Slash Snowboard Magazine Issue #10 English

# 10

www.slashmagazine.ca

LNP // Tailpress Photo // Bob Plumb Spot // SLC

I

NTERVIEW SSUE

David MELANÇON Frank APRIL Will LAVIGNE Phil JACQUES Seb TOUTANT

R: SOL L P: BLO ORS T L: NOR TO WAY

COLE BARASH PHOTO

J P WA L K E R / J O E S E X T O N / C H R I S G R E N I E R / J O H N N Y M I L L E R / S I M O N C H A M B E R L A I N / C H R I S B R A D S H AW / S C O T T S T E V E N S M A R I E F R A N C E - R O Y / J O N K O O L E Y / N I M A J A L A L I / B E N B I L O C Q / M A R K K U K O S K I / T Y L E R F L A N A G A N / S TA L E S A N D B E C H

CHRIS GRENIER // SHILOH JACKET BOSTON PRIDE, SFK, COFFEE AND THE NEW VIDEOGRASS MOVIE. SEE MORE OF CHRIS AND THE ENTIRE NEW OUTERWEAR AND BOOT COLLECTION AT: FACEBOOK.COM/THIRTYTWO // THIRTYTWO.COM TIMEBOMBTRADING.COM FACEBOOK.COM/TIMEBOMBTRADING

COL. TJ SCHNEIDER

K.I.A. 9|07|63 EXHUMED 08|23|21 STATUS: REACTIVATED COMMENTS: SNOWBOARD REALMS INTERNET OPERATIONS

INDOOR SURVIVAL FK DEPLOYMENT: TRUE TWIN FREESTYLE SpecOps: ENHANCED PARK

T E N

Y E A R S

O F

D E S T R U C T I O N

TYPE: ADVANCED FREESTYLE COMBATANT CLASS: TRUE TWIN SUPER DESTROYER USER DEFINED CONFIG(s): FREESTYLE FK REVERSE CAMBER (TYPE 1) TRADITIONAL CAMBER (TYPE 2)

www.capitasnowboarding.com

WINTER SEASON — YEAR SIX

UNIONBINDINGCOMPANY.COM

THE FORCE

BY THE UNION BINDING CO. STRONGER.

Danny Kass – Gigi Rüf – Dustin Craven – Joe Sexton – Scott Stevens – TJ Schneider – Dan Brisse DISTRIBUTED BY NOLIMITS.CA

Mark Welsh photos. coalheadwear.com

Canadian Distribution: nolimits.ca Coal info available at: nlintel.com

Phil Jacques in the Scotty

Slash Magazine 425, Gérard-Moriset, suite 8 Québec, Qc, Canada, G1S 4V5 www.slashmagazine.ca pat@slashmagazine.ca Editor and Advertising sales: Pat Burns Photo Director and Editorial Director: Oli Gagnon Creative Direction: Claudia Renaud, Claudia Simon Contributing Photographers: Julien Sallenave, Dom Gauthier, Oli Croteau, Scott Serfas, Alexis Paradis, Jeff Pearlman, Sarah Wettleson, Ashley Barker, Mike Yoshida, Eddie Wall, Mike Azevedo Contributing Writers: T. Bird, Mike Page, Etienne Gilbert, Etienne Tremblay, Sebastien Desmarais, Louif Paradis, Phil Paré, Alex Cantin, Guillaume Brochu, Max Henault Slash magazine (ISSN 1913-8385) is published 3 times a year. Opinions expressed in articles are those of the autor. All rights reserved on entirecontent. Slash magazine welcomes edittorial submissions; however, return postage must accompagny all unsolicited manuscripts, art, or photographic materials if they are to be return.

Imprimé au Canada: ISSN 1913-8385

CONTENT VOLUME 4.1 Special Interview

14 David Melançon 22 Frank April & Phil Jacques 30 Seb Toutant AKA Seb Toots 42 Will Lavigne 46 Photo Gallery 54 Art Check Out 70 Photographer Check Out 72 Music Check Out 74 Long live print

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JF Fortin // Fs 720 Photo // Julien Sallenave Spot // Whistler

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Long live print (.com)

By T. Bird So we’re in the “digital age,” right? Rumor has it that print media is about to go through the most crucial transformation since its inception; an overhaul of gargantuan proportions that threatens to dethrone the foremost form of news and entertainment.

Experts say that our business models will drastically change and that we must abandon old principles as online information is rapidly ushered in and introduced to our readership via e-readers. That’s all well and good; I’m not a hater. However, as a snowboard journalist I feel the need to express my opinion. It’s my right, and dare I say it’s my duty also.

Now, there is no denying that the digital revolution is multiplying faster than a rabbit with a gut full of Viagra. Everywhere you look it’s “e-this” and “iThat” and we seem to be forgetting that sometimes de-evolution is necessary in times of rapid progression.

I guess we just might need to slow things down a bit. I’m not immune to it, by the way. I, like many others, go to work, sit down at my desk and frivolously type away at my computer, checking my favorite blogs, websites, videos, email, Facebook and all that crap. It’s addicting, I admit, and as technological advances carry us into our uncertain future, it’s only going to get worse. However, at the end of the day, my job is to piece together a final, tangible product that we take immense pride in and that we hope some kid will pick up on newsstand, sit down in the comfort of his own environment and get completely lost in, for any matter of time. Magazines are an escape, oversized “Wish You Were Here” postcards that don’t break when you drop them, will dry out if gotten wet, archive themselves in a shoebox for later use, and are easily rolled up, placed in a backpack and brought with you wherever it is you’re off to. I guess I just don’t want people to forget that.

I have no ill will against the web. It’s a necessary and vital portion of any successful magazine’s model and its utilization of up-to-the-minute action frees up pages in print because–let’s face it–if you know the results of the X Games mere minutes after it happens, what good is it to publish it half-a-year later? However, it is my personal belief that the web might be making us dumber. If we don’t know something, we google it. If we forget something, all we have to remember is how to google it again.

It’s rather absurd. Not only is it dulling our capacity to research, it’s shortening our attention spans exponentially. I see it in our youth, I see it in my parents, I most certainly see it in myself. If I click on a page and I’m not enthralled within–at the very most–20 seconds, I’m off, vaporized in the endless abyss of infinite and incredibly accessible information. It didn’t used to be like that.

Without waxing philosophical too much, I don’t feel that sense of urgency when I have 180-plus pages (Yes, I’m being optimistic) of beautiful photos, funny ads, intriguing editorial and the personal touch of something tactile and corporeal like a print publication. There’s an ad campaign circulating in magazines worldwide that says, “We surf the Internet. We swim in magazines. The Internet is exhilarating.

Magazines are enveloping. The Internet grabs you. Magazines embrace you. The Internet is fleeting. Magazines are immersive. And both media are growing.” It’s true.

Both media are growing, and they need to grow together, but the crucial word there is “together.” It must be a reciprocal relationship that feeds off of each other’s pitfalls and successes, and we must never forget that print media can never die, so the next time you find yourself in your local shop, grocery store or nearby newsstand, do yourself a favor and pick up a copy of your favorite magazine. You won’t be sorry that you did.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go upload this to my blog

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Rider // Louif Paradis Photo // Alexis Paradis

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d i v Da

n o c lan

Me

W E I V R E INT

INTERVIEW It doesn’t matter if it’s a night at the bar, a line in Kyber pass or a day filming in the backcountry, Dave is always happy and is the one with the biggest smile on his face. He’s very versatile. He likes hunting alone in the northern forest but yet he feels happy with a thousand friends. One day with Dave is one you’ll remember forever, so imagine how lucky I am to have him as a friend for a lifetime. Thanks Dave.

You’re like no other. Here’s a complete recapitulation of his amazing career.

-Mike Page 22 // slash snowboardmag

Photo // Dom Gauthier

1980: I got into skiing and started going to the local resort near Shawinigan called “Valle du Parc.” I remember my dad was driving me there often… That’s where I began to enjoy the winter and play in the snow a lot.

1988:I remember my first time riding on an edgeless “Black Snow” with my neighbor Dezo. When we saw it for the first time in the Canadian Tire store it was something that we’d never seen before, something you stand on and slide. We were really excited about it. We told ourselves, “Let’s go try it on the hill!” It was really hard because we had no edges.But we were able to do turns and grabs. Later that winter we saw someone with a board with edges, and it totally changed our way of riding.

In the spring, there was a ski demo at the resort, and you could try all kinds of skis. There was only one snowboard you could try and luckily I got the chance to grab it and take it for a couple runs. Trying a real snowboard (it was a K2) was such a big change. It was so much bigger and you could go so fast! I broke my wrist on the first run. I finished my ski season with a cast on.

1989: I took the best decision, I quit skiing and my dad bought me a Gnu Kaos forChristmas. The next summer I learned to skateboard. I remember trying to figure out how to ollie; it was fun.

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Cliff drop Photo // John Scarth Spot // Whistler

Switch Bs180 Photo // Oli Gagnon Spot // Whistler

Melançon is like the last boy scout! He has been givin ’er since I’ve known him (19921993). Seriously! He’s been sponsored since like ’94! If you want to find a line in Whistler, he is the one you want to call. Melançon is a good friend and enjoys life to the max.

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- Sebastien Desmarais

1990: Skateboarding helped me a lot during the summer and my snowboarding skills were getting better fast. That year I started doing a lot of contests all over Québec, and my mom was driving me and my friends around with all of our gear. There weren’t many people snowboarding back then, and it was fun to meet new people that were doing the same thing as us.

1991: The First halfpipe on the east coast was built, and I loved it!!

We’re making jumps on the side of the slopes and we started building quarterpipes. So many snow jams that year, we were shredding!!

1992: The snowboard pioneers of our local resort (Lauzier and Cie) built a halfpipe by hand with shovels, and only the snowboarders could session it. We could only ride on one slope on the whole ski resort…lots of fun!

1993: That year we started to see more and more snowboarders on the slopes and skiers started complaining about us. We were loud, they hated our big carves and everything else that we did. That season, my friends formed the “Destroy Against Ski Patrol” team. The snowboarders wanted to ride more slopes on the resort and were getting their passes clipped by ski patrol. So after tons of complaints, they finally opened up more slopes to us the next year!

1994: I got my first sponsor from a local shop, which helped me get gear for cheap. I did a lot of contests that winter, and after the season was over I wanted more so I went to hike with some friends all the way to the last patch of snow on the main slope of the mountain. Mike Page showed me how to do Cab 540’s!

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Jesus or genius, you decide!

Melancon is the only person I know that killed a bobcat with his bare hands. He is one of the first and one of the last of our generation to ride like if there was no tomorrow. He is an endangered species.

- Etienne Gilbert

1995: My first trip to Whistler, the biggest ski resort that I knew.

That winter I discovered riding powder! I ended up staying for a while and my riding got a lot better, lapping the peak chair and all the steep stuff.

1996: Still doing a lot of contests and living in Whistler working in different restaurants. More and more sponsors were approaching me and I start riding for Airwalk. I met Gaetan Chanut, started traveling to the USA a lot and met the rest of the team. I ended up quitting all my restaurant jobs, started filming with the Treetop crew, got a couple clips in Fathom and spent my summer working at Camp Of Champions.

1997: So much snow that year in Whistler it was crazy! This was also my first year on the Canadian National Snowboard Team, and I traveled a lot with the 418 crew doing more contests, eating lots of good food, seeing new places and making lots of new friends. In my free time I was trying to make a video part for the Momentum movie.

1998: Did a lot of halfpipe World Cups all over the world. Worked with Alterna Action films and filmed for The Struggle. Lots of road trips with Carlo Wein; it was such a good time!

1999: Traveled a lot to the states…Montana, Utah, California.

I also started riding for Drop. Filmed my part for Still Struggling and The Gathering.

David Melancon ENTREVUE

2000: Snowboarding all year round. I did a lot of shows and demos with my sponsors traveling to Japan, Korea and all over Europe. Still working all summer at Camp Of Champions. I also did the Molson jam event tour and tried to get a spot on the Canadian team for the 2002 Olympic games in Slat Lake City.

I went to South America with the whole team: Bret Carpentier, Guillaume Morriset, Mike Michalchuk, Maelle Ricker and Jasey Jay Anderson. We rode in Vallé Nevado and it was such a fun place.

2002: I got hooked up by Helly Hansen and Jane Mauser (the Team Manager) really helped me out and stepped me up to the international team. I slowed down on the contests and started to concentrate more on my new priority: filming video parts for Standard Films, Alterna and The Gathering. They helped me to buy a new snowmobile, a Yamaha 700cc. That’s right!

2003: Exploring the Whistler backcountry on my sled and shredding with Shin Campos, Brian Savard, Johan Olofson and Gabe Langlois behind the lens for Standard films. They taught me how to be safe in the backcountry. I was in good hands for my first few years up there but it was so much different compared to riding the resort. It’s a lot more dangerous out there and it’s important to know about it. I discovered new terrain and a different style of snowboarding, and I really felt like I could push myself even more out there.

2004: Filming for Absinthe Films’ POP with Justin Hostynek and chasing storms across North America. Riding powder all season, I hit the pyramid jump with the best riders in the world: Travis Rice and Romain De Marchi. Great moment…thanks guys!

2005: The first time I went to Haines, Alaska. I got some great adrenaline rushing while riding down big faces. I was stoked to have Axel Pauporte as a guide. He was always telling me stuff about the lines I was picking. “You know your way out? Did you see the crevasse at the bottom? Watch your back halfway down and stay away from your sluff.” I will call that kind of riding extreme.

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Ollie to rock ride Photo // Oli Gagnon Spot // Whistler

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2006: Driving to Alaska with Trouble Andrew, Kurtis Croy (photographer) and Brad McGregor (filmer). A thirty six hour drive and a couple flat tires on the trailer. Also working a lot with the Sugarshack crew; we were like a big family. Good friends, good sessions, good memories.

I miss you guys.

2007: I spent less time traveling and more time riding on the hill. The travel budget got smaller so that meant less trips in the backcountry, but I felt like my freestyle/freeride skills were just getting better. Started working construction during the summer because my good friend Sebastien Beaulieu hooked me up with the job. Learning something new was really nice.

2008: Not much filming that year, but lots of riding with all my Whistler friends on the hill.

2009: Sledding with my friends in the Whistler backcountry for fun and pushing my freeriding skills became the new routine. I enjoyed it and started working for the International School Snowboard Program with CORE Camp.

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2010: Riding mad powder! 44 feet of snow fell on Whistler. Still working at Camp of Champions and Arena snowpark is helping me with a winter and summer job. Right now I’m doing maintenance in the park and riding with the best boys, still learning new tricks. I also worked on the Olympic halfpipe construction and I got to drop-in first. Dropping in this perfect pipe was one of the best moments of my season!

After many injuries life goes on. In Whistler, people come and go and sometimes I feel like I’ll wake up and my dream will be over. I also want to spend more time with my family. The last fifteen years went by really fast. Some of my dreams came true and I know there’s more to come. I still love riding the Whistler powder and I can’t wait for next winter, but I think it’s time for some changes. I think I will be traveling to Québec and spending more time over there. Snowboarding will always be a part of my life. I love it too much.Now I’m working full time for the IH Snowboard School Program (CORE camp) in Whistler during the winter and looking forward to new experiences.

And everybody who reads this... Thank you!

Bs 720 Photo // Julien Sallenave Spot // Whistler

Frontside air Photo // Scott Serfas Spot // COC

There are so many good memories and sessions for only one quote but one thing I remember well is a day at the beginning of the season we had at Singing Pass while filming for a part in Bandwagon. Just pillows. Probably the most fun stuff to ride in the world. Every single riding day with Melancon is one you’ll remember. You’re the man Dave!

- Etienne Tremblay

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By Pat Burns

Photo // Oli Croteau

Frank April & Phil Jacques They are funny, clever and bon vivants. Phil Jacques and Frank April are QuĂŠbec riders who are no exception to the rule, which means they are street killers and their talent is recognized through the world. If some people like to say being tall is some kind of style handicap on a snowboard, turn on your televisions and as we say, watch and learn! When looking at the video parts they produced in the last few years, it is clear that these two giants do tricks that look clean and effortless.

Here is a conversation I had with them last summer.

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INTERVIEW

Photo // Alexis Paradis

For the people who don’t know you guys, tell me a few things about yourself.

Frank: I am originally from Rivière-du-Loup. A few years ago, my parents rented a chalet in Stoneham and that is how I met Will Lavigne, LNP, Ben Bilocq, Louif Paradis, Alex Cantin, Nic Sauvé and the rest of the crew. At the end of the season, they asked me if I was interested in joining them for the summer in Whistler and I said yes.

school when I started to do the “Mercredi Metal” organized

by Emmanuel Camirand. If I remember correctly, Louif is the guy I met first and after that I started to ride with the crew and go on street sessions with them. That is how I ended up having a few tricks in Bandwagon in Louif’s part (my first appearance in a video).

Last year, I saw your part in the Brothers Factory’s production Time is Now and it seemed to work well with them. Why did you decide to go with a new crew last winter?

Phil: I’m from Québec city. It had already been a few years that I was riding at Stoneham with my buddies from high slash snowboardmag // 31

Phil Jacques // Switch bs nosepress Photo // Oli Croteau Spot // Quebec

Phil Jacques // Handplant Photo // Oli Croteau Spot // Quebec

Phil Jacques Phil: It was obvious for me that I had to take this great opportunity to go on the international level. I changed crews simply because I was thinking that my place was somewhere else. I must say that Louif helped me a lot in this journey by showing my part to the guys at Videograss. Sadly, they already had their riders for the upcoming project Bon Voyage so they told me it would not work. The good side of it is that through these guys, my footage ended up in Joe Carlino’s hands at Transworld. These guys were down to have me filming with them for their video In Color. I still started my season at Stoneham before I started filming seriously with them.

Frank: Yeah, we always start off our season at Sto in October and sometimes in September we attack some small rails in Lévis.

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Most of the guys in your crew are now pros but you still go and train on these little arena rails at the beginning of the season?

Frank: Ah! We always have time for these little rails but we especially have a lot of fun. Haha!

Ok but seriously, after these little rails, what are the strong moments of your season?

Frank: Last year, I filmed with BF for the video Next Level.

It’s the third year in a row and it went well. I did not enter a lot of contests because I would rather save my energy for filming. As we say, everybody has his own pace. Last winter, I went to Montréal, twice in Gaspésie, New Brunswick,

Philadelphia, and Washington for a few weeks with Phil. I also spent a lot of time in Québec City because this place is just crazy! We all know the rails have been murdered but for me, it is still the best place and the streets still have a lot of potential.

freaked out sometimes, but [it was cool ‘cause] Pat was there. Since I was the one filming, he was always asking me if I wanted the first try or if I wanted him to go first and test it out. So cool! I also enjoyed the TW week at Camp of Champions this summer in Whistler.

Phil: One of my good trips last year was the one in Washington. It went very well for the few days we could film.

I was stoked on that trip and I did a frontside 720 first try. In the end, we were just Gary the filmer, Pat McCarthy, and me.

Pat was in TW last year and he helped me a lot. He has a great knowledge of the backcountry at Baker because he’s ridden there since he was fifteen years old. I must say I was

Frank: As for myself, I decided to go back working for a hostel in Rivière-du-Loup during the off-season. Actually, it’s been seven years that I’ve been working there in the summer and I really like it. Moreover, I get unemployment benefits during the winter so that’s my winning formula to be able to focus 100% on snowboarding in the winter. It’s like a dream come true every winter.

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Frank April // Tailpress Photo // Alexis Paradis Spot // Quebec

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Phil Jacques

Gap to tailslide 270 out Photo // Oli Croteau Spot // Quebec

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Switch frontboard Photo // Jeff Pearlman Spot // Montreal

Ok but after that?

Frank: I don’t know what is going to happen on the long run but the thing I know is that I am still really motivated for one more serious snowboard season. Doing what I like is the most important thing for me so at the moment I want to keep filming and jumping down rails.

Phil: I guess I had a good season last year but I would not want to sit on that. We sometimes see guys who have one good part and then they stop progressing. These guys only take the money and stop putting effort into it. I don’t want to do that. I don’t know where it is going to lead me but that is what I feel like…

Frank: It’s true that sometimes some riders who get good coverage end up taking it easy instead of pushing their limits while they are at the top. One sure thing is that our friends don’t do that. Louif, Alex, Nic, Ben, Laurent, these guys are on fire and they come up with the best parts every year.

If your sponsors gave you carte blanche for filming destinations, where would you choose to go according to your style of riding?

Frank: I would pick Québec City!

Hahaha! WTF? Are you kidding me? You would choose Quebec City even if you could go anywhere else?

Frank and Phil: Hahaha!

Phil: Personally, I would choose Japan. For riding rails but especially for the crazy amount of snow!

Let’s change topics. Let us talk about life in general. The interview we are doing right now is going to be published in a printed magazine but also in the online version on our site (which is the topic of the intro of this 10th issue). I am personally backing this new technology but I would like to know what you guys think about it?

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Ollie out to lipslide Photo // Alexis Paradis Spot // Quebec

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Bs 50-50 bs180 mellon out Photo // Jeff Pearlman Spot // Quebec

Phil: I think this kind of innovation is now necessary for our everyday life. The idea of an online magazine is not new but I think it must be that way because any printed magazine requires a lot of material resources. I think the situation with the environment suggests that we go toward more eco-friendly visual supports. Actually, for me, that kind of technology is essential. It would be hard for me to keep in touch with the people around me without my cell phone and the internet, which everybody uses anyways.

Frank: Everything is just more accessible with the internet. Whether it is with our computer or with our Iphones, we have access to everything we want to know, like snowboarding for example.

You are mentioning the Iphone. Here is a question about music, because personally, I like music just as much as I like snowboarding. What about you guys? I would like to have a top five of your favorite songs.

Frank: 1- Positive Vibraton / Bob Marley 2- Mon Texte Mon Savon / Akhenaton 3- Wild World / Cat Stevens 4- It’s a Beautiful Thing / La Coka Nostra 5- Road to Zion / Damian Marley feat, Nas Phil: 1- Satan’s Finest / Graveyard 2- Sleeping Stars / Wintersun 3- Swim to the Moon / Between the Buried and Me 4- The Hollow / Darkest Hour 5- Paint it Black / The Doors

news. We live in a world and in a time where we have freedom of choice. It is an amazing world but sadly enough, we often hear more about the bad news from all over the place. The example of the BP oil spill last spring is just one of them…

Are you following these kind of events? If so, what international news got your attention the most in the last year? Good or bad, it does not matter.

Phil: Obviously, that petrol disaster is just terrible and it was really put forward by the media. I try to follow up with the news and I sometime read the newspapers. I also try to be informed by various sources and not only by the news on TV because they only tell us what they want us to know.

However, I’m not the kind of guy who reads the newspapers everyday. I follow what I can.

Frank: I have to admit that I am not really up-todate as for the current events in the world. I do not really watch TV and I do not read newspapers. But I do read about the current events in skateboarding and snowboarding daily (twsnow.com, twskate. com, theberrics.com, etc.)

Hey guys, it’s already been 30 minutes that we are talking about snowboarding and now we are talking about politics…Hahaha. Actually, I have enough material for the interview and it’s getting late. Frank, you have a long drive back to Rivièredu-Loup so we’ll stop it there. Thanks for your time guys!

Ha Phil! I’m happy to see that you like The Doors.

Jim Morrison’s music is probably what I listen to the most! Let’s talk about current events and

Phil jacques « The idea of an online magazine is not new but I think it must be that way because any printed magazine requires a lot of material resources. I think the situation with the environment suggests that we go toward more eco-friendly visual supports. »

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INTERVIEW

By Pat Burns Photo // Oli Gagnon

Sebastien Toutant Sebastien Toutant (aka Seb Toots) had the chance to break his skis at 9 years old. His parents made him use his brother’s old snowboard. He wasn’t so happy back then, but now he is thankful to his mom for bringing him to snowboarding.

Seb is one of the most talented athletes I’ve ever seen. He stands out at anything he does. Being a sport lover and a challenger at anything, he always pushes himself to increase his skills to win the next challenge. His favorite game is S.K.A.T.E. and he applies it to anything: snow, skate, wake, tramp and more… All together, a healthy nutrition, a supported training, and a lot of motivation made

him the great athlete he is today. I hope other young guys will follow his path.

-Max Henault 42 // slash snowboardmag

2010

Fs 900 Photo // Oli Gagnon Spot // Mammoth slash snowboardmag // 43

2010 You are one of the top contest riders in the world and it allows you to travel the globe. Tell me about the places you have been in the last 24 months ?

I was recently in Whistler at the Camp of Champions. In the last 24 months, I went to Colorado, California (San Francisco), Las Vegas, Japan, Switzerland, Australia, Berlin, Zurich, and I just came back from New Zealand. Traveling lets you meet so many different kinds of people and it makes you realize how this planet is full of stuff you have never seen anywhere else.

I’ve had a look at the list of international contests you have won and it looks like you have been working hard during these trips.

2008: - 1st at Billabong Snowstock - 2nd at Burton Canadian Open 2009: - 1st at Quiksilver Showdown - 1st at Ride Shakedown - 1st at Freestyle in Berlin - 1st at Burton New Zealand Open Slopestyle - 2nd at US Open at Stratton - 3rd at US Open Quarterpipe at Stratton - 1st at Stylewars Slopestyle in Australia - 2nd at Freestyle Big Air in Zurich 2010: - 1st at Canadian Championship Slopestyle at Tremblant - 3rd at US Open Slopestyle at Stratton - 2nd at Ride Shakedown - 1st at Billabong Ante up Big Air at Whistler.

WOW this is an impressive list. Big ups!

Let’s not only talk about contests. Tell us two stories on the road: a cool one and a bad one.

Cool: It was a few years ago in Switzerland, and at the time I never had a powder day in my life. On a previous night, I told it to the other riders who were with me and by some sort of magic, the next day there was a huge storm. The contest was held on that day so it had been cancelled and we had the craziest powder day ever.

Bad: I qualified first on my first quarter pipe contest at the O’Neill Evolution. However, I fell sick right after and I couldn’t even compete in the finals. Haha!

We all happen to meet with some individual that marks us in a special way. As for yourself, who is that person who influenced you in terms of snowboarding (except for your family)? My team manager for O’Neill is Max Henault. He influenced me a lot in my snowboard career. He helps me train on trampolines and on the mountain. Thanks to his advice, I’ve progressed much faster.

I never really understood the concept of a personal trainer in snowboarding. Can you tell me what does your training with Max consist of? Max makes me train on his trampoline. This training helps me to learn new ways of spinning and new double corks that I will eventually do on snow. The trampoline is also a good way to stay in shape.

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What’s up with school? I dropped school two years ago. Currently, snowboarding is my passion and my work. I would rather focus on one thing at the time and if I need to go to school later in life, then I will go.

Many people see you as a contest rider only. However, you appeared in Black Winter which is last year’s Standard Films production. I think it’s already an accomplishment by itself, because very few Québecers have had the opportunity to have a part in such an internationally-recognized video. Did you film

Bs 720 Photo // Ryan Hughes Spot // Keystone, CO

for their new project? I enter a lot of contests but I also like to film. Last year, I broke my ankle at the beginning of the season at the Air & Style in Austria. I could not ride for 3 months and it kept me from filming all year. I will still have a few tricks in the new Sandbox video. I plan to film for some videos this year but I don’t know for which ones yet. Filming is very important to me because it is a totally different world than contests and at the end of the season, you are very happy when you have a good video part.

What are some of your wishes and ambitions for the next few years? I would like a lot of things. Ever since I was a little boy, I’ve dreamed of winning a gold medal at the X Games. I wish to

keep evolving on my snowboard and contribute to the sport by bringing new tricks.

Even if it is not a X Games gold medal, you received a great honor at the Gala Maestro. During this gala (which is dedicated exclusively to action sports in Québec) before the tribute to DCP, you received the Snowboarder of the Year award. The trophy I got at the Gala Maestro is a nice one and I am happy that my family and sponsors came down to support me on this important evening!

Cool that’s it for the interview. Thanks Seb!

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INTERVIEW

By Alex Cantin

Will

I accepted right away when Pat asked me to write the introduction for Will’s interview.

However, writing it was a little harder than I thought. Every time I started doing it, I was becoming stressed and after typing a sentence or two I would just close my laptop thinking that I would come back to it later. It was as if I had some pressure to do it so perfectly and had to have the perfect ideas. The deadline is quite over today so I decided to find my inspiration in Will himself. He would say, “Don’t worry about it too much.” Indeed, from what I know about Will, he prefers to spend time having fun and living life to the fullest rather than looking for complications.

He will accept every offer to play any kind of game whether it be a game of S.K.A.T.E. or a chess game…and he usually beats his opponent. He quickly becomes good at everything he tries. He is even hard to beat at roshambo. Other than that, Will is always very positive and always there when you need him. He is also very good at cracking a joke when you least expect it or when there is too much tension. His jokes are usually quite bad and that makes it even funnier.

Intro par Louif Paradis

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Photo // Oli Gagnon

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Switch Tailpress Photo // Oli Croteau Spot // Quebec

Will Hey Will ! How’s life ? I’m chilling a bunch these days.

I ride my bike a lot, play golf, go fishing, skateboard, see my friends, drink some beers and enjoy BBQs. It’s summer time.

I know that you have been on the road a lot last season. Japan and all that. How did it go for you ? Last season started very early. My first day was at Loveland, Colorado. I was in Colorado until Christmas and staying in Breckenridge. I came back here in Québec in January to film stuff on handrails. Riding with Jason and filming with Ryan was pretty mellow. At the beginning of February, I went for a short trip for three days in the region of Philadelphia. The following trip was the best of the year. I spent two weeks in Japan. The combo of snowboarding and discovering a new country at the same time was sick. I came back with some good shots and I learned about their culture. When I came back, I felt as sick as a dog. I caught a virus that we don’t have around here and I was very ill for a week. I spent the week sleeping. As soon as I felt better, I left for France (on March 8th). It was a powder trip and the crew was cool. It was Bjorn Leines, Lucas Debari and me. We soon realized that the snow conditions were very bad so we moved to Montafon in Austria. It was better there but that trip was not as good as the one in Japan. After that, I ended up in Munich, Germany, for a week but had no camera so I just chilled the whole time. At the end of March, I went back to Colorado to ride Breck and Silverton. Silverton is a sick mountain to ride backcountry so I got a few shots in powder. At the beginning of April was the Shakedown in St-Sauveur.

For the rest of April I just did park shoots and Team Shootout. Right now, I’m chilling in Québec City and I’m heading to Camp of Champions at the end of June.

Let’s see what happens after that. That is only a quick review of my season, I could go on for three days if I had to tell it all.

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Switch Bs Lip Photo // Oli Croteau Spot // Quebec

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Switch Bs 50-50 swtich Fs 360 out Photo // Oli Croteau Spot // Quebec

Will

There are rumors about a new Rome video that would be released next year (Fall, 2011). Indeed, we already went on two filming trips for the video. Two weeks in Japan and two weeks in Europe. Things are going well.

We wanted to start next season with a few clips in the bag.

We will keep the very best ones and put the other ones on the internet or in other videos. Most of the people on the team had other projects going on at the same time this year. Everybody came on either one trip or the other. We have two years to film but the first year was spent filming for other stuff as well. Next year will be different because the focus will be exclusively on that project.

We often see you riding the streets but I know very well that you can jump. When I say jump I mean launching off kickers…hehe. Do you think you will spend some time in the backcountry next year? I want to ride more backcountry. It is hard to leave the rails and

move onto something else because you always want a bit more of it. The time spent on handrails always overlaps on the time I keep for jumps. Starting the season with a few clips on rails should help me spend more time on jumps. I’m hoping to be in the backcountry at the end of January.

Head upside-down twice. What do you think about that? I’m down with double flips but I don’t like the hype about the “double cork.” People are going nuts when they see one. It is part of the evolution and it is normal. We will see them more and more, that’s for sure. I don’t really picture myself doing that in a park. However, I would like to do them more, and it will come. Usually when people do them they always do the same grabs; melon and Indy. I think it would be cool to do these with new grabs like stalefish or nosegrab. I would also like to see the double front flip make a comeback, haha. Imagine a huge double front with a nice grab. I will work on that…

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I think I have seen a new sticker on your board. Do you ride for Empire now? As for my shop sponsor, it has always been a friend thing. I have always ridden for my local shop in Victoriaville but recently the owner sold the shop and left. I had no more reason to stay with them. I spent January filming with Ryan. He is in charge of the Empire riders. He hooked me up. We all get along well and the guys are cool.

We did not ride together much last season. Do you miss riding in the park with your homeys?

My season started off in Breckenridge with Louif, Nick Sauvé, LNP and you, “mi carta”. I stayed there until December 22nd before coming back to Québec to film. We spent a month in the park. It’s precious time, just pure hard fun. I would like to spend more time in the park with my homeys but it’s hard to find time with my filming schedule. It would probably be good for my mental health as well as my body but I rarely take the time to do it. What is better than riding the park with your friends and talking shit?

Once more, we were coaches together at Camp of Champions. It was our 8th summer in Whistler or something like that? I was fourteen when I went there for the first time in 2001. Since that time, I go there every summer. At the beginning, I was only riding the public park. I rode it for the first 3 summers, from fourteen to sixteen. We used to sneak into Camp of Champions because they had a better park. When I started riding for Rome, they got me a pass to ride the park in the afternoons; it was so sick. We would hit a rail and hike back up all day until the park closed. It’s been two years that I’ve been a coach now. I like to ride in the summer slush with my buddies. It is the place to be in the summer. You ride until 2:30 and then go lay down on the beach. You can go biking, fishing, golfing, paintballing, there is always a reason to go out at night and the girls…

Are we having a cold one tonight? I guess we are, just to make a change…

“Will’s been my friend for a long time now, probably something like 5 years.

When he got on Rome, Greg, he and me used to travel a lot together so I learned about him on those trips. He’s the funniest guy I know and you can always count on him to have a good time. I’ve laughed my ass off many times with that fool. He’s also able to snowboard on everything. He’s got every type of snowboarding on lock. He loves huge jumps, which is something I’ll never understand. On trips, he’s either going to be the last or the first in bed.

That always made me laugh. So in conclusion of this pretty bad quote, I’d say he’s one of my very good friends, one funny ass guy and one hell of a good snowboarder. Keep doing what you do Midiwill!”

- LNP

Melon to boardslide Photo // Alex Paradis Spot // Quebec

Will

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Matel

By Pat Burns Photos Renaud Gagnon So sick to be able to see some photos of Mat in a recent shred magazine, seriously those shots could be from this winter! Sick style when he shreds, but also when he creates new characters, beanies or paintings. Mat really has a healthy imagination… Big ups my man you are the best!

2001 // Gap to Boardslide Spot // Quebec

-Phil Paré So it’s been a few years now that you work with IFOUND and YES snowboards. These are companies that I personally consider to be at the top. Can you tell me what you do exactly for these brands ? First, I am the art director of IFOUND. When my friend Guillaume Brochu broke his pelvis and after serious thinking, the idea of a headwear company seemed to be the best thing to do. Using his own resources, he asked his brother J-P (philosopher), Ezekiel (DLXshop) and me to join him within this project. We started it five years ago and it turns out to be the best decision we could have made. Up until now, everybody is very happy about how it goes and things keep moving forward. I also have to mention Yohan Sheetz who became the 5th full-patch member along the way. Second, as for YES, when one of the four founders Jim Zbinden left the company, David, Romain and JP were left alone with nobody to do the graphics. David asked me about it and I accepted his offer as a new challenge. Honestly, it is great to work with 3 riders who passed by the Burton “empire”. The three of them know exactly where they are going and how they want to get there. We work together on the ads, boards, accessories and some other stuff. It’s some serious teamwork!

We all have moments or events in our life that leave their marks. Concerning art, what would do you think would be one of those events ? A few years ago, I did two series called “solution” and “flag” for Rome snowboards. A little while after that, the art director at Rome sent me an e-mail and was putting me in touch with some dude. So I contacted the guy and he told me that he had a Solution board and he wanted to get a tattoo of the characters on the board. For that series I had created a bestiary formed by approximately 50 unicellular characters. I sent him the jpegs and a month later he had his arm tattooed. I was like “Sick, thanks!” After that, I didn’t hear from him for a year but one morning I checked my emails and he was telling me that he was now in England. He sent me a picture of his Westfalia and asked me if he could make some vinyl die-cuts for the van. “No worries!” I thought he would do some basic stuff. A few weeks later, he sent me some pictures of his truck now covered by a sick handmade sticker job. Crazy shit! It’s funny because after some time creating new images everyday you get bored faster and move on to something else.

Realizing that you can reach somebody simply with graphics and make him feel something that you may not even have felt yourself can only motivates you to push it even further. Thanks Rich!

www.mrmatel.wordpress.com www.ifound.ca www.yesnowboard.com

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« L’institition » Acrylic, Spray Paint & Marker on canvas 4 ft x 4 ft

« Mat always been an example for me, keeping it real and working hard to make a living off his passions. Whatever challenge is in front of him, he will make it happen. » -Guillaume Brochu

Matel and his brother Frit filming for Sugarshack 1.

2003 // Switch Fs board Spot // Quebec

Last summer was your 3rd solo exposition called “Trimatel” at the Morgan Bridge gallery. What were some of your inspirations for the pieces in this expo? I am never able to express myself clearly on this topic. However, I can say that some of the pieces were a real nightmare to do because of a lack of inspiration and motivation. I always try not to deliver a particular message or significance in my work. I want to give some kind of starting point and then it is up to everybody to interpret it in their own way.

If you had carte blanche for an artistic project, what direction would you take? What would be your dream project ? The first thing I would probably do is bring to life my characters. I am a big fan of the vinyl culture. I would have some kind of outdoor park with some 20 foot creatures concealed in the environment. It would be some kind of magic forest like the ones you see at fun fairs. I would definitely bring my work to 3D. Having my characters in a real environment would be like seeing them for the first time.

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COWER

By Jarad Hadi

Photo // Sarah Wettleson

Why does Cower play? Is there a message behind the music? For the kids, money and chicks.We are very spiritual but not religious.We are trying to send the message of love and peace through the most brutal way possible, metal.

You’re the Bass player, who else is in Cower? Logan Shattuck plays a mean drum, heart throb Nick Vicario on space leads & our baby boy Evan (Franz) was just born in the cower world.Before he was walking in the mundane existence of Life.

How was the record release party? Great, we sold 30 copies and “Thou” made me shit myself.

Are you all going to go on tour? Where do you want to go? We plan on going on another tour in the winter, after releasing our second record, which should be out soon.We are planning on touring all western America and then the East.

Cower is the best band in Portland, I heard? How did this happen? A healthy lifestyle followed by exercise, minimal employment & smoking a lot of weed. Forest park (Portland) was also an inspirational place.By the way, Red Fang is better.

Lets have a beer? Ok www.myspace.com/cowerhatesthewarondrugs

Photo // Sarah Wettleson

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Eddie Wall

By Oli Gagnon How did you get introduced to photography? It happened once I started traveling for snowboarding. We were going all over the world and I wanted a way to remember all the crazy places we went. I also realized that I was always traveling with a professional photographer and they could help me learn. Ian Ruther has really helped me out over the years. It’s not everyday you get to travel the world with a pro photographer, so I was trying to make the most of it.

What’s your camera setup? -1978 SX-70 land camera. This is for Polaroids, and it’s nice because it folds up all compact. It shoots Time-Zero film, so you can distort the photos and make them look like paintings if you want.

-Nikon FM2. 35mm film, SLR.They are built like tanks so really good for traveling.They were the staple skate photography cameras for a long time, so that is what got me interested in getting one.

-Hasselblad 501. 120 film. I wanted to shoot a very traditional camera. Basically start from the beginning. Without trying to sound corny, the camera just seems pure and simple. There are no “bells and whistles”, batteries, or gadgets. It’s just raw photography.

-Lieca D-Lux 3. Good quality and simple point-and-shoot digital camera. This is great because it’s pocket-sized so it’s simple to bring everywhere and it shoots RAW format.Now it is the camera I shoot with the most because of the convenience and while I travel I can just be backing up the photos on my computer.

Would you rather shoot film or digital? It’s a hard decision.

Obviously film is amazing. To me it is “real” photography and digital just doesn’t have the same feel. On the other hand, digital helps you get the best photo possible, because you don’t have to wait to see that you messed up a shot or didn’t frame it right or something.

It’s like instant gratification. I really don’t know. The main thing that bums me out about digital is that now it’s almost more of a person’s Photoshop skills rather then their photography skills.

What gives you ideas and inspire you when you’re out shooting photos? Everything and anything. I don’t try to corner myself into a category such as “landscape photographer” or “portrait photographer,” etc... I will shoot photos of anything. I do see a lot of photos in my head when I am walking around cities though. I like the whole urban side of it, but I guess I would be just as stoked to shoot a landscape in Montana or something.

Do you ever think about shooting snowboard photos? I have thought about that. It would be an easy transition a few years from now because I know the industry. I know all the riders, filmers, companies, etc, so it would be an easy fit. I’ve learned angles to make jumps look bigger or a kink look steeper. I think there is room because photographers outside of snowboarding have no clue how much work it takes to get a backcountry photo or shoot a rail at 3am in -20 degree weather. But I really like “fine arts” photography.

Stories that people will shoot about inner city living, traveling, etc... I also realize that is what 99% of photographers aim for, so obviously making a living as a “fine art” photographer is very difficult.

Do you see yourself doing photography as a full time job in the future? I’m not sure. I have been playing and writing a lot of music and would love to pursue that in the future. But I love photography as well. Maybe I’ll be a traveling musician who shoots photos. Ha. Who knows? I sure don’t :)

Eddie Wall

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Eddie Wall

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