PHOTOS: DARCY BACHA
LNP/SHANK + BJORN/MOD
BRINGING OUT THE BEST FROM_
FALL 2012 / A NEW SHORT FILM_ #andreaswiig
*WE’RE EXPERTS IN SNOWBOARDING AND OUTERWEAR, NOT LIFE CHOICES aUsTen sWeeTin & special blend, TURninG 21 WiTH sTYle
PHOTO peaRe
10-11 OPENING ACT: DEAN BLOTTO GRAY
16 BURRITOS & SNOW: Buried
18 ANGRY SNOWBOARDER: EXPOSURE
20 CHARACTERS WELCOME: ANDY WRIGHT
22 CHARACTERS WELCOME: JUSTIN MEYER
24-25 ROAD WARRIORS: 2007 RUSSIA - DEADLUNG
26 HI THERE: KYLE FISCHER
28 HI THERE: GRIFFEN SIEBERT
32 SALES PITCH: 2013 SNOWBOARDS
34 A GRAPHIC STORY: 2013 FORUM DESTROYER
36 INCENTIVE: SEAN BLACK
38 GOOD EATS: BLUE PLATE
40-43 I RIDE PARK CITY
46-55 JUSTIN BENNEE
58-65 BRANDON HAMMID
68-77 SHOOTING GALLERY
78 INSTAHAMS
80 LAST CALL
ALEX ANDREWS IN ALASKA PHOTO BY @DEANBLOTTOGRAY
Opening Act: The riders do the snowboarding, but it is the photographers that tell the story. Fear, exhilaration, success, failure, joy or determination a hundred emotions are captured with the press of a finger. At Arkade we have always paid homage to the work and art that the photographers create. We are so very lucky to work with some of the best in the industry; Andy Wright, Tim Peare, Blotto, SKS, E-Stone, Bob Plumb, Rob Mathis, Adam Moran, Joel Frasier, and many others. Much in the same way that you as readers are excited to pick up a new magazine we are just as excited when the first new photo submissions cross our desk. On this page we pay homage to them and their art...
This issues photo is of Jeremy Jones taken by Dean "Blotto" Gray in Canada. Blotto has been working within the industry for over a dozen years and is the principal photographer for Burton Snowboards. You can see more of Blotto's extraordinary work on his website blottophoto.com and by following him on intsagram @deanblottogray.
JEREMY JONES IN CANADA
PHOTO BY @DEANBLOTTOGRAY
PAUL BUNDY paul@arkadesnowboarding.com
CORY LLEWELYN cory@arkadesnowboarding.com
BRYCE PACKHAM bryce@arkadesnowboarding.com
Andy Wright, Bob Plumb, Rob Mathis, Tim Peare Sean K. Sullivan, Dean Blotto Gray, Joel Fraser, Greg Furey Stevie Bell, Cameron Pierce, Sam Taxwood, Dan Brisse
Daniel Cochrane, Bob Plumb, Mark Seguin, Avran LeFeber Deadlung, Mikey LeBlanc, Dave Graves, Josh Fisher, Brad Gobdel, Patch Harrington, Marty Siller, Damien Etchaubard - Contributing Artist: Dave Doman
Landon Llewelyn, Cooper Llewelyn, The Norm, Marcus Patterson, Cael Campbell, Christian Crowder
ARKADE MAGAZINE 127 South 800 East STE#37 SLC, UT 84102 info@arkadesnowboarding.com Facebook.com/arkadesnowboarding Twitter.com/arkadesnow Instagram @arkadesnowboarding
COVER: JUSTIN BENNEE PHOTO: ANDY WRIGHT
We are about to change the way you see in color.
Jake Welch anonoptics.com
DANIEL COCHRANE
There has been a new trend over the last few seasons with the filming of video parts. This new trend is the full season video part released online only usually via the partnership between a riders sponsors the website it is released on. It has taken a few different forms including season long follow style webisodes to one time full part video drops.
I’m going to be straight out honest and say I hate the concept. I think they are bad for snowboarding, bad for the riders, and bad for the already struggling world of snow movie companies. If you are an up and comer, a kid trying to make your mark by all means make edits, that is not what I'm talking about. I’m talking about the big name established pros that are leaving film crews to go at it alone. I think part of what makes a great video part is the video itself and you obviously lose that when filming a web only segment. You loose that sense of being part of the whole, showing how you as a rider can interpret a spot in a unique way while at the same time sharing it with other members of a crew. Also on a pragmatic level it is bad for the riders because basically the part is lost in a few months, “buried” on the internet as they say. How often however have you picked up an old video to watch one riders part and then be treated to parts you forgot about from three or four other riders? Old videos have staying power but on the internet that is hard to duplicate especially after a video is “buried” and long term it is the rider that suffers. Also let’s face it, as last season has shown us, the snow community is a fragile place economically and for all of us to survive we have to in some way work together. Taking riders out of their usual element of filming with a crew has a negative economic effect that ripples through out the community. It means less money invested by sponsors to film companies, which in turn hurts their end product. That could mean fewers orders, which hurts distributers and even eventually filters down to the point of sale, the local shop.
Luckily I think that even the industry agrees. This upcoming season there are less internet only projects being launched, in fact two of the big three snowboard magazines are actually returning to filming snowboard movies versus concentrating on solo rider one off projects. It is an industry that thrives on change and progression and some times that means missteps along the way. I believe that online only parts are one of those experiments that will fall by the wayside, at least as a dominant force, and ultimately to me that is a good thing for snowboarding.
WORDS BY
The idea of having a full video part in a movie is one of prominence in the snowboard world. It's one of those achievements that can help define you as a rider and showcase your abilities in three to five minutes, inspiring a generation of riders. For as long as snowboarding has had shred flicks there have been full parts. Sure the names, styles, and sponsors change but it's still a present part of our culture.
Long before the era of affordable cameras, editing equipment and sites like YouTube and Vimeo the only way to view a video part was to go to the premiere, buy the movie, or sit in your local shop and watch it. In my opinion this drastically hindered the ability to get noticed by the masses of snowboarders out there. Now in a matter of minutes (well probably more like a couple hours) you can get your video uploaded and send to countless media sources giving it an endless amount of views.
Does this hurt snowboarding's culture? In my opinion it does more to benefit the culture and the riders as it's a giant marketing tool with untapped potential when offering it free on the Internet. Like I previously stated in the above paragraph viewership was somewhat limited, now it can take on the always available that only the Internet can provide. Think about that one? Suddenly a snowboarder in the middle of nowhere can see his favorite riders full part on any number of electronic devices when they want. So here's this kid that's secluded from a real snowboard culture and scene watching the same parts as you or I that are blessed to live near a mountain. This kid then gets stoked and finds a way to snowboard by any means and could potentially be one of those inspired to do more with their riding or life. It's one of those cause and effect relationships.
For the rider the benefits are immense. Here you have this medium that not only makes it readily available to the world, but if you play your cards right there's all these media sources that are more than happy to host it and present it to their readership. Being a purveyor of a snowboard site I know it's just free content. This exposure if done right can help with their sponsorship whether it's monetary, moving up the ladder, or just getting picked up by a company. For a no named rider this can be the make it or break it move to jump up to the big leagues.
Looking at it from a marketing perspective it makes total senses. Do a video maybe a few thousand will see or have it there for the whole world to see? It's all about the exposure. Times have changed and rather than a few movies we're sitting here with all these pockets of little production companies and filmers dropping free movies and full parts. It's this change that is going to facilitate the future growth of snowboarding's culture. Why limit people that can't make it to a real snowboard shop or to a video premiere? Now a part can drop online on your favorite site and you can just hate on it in one place. - VISIT
WORDS BY MIKEY LEBLANC
At one point Andy Wright was a snot-nosed Utah kid, coming up under legends long forgotten Like Andy Hetzel and other people, that no one else remembers either, except Benny from Milo. When I first met Andy in the early 90's, he was a graphic designer for many brands; the most notables would be Special Bland (pre JP Walker, and during Devun Walsh) and M3 snowboards, in their hay day. At that time he lived a stones throw from MOLCHA SALSA (now Hectors, which is for the record the best Mexican spot in the world). Anyway he lived with Brad Scheuffele and Jared Eberhart. Brad was a pro shredder too for a few years more and then transitioned out and founded COAL headwear. Around that time Andy also co-founded and ran Medium Magazine with Jared Eberhardt, it was the OG Utah shred mag that was one of a few core mags in the world in the early 90's that had a real "difference” to it, definitely ahead of its time. Jared went on to creative direct Forum, Foursquare, and Special Bland (yes not a typo) when they were good brands, and when he left they went to shit, now he makes amazing muti-media projects, etc. Google him, its worth your time at work when someone isn’t looking.
But back to Andy, In the mid-90’s he made what I presume to be the best choice of his life, picking up a camera, getting him out of a rotten, sagging office chair, in hot and sweaty, mind-meltingly boring design office before scoliosis set in and committed fully to photography. Since that time he’s been become a senior at Transworld Snowboarding, traveling the globe in search of the best images of men getting tricky in snow and a few ladies as well. Yepp he did a ladies Vogue shoot at Mammoth Mtn even, what a bastard. He has been probably the most published dude in the world for the past 10 years and shoots 7 months a year with a psycho work ethic that only an angel of a girlfriend could handle. Working with every notable shred and film co in the mix, he often will be out on 3 different shoots a day, with three different film companies in SLC.
But I do remember when Andy was the new guy, kinda like SLC’s old Bob Plumb was a few years back, at one point was he the second or third choice guy to call when Rob Mathis and whoever wasn’t available and we needed a photograph taken. We all start humbly. Well its been a solid 15 years of photography and world traveling domination for Andy, and when I was still ok at boardin’ he was and is still would be my first choice for someone to shoot with, hang with, and talk with in the world of shred and in life. He’s really not boring, has great taste with music, excellent motivations for things outside of snowboarding that keeps the release button pressed on a 12 day grueling road trip, so we don’t all go crazy thinking about snowboarding 24/7.
The moral of the story is that Andy does shit, a lot of things. And it all came so easy… all he had to do was commit to what he wanted, and have a shit ton of talent, insane drive, years of hard work put in, understanding an industry, meeting people, shooting, designing, studying, etc. Ha.
I say, “Andy Wright for GOD!” Well maybe not, because that’s and overrated position, but he’s pretty cool. And man you should see what he does on his summers off, 5 month of leisure. So many unmentionables, its hard to restrain, but have photos… What a champ.
INTERVIEWED BY DANIEL COCHRANE
PHOTO BY BOB PLUMB
What is your name and what do you do for VG?
My name is Justin Meyer and I do a bit of most everything for all that is VG. From sponsors, proposals, contracts, filming, editing, design, website, marketing, directing, and anything else you can possibly imagine. I don’t do it all alone though. Mike Hakker helps with design stuff when he can. Sean McCormick, Riley Erickson, and Mark Dangler pull a lot of weight with filming and making a lot of the web content. Mark Dangler also helped edit The Darkside. As for Enlighten that is mainly Hayden Rensch behind the editing with myself editing a part or 2. Gary Milton and Keegan Salmon are also filmers that made things happen on that project.
How did you get to where you are with VG, what is your back ground?
I started out making promo videos and started the Sunday in The Park web series for Bear Mountain. From there I met Darrell and Nima and the rest just fell into place naturally.
This season VG is releasing three full projects. To my knowledge nothing like this has ever been done.. are you guys crazy or ambitious?
Last year we released 3 DVDs. One of which was a trick tip DVD. This year we are doing the 2 VG projects and then helping out the Keep The Change project. We just had a lot of friends that were all excited to make videos so we all came together and it ended up needing to be more than one project. We are just a big gang of like-minded friends having fun and working together.
The Holy Smokes project from Keep The Change will be the first full budget film featuring ams and flow riders in over a decade. What made VG want to partner with KTC to make this project a reality?
I wouldn’t say its fully budgeted ha. They are just starting out and this year they are making due with limited sponsor money. After this video drops they will for sure be fully budgeted. As for partnering with them, I just wanted to help out anyway I can to see them get to where they need to be. They have everything it takes and more, and needed a better platform than the free online format. We had the opposite of help when we released our first VG flick and know how hard it can be to reach that level of acceptance, so we just wanted to give them a helping hand.
OK from each of the three films give me a few riders that are really standing out to you and maybe a few discrete things to look for that may be missed if you’re not paying attention.
For Enlighten, you can expect some serious heat from everyone. Frank April, Jake Kuzyk, Will Jackways, and Bryan Fox have super solid parts just to name a few. There is even a handful of Travis Rice cameos in there.
For The Darkside, it’s the usual suspects that will have you laughing and getting you excited to snowboard. Jake OE, Nick Dirks, LNP, Gus Engle, Chris Grenier, etc. The whole crew did really well. Then the new guy in the gang Joe Sexton really came through so you won’t want to miss his part.
As for Holy Smokes, I’ve only seen Mike Rav and Johnny Occonnor’s parts, and judging from those two alone its going to be amazing.
After the grueling season last year what does VG have in the works for 2012/2013 to be released next fall?
Well we can just hope that it snows more than it did this past year. As for projects, we are always trying to keep things fresh. I can’t say too much yet, but we have a few really exciting things in mind for 2012/2013.
Thanks Justin for taking the time.. who would you like to thank in return?
Thanks to everyone who helped VG along the way. Thanks to all the riders and filmers and sponsors who make it possible.
Attendees: Ethan Stone Fortier, Cole Taylor, Joel Muzzey, Yan Dofin, Tommi Ylianttila, Justin Bennee, Stevie bell, and myself.
So I guess this story starts at the airport when E-Stone and Cole went to get the rental car with some sketchy dude. Three and a half hours later Yan, Tommi and myself started to wonder what was going on. The airport already has a shitty vibe, so we weren't feelin very rad. Me and Ethan are the only ones that set up our phones to use there and his was off with no service, of course. They finally showed up and it turns out it takes an hour to go anywhere, even within 5 miles, but the dude did take them to a sketchy dark garage with only two cars in it and took forever. Luckily they had a toaster oven lookin van that would fit all of us when everyone else got there the next day. So we get on the road to go find our hotel and by the way they highly encourage tourists not to drive anywhere around Moscow in the pamphlets and all that. Don’t get pulled over in Moscow, it will cost you your license, or 100dollars US cash. Driving is hell there! Luckily I never got behind the wheel! Ethan thinks we are staying around Red Square, so we drove around for a couple hours in the gnarliest traffic conditions you could imagine, clipping side mirrors, eight cars deep, on four lanes and then we decided it was time for Ethan to catch a cab because he knew the address and booked the hotel. The first thing the illegal cab driver does is run a gnarly red light and we instantly lose Ethan. So we drive in a general direction for another couple hours and find another cab but this time no one gets in. We follow the cab and finally get there. Ethan is wasted, and proceeded to get us the same. It ended up taking us 7 hours to get to the hotel.
The next day we wake up (what happened to Yan?) and wonder how Bennee, Stevie, and Muzzy are ever gonna make it there. So we go search around in the outskirts and hit a couple spots. We get back to the hotel and to our surprise the whole crew had made it! So we wake up the next day and our guide is there to show us some zones he knew about. We thought he was going to drive, but turns out he’s never driven before and is guiding us using the subway routes in accordance to the streets.
The food is terrible, everywhere, especially in the hotel we were staying at. Apparently Ethan got served a pigeon after waiting two hours at a shitty spot where the pool table balls were too big for the pockets. However Nikolaschka is one of the best ways to drink vodka: A shot, a thin sliced of lemon with sugar and coffee grounds sprinkled on it, shoot it, eat the lemon, and bomb shit.
The people are all bummed. They don’t say hi, and only wear dark brown, dark grey, or black. Probably because it was -38c and frost builds up everywhere warm. We really stuck out wearing all sorts of crazy shit shoveling snow everywhere.
We saw one other black person there besides Stevie, dude pretty much ran to Stevie from 100 yards away to give Stevie a hug like he was the Holy Grail. It turns out Moscow isn't the best place for black people. I don’t know if you’ve seen the gangland about Russia, but people kill people all the time because they are black. We were definitely in some suspect zones a lot of the time, and one day four darker skin people with brass teeth from the country below, that apparently stab people, rolled up to us trying to start trouble calling Stevie the N word. A few of us had to flex on ‘em before they got too close, but looking back that could have been a definite trip ruining event. Yo Stevie, I’m glad you didn’t get stabbed by four weird looking dudes that day!
Bennee left his board at a park, and didn’t realize it until the next day, so we shared my board that day. I let him set it up goofy.
All the young girls thought Justin Bennee was Justin Timberlake because he was an American named Justin.
People say there are tons of hot girls there, but they must not come out in the winter, or they are in a strip club, or brothel, because all we saw were girls with herpes or some shit on their lips and fucked up teeth.
A car almost killed us, Cole got on 3 wheels and saved us. Stevie was sleeping, Muzzey yelled the loudest, but for real that was maybe to closest to death me and probably everyone else has ever been.
I caught my edge trying to slide an aluminum roof and ended up coughing up some blood. The last thing I wanted to do was go to the hospital there. My organs all swelled up and I had to lay in bed the last day of filming because it hurt to move. It hurt more to eat and there wasn’t a chance of pushing a shit out even if I could’ve eaten.
Bennee got left at a spot by himself for way too long so we could go get pizza, which took 3 hours somehow. He was gonna catch a sketchy cab but a local girl advised him that was a bad idea. We went back to the spot and he was gone, but we soon found him.
Some local shredders set up a party/premiere for us at a bar so we could all hang out and have a good time. It resulted in Ethan freestyle battling with one of the locals. Ethan has a wicked Rasta style freestyle, and this session was one of his best I’ve seen. You can catch the footage in the extras of Cold World.
Everyone got along super good and we had an awesome time, although I don't think any of us were planning on going back ever again.
WORDS BY MARK SEGUIN
Kyle Fischer has been honing his on-snow craft for the last twelve years. Five of those years have been here in Salt Lake enjoying the proximity of the mountains to the downtown scene; except for the Twilight Lounge… You’ll have to ask him why. The Michigan native has spent his last ten summers at High Cascade: four as a camper and the most recent six working the park. It’s no wonder he makes things looks so easy on a snowboard. When Kyle isn’t dreaming of floating the legendary powder of Alaska and Japan, he uses surfing to help get himself over his fear of sharks; and Green Day to teach himself how to play the guitar.
Growing up in Michigan with a small, tight knit group of likeminded friends helped Kyle develop a solid feel for what snowboarding is all about: spending time with friends who share his passion and having fun. He just happens to lay down some hammers in the process.
Name: Kyle Fischer
Nick Name: Fish Stick
Age: 24
Birthplace: Royal Oak, Michigan
Hometown: Troy, Michigan
Home Mountain: Park City
Years Snowboarding: 12 years
Sponsors/Hookups: Capita, Coal, 686, Ashbury, Union, Active Ride Shop, Cobra Dogs
Moment of Pride: Making the travel soccer team in fifth grade
Other Than Snowboarding: Anything in the water, especially surfing & tubing.
Heros/Idols/Role Models: Mom by a mile. Scotty Wittlake & Travis Parker in the snow scene.
Favorite Trick: Methods
Currently Working On: One Footers
Plans for the Future: Snowboard with friends as long as possible and have fun doing it.
Park or Pow: Pow. No question.
Born in Salt Lake and living in Park City, Griffin actually got his start snowboarding at Mammoth and was instantly hooked. His older brother, who is also one of his idols, took him under his wing from a young age to show him the ropes of the shred game. Siebs, as his friends call him, has taken full advantage of that early start and has a slew of solid sponsors backing him. Aside from the actual snowboarding, Griffin’s favorite part of coming up in the industry has been traveling and meeting new people. Park City suits the Utah local well. The party in the city is minutes away from top of the mountain, and the park scene there is world class. Although Griffin makes easy work of that park scene, he wants to get into the backcountry for some of that classic Utah powder. Wherever he straps on his snowboard, Griffin is sure to keep turning heads.
Name: Griffin Siebert
Nick Name: Casper Cream
Age: 19
Birthplace: Salt Lake
Hometown: Park City
Years Snowboarding: 14 Years
Sponsors/Hookups: Nitro, Volcom, Dragon, Celtek, Bern, Milo, Cobra Dogs, Vans, Discrete
Moment of Pride: Getting to race in the legendary baker banked slalom; best time of my life.
Other than snowboarding: Skateboarding and playing guitar
Heros/Idols/Role Models: Friends and family, especially my big brother.
Favorite Trick: The Carve
Currently Working On: Extreme Carving
Plans for the Future: Film a full video part and snowboard with friends as long as possible before having to do “grown up” things. I’m currently studying geology and hope to get on with the Utah Avalanche Center someday. Park or Pow: Pow. No question.
WORDS BY MARK SEGUIN
FOR THE PRODUCT PAGE THIS YEAR WE THOUGHT WE WOULD LET THE GUYS WHO ARE OUT HITTIN THE ROAD EVERY DAY, SELLIN’ AND REPIN’ THE PRODUCT GIVE YOU THEIR BEST SALES PITCH…THE REPS.
0 1 3
For the 2012 – 2013 season, Capita offers a new twin tip hybrid flat kick board called the defenders of awesome. the doa is great for anyone looking for the energy and pop of a camber alongside the predictability of a flat or reverse cambered board.
Here’s how the hybrid camber works: the DOA has positive camber underneath your feet, 5mm past the front and back of your insert pack. From there, the board is flat reaching out towards the tips. There is a small amount of reverse camber thru the blend zone heading into the flat kick nose and tail. Out of the wrapper, this board rides like a soft cambered board with a detuned nose and tail.
The DOA features a tip to tail poplar core, with carbon reinforcements from contact point to contact point along the edge. this added carbon helps with stability thru variable snow conditions and adds awesome pop. The Defenders of Awesome, is a 2012 good wood board winner and retails for $380.
The Mod Rocker from the Rome SDS is an all-mountain slayer. I know that sounds corny, but it is true. I’m not much of a park or rail guy. I prefer to rip around the mountain and hit whatever is in front of me. Powder, groomers, trees, cliffs, jibs, park jumps…whatever. The Mod Rocker has my back in all conditions. The Mod Rocker features the Freepop Rocker which is essentiall flat between the feet with a slight rocker from outside of your bindings to the nose and tail. The flat section gives you a stable platform on high speed groomers and landings, and the rocker gives you a nice little lift in powder and choppy snow.
I could go on and on about all the technical features and magic pixie dust found in the Mod Rocker, but you can get all of that from a catalog or website. The bottom line is that if you are looking for a lightweight, poppy board to take anywhere on the mountain the Mod Rocker is a great choice. For more details on the Mod Rocker be sure to check out your local Rome dealers. You can find the MOD at Salty Peaks, Epic, and Park Sportsmen, and Revival Freeride.
PITCHED BY PATCH
HARRINGTONThis season Louif Paradis saddled up with the Salomon board designers in France to create this unique freestyle/jib board. The Villain is meant to be an all terrain jib board for anything from powder in the Swiss Alps to Quebec City handrails. With that idea in place, Salomon developed a new board profile called “Rock Out Camber”. It has camber between the feet for stability but in addition it has a short, flat segment under each binding. When weight is applied to the deck profile, the tip and tail lift like a rocker board. This hybrid profile, coupled with the new Equalizer RAD sidecut makes the Villain the ultimate board for resorts like Brighton.. Where jibbing is just as important as slashing pow in the trees.
The Juice Wagon is a new addition to the Burton line for this winter and it’s part of the Family Tree collection. This is an evolving group of unique freeride-driven shapes developed by Terje, Stephan Maurer, Jussi, John Jackson and the rest of the Burton pow shredders.
It’s a super fun shape – slightly tapered, snappy with traditional camber. Great for a freestyle approach to riding real terrain. Floats in deep snow and can handle riding switch in pow well. Burton’s Squeezebox core profiling makes the board thinner right under foot and slightly beefier just outside your binding for tons of board feel and response.
I got to ride it a few days toward the end of last season and I hope to get plenty of days on it this year – because if I’m bringing this board out, it means conditions are good.
PITCHED BY MARTY SILLER
Camber Lives! The 2013 THEME by Niche Snowboards is a traditional camber freestyle board that slays all. This deck features Magma Fiber construction which replaces fiberglass with Basalt. Basalt is lighter, stronger and doesn’t absorb water! Can you say "Goodbye delams"??
Snappy Sap Bio-Resin holds it all together in an Eco Friendly and pop producing style that will have you ollieing slow signs all season. Add in recycled materials for the base, sidewalls, edges and inserts, plus a Michael Seiben graphic. You'll be looking AND feeling good. From the jumps of Park City to the jibs of Brighton, the THEME won't let you down.
PITCHED BY JOSH FISHER
THE DESTROYER graphic for 2012/13 features actual photos from the 1930’s by famous crime scene photographer Weegee. He was well known for arriving at crime scenes to take photos before the police ever showed up. There were suspicions that he had ties to the mob, but it doesn’t seem like there is conclusive proof. Somehow he just managed to know when dead, destroyed people would show up and he’d get the photographs before anyone else. Over the past 3 years, the Destroyer series has focused on a new way of creating not only physically dark, but emotionally dark graphics. The Destroyer has always been a team favorite and is recognized as the most powerful, gnarly board in the line built as a serious park deck for riders who want a precise and aggressive board. All of the graphics have been designed to tap into this darker, creepy, and borderline fringe feeling that the Destroyer has cultivated over the past few seasons. Each one has a unique look and feel but the story has been building for the past two seasons from cracked skulls bashed in with various weapons, to the electric chair punishment for committing the crime, and finally to the crime scene revealed in this year’s graphic.
WORDS BY DAMIEN ETCHAUBARD
BINDINGS
How many boards do you go through a season? Usually 4 or 5.
What’s your favorite graphic from Arbor this season? I really like the graphic on the Draft. Its the board that I ride most often and the skull police man is pretty spooky.
When you go and ride for fun, who is in your crew? Alex Andrews, Brandon Hammid, Ted Borland, Pat Harrington, and many, many others...too many to name.
Favorite place to go after a long day of riding? Spedellis or Hectors. #Duh @boznutz.
Give us the full list of your sponsors? WeSC, Arbor, Drop Gloves, Airblaster Ninja Team, Beaver Wax, Milosport.
WORDS BY SEAN BLACK
BY DANIEL COCHRANE
ADDRESS: 2041 South 2100 East Salt Lake City, UT 84108 FOOD: Breakfeast All Day, Lunch and Dinner OPEN: 7 Days A Week - 7PM to 9PM
The best thing about The Blue Plate Diner is its award winning, served all day, breakfasts. No wait, the best thing about The Blue Plate Diner is being able to go there with anyone (vegetarians, vegans, meat eating savages) and find a great meal. Actually, the best thing about The Blue Plate Diner is sitting on the patio in the fall, talking with your friends, and enjoying your meal as life on 21st and 21st rolls by. Wait, REALLY the best thing about The Blue Plate Diner is the sense of community between owners, employees, and customers. Blue Plate Diner, founded by John Bouzek and Tamrika Khvtisiashvili, has a great communal DIY feel. The whole place is an amalgamation of pieces of architecture and design from around Utah. The yellow Formica counter top from an old shop in Salina, Utah, the Mid-Century Soda fountain pulled from the Olympic Club of Salt Lake, and many of the mismatched tables and chairs come from yet another old shop
in Filmore, Utah. Longtime customers even donate memorabilia and personal items to adorn the walls. Added to the mix are art shows highlighting local favorites, like local snow artist Dave Doman for example. Seriously, this place is just rad inside. I kind of always thought the Ashbury team should shoot a team photo at the bar… that sort of vibe. This should come as no surprise since cofounder John actually moved to SLC back in the day from Chicago for Utah’s amazing powder, and like many others who make the move, never left. Blue Plate transcends the normal dining experience, but not in some pretentious way. In fact, it is quite the opposite. Despite the almost twenty awards that line the wall behind the bar, The Blue Plate remains a family affair between owners, employees, and customers. It is a true Salt Lake highlight. But don’t take my word for it; stop in for yourself, grab a bite to eat, and become part of the family.
WORDS
Park City Mountain Resort had a problem. It was a good problem to have but still a problem. The problem was they had a world famous Super Pipe (highlighted in the 2002 Olympics), a world class series of terrain parks, a world class team of well known and respected snowboarders, but no real outlet to show all of these great elements to the world. Creating a brand, especially in snowboarding, is a tricky business. It takes a lot of hard work and dedication, but has to come off as effortless and easy. It takes countless hours, days, weeks, and months of behind the scenes planning to produce something that seems organic and effortless. However, with the right people behind an idea anything is possible. So Park City did the obvious, they went out and brought in a talented team to help them solve their problem. The I Ride Park City brand, however, could not be created overnight with just a few hirings. It would take Park City a few years of getting the key people in place that would eventually do the resort’s amazing parks justice.
As with any project, you have to lay a good foundation, and for Park City, laying that foundation began with hiring Jeremy Cooper as the Terrain Park manager. Cooper brought a wealth of experience and knowledge to the table when he joined the Park City team. Having worked on the Mammoth Park crew for three seasons and running the June Mountain Crew for four (with a bit of Australian winters in between) he obviously had the knowledge needed to help Park City excel. As with any job, there is always more to it than what is in the public eye, and with Cooper’s role in Park City this is very much the case. “I am the Terrain Park Manager here. I handle everything that is Action Sports. I manage the operations of the Terrain Park, oversee marketing projects, build rails, manage the all-star team, and develop partnerships and sponsorships” says Cooper. Under Cooper’s vision Park City’s terrain parks have had a complete overhaul and now have a unified look throughout the mountain. He has also overseen a park set up that constantly evolves to mirror current riding trends as seen in videos by building similar features on the hill. Gone are the days of placing a feature in the ground in December and digging it up in April, and Cooper has adapted the Park City parks to this new trend by constantly moving features and reshaping the park to create an ever-changing and challenging environment for everyone on the mountain. Under Cooper’s vision, the three terrain parks, as well as the twenty-two foot Eagle Super Pipe, have seen a renaissance. Having reestablished and re-envisioned the Park City parks, it was now crucial for Cooper to find the right outlet to help spread the word to the snowboarding world. Enter Rob Mathis.
Rob Mathis is snowboard photography royalty. Having been at the forefront of the Utah snowboarding scene Rob’s photos of locals such as Blue Montgomery, Mikey Leblanc, and Tonino Copene, just
to name a few, help solidify Utah’s place in snowboard media. Rob was also a part of the next generation when he signed on as the primary photographer for the Forum team in its earliest days. Rob had done some photo work with Park City but wasn’t happy with the finished product and decided to try and make some changes. “I shot a little bit for Park City when Jim was still running the park. This was just a couple day shoots to help with ad images. Once Cooper started I again did some photos, but once I saw the ad campaign I was bummed. I decided to approach them about doing more than just a couple day shoots throughout the year. I met with the in house marketing team and pitched a variety of ideas” explains Rob. This was the genesis for what has now become known to the world as I Ride Park City. After meeting with the management at Park City Rob formed RM Media as an outlet to handle more than just photography. From there the partnership flourished as the Cooper and Mathis team became the one two punch that Park City so desperately needed.
Under the direction of the Mathis and Cooper partnership, the I Ride Park City brand was born, and a full on media assault on the snowboarding world began. Mathis began shooting photos in the park for the new advertising campaign and brought in Dustin Ortiz to help with logo creation and advertising layouts. Rob quickly realized he wanted to branch out into edits as well. On a tip from Tonino Copene, he reached out to local filmer Pat Fenelon and added him to the team to help make edits. Rob says “Pat, in my opinion, films some of the best park edits out today. Every edit is better and better and everyone knows when they film that it will look like it's supposed to look.” With the success of the edits, Mathis and company pushed for the creation of an I Ride Park City movie capturing the feel and essence of the videos but in a longer more
complete form. It took some convincing but in the end the management of park City got on board and filming took place throughout last season. Toss in a full off-season of going through footage and editing, and the new I Ride Park City film will be set for a Fall release.
This upcoming season will see an increase in the I Ride Park City brand’s media presence. With advertising campaigns across multiple magazines and a new round of edits for online outlets, I Ride Park City is not letting up. In fact, they are adding more to their plate with the addition of a high quality run of magazines. The magazines will give Rob, always the photographer at heart, the canvas to properly display his photographs. “I'm real excited to see the shots from the year on nice paper instead of just another Instagram photo” quips Mathis. Team member Dustin Ortiz will add the magazine’s layout to his duties for the crew. It’s clear that from the media side, I Ride Park City is full speed ahead.
As Rob pushes the media side forward Cooper is constantly there making sure he has one of the country’s greatest canvases in which to work. This up-coming season, in addition to the usual round of newly built features, Park City has announced the partnership with Neff to create “Neff Land” terrain park. Taking over the area known last season as “The Ridge”, Neff Land will be a partnership between Cooper, his builders, and the minds of Neff to create a Candy Land inspired park that will truly be a one of a kind experience. Perhaps for me the most exciting news for the upcoming season will be the new “Merrill Mini-Pipe”, a 13 foot pipe named after Park City team member Bode Merrill, who lobbied hard to see its inclusion. Also, Cooper has added to the team long-time Utah locals Dylan Thompson, Sam Taxwood, Blaze Kotsenburg, Griffin Seibert, and Portland native turned Utah local Alex Sherman.
Finally, as in most things, there is always a bit of luck and happenstance when creating something as big as I Ride Park City. In this instance it is the inclusion of Cobra Dogs, the hot dog stand extraordinaire, into the I Ride Park City family. Cobra Dogs was the icing on the cake that gave all the locals that one spot to hang out and talk about their day. It has become the anchor point for the I Ride Park City scene where on any given day you can see any number of I Ride team members hanging out and talking with the local kids. Like a fine oriental rug, Cobra
As I said earlier, it takes a lot of hard work and dedication behind the scenes to pull off something as ambitious as the I Ride Park City project, but both Rob and Cooper are quick to give credit to the people of Park City Resort. “It's been great, couldn't be any happier. There were a few bumps in the road dealing with the corporation that Park City is, but they trust me and listen to my input” says Rob. And Cooper agrees, “Park City is great! They support the Terrain Parks to the fullest. When I said Cobra Dogs, they said Ok! (when) I found a good deal on a used mini pipe cutter and I showed them and they said let’s do it!” It is that sort of teamwork and dedication that is needed to pull off something as amazing as I Ride Park City. Come visit and I’m sure you will agree.
RIDES THE NIKE ZOOM ITES WITH SOFT FLEX IN NIKE APPAREL AND OUTERWEAR
How has your summer been?
It’s been good, lots going on these days.
Busy... Ha yea right. We all know you pro snowboarders don’t do shit during the summer. What have you been doing?
Ha well I’m different than most I guess... I’ve got my hands in all sorts of things, just starting small businesses and seeing where I can take em. Sometimes they work and sometimes not, but you gotta put yourself out there if you wanna do something. Trying to diversify my funds fool.
What type of small businesses?
I don’t like talking about what I do, if they work out then you’ll eventually hear about it, I don’t need to spout off telling you about how I’m doing all this shit, kinda like “talk doesn’t cook rice”. It’s an old Chinese proverb that I like.
Ok. Speaking of small business, I saw you a couple times this summer. Once was at 7 eleven getting some extends and a pack of Magnums. Was that wishful thinking or does the shit really work?
INTERVIEW BY BOB PLUMB PHOTOS BY BOB PLUMB AND ANDY WRIGHT PHOTOHaha, well the dude on the commercial seems super happy so I thought I would try it out and see if I end up like him...
Haha. His name is Bob, kind of Ironic. Did you work in your studio this summer making beats?
Haha, yea I’m always in my studio regularly, you gotta keep the creative juices flowing or you’ll step in the studio and be rusty as hell. I’m just trying to always learn more about it and make better beats until I feel like I’m in a place to really come in. I want to come correct, so I know what I’m puttin out is the best it could be. So I guess that’s why you don’t hear that many of em, because I’ve just been stackin em up until the time comes to make my move.
That sounds like a good approach. Do you have anyone you can send your music to to get feedback?
Yea for sure. I send most of my beats to Buckwild, he’s a member of the D.I.T.C. crew, which is a group of some of the most legendary artists in Hip-Hop. Buckwild has been a leading producer from NY since the early 90’s. You’d recognize a lot of his shit from most of Big L’s early stuff, and a catalog of other tracks that you’d definitely remember. He’s kinda taken me under his wing and really helped me along the way with
ANDY WRIGHT PHOTO
a lot of stuff. We have been talking about doing a project together in the future, just tryin to get it all lined up. Not going to make any promises, but it’s definitely something I’m working hard at.
That has to feel good knowing you have someone like that giving you positive feedback on your music.
Yea, I definitely feel very fortunate to have a connection like him. Yea man crazy fool, like I’ve been buyin this dude’s records since I was like 15 and always regarded him as one of the dopest producers out there. To be talkin with him about makin beats is insane; definitely feel lucky to have someone like him helpin me out.
That’s cool. I feel like that makes you appeal to the baggy pant people out there. But I want to broaden your fan base. You have a motorcycle!!! Is it a bullet bike?
ANDY WRIGHT PHOTOHaha, yea I do have a motorcycle, I don’t know why that always comes as such a shocker to people. I usually try and keep it a secret since it seems to be the new “cool thing” to do these days, and I’m not really tryin to get caught up in that... My older brother has been sweating me to get one for years and what kid didn’t want to ride one since they were young? I just was broke as a kid and couldn’t ever afford one, so now that I make a little bit I of course wanted to fulfill my childhood dream and buy one. Plus my grandpa rode a Harley back in the day, and I’ve always wanted to be just like him, so I followed suit… And no, it’s not a bullet bike…
I just thought it might be a bullet bike cause I went to Philadelphia and all the gangsters out there had decked out bullet bikes. I’m talking glowing neon rims and shit. So no glowing rims on your bike?
Nah, I decided to go with hydraulics instead. And it has a sizzurp dispenser and a gold chain steering wheel instead of handlebars.
Haha, #ridindirty. Is that how you and Cale crashed your bikes? Too much sizzurp?
Yup, I had a zip and double cup too much… Also unexpected gravel and a pot hole as big as a bigfoot’s dick.
That’s sounds like a hairy mess. Did you guys both go down? How fast were you going?
Yea he was right in front of me and slipped out on a bunch of gravel on the road going about 45-50 around a corner. I thought I was maybe gonna slam into him so I tried to swerve outta the way, and I happened to do that on the same patch of gravel as Cale. So my bike slipped right out from under me with not even a glimmer of hope to correct any mistake. I’m skidding on my side with my bike on top of my foot and grinding my arm off on the cement, feeling my flesh getting ripped away by the second… I ended up slamming into Cale, both of us getting stopped by bigfoots dick. It was awesome, I rode my bike home but my gold chain wheel was all bent up and my arm looked like death.
Damn that’s crazy. Glad you guys are all good. Did it mess your bike up?
A couple thousand bucks in damage probably, and a valuable lesson learned.
I bet. Maybe you assholes will start wearing helmets on your motorcycles. Speaking of wearing a helmet, have you thought about wearing one while snowboarding?
No I haven’t… It would probably make me hit my head.
ANDY WRIGHT PHOTO
Really? You could hide it pretty easily with you XXL gear.
Do I wear XXL hats too?
Good point. It could be a new business venture for you: “Bennee Beanies”. They fit over your helmet. Kind of like the beanie over the hat look. That was cool in Colorado.
We could call it Panda Head Headwear.
Haha. Clever. Have you thought about taking the XXL to just XL and slim fit jeans?
Haha no, I am who I am. I’m not the dude changing up his style every month to keep up with the trends, that shit’s weak.
Ya, you got to stay true to yourself. What plans do have for this upcoming season? Is Nike making a movie for real this time?
Yea, you can usually see right through the people that are trying too hard to be somebody they’re not. But yes, Nike is making a movie this upcoming season; they are going to do it right, like they do everything else. I’m looking forward to it too. I have some cool opportunities to ride with people on the team that I look up to and
feel that I could really learn a lot this year if I have the chance to ride with some of these dudes. My goal for this season is to hopefully be able to travel to places nobody has gone before. It’s always refreshing to find a new zone that you know isn’t going to get played out by every crew, and it’s also sweet to check out new places. I also plan to try and make my riding a bit more well-rounded, at least learning more technical tricks on rails and hitting up the backcountry a lot more. I’m excited for this year.
Who are a few of the people you are most excited to ride with?
Man, pretty much everyone… I wanna get on a trip with Gigi for sure. Hopefully Nicolas too… I like going on trips with Johnnie Paxson and Jed too. Both those guys are on some next level shit. When I get the chance to film with them it always pushes me to step my game up, and they’re good people to be around.
Dude I think you forgot someone... The Dingo!
Haha, I don’t know if I’ll be seeing him on any trips this year unfortunately. On one Nike trip though to Argentina, Danny met a dude who became his partner in crime for the trip and his name was Diego. So we thought it only made sense that his name be changed to Diengo for the duration of our stay.
Haha. What if I was your sidekick? We could make a TV show “Bennee and the Possum”. Better yet, “Bennee and BobO”. You down?
Yea, I’m down for sure. But I wanna do a nature show. We would just travel to crazy ass places in the jungle or whatever. Completely not qualified to handle such tasks. But what we’ll do is in each place we go we will hire the dude who’s known around town for being the gnarliest jungle guy and have him be part of our crew for the trip, and fend off all the predators we come across and go on crazy adventures. This is my pitch to whoever may be reading this that can make this happen…
Yes! I could walk around with a facemask and sunglasses, regardless of temperatures and lighting situations. Maybe throw out a joke or two and take some erotic pictures of the lands and its female inhabitants.
See we already have it all planned out, and then once we make it happen we will finally be popular in snowboarding.
AND BE RICH! MAHAHAHAHAHA. I think we have successfully done a snowboarding interview without really talking about snowboarding. Anything else you would like to add, or should we get to your sponsors and shout outs?
Thanks to everyone at Nike, all the people at Nitro (check out their movie, HYPED). Thanks to Skullcandy, Mike, Lance, and Nima at Ashbury (support snowboarder run companies).Thanks LRG for years of support, Celtek, Josh and Cal at Milo, and Jesse at Airblaster for all the Ninja Suits. Thanks Tracy at Herschel for all the sweet bags, thanks to Chad for the Redbull. Thanks to all my homies who get me hyped to live life, you know who you are. Thanks to my family who has never judged me for a second and have always had my back from day one. Thanks to any fans that I might have, because without you I wouldn’t be here!
Scotty Goodale R.I.P. ANDY WRIGHT PHOTO
INTERVIEW BY DANIEL COCHRANE PHOTOS BY SEAN K. SULLIVAN
This is the Brandon Hammid interview, and it has been a long time coming. To people outside of SLC, Hammid will be an overnight sensation, but to everyone that lives here he falls into the “finally getting his dues” category. Hammid filmed with the Variety Pack crew of SLC a few years back. This is the crew that launched Alex Andrews, Sean Black, Ted Borland, Cam Pierce, and many others, but due to injury and industry issues, Hammid didn’t get his big break. Instead of getting over it, he used it as motivation to work harder because he knew it would eventually pay off. This season it finally did, and now the world will see him with the opening part in the new Think Thank feature Mind The Video Man. It couldn’t happen to a better guy either. Hammid is so nice, always down to talk snowboarding, and I’m lucky to be able to call him a friend. He always has a great story or three to tell, and I hope after reading his interview you will understand why all of SLC was pulling for Hammid to break through and why we are all so stoked he did. So, without any further rambling I give you Hambone, the BuffMoose, Hammy, or as his momma named him, Brandon Hammid…
Hammid (picking up my recorder): Mic check mic check, one two one two, we out here at Spedelli’s.
Arkade: Yes that’s right: we are here in Spedelli’s for the Brandon Hammid interview… Are you ready?
Hammid: I’m ready!
Arkade: OK . I’ve heard you say a few times that you are putting out your “first” video part this season in Think Thank’s “Mind the Video Man”. But, all the locals will remember you from the Eddie Grams movies a few years back “Not Bad” and “The Leak/All Plugged Up”. What happened in those couple of years between projects, why didn’t you film/where did you go?
Hammid: Well I didn’t really take time off, I still filmed, I still went out with my friends, but I didn’t have the sponsor backing to be “in” a video. Like we filmed “The Leak” but I was hurt so I didn’t really have anything to show in that. Then like after “The Leak” all my friends blew up, Alex (Andrews), Sean (Black), and Ted (Borland) all killed it and they shot up. Then they filmed for VG and Think Thank and I was kind of the lone wolf. I was lucky enough to go out with them at times and I was just like “Ok, I’m just going to keep doing this.” It takes time and you gotta put in hard work. Those guys f**king filmed awesome parts y’know, so they were fortunate. So I just knew I had to keep with it and just keep doin it y’know?
Arkade: So how did it fall into place with Think Thank?
Hammid: Well the first year where I didn’t have a video part I was mostly around here, but I did get to go on a trip with Sean, Beresford, and Mike-Mo to Massachusetts to Beresford’s hometown. We filmed for two weeks, I paid for it out of my own pocket, and we stayed at Beresford’s shitty house. So yeah, I got some good clips and stuff and Jesse put it in Think Thanks friends montage. I was riding Signals but January came around and I started riding Arbor boards. (Team Manager) Brad Farmer was just like “Hey I can flow you boards”. So the NEXT year came around and I filmed the Bone Zone part and I think Brad was kind of like “OK, I have a little more faith in you now.” But I still didn’t have a place with a video crew yet. Well, Nick (Visconti) was doing his “Recreation” thing with Transworld, so he was out of Think Thank and Brad was like “We got another spot, I got faith in you, but I don’t have a travel budget it’s all you here’s your shot.” So I’m finishing my fall semester at school and I’m like “F**k ok this is it, I can do this.” So yeah, that was it. Oh, and Burtner, he was hyped because he knew I worked hard and got good word from Ted and Sean and had seen some of my parts, so that’s how it went down.
Arkade: And then it all went to shit in Arizona didn’t it?
Hammid: Haha! Yeah, my first trip. So I get out of class at like 5 o’clock and Sean, Ross, and Sean Sullivan pick me up and were like “F**k yes let’s do this.” Y’know? We start driving down and we get to Paige, Arizona and as soon as we cross the bridge we get pulled over. We are all like “Oh f**k what the hell?” I’m asleep in the car and wake up not knowing what’s going on. The cop is all like “we pulled you over for a dim tail light but I smell marijuana so I’m going to get my dog and go around the car and if he smells something we will search the car.” So he grabs his dog and the dog smells passenger side and then goes around to the other side and “alerts” and we are just like “Oh man…” So, he is like “I have to search the car” and of course he finds weed so we end up going to jail. I remember just sitting in cuffs and see him pull the weed out of the door and just being like “duuude no! Are you kidding me?!” Y’know. So they book us and we spend the night in jail, all four of us and two Native dudes and we’re just like “No f**cking way.” So the next day we get out and were just over it no way we are going on to Flagstaff. So yeah, we came back home but had to go back a week later for court. Luckily it all got worked out and no one had ever been in trouble before so we got off. That was my first trip for Think Thank... Pretty gnarly.
Arkade: Well at least you got some good police karma out of it because you eventually got your Bronco back. How did that happen?
Hammid: Yes! I did get the Bronco back…
Arkade: Actually let’s start at the beginning for people that don’t know. Tell us about losing the Bronco.
Hammid: Ok well it’s Salt Lake, I have never felt threatened or in danger here. I’ve always been like “dude it’s so mellow here”. So wherever I went I was careless. I’d leave my keys in the ignition, doors unlocked, or windows down. I’d been doing that for three years then one random night I left my Bronco in the driveway with two other cars BEHIND it and it gets jacked. I remember waking
up in the morning and going outside to go to work at Milo and being like “I’m pretty sure I was parked right here.” So I start looking around and don’t see it and I’m like “I’m REALLY sure it was here in my driveway, but maybe I got too drunk and left it at someone’s house.”
So I go to my neighbor’s house and ask them about it and they are all like “Well we did hear something weird this morning at like 6 o’clock. We thought you were trying to get out of the drive way around us” (we share a driveway), and I’m like “No!” So we look and you can see the tire marks where they made all these back-ups and little turns to get out of the driveway. That’s when I knew my Bronco was stolen.
Arkade: So how long until you got it back?
Hammid: A year... one full year. Like so many times people would ask me “Hey have you seen The Juice Box?” and I’d be all like “Nah.” It was gone y’know? I had writ-
ten it off. Then I was working at Milo and get a call from the cops and they are like “Hey we got your Bronco” and I’m like “No f**cking way this is a joke right?” and she’s all “No it’s in an apartment complex in Sugarhouse and you got 30 minutes to get down here before we impound it.” So Ben Bilodeau and Staxwood are there at the shop, and they take me down there and dude it’s like less than a mile from my house. It’s just been sitting there behind these apartments. No one even used it, they just stole it from my house drove it a mile then stashed it. It was even parked all crooked and no one ever called about it... So yeah, now I got the Juice Box back baby!
Arkade: So you joined the Airforce, get stationed in Alaska, and there you start snowboarding… we all know that story. But what happens if you join the Airforce and get stationed in Florida, how would it all be now?
Hammid: It’s funny because we were talking about it earlier. So I came up on my three year move when I was in Alaska, and you get a wish list of places but you don’t have final say on it. So my list of places was Salt Lake or Georgia. So of course I put down Salt Lake and was like “my chances are SO slim”, but it took a month and I got the code, looked it up on Google and it was for Salt Lake and I was so stoked! I thought about it though and I was like if I get stuck in Georgia it would suck so bad. I was SO stoked on snowboarding at that point. Dude I would watch videos, do everything I could to snowboard, and for snowboarding and I was like if I get stuck in Georgia I’m gonna be like losing my mind and there is nothing I could do about it. I’d probably be like some gamer dork, I was kinda into Halo at the time and I had friends in the military that were sponsored game players. So I was like maybe I can become like a sponsored Halo player or something, I dunno I got to put my passion into something you know?
Arkade: Hey Borland do you have a question for Hammid’s Arkade interview?
Ted Borland: Hmm gimmie a second to think of one here…
Arkade: Ok Bundy. (Back to Hammid) All right while he’s thinking let me ask you this… is it true you rode your fixie all the way up to Brighton?
Hammid: No, that’s actually a false rumor, BUT I did ride my fixie DOWN from Brighton. I couldn’t keep up with the pedals so I just took my feet off and just cruising no feet and people were driving by me looking at me like “You are f**cking crazy!” There’s no way I can brake that thing going down so fast, so I’m just foot jamming it going down Big Cotttonwood. I remember I got to the “S” curve and first turn I’m like “Ok I got this” but second turn I started drifting around it… I dunno how I didn’t die but my legs were all worked afterwards. I do have plans to bike UP it this fall.
Arkade: What spot would you most like to travel to for snowboarding?
Hammid: Oh man I’d like to go to Europe, like Norway or somewhere. I dunno the spots look cool, different not boring you know? I went to Quebec, that was amazing but I still just want to go to Europe. I mean just hearing about the babes in Norway. Like they are all beautiful and that’s what I need.
Ted Borland: Oh speaking of babes, I heard your favorite endangered animal is the panda. Can you explain?
Hammid: (laughing) Ok for some reason I was over at Alex Andrews mom’s house and he was all like “Yeah Hammid is down for bigger chicks” and I’m all like “Yeah I’m down for pandas” and it was kind of a joke but then after that I became a panda lover. I hooked up with a few pandas and I’m down, you know like a little something extra. It’s a nice change like I’m not down for JUST pandas but…
Arkade: But you’re open to whatever may present itself?
Hammid: Yeah… But I love all girls, all shapes sizes it’s all good. (To Borland) Good question.
Arkade: Ok here is the biggest question. You got a board sponsor and other sponsors, a video part, and you are doing interviews, but there’s only one way to tell if you are legit… Will you be WORKING at the Milo Pro Sale or will you be SELLING stuff at the Milo Pro Sale?
Hammid: Uhh. I dunno haha. I’m pretty sure Josh and Cal will always think of me as a worker and never as a snowboarder. They don’t want to think of me as a snowboarder haha, but nah I mean I’ll be selling stuff. Those guys got my back and they are stoked on me. Perry said he saw I was written down as a Pro for it but I mean I’ll probably end up working afterwards. I’ll make money in the a.m. and then earn some money in the p.m. and that’s how it is…
ANDY WRIGHT PHOTO
TIM PEARE PHOTO
STEVIE BELL AUSTRIA
BOB PLUMB PHOTO
TIMMY RONIN SLC
ANDY WRIGHT
PHOTO
MAC SPEDELLI UTAH
JOEL FRASIER PHOTO SCOTTY STEVENS ALASKA
SEAN K SULLIVAN
PHOTO ALEX ANDREWS ALASKA
@DEANBLOTTOGRAY PHOTO
SETH HUOT MINNESOTA
1. Grocery shopping blows...
2. Getting after it.
3. At some gas station in Idaho.
4. Massive Glacier.
1. Wanna give a great big shout...
2. MAIDEN!! Homie was hyped!
3. Regram from @thebigjerm. 4. woooohooo.
1. #realsaltlake game.
2. Poppin a phatass willie.
3. Luke is chhiiiillling.
4. The #deerhunter.
1. Fun day 1 on hill.
2. #skatepark all to myself.
3. #windells2012.
