I get to go snowboarding.

Were there many people out and about?

Mate, the park was full! I think everyone just decided they needed a break from the lockdown shit. It was really nice. That was the first time in so long that life felt normal again for a day. Then I think it was about a week later that it snowed again. Joe [Allen] lives just around the corner, which is a blessing.

He was down to come out and film. I really like filming with him, and we have a good thing going. I was hyped that he was down.

He’s a skate filmer, but he gets snowboarding now. It worked really well.

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Did you have spots ready to go?

We had too many. The last time it snowed here was ten years ago. That was when I got on Vans and had my first ad. It was mad to be out again.

But I hadn’t snowboarded for ages because I fucked my ankle skating, so I kind of eased into it with some mellower spots. There was a downrail down the road in Burley park that I’ve dreamed about hitting, and we had a great session on it.

Did it feel weird to be snowboarding at home?

It felt easy mate. It made me jealous of people who get to snowboard at home. You wake up in your own bed, have breakfast with your girlfriend, ring your mates and your filmer, pick them up, you know where to go and where everything is. There’s no confusion. You go do it, and then you come home. It’s the nicest feeling.

It’s like skateboarding. For me, snowboarding has a different feeling because you’re always on a trip. This felt more free.

How were people reacting to what you were doing?

Everyone loved it. We didn’t know whether the police would be pissed if we were out because of COVID. Most of the spots in Leeds are on really rough estates or big blocks of flats. A police van showed up at one spot, and we thought we were getting busted, but they didn’t even bat an eyelid.

Not bothered at all. Young scally kids who would normally be giving you shit were hyped. I was trying to get them to pull me in with a shovel, but they couldn’t do it. Everyone was just friendlier because it’s so rare that we get snow. Everyone had a day off work or school or whatever and was just

happy. That same day some younger lads were filming us from a balcony.

Ian was snowboarding behind his house about four miles away from us, and some lad ran up to him and showed him the video of us which his mate had just sent him! Just some random scallys on Snapchat.

Who were you mostly riding with?

It was Feesh [John Weatherly], Nauris [Putenis], and Nuddsy [Andy Nudds], and Albie who I skate with.

He snowboards a bit, and I got him to come out for a few days. He hit a rail for the first time too. It was such a fun experience, it just felt like being kids and messing about. It wasn’t serious at all, but it was productive. When it snowed, I tried to do three spots a day. Each day, I thought that was the only day I was going to get. When you get another one, you just keep going for it. In the end, I think we got twelve days.

For the UK, that’s seriously good.

We did three days in Leeds, and then we also went up to where my mum and dad live in Denholme. It’s a few hundred feet higher up there, so there was more snow. But it’s so rural, it’s just farms and drystone walls, so there’s not much to find. We drove up there and just rode anything that we could, just making the most of whatever was there. It wasn’t about finding the biggest or gnarliest shit.

I might not ever get to do it again at home, so we just made the most of it. My mum and dad also came to a spot! They’ve seen my parts, but they haven’t seen me snowboard in person since I was about sixteen, and they loved it. There’s a rail in the village that I grew up in, and I’d never seen it. Nuddsy actually found it. My

dad was helping shovel the spot too.

Nice! I guess when your whole career is based on travelling away from home, you don’t get to share it with family too often.

They get snowboarding. I think because I’ve just been talking their heads off about it for so many years.

My mum would say stuff like, ‚Oh, I like that spot!’.

That’s rad. What do the other guys do for work? How much time were they able to ride?

Nuddsy’s a postman. He had to work a day but came riding a lot. Feesh is just an enigma. He does the Booby Trap, which is a coaching thing. Trying to make kids learn and progress while having fun instead of being super serious. He’s got this van, and he has two boxes in there that the kids ride, and we basically turned those into a DIY drop-in. It worked sick, we propped them up and bungee-corded them together.

How long have you known him?

Since I was thirteen or fourteen, he’s the one that got me into the Grindhouse movies back in the day.

I’ve known him since the beginning.

I love him. There was one day where it was just him and me. It was raining loads. If you were on a normal trip, there’s no way you’d be outside. I filmed him doing an ollie into this cobbled bank. We were rolling tiny snowballs and patting them down just to make a landing and pretty much riding through dog shit.

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That sounds terrible, but awesome.

Are you making a clip?

Yeah, I put it all in the timeline but sort of left it over summer. I’ve just started piecing it all together. I think it’s probably going to be about five or six minutes. Not too long, but a nice length. Everyone got shots. Nuddsy has some really sick shots. He’s the most underrated snowboarder that I’ve ever witnessed. He’s always been so good. He doesn’t even snowboard much anymore, but he can still just do stuff instantly. Really impressive.

I was never a part of the UK scene, but I know it used to be big. Is there much going on around your area, and were other people out doing stuff?

I feel bad, but I have no idea. Feesh has definitely got a scene going at Chill Factor in Manchester. They do indoor sessions every Monday. He’s started getting people riding dryslope again at Rosendale, which I think is amazing. Without dryslope, I would never have been able to snowboard.

The cost of the domes is insane compared to the dryslope. You can just get a pass and ride every day, and it’s feasible for kids to do that.

A dome is about £50 for four hours.

There used to be loads of contests

in the UK, but it doesn’t happen that much anymore. It isn’t how it was before. There are people still trying to make stuff happen, though, which is sick. That’s why I try to do an event at least once a year, so kids can go to something and see some sick riding. That’s what makes you want to snowboard as a kid, seeing stuff that you couldn’t imagine. It’s important for kids to see that stuff.

Definitely. Were there any standout spots or moments from the riding you got last winter?

Just everything, mate. The day on that downrail I mentioned was great.

Me, Albie and Joe went to set it up, and it was the rainiest spot. For some reason, everywhere else had more snow than that. We got to the top of the hill, which is huge. We dropped in and didn’t even make it to the rail!

Nuddsy showed up, Feesh showed up with Nauris. It was sick. We just had a session on this rail, and everyone got some clips. The landing was pure mud, not even snow. That day was sick. We were all piss-wet because it was raining. We got changed, had some food, then drove up to Middleton, which is a bit higher up, and it was puking. I’m not joking, there must have been a foot of snow.

We found another spot, lit it up and had another session. We were pretty much dropping in on this woman’s doorstep. She came out and was so hyped. Bless her, her husband had died the week before, or maybe it was her brother, and apparently he was really into snowboarding, which was random. But she was so hyped, just sat out with a cup of tea, watching and chatting with us. It was a really surreal experience.

Must have been nice being able to talk to people in your own language for once?

It was so nice. You can talk your way into stuff when you’re away, but there’s a limit. Whereas here you’re in full control and you know what’s going on, you can read people a bit

YORKSHIRE BACKSIDE WALLRIDE PHOTO. NAURIS PUTENIS

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ANDY NUDDS, NOSEPRESS PHOTO. NAURIS PUTENIS

better. Also, my accent definitely helped us with spots around here. I definitely don’t sound Southern.

NUDDSY, BOARDSLIDE PHOTO. NAURIS PUTENIS

Open and easy communication definitely makes so much of a difference to the experience of shooting street. Also seeing British architecture and in these shots is really cool, because it’s just so rare.

Anyone reading this who isn’t from the UK probably won’t know what the M62 is, but we were snowboarding next to it. [Ed. It’s a British motorway] Should we call this story M62?

Yeah, lots of the spots we hit are just off that, so that’s kind of a sick title.

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PHOTO. NANDO DULLAART

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INTERVIEW. CAITLIN MURRAY ILLUSTRATIONS. HANNAH EDDY

Hey Hannah! Your work is rad, tell us a bit about how it all started for you.

I have drawn and painted for as long as I remember and always loved it.

When I look back in old sketchbooks, I can see how at the heart of it, my style and interests haven’t really changed all that much. I used to draw cartoons and dragons and aliens and all that good stuff, and I basically still do. I have obviously dialled and refined my style, which just naturally happens over years and years of creating and finding things that really resonate with you. I love to use colourful combinations of funky characters, imaginative landscapes, bold line work, and free-flowing hand lettering.

You’re a snowboarder & skater. Did this contribute to the progression of your artistic style?

I’ve been snowboarding and skating since I was super young and have always been really into the whole free-thinking and creative culture that’s included. Board graphics have always been super fun and inspiring to me, and I would even redraw the logos or graphics and make my own fake company ideas all the time.

My artistic style today is greatly influenced by my love for riding boards. I really enjoy having a balance for my creative outlets. One is outside having fun in nature, and the other is a quiet and meditative solo activity, but both are so fun and fulfilling to me. My

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art life and snowboard/skate life are so completely intertwined that I can’t imagine one without the other.

The snowsports industry is fairly male-dominated in most areas. How was the industry towards female creators when you first started, and where do you feel it is now?

I think it’s really valuable to see „someone like you” do the things you aspire to do, so representation absolutely matters. The whole „if they can do it, I can do it” feeling is important for confidence, motivation, and inspiration. If there can be a place for all sorts of underrepresented groups to get a bigger platform within the art world or snowboarding [or everything else for that matter], I feel like it can do nothing but good for everyone. But, compared to people of colour, transgender, and plus-size, for example, I feel that women are pretty well represented in snowboarding [and art], so it’s a hard topic to fully tackle from this angle. At the base of all of this is the importance of providing equal opportunities for young people [or anyone] to actually have access to the activities they wish to get into. This is definitely easier in the art world because it’s not as pricy or limited to your location as it is to get into snowboarding which makes it super tricky. If more people have access and encouragement to get into the activity, different types of people will be involved, leading to more

being represented. I think it’s this that is the problem in snowboarding.

I think inclusivity and support are the keys to encouraging more women to get involved in the creative side of sports. Do you have any advice for women of any age who are trying to do the same?

I think it’s really cool to see more and more women in skating/ snowboarding/surfing follow a more unique and creative path within the industry. You can love these activities and base your life around them without following the typical route of being a sponsored professional athlete. There are ways to make a living as an artist, musician, filmer, editor, or many other creative positions and still get to be part of the activities you love. My advice to break into this creative world would be to keep doing what you love and what is authentic to you. Practice is huge, and patience is key. If you are authentic and doing unique stuff, other people may start to catch on even if you’re from an underrepresented group [you might just have to work a bit harder to get noticed or respected]. The best part about this is that even if no one seems to notice or you’re not getting what you thought you wanted out of it, at least you are doing what you love every day and making intentional life decisions based on what makes you happy, and that sounds pretty much like a freakin’ win to me.

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“YOU CAN LOVE THESE ACTIVITIES AND BASE YOUR LIFE AROUND THEM WITHOUT FOLLOWING THE TYPICAL ROUTE OF BEING A SPONSORED PROFESSIONAL ATHLETE. EVEN IF NO ONE SEEMS TO NOTICE OR YOU’RE NOT GETTING WHAT YOU THOUGHT YOU WANTED OUT OF IT, AT LEAST YOU ARE DOING WHAT YOU LOVE EVERY DAY AND MAKING INTENTIONAL LIFE DECISIONS BASED ON WHAT MAKES YOU HAPPY.”

“THERE’S SO MUCH DOOM AND GLOOM IN THE WORLD, I HAVE FOUND MOTIVATION IN CREATING POSITIVE AND MEANINGFUL ARTWORK IN ORDER TO HELP NICE THE PLACE UP A BIT.” 84 PROOFED_HANNA EDDY.indd 84

Your work is so positive and motivating to just keep on truckin’ and doing your own thing. How do you keep your work and yourself so positive in a time where everything feels a little fucked up…

There’s so much doom and gloom in the world, I have found motivation in creating positive and meaningful artwork in order to help nice the place up a bit. If I can encourage or inspire my fellow humans to pick up a board, hop on a bike, feel the wind, start a painting, get a little weird, appreciate the funkiness in nature, or just give a shit about our planet and each other then I feel like I’m doing what I’m supposed to be doing. That’s what keeps me going! It doesn’t always have to be happy rainbows and butterflies all the time because that’s not realistic, and that’s not how I always feel, but I do tend to like either making people chuckle or smile or have a little moment of reflection or contemplation with my art. Also, some people don’t realise that these phrases and quotes that I come up with in my art are helping my own mental health in addition to spreading a message that I hope might helps others as well.

You’ve done collabs with Autumn, had prints in Jérôme Tanon’s ‚Heroes’ book, painted amazing murals and also created snowboard and skate graphics. Is there anything from your career that you’re particularly stoked about more than others?

I feel so grateful to have been able to do all these things with my art so far. It’s really been so amazing.

Jérôme’s book project was such a cool thing to be a part of, and it’s so amazing all the effort he put into a project that celebrates women and will hopefully have a lasting impact on the snowboard industry. Also, when Barrett Christy hit me up the first time to do a GNU board graphic, I couldn’t even believe it. I think that’s when it hit me that I was really doing it! I had been drawing and dreaming of designing board graphics since I was a kid, not to mention that I had Barrett’s posters all over my room, so it was really a full-circle experience.

Since then, I have gotten to work with Barrett and GNU on several board designs, which are so fun! It’s super cool to see people out there on the mountain ripping around on a piece of my art. On top of the design and

illustration aspect of my art, I have gotten more into murals lately, which is really amazing. Thanks to another fellow snowboarder, Pat Milbery, who has become quite the muralist. He invited me to be involved in a mural festival last fall and allowed me to paint my first huge wall. It totally got me hooked, and I have since gotten to paint more and more murals. I love the public aspect of murals and how there is no barrier of entry for people to see the art. It’s out there for everyone to enjoy [or not]! I’m excited to paint more of them and have been trying to prioritise mural projects lately.

Any tips for keeping up with a hectic schedule?

I make sure there is always time in the day for skating, snowboarding, surfing, mountain biking, or other fun outdoor activities. That’s where I get my inspiration and how I keep my motivation up. For me, there needs to be a nice balance of work and life, which gets tricky [in an awesome way] when you would do most of your „work” for fun. My husband, Tim, has been super supportive and helpful and has taken on some duties that help ease my workload. It’s amazing to find a partner that you can bounce ideas off and someone that keeps you organised, keeps you on track and makes sure you’re having a damn good-ass time along the way.

What are you working on at the moment?

Right now, I am working on some fun client projects, mostly illustration/ design work, and I have a few murals coming up that I am starting to sketch out ideas for. I have also been trying to ramp up my personal products on my online store, like shirts, prints, stickers, and hats. Focusing a little more on my own products allows me full creative control in the product, the design, and how it’s marketed, which is really satisfying. I am able to ship worldwide now without it being crazy expensive, too, which has been nice. I get so psyched and humbled when I see people wearing my art. So, thank you for all the support out there and for allowing me to draw fun stuff for a living. I couldn’t do it without all of you!

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Pic: Sani Alibabic | Blue Tomato Team Rider: Anna Gasser

Blue Tomato Book | blue-tomato.com/book instagram.com/bluetomato | #yourrideourmission

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GOT RUSTY

THE STRUCTURE

-

SHOT DOWNTOWN

MONTREAL.

JAYSSON

PHOTO.

GALLANT

3

22.

It’s January 17th, 2021. Jaysson Gallant [photographer], two of my friends William and David [filmmaker] and I met at the spot around 10 am. We didn’t waste any time and started shovelling right away. We were afraid of being kicked out by the police. This place is the first thing you see when you arrive in downtown Montreal, so everyone sees you. I go to school close to this spot, and every time I walked past it, I’d tell myself that I was going to hit it and that the photo would be insane.

I think we pulled something like 30 buckets of snow up there to make the in-run and kicker, and the snow was wet and super heavy. Around noon, no police or security had shown up, and I started to ride it. I was afraid because of the sketchy run-up, but after a couple of shaping tweaks, I was able to drop and pop straight up onto the rail. At this exact moment, the police came... fuck, man.

DO

IT!

They were across the street, where Jaysson was shooting the photo, so he went to see them, and they were like, „ARE YOU GUYS REALLY SNOWBOARDING?!” One of the cops took his microphone and yelled,

I looked at my friend William who filmed the second angle on top of the structure. „WAIT, WHAT? DID HE JUST TELL ME TO DO IT? SO NO KICK OUT ?!”. I dropped in, and I crashed on the stairs like a fucking rookie! On the microphone, THEY YELLED, „C’MON MAN, YOU CAN DO IT, TRY AGAIN!”. They left after a couple more tries but wished me luck, and told us that there are a couple of other cops around that will pass by for sure. I think two other cops came to see us, but they were super chill. What a lucky day!

A lot of people walked down the street that day and stopped to take photos and ask what our names were and what we were doing on that thing. Some girls asked Jaysson what my IG was, and he was like, „YEAH, GO FOLLOW HIM. HE’S DTF!” *I have a girlfriend* Around 4–5 pm it was getting into the blue hour, the lights were starting to pop in the background, and this was the kind of look that Jaysson wanted to shoot. I made the trick, and Jay had the shot he wanted. We were so stoked.

But the story doesn’t stop here. A few days passed, and I received a DM on my Instagram from the cop who was yelling on his microphone and pushing me to do the trick! He was really stoked when I told him that I had landed it. I thanked him, and we chatted about snowboarding.

The moral of the story, there are cool cops who let snowboarders do their thang. They’re rare, but they exist, and I still want to thank him and the other cops that day. Thanks for letting us ride this spot and take this awesome picture!

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ELIAS ELHARDT

LAST WINTER, TRAVIS RICE, LIAM GRIFFIN AND THE NATURAL SELECTION TEAM HAD TO CONSTANTLY ADAPT THEIR PLANS DUE TO COVID, BUT THIS DIDN’T STOP THEM FROM PULLING OFF THE INAUGURAL NATURAL SELECTION TOUR WITH STOPS IN JACKSON HOLE MOUNTAIN RESORT, BALDFACE VALHALLA, AND THE TODRILLO MOUNTAINS OF ALASKA. THE HEAD-TO-HEAD KNOCKOUT FORMAT MADE FOR SOME SURPRISING RESULTS, WITH SOME BIG NAMES DROPPING OUT EARLY. MIKKEL BANG AND ROBIN VAN GYN TOOK THE TOP SPOTS, BUT IT WAS ANYONE’S GAME UP UNTIL THE VERY END. UNLIKE MOST MAJOR CONTESTS, THE NATURAL SELECTION WAS ACTUALLY EXCITING AND ENTERTAINING TO WATCH, AND WE’RE STOKED TO SEE HOW THE SECOND YEAR OF THE TOUR UNFOLDS. WE GOT TRAVIS ON THE PHONE TO GIVE US SOME INSIGHTS INTO WHAT WE CAN EXPECT TO SEE, AND WHAT IT TAKES TO MAKE THIS THING HAPPEN. INTERVIEW. THEO ACWORTH. PHOTO. NATURAL SELECTION/RED BULL CONTENT POOL

So you’ve got year one under your belt. How are you feeling coming to the second year of Natural Selection?

Last year was tough. In Jackson, we couldn’t even talk about the Baldface, Valhalla event because of the sensitivity of Canada’s COVID policies. So it felt a bit like a broken tour. This coming season is a direct three-stop tour, and the stakes and demands of the terrain get notched up at each event. Last year we built the foundation, which was exactly what we needed to do. It wasn’t what we originally envisioned, but all things considered, from the crazy

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COVID year we found ourselves in, I think we did damn well. It was a great setup, and this season all three of our venues will be much more interesting. We’ve rounded them out a lot more. Jackson Hole was already a pretty epic venue, but running into last winter, we were only at about 65% of where we wanted to be. Now I think we’re more in the 85% range.

What’s going on with Baldface?

Will you be on the same Valhalla tenure as last year or somewhere different?

We’ve got a couple of things going on in Baldface. We went in this

summer and cleaned up, added and refined features from the original Super Natural 2012 venue. We’ll be running on that venue, and there’s also a wildcard bonus venue there that we’ll talk more about after the Jackson event.

Sounds good. How’s Alaska looking?

In AK, we have a much better venue than last year. Last year’s faces were sweet, but they weren’t the first choices. They were more like C and D choices. I’m really excited about what we’re focussing on for this year.

It’s going to take it to another level.

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We’ll also have more competitors there than we did last year.

Will we see the live format at each stop?

It’s our goal. For sure Jackson will be live again, but the others are undecided. Last year was an almost documentary-style show for the Baldface stop. I think we’re going to step that up to an actual live-tocard style show. So much more the entirety of the day, but not live-live.

What are the biggest challenges of doing live broadcasts in remote locations?

The logistics are pretty nuts.

You need infrastructure and RF connectivity on-site, a full editing suite, a week of satellite time booked out for uplink and downlink. I could go on and on about how complicated it is, but our production partner Uncle Toad’s Media Group, our COO Liam Griffin and our production team fucking loves a challenge, and so do I. So at the end of the day, it comes down to the exponential cost because we’re not afraid of the logistics. We’re committed to pursuing a live broadcast, but we’re still in our second year and trying to drive support for this thing. To be frank, the only metric we’re ---------- 22.3

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measured on is when people tune in. The more people who tune in, the easier it makes it for us to go live and start bringing in other events in places like Europe.

We were hoping to see a European stop on the tour this year. Is that something you’ll be looking into at some point?

We had some good momentum in Europe, but COVID erased that, so we’re sort of starting from scratch again there. I’ve been working on this for six years, and it’s absolutely something we’re looking at doing in the future.

Anything you can tell us about the rider list for the upcoming tour?

The top half of the field from Jackson have automatically re-qualified for the second year, as well as the winners of the video part contest and overall winners from Baldface Valhalla. We changed the dates of the event so that riders could also do the Olympics, but it looks like lastminute COVID protocols from China means that riders have to arrive there a week earlier than planned, which means some of them wouldn’t be eligible to ride at Natural Selection.

So that potentially opens up some more spots.

“I’M REALLY EXCITED ABOUT WHAT WE’RE FOCUSSING ON FOR THIS YEAR. IT’S GOING TO TAKE IT TO ANOTHER LEVEL.”

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HANNA BEAMAN

How do you decide who comes?

That can’t be an easy task.

I’m not the biggest fan of inviteonly contests, but we had to start somewhere. Luckily it’s not just up to me. The Natural Selection board is a group of men and women who all have independent votes. They’ve done the first round of picks and will then wait to digest what films or parts people put out in the next few months before doing the next round. It’s crucial that that stuff is considered.

So we probably won’t have final picks until the middle of January. On top of that, we’ll also select some alternates in case people can’t make it.

Are there any changes in the judging format for this year?

There’s some evolution, like

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anything. We were really happy with the judging last year, and we’ll have the same team back. Having gone through three events, they’re now much more informed. It’s good to be able to re-watch last year’s runs and nit-pick decisions. There were a couple of tough ones. One of Pat Moore’s heats was one of the most contentious. Was it the right call or not? Watching in hindsight, I still think it’s up to individual interpretation and just depends on where you focus. Did someone take chances and try a bunch of things but maybe sketched out, or did someone play it super safe and get a clean run?

We want the emphasis on judging to be like filming in the backcountry. If you do a little butt check or a minor crash without impacting momentum

or flow, that’s kind of how it is when filming and riding in the backcountry.

This isn’t park or pipe where you get deducted for touching a hand.

There is an emphasis on diversity, creativity and line choice, but that’s also paired with the difficulty of tricks and the risks that riders take. Even if someone rides the same line but kick their tricks up a gear, that might be rewarded. But you saw Blake Paul ride the same line, and it ended up being his downfall. If he switched it up, maybe he could have gone to the end. Mark McMorris did the same line and raised the level of his tricks, but the people he was up against didn’t nail their diversity lines. They would have got a higher score for doing those lines, but if you don’t land them, that’s just how it is.

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MARK SOLLORS

“WHEN I WAS RIDING AND CHECKING IT OUT, THERE WAS NO POSSIBILITY IN MY MIND THAT MY TRACKS WOULD STILL BE VISIBLE NEARLY A MONTH LATER. BUT SURE ENOUGH, THEY WERE STILL THERE.” Which aspects of the tour really stood out for you last year?

The Jackson event ran as smoothly as it could have done. We had amazing conditions, and the show was super on point. We actually won a CLIO award for live broadcasting. Zoi’s [Sadowski-Synott] story, for me, was the coolest thing that happened on the tour. She was only invited a few weeks prior, and I think she had to go straight rogue from the New Zealand team to come and compete, as she’s an Olympic hopeful. She showed up and put on a real exhibition. The event in Alaska also went super well. It hadn’t snowed in three and a half weeks, so being able to find the conditions that we did was really nice.

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ones, and they were actually from me when I was scouting the face. When I was riding and checking it out, there was no possibility in my mind that my tracks would still be visible nearly a month later. But sure enough, they were still there. I didn’t say anything about it at the time, but you could still kinda see them.

That’s pretty nice to hear that you snaked your own contest. Ok, we’re stoked to see how it all unfolds this year, and I think we can leave things there for now. The last words are yours: Our success and sustainability are built on people tuning in and giving a shit about it. So if you think it’s cool, tune in.

2022 NATURAL SELECTION TOUR DATES: YETI Natural Selection at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort: Jan 24th - 30th Natural Selection Lodge: Feb 21st - 27th

at

Baldface

Natural Selection in the Tordrillo Mountains: March 21st - 27th

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ESCAPE4YOU :) 11:11:22 sent by THEO

WHILE ON A RECENT SUMMER TRIP, METHOD HOSTED A 41-MINUTE CONVERSATION THAT REVOLVED AROUND A SELECTION OF PHOTOGRAPHS FROM THE UPCOMING ESCAPE VIDEO, TITLED ‘ESCAPE 4 U’. REPRESENTING THE ESCAPE CREW WAS 22-YEAR-OLD SWISS RIDER, GIAN SUTTER. THE ADDITIONAL PANEL MEMBERS WERE BENNY URBAN, KAS LEMMENS, SEBI SPRINGETH AND THEO ACWORTH. WE ASKED QUESTIONS, GIAN ANSWERED THEM, AND THE RESULTS ARE RECORDED BELOW. MAKE SURE YOU CHECK THE VIDEO ON METHOD, IT’S AN ABSOLUTE HEATER.

12:34:21 sent by THEO

GIAN SUTTER, FRONTBOARD INTO THE BANK PHOTO. VITALIK DRACHUK

T: Was this in Kiev?

K: I would probably not hit this spot,

G: Yeah, we found it randomly after another spot didn’t work out. It was kind of shit because there were so many gaps on top of the rail, so we had to fix them.

G:

B: How did you fix them?

but aesthetically it looks super nice.

I like the stones.

long? That’s what would happen to me for sure.

K: What was the outrun like into the street?

G: Kind of, yeah. And we only fixed the first couple of gaps in the rail, so you kind of had to get off at a certain point. The first couple of tries, I did 50-50s and went way too fast.

our car. It was a 25-hour drive. But it was good because we had all of our stuff with us, so we could easily fix the spot. It was just three of us, Lou Staub, Dario Burch and me. I wanted to fly, but the others didn’t, so we did the drive in two days, stopping overnight in Poland, where Stefano Bergamaschi lives. He’s a stockbroker there, straight up hustling.

It looks narrow from here, but it was fine. I tried to pop it out as straight as possible, but it was hard to bring it back to regular. I definitely did a lot of tries to get it nicely. We set it all up the day before and pushed so much snow into the road. There’s a little zone in Kiev where people build their own obstacles, and they were super down to help us out with shovelling and spots.

T: How was it crossing borders?

S: The guy at the bottom looks cool.

G:

G:

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B: Did you ever get locked on for too

The material was like pool tiles, super slidey.

G: With Bondo. We drove to Kiev with G.

The border was weird, people with guns and stuff. We had to do tests and were there for three hours at least.

over, threw the door open and was screaming at the guy.

S: Fucking winches.

That was one of the guys from the Kiev spot. He helped us for the whole week. Once a truck drove into the landing, and he straight up ran METHOD 21 -----------

16.11.2021 13:06

G: This is a ledge that we all walk past almost every day in downtown Zürich. It doesn’t snow so often in the city, so we never thought you could hit it. Then we had one week of snow, which was so sick. People were so stoked and also chilled about our riding. The next day there was a lot of stuff in the newspapers about us hitting this spot. But the trashy online ones.

G: GIAN SUTTER

ONLINE

K: KAS LEMMENS

ONLINE

B: BENNY URBAN

ONLINE

S: SEBI SPRINGETH

ONLINE

T: THEO ACWORTH (moderator)

ONLINE

K: We had the same thing in Holland last winter, maybe because it’s just so unusual and people have never seen street snowboarding before. I also went viral in the Netherlands, hitting that yellow ledge. It was on a local Rotterdam page.

G: Oh yeah, the one you posted?

K:

Yeah, I thought as it was already online, I might as well post it myself.

B: How big is the drop

12:48:35 sent by THEO

DARIO BURCH, BS 50-50 PHOTO. DANIEL LOOSLI

on the backside of the ledge?

G: Well, you can see the sidewalk at the bottom of the photo, so all the way at the top, it’s probably 4 or 5 meters.

But the whole ledge is slightly slanted to the inside, so it was pretty perfect.

It slid really well.

K:

G: We were definitely stressing on that one because we thought we were going to get kicked, so that’s something you can talk shit on for sure if you want.

much about him.

G. He’s a quiet person. He used to ride contests but had two ACL surgeries and started filming and got way more into that. He’s not just a guy coming with us and filming. He organises everything, and is always the one shovelling the hardest, sweating so hard.

Saying, ‘Yo, fuck you guys, shovel more!’.

LOU STAUB PHOTO. VITALIK DRACHUK

What’s up with the snow on the stairs? Matt Georges definitely didn’t take this photo. He does not like snow on stairs.

T: I’ve exchanged a bunch of emails with Lou but don’t know too

K: I sat next to him on a lift in Laax, and he brought his dog with him. It was a nice dog.

G: Yeah, he brings it on day missions. Its name is Jelly.

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B: That’s a nice photo, and it’s gnarly that he boardslid it. We found that spot when we were there, and we thought that just a 50-50 would be insane.

K: I would not go sideways on that thing.

G: That was a battle. We were there for so long.

Elias broke his board and also had to go to the hospital after he slammed into a snow pile in the street and hurt his wrist, but in the end, he got the shot.

K: I remember that there was kind of a knuckle that you had to clear, and there’s still some distance to the landing?

G: Yeah, there’s a knuckle. The landing was hard because there were bushes there. We had to cut them out. He also had a lot of bails where he hung up on the top of the fence.

K: It’s a cool shot. I’m hyped for him that he got it. I was too scared to hit it.

G: Yeah, he’s so good.

He was injured for around two years. He was riding comps, but 14:48:11 sent by THEO now he stopped. He really looks up to all of you guys, so he’d be stoked that you’re all looking at this B: It’s such a cool spot too. I mean, shot and are down with it. how many places do you find something like that?

S: We saw him riding in Laax. He has such a good style.

G: Why did they even build it? Why is that beam there? Also, the in-run with the drop makes it even cooler.

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ELIAS RUPP, FS LIPSLIDE POP OVER PHOTO. DARIO BURCH

K: Maybe Dom [Wagner] could creeper the ledge next year.

B: Step down to creeper? *laughs* K: Instant taco.

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B:

This reminds me of a classic street snowboard photo from the early 2000s in Salt Lake or something. Barely any snow, straight into a road.

K: Yeah, really cool.

G: He got it super quick, just a few tries.

S: Dom and I wanted to do it too.

G: Yeah, I think you sent it to me

15:51:22 sent by THEO

DARIO BURCH, GAP BACKLIP PHOTO. ANTONIN MAUDRY

and asked what we got on it.

S: It’s crazy steep. It doesn’t look it, but it is.

B: We were tripping out that the flat parts of the rails didn’t have supports.

We broke a rail like that before. You

don’t want to imagine what happens when you’re boardsliding and the flat part of the rail breaks.

S: Oh, I didn’t even notice that.

G: We thought it would be sick to do some pow for the video, but it was so exhausting, especially for Dario and me. We both used to ride comps and were doing so many jumps back in the day. We were so down to go and shoot powder, but after a few days, we

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B:

That’s definitely something youhave to think about. That’s the first thing I thought when I looked at this spot. Check the welds!

were both like, fuck this, let’s go back to the streets, it’s so much nicer! But I think we got some cool pow stuff. Especially Elio and Flo [Fischer].

T: Does Elio know what he’s doing in pow?

His style is so amazing, and it seems like that’s where he belongs 100%, but at the same time, he also looks pretty wild and on the edge of control.

G: Kind of both! He’s so down for powder, especially natural stuff. He’s still figuring out which direction he wants to go in, but from our crew, he’s the rider with the most pow experience.

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GIAN SUTTER, SW BS WALLRIDE PHOTO. ANTONIN MAUDRY

16:12:32 sent by THEO

G. This was kind of weird because I wasn’t really sure how to ride it. I wanted to do a switch wallride, but I’d never done one before. Anto [Maudry] shot the photo. He shoots skating a lot, and I really like the style. He made the 3-hour train journey from Laussane to shoot with us that day. I think this really looks like a skate shot.

K: Nice. It looks like that spot in Barcelona, the big blocks.

B: Yeah, where Jake Johnson did the switch wallride.

K: They’re such an awkward trick.

I’m impressed that you have the full board on it. That’s really hard.

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16:16:42 sent by THEO

THE KIDS ARE DOWN PHOTO. ANTONIN MAUDRY

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DRINK SEXY AM TEAM PHOTO. ANTONIN MAUDRY

K: Maybe these were the same kids we saw when we were there.

S: I think this is the same street we were on. There were so many kids running around and always so stoked.

T: I like that the toe straps are so loose that they’re not even touching his feet. Were they riding downhill?

G: The street was kind of flat, so they were just trying it out and sliding for a couple of meters. But they were so hyped. I think there’s one clip in the movie of Dario with all the kids screaming in the background.

16:24:32 sent by THEO

B: The guy in the back is checking out the fish.

G: He was mad hyped, screaming all the time. So cool.

K: We gave them stickers. His pants are also like Yung Doli’s lightning pants.

K: Is that wood or steel?

G: Wood.

S: Dope rail, but wood is nasty. *Everybody starts making groaning sounds as they imagine themselves hooking on the rail* G: We were here just after the new year and randomly found this spot in a school.

K: Did anyone hit the tyres?

G: No. But we built the drop-in out of them. There were more of them lying around.

T: Did you put them back after you were done? They look like some kids might have put some effort into making them.

G: We put them back after we were done. We usually try to clean up our spots.

K: I do too. Although some people might disagree with that statement.

16:44:32 sent by THEO

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FLORIAN FISCHER, BS 50-50 PHOTO. DARIO BURCH

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K: Wow. S: Zürich?

G: Yeah that’s Zürich too. I’m really stoked on that spot. It’s a rooftop plaza where a lot of people hang out in summer. We didn’t even think about this spot until we drove by it. It was kinda scary.

K: What’s actually happening? It looks like there’s a rope or something that you have to hop over?

G: So after the ledge, there’s a flat part where the rope is, and then some more stairs.

K: Firecracker landing?

GIAN SUTTER, FS 50-50 PHOTO. DARIO BURCH 17:02:12 sent by THEO

G: No, we sort of built a landing using the stairs. You see the blocks on the right? It’s like that in the middle, and we left two or three of the stairs free but covered the last ones with snow to make a little landing. The wall on the edge of the building is an ok height, and you’d have to really fuck up really hard to fall off the roof, but it was still pretty scary to be riding straight towards it.

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B: Yeah, you’re fully heading in that direction.

G: People were watching from the building on the left, and they were super cool. The grey thing in the back is actually the sauna and spa area of the people who live there. I was walking up, and suddenly there were people just standing out there in towels! I asked if I was in their garden or something, and they said no, it was all good.

K: Did you get a clip of that?

G: No. But they went back inside and then brought me some lemonade, but this time with more clothes on.

ESCAPE4YOU :) 18:32:11 GIAN, KAS, BENNY, SEBI, THEO left the chat.

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22.3

PHOTOS, INTRO CHRIS BALDRY

AND

INTERVIEWS.

IT’S A

MATTER OF OPINION, REALLY. SUBJECTIVITY. TO A LARGE GROUP OF PEOPLE IN THIS WORLD, THE IDEA OF COMBINING A COLLECTIVE EFFORT AND FOCUSING ALL THAT ENERGY INTO CARVING OUT A PLACE FOR THEMSELVES IN THE STREETS SEEMS LIKE A BAD PLAN. IT’S A SLOW BUILD. SMALL INCREMENTS OF GROWTH EACH AND EVERY YEAR WITH NO CLEAR PATH TO FOLLOW, BUT DESPITE THESE APPARENT BAD PLANS. THE BUILD HERE IS UNDENIABLE. TRONDHEIM, JUST LIKE THE ENTIRE COUNTRY, HAS SET A HIGH BAR FOR SNOWBOARDERS, CULTIVATING MULTIPLE WORLD-CLASS RIDERS FROM JUST THIS SMALL CITY ALONE. BUT THE STREETS HERE ARE A DIFFERENT ANIMAL. SO DIFFERENT, IN FACT, THAT VERY FEW NORWEGIAN CREWS HAVE BROKEN THROUGH AND MADE THEIR MARK IN THE STREETS. IN A COUNTRY WITH A RICH HISTORY OF SNOWBOARDING, BAD PLANS HAVE BEEN BUILDING SOMETHING VERY FEW HAVE DONE. OVER THE YEARS, SOME REALITIES HAVE BEGUN TO SETTLE IN. SCHOOL, MORTGAGES, FULL-TIME JOBS AND INJURIES, BUT THE COMMITMENT TO THE HUSTLE HAS NEVER WAVERED. IF ANYTHING, IT HAS GROWN, JUST LIKE THE CREW, AND IT HAS BECOME MORE FOCUSED AND MORE DELIBERATE. WITH THEIR FIFTH STREET PROJECT SET TO DROP, THE LANDSCAPE HERE IN NORWAY HAS CHANGED. THEIR INFLUENCE AND STYLE IS FELT. THE DISORDER FILMS CREW STARTED IT HERE BACK IN 2006 WITH ‘ONE TOO MANY MORNINGS’, AND WITH A HEAVY INFLUENCE FROM VIDEOGRASS, BAD PLANS HAS TAKEN THE REINS. FILMS DEDICATED TO SPOTS. THE STREET SCENE HERE IS HOME TO AN ENCOURAGING AND TIGHT COMMUNITY OF RIDERS AND CREWS. PROJECTS AND FILMS ARE POPPING UP, AND THE IDEA OF A CREW DEDICATING THEIR WINTER TO THE PURSUIT OF SPOTS ISN’T SO CRAZY ANYMORE. FOR SOME, THOSE ONCE BAD PLANS ARE NOW DAMN GOOD PLANS, BUT FOR BAD PLANS … THERE’S ONLY BAD PLANS.

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* interview with ANDREAS GRONG

Boss man, how are you? Got enough free time for a quick interview?

Yeah I’m good I’m good.

How many spots do you have in your spot folder?

I don’t know man. There’s a few hundred.

How many spot folders do you have?

I’ve got two main folders. One for Oslo and one for Trondheim and there’s a lot of stuff outside of those cities as well, just laying around in those same folders.

What’s your favourite city to shoot in?

Trondheim, when there’s a lot of people here. But it could be wherever if it’s good.

You’re the cat-herder behind all these movies. Going into a project, what’s your typical mindset, where’s your focus?

The focus comes later. We just try to shoot snowboard tricks we think are cool and that we like to do, and we’ll shoot that and figure out all the other shit later. You spend a lot of time looking at spots year round but that’s just the way of life I guess, and then you just start shooting when you have the time and piece it together later.

How is it to juggle shooting all your riders and trying to film a full part yourself?

Ahhhh that’s hard. You want to prioritise everybody else first. It can be difficult to shoot the stuff I want to ride, but there’s time now and then.

It’s a collective effort so I gotta help out so everybody can get what they want.

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Are you stoked on this latest project?

Yeah! It’s been a hectic winter though.

There’s been a lot of restrictions on traveling and I go to school now so that prevented me from traveling to Oslo a lot. But when we were shooting, we were going at it, so it was maybe a bit stressful at times, but it was super when we got those weekends with like ten clips. We were working to get it done when we had time. There was a lot of other stuff going on as well. Especially for me.

Any shoutouts?

My girlfriend Victoria. She’s super

supportive and helps out a lot, and the hugest shoutout to Baldry.

I’m giving a shoutout to Victoria’s parents for letting me crash in their basement in the middle of a pandemic and making a crazy huge and amazing meal!

Word! And all the guys putting in hours and hours and getting snowboard tricks on film because we think it’s cool. It’s insane the effort everybody puts in when they’re at the spot, and we’re hugely thankful and grateful.

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*(A)

50-50 ROOF TRANSFER TO WALLRIDE

*(B)

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GAP TO ROOF

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Stian Karlsen hittin’ the streets!!!

Oh yeah! A rare sight.

How’d you free up enough time away from Gråkallparken to film a part?

I didn’t, but I tried *laughs*. I had some friends who covered for me for a couple of days, but mostly it was Tjommi Mats who took care of the hill so I was able to go out with the guys, and that was super nice. I wish I could have done more, but it was so much fun filming this year and I’m glad I got the opportunity.

You’ve built a rail garden from the ground up in Trondheim called Gråkallparken, can you tell us a bit about it?

It’s been five years now and it’s been a pretty wild ride. It started off kind of fast, we were able to make so many rails the first year so we just started going, and we kept going, and it’s turned into a playground for teenagers, for adults, for kids. At the beginning, the most important thing for me was to build a park, get good

features and just ride snowboards, but over the years I’ve been so much more focused on just having something to offer to the kids in Trondheim, and also adults. To be able to give them that opportunity to go snowboarding in a fun park has been the main aspect of it the past few years. It’s changed from building a park that’s sick, into more of a place where people can be creative and get away from everyday stress, and of course meet friends, which is maybe the most important thing. All my friends are at Gråkallen, so that’s a luxury to have people come to hang with me. I don’t know if I can call it my spot, but it’s my place, the place I want to be. Having a place where all my friends and myself can go hangout everyday the whole winter, that’s maybe the thing I think keeps it rolling. People contribute, people are there, happy, and also people are helping each other. I think that’s really cool. If there’s beginners at the hill, the most advanced riders will always be like ‘Yo, you should try this board’ or ‘you should try this trick’.

Thats the environment up there.

Inclusive.

With so many hours put into Gråkallen, what got you motivated to film in the streets this season?

It’s such a big part of snowboarding.

You use the park to learn and maybe go out and do it in the streets. It’s just a different way of snowboarding in the streets. And of course I’ve been watching all my homies, shredding, putting down parts while I was busy at Kalla. Grong has been the best motivator, pushing me to go out there and I’m super happy to go shred every time I get to do it.

What else keeps you busy?

I’m supposed to be busy with school but I’ve been neglecting it a bit. I don’t know, I think mostly snowboarding in the wintertime at least, and camping in the summertime? The work aspect of Gråkallparken keeps me pretty busy, all the other shit we have to do there, that I love to do, but the stuff that’s not snowboarding. Yeah, that keeps me busy too.

* (A) interview with STIAN KARLSEN

* (B) interview with KRISH LERÅND Krish my man, how are you?

Je suis tre bein merci, et toi? I’m doing really great I’m looking at the ocean right now.

You spell your name Kristoffer, so whats with the H at the end of Krish?

Good question! It started out with Sigurd and Grong and a couple of other guys calling me Krisj, but with a J at the end, and then it kind of ended up being an H instead. More than that, I don’t really know.

Trønders against the rest’ which is ‘Trønder mot resten’.

Tell me about your NRK roof transfer.

Cool spot. Crazy spot. It was really windy that day, it was psycho.

3D pen or 3D printer?

3D pen. You get the details.

My favourite part was Didric being stuck on top of the roof after everything was said and done.

Yeah *laughs*. Didric did a great job.

He was the one that gave me the speed into the headwind. We had a great team I would say, for some psycho shit.

Can you explain why so many good riders come from Trondheim?

I think it’s the energy that lies in this area. The way of living in Trondheim and being a Trønder is just pretty cool and were raised with saying ‘The

Let’s talk parts, do you have a strategy to filming a part? Do you try and look for a wide range of different kinds of spots or do you have certain tricks you want to showcase, or do you just go out and

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hit as many spots as you can and piece it all together during editing?

I mean, there’s so many tricks you’ve seen in parts so almost all the tricks have been done, kind of. What I think of when I film is, I want to do new stuff, I want to try to find as many spots that haven’t been found before. Find new things, not just necessarily a trick on a spot that’s been ridden a lot. When I find a spot, I get this feeling if I really like it or not. It doesn’t depend on if it’s sketchy or if it’s a trick, I mean I’ve got some tricks I want in my part, but mostly it’s the way I look at the spot and picture what I can do there and if it’s interesting for me and how I can ride snowboard on it. Not necessarily doing one trick, but doing something kind of unique.

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STINE TØNNESSEN . FRONTBOARD

*(C)

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Hi Stine, how are you?

Hi Chris, I’m doing good.

How’s your summer been?

My summer has been really nice.

Just finished my bachelor and been having a lot of days off, and just enjoying Oslo slowly reopening again. Drinking beers with friends and maybe taking a swim in the fjords of Oslo.

Tell me about this spot. It was the first spot you’ve shot with the Bad Plans Crew, correct?

Andreas showed me a picture and it looked so fun, I hadn’t seen anything like it. It was during a Trondheim trip, I was there with some friends and we were there to film, but I sort of had a really low energy day and I wasn’t really hyped on anything. Then at the last minute Markus and I and some of our friends decided to go up to Gråkallen to ride the last hour, and I got so much energy just from riding some laps there, so I called Andreas and said I wanted to see and maybe

film the spot. You and Andreas had just come from a spot with Samuel and were happy to join me, which was really cool. I think it was after midnight when we were finished. At least it felt like that because I usually go to bed pretty early, so that was a crazy experience for me. It was the first time I had shot at night which was pretty cool. I’m so hyped with the picture, it was the first time I got a photo in the streets.

Your crew is called Sensesse, is this an all-girl crew?

Ahhhh yeah we’re mostly girls I guess, the people you best identify within the group are girls for now, but I wouldn’t say it’s all-girls exclusive, but that’s the ways it started I guess.

We’re a group of friends first and foremost, and we’ve been riding together the last year, or almost all the years I’ve been boarding actually, and it’s been a really safe community to learn to snowboard. Marie wanted to develop something to invite more girls to feel comfortable in

snowboarding and to create a whole safe space for everyone to feel at home, feel comfortable and push each other. Just to be a community to arrange different events and ride together, but I feel like the most important thing is that we are all very good friends. I feel like the core values are the importance of visibility and representation within the snowboarding community, showing the variety of people that snowboard, and that everyone has a place to belong and feel at home. And also have fun, of course.

Will you be filming with Bad Plans again in the future and where can we catch more clips of you in the meantime?

I’m planning to film next season as well, so yes! This season I’ve mostly filmed a project together with my Sensesse girlfriends which is to be found on the Internet after the summer. Name and more details are coming soon.

* (C) interview with STINE TØNNESSEN

BJØRN TØNNESSEN . BS 50-50

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BS 50-50 ON OLD STONE

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FS 50-50 ON NEW STEEL

Didric Lothe aka Erna Solberg. Isn’t Erna Solberg the Prime Minister of Norway?

Ahhh yes. That’s correct. I am.

What are you up to right now?

Right now I’m building a concrete quarter pipe at the skatepark in Hemsedal. It’s a DIY project.

How’d you get mixed up with the Bad Plans crew?

Oh. I went to school in Gol, and Stian, Håvard and Håkon were there building Golparken. It was a very sick park we made. Then I met all the Bad Plans guys and they were hyped and I was hyped.

Have you filmed with them before or was this your first time?

Not a bunch because they live so far up north, but there’s been some trips up there to film some street. I haven’t had a full part yet, just a few clips.

Tell us about 50-50ing a 1000 year old ledge.

Ohhhh that was dark. And scary. And fun. I dunno.

Was it more or less scary than a many-kinked creeper?

I think it was the same amount of scary. The old ledge was so secure, kind of.

And fast …

Yeah. Fast as fuck! There was a stone cube in the landing. And the in run was a few pallets with a guy holding it from behind, and when you dropped you had to go for it. I decided to use the PowReaper and it goes so fast!

What’s your plans for the rest of the summer and next season?

I’m moving to Bergen this summer in August and we’ll see what happens next winter. I think I’ve got more time to go places when other people have days off… like weekends and vacations.

I know guys like that.

Yeah I know. It’ll be nice.

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*(D)

WALLIE TO PILAR BASH

FS 50-50 TO BACKLIP

*(E)

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Markus how are you and where you at right now?

I’m good, I’m at a place called Arendal in Southern, Norway.

It’s a nice cabin place by the ocean. I’m at a summer party right now but I’m speaking to you.

When there’s snow, Trondheim or Oslo?

Oslo. I gotta say Oslo. We had an ok winter with some good snowfalls now and then, so we’ve been filming mostly here. Oslo is a bigger city than Trondheim so there’s more potential for spots, and you can go outside to Asker, to the suburbs, they have lots of spots too, and it’s where I live so I gotta say Oslo before Trondheim. I know some Trondheim people are going to be a little bit tipsy about that answer!

When you’re out looking for spots, what do you look for?

I mostly look for natural in-runs. Hills where I can get a lot of speed because I really like to get some speed into the spot, like you would on the hill. I think that’s fun and it looks cool. You can hit a long downrail super slow or you can hit it super fast … just to hit it super fast looks way sicker.

Is there a spot you’ve hit in the the past that stands out more than all the others?

Yeah there are a couple ones, but the first one I’m thinking about is a triple kink I did for Bad Plans 4, that you took a photo of as well. It’s a super steep one. I don’t think the film made it look as steep and gnarly as it was, but that one stands out. I took a super hard slam but I made it afterwards, in the heat of the moment. I couldn’t snowboard for weeks afterwards because my back hurt so much. Some great snowboarders have taken big bails on that one, doing the same trick, so that’s a benchmark for me.

You’re such a well rounded rider, what aspect of snowboarding gets you the most stoked these days?

I guess I need to vary what I’m doing because if I’m doing the same stuff all the time I get bored. I like to do some street stuff, but I also need to hit some park, I need to ride some mountains. Skating inspires me a lot. Lately I’ve been liking freeriding where people ride with high speed and a lot of power in their riding, that inspires me a lot.

How about some BTS on your under the bridge spot.

Yeah, I think Håvard set it up just because it looked cool, but he couldn’t get the speed. I was helping with Samuel’s spot, about 100 meters away, he was filming a line so I was just there helping out and Håvard couldn’t get it, and he was like “Hey Markus I think you should try.” He kind of gave it away to me. It was really nice of him. It was a really bumpy in-run where you really needed to work to get speed into it because you were traveling pretty far sideways to hit the second barrier. You had to work for the speed to get the double tap. It was a really fun spot. A real skate vibe type of spot. Shout out to Håvard for seeing the spot, finding it, and giving it away to me that was really nice of him. I was super stoked for making a double tap, like a wallie, that’s been something I’ve been thinking about before, double tapping on a wall.

Parting words?

Yeah shout out to Wietse and Andreas for filming this winter, it’s super sick. To you for taking photos. I hope people are going to watch the Bad Plans movie. And everyone who is actually out making edits and filming the street, I really appreciate that.

* (D) interview with MARKUS RUSTAD

* (E) interview with SAMUEL ÆRO Big Sam, how you doing?

I’m good good. Building, riding, it’s been fun. Been at Fonna since the 28th of May and skated a bunch before that.

How long have you been growing your hair for?

Quite some time. Like five, seven years or something. I cut it recently but it’s still long, it was just getting out of hand.

What was your first clip in a Bad Plans edit?

I got one in Lillehammer while they were filming for Energy In Motion. I think that was my first, under the bridge.

And you had the post-credits ender in Bad Plans 4.

Yeah the after credits clip. The make is actually from the year before, then I went back the year after to try and make it look better, and I just ended up destroying myself, losing both bindings from the board…

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And this year the 50-50 on the C rail to BS Lip … could you provide us with a little behind the scenes knowledge on that spot?

Yeah. It was really cool, just saw the spot and it looked like a quick two-hit line. You start and the rail is pretty straight when you get into the 50, and the turn kind of comes faster and faster towards the end. Then you had to go really straight off it to be able to get the second rail. I sort of had something else in mind but it didn’t totally work out so I just ended up with the 50-50 backlip line, which you got this picture of.

Were you stoked on your winter? You were out in the streets hustling a lot!

Yeah it’s been really good, the best winter in a couple years. Finally got together with the right crew and figured stuff out. It makes it easier to get out and find something, build it and ride it, and film. So I’ve finally got that stuff sorted out now and I’ll keep grinding every winter.

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