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CONTENTS INTRODUCTION LEISURE P A S T jon BAUGH P R E S E N T riley ERICKSON F U T U R E jacob DURHAM SURROUNDINGS STRUCTURE NETWORK OUTRO
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We are a sum of people, places, and process. It’s this sum which then comes to define our style. It’s our style which marks our individuality in our selected medium. It’s this style that either brushes by or moves people. Here’s to moving them with style. - Corduroy
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“There’s always that guy who was into it before you . . . That guy who seemed to always be one step ahead of you in everything you do. After a while, you wonder if you were forging your own path or if you were simply following a path forged long before. For me, Jon Baugh was that guy. When I was a kid, Baugh was that prototypical skate shop rat with his bleached white hair and his blaring punk rock. Once I got a little older, Baugh was that sponsored rider who would show up for the occasional local snowboard comp and leave with all of the trophies. When I started getting into music, Baugh was that guy who not only knew of all of the bands, but he actually knew all of the bands and was involved in the music scene. When we were all youthfully dreaming of starting our own snowboard brands, Baugh had already laid the groundwork for Beacon Industries. Beacon allowed Baugh the opportunity to take all of these things, these experiences - these talents, and do something constructive with them. With Beacon and the connections that he made within the snowboard industry, Baugh was able to push that path a little further. He’s still on that path and he’s still one step ahead of you. Read on and take notes – Baugh is the real deal.” - Brian Kopish.
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Pete - When did you find yourself strapping to boards sideways? Jon - I remember seeing tiny little ads for Burton in the back of Skateboarder Magazine. I saved some cash and mail ordered a Burton Backyard for $55.00 + shipping in 1982. It didn’t have any bindings though, so you can’t really call it strapping in. No bindings. Damn- backyard. Where did you take that? I remember them telling me that it would take up to 11 days to arrive. Of course I waited for the UPS truck every day that winter, just in case. It showed up on the 11th day and it was dumping outside. I lived near a golf course, and I seriously ripped it out of the box on arrival, tied the rope to the holes in the nose and went bounding for the nearest hill. Even though it was hard to figure out, the possibility of skateboarding on the snow was magic. I was so stoked. I
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rode until it was pitch black. The next day I took the rope off and fashioned some big rubber bungees (tie downs) to the board. My parents thought I was crazy to start drilling holes in that beautiful piece of maple. So right away you decide if you had some straps it would be better. What made you think about that? Were you riding with others? Burton had 2 models: the Backyard and the Backhill. I couldn’t afford the Backhill, but it had bindings on it. I copied the bungee cord bindings from some old pictures of guys sandboarding on old cut down water skis. My brother and I rode that board bare. Everyone wanted to try it. The golf course became a playground of possibilitiessnow-covered sand traps and the funky hills golfers would tee off of, etc. Ah, the creative mind, so were you two riding the hill by yourselves or were some of the kids you skated with wanting in too?
Shorty after I got my first snowboard, an old skate bud of mine started making some boards. He called them Deathsticks! He worked at an unfinished furniture store in downtown Mpls and had access to all sorts of equipment. He used formica on the bottom, staples for grip and big ass bungee cords too. (I’ve gotta see if he still has those.) Heavy as shit, but really fast. After that, I remember seeing a picture of Steve Caballero in the skate mags doing a frontside air on a Sims SkiBoard- yellow plastic with a skateboard deck mounted to it. A local board in 1983? Did you get one? We would meet up at 12 & 18 (now Hwy 169 & 394). He would bring his quiver of Deathsticks and a buddy that had a Sims SkiBoard and I’d bring my Burton. We would all just take turns on the gear, blasting punk tunes outta Eric’s JEEP and building jumps. At that time, it was something you could play on until the snow melted; we were
skateboarders first. Launch ramp skills honed in the winter months! Did the “ramp scene” leak into your winter months as well? I had a halfpipe in my backyard all through high school. We used to shovel it off in the winter. No indoor facilities yet. I remember melting off the ice with a hair dryer just to skate. Baugh Ramp- everyone was rolling to your house. Did the 394 spot become the local hill where randoms started going? When and where did you ride your first resort? A little bit. It was rare to see anybody riding snowboards then. None of the skateshops at the time were selling snowboards. We would attempt to poach runs at the local ski hills. Buy a lift ticket, jump on a lift or two, and get booted off the hill. To be honest, boards without metal edges were really hard
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to guide on the hardpack. You had to have some loose snow. Metal edge hit how soon after? Where did you see your first snowboard in a shop? I think the first Midwest resort to allow snowboards was in Lake Geneva, WI. It was near the old Playboy Club. Once I started at The Alt in 1984 (my dream job at the time), I got a call from a guy named Randy (last name escapes me). Randy’s dad owned this resort and we booked down there to check it out. Bruce Erickson and I encouraged them to start ordering some boards. They were selling friggin’ Kerosene heaters in the winter. Bike sales were not happening either. How did the dream job happen? As a young skate rat, we would always hit
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the 3 shops that existed: Free Ride (really a windsurf shop, but they sold some skateboards), Alternative, and Skateboard Connection in Edina. You just did the rounds then- riding the bus, hitting the shops and skate spots, picking up some wheels at one place, a magazine at another and some bearings at another. When I was a Sr. in high school, my Buddy E.T. (Eric Thompson) was working at the Alt on the weekends. He said that they were looking for a full-timer that knew skateboarding. I jumped at the chance. Bruce Erickson who started there in 1978-79 actually hired me. So Bruce brought you in. What was his role at the shop? Did you know him before the Alt? I didn’t really know him before the Alt. In 1985, Back to the Future came out and everybody wanted a skateboard. On
most Saturday’s, kids, moms and everyone else, would mob the shop. At one time we couldn’t keep up with the demand. Bruce was a pretty rad skater in the late 70’s. He was that ‘connected kid’ that the other guys at the Alt hired. He was cool, went to West High (Replacements) and really knew retail. He was the lifeblood of the shop. There was also Dave Larson (Slalom Champion), Peter Clemence, Jay Erickson, and a couple of others that breezed in and out of that place…so much history. You pushed for snowboarding goods at the shop I believe. When was that? How did you support that push? Pretty easy. “Hey Jay! We are going to order some of these Burton snowboards.” I brought some of my stuff in and showed Bruce and Jay the small ads and pictures of what was happening. Every year after that, the gear started getting better and better. I think that was in the Winter of 1985. Sims was next on the agenda, along with boards from Chuck Barfoot. I think you said you started to lobby some resorts to allow boards. Did that help? Yes and no. Calling the local ski hills from
the Alt gave it some legitimacy. We asked if we could come out, show them some boards, and give them a demo- Buck Hill, Highland, Wild Mountain, everybody. They would watch us take a couple runs, usually only allowing us to hike up the hill. Most claimed that their insurance just wouldn’t allow it. It was frustrating, but we always did our best to maintain relationships and be cool even though we thought they were full of shit. It wasn’t until schools and ski groups started calling the slopes asking if they allowed snowboards that things changed. Even though they might have only had one or two snowboarders on their bus, they would end up going to the ski area that did allow snowboarding. That was $$$ turning away. It was tough selling snowboards too. I used to map out hot spots for people making the purchase. We used to go to Birch Park/Snowcrest in WI, a closed down ski area, 12 & 18, Town and Country Golf course, hi-way underpasses, and an old sand quarry. Some of the Northern MN resorts started allowing boards first. Quadna in Hill City might have been the first. Also, Whitecap Mt. in the UP of Michigan. How did if feel to be in the forefront of snowboarding as a thing that people were starting to participate in? /32
It was an exciting time. We were turning people onto something new. It was also pretty unorganized and loose, and that was OK. Plenty to pioneer. We were hooked, and it was cool to share that stoke with others. The gear was goofy, and forever changing. We knew that the Alt could lead here. It wouldn’t be long before other retailers would jump in. Bruce and I were trying to be the pro shop at the time- offering board tunes, bus trips, and soon contests. It was getting done hands on. What were you doing on the creative side to help make it all happen? At the Alt, I did all of the in-store signage. We had these huge chalkboards on the outside too that featured a new deal or pro-
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motion. I was the kid that hid out in the art room in high school and skipped out on as many other classes as I could. I just wanted to skate, draw and listen to punk rock. I had a zine at the time too (that I began before I started at the Alt); it was called FLOW. Bruce and I started a newsletter called WhiteOut. (This is all before the internet kids.) It was a vehicle to feature snowboarding in the upper Midwest and pimp the Alt too. We featured photos from bus trips, new gear coming out, and a fictitious character called ‘Waxer’, our resident transplant from the West coast who repaired the Snowboards. We would go to fucking Kinko’s and rent their typewriter and use their Xerox machines to lay the thing out.
How long did this energy last, and what lead to your transition to starting up something outside of the shop? Jay started seeing the potential, but I told him that we needed to drive out to Breckenridge for the 1986 World Snowboard Championships. He was in and we trucked out there. It was a blast. So many riders from all over the place. The Alt already had a buzz because we were one of the only shops in the Midwest at the time. Jay actually learned to really ride out there and loved it. We came back determined to start a Midwest Contest Series. We also met a heap load of the makers. Tom Sims, Jake Burton and others that were shaping the sport. Personally, I was stoked to just ride as much as possible. Fast forward to 1992, Bruce and I had put
in plenty of years at the Alt. We were stoked on what we helped create, but were not satisfied. We had a lot of ideas, but we didn’t own the shop. Bikes and boards were all that we knew, but we wanted to do it our way. What was the final push to do that? We quit without a hard plan. We knew that if we stayed at the Alt, we couldn’t move forward without owning the shop. We both took day jobs that we felt was something we wouldn’t get overly invested in. Bruce started at Quality Bicycle Products (a wholesaler) and I got a job at a small record label called Big Money/Ruthless Records. We would talk weekly about ideas. We were pretty close to opening a competing shop in the Uptown area. We talked a lot about what we hated about retail too- the fact that you have to be there to open up the shop in the morning and work all day and maybe every damn weekend. We just did that! We wanted to ride more. We were on a chairlift and came up with ideas for some snowboard accessories. Leashes were always stupid, but required by the ski areas. We thought what if we made really stupid leashes that poked fun at the rules. The Noose and Prisoner Leash were born. We made some prototypes the next day and dusted off an old name of a brand of skateboard decks I made in high school, BEACON. Bruce always loved the name and really wanted to use it. We started designing t-shirts, a logo and a few more accessories. We started sharing them with friends and using the leashes. Everyone would ask about them in the lifeline. We knew that the SIA show was in March, and we thought maybe we could get some really tight samples together and a catalog and drive our asses to Vegas. We sold two snowboards to finance this venture and had to weasel out of our day jobs to drive to Vegas and see what would happen. Well how did it go over? No tradeshow booth, so we posed as buyers of Beacon Snowboard Shop to get into the /34
show. We had already been attending these shows as buyers for the Alt, so we knew plenty of people. The guys from TWIST were really stoked on our ideas and placed our stuff on one of their shelves in their booth. We loved their brand and carried their very first apparel at the Alt the year before. What followed were orders, sales reps and International distribution. Still small but enough to kickstart the whole deal.
if we could make outerwear that functioned for riding (waterproof, durable), but could really be worn off the slopes as well? I think many others were thinking the same thing. The year we launched outerwear, we brought pants that looked like jeans to market. Beacon Slope Slacks were a heavy-duty cordura that had felled seams and contrast stitching on them. Switchbacks (later became Special Blend) had them too. Twist had some too.
Yeah from ideas to layers in a short timeframe. How did you manage it all?
What set your stuff apart from those others?
On our way back from Vegas we were pretty stoked, but knew we had a shitload to figure out. Naturally, we went to Utah to ride for a few days. When we returned to Minneapolis, we had a whole roll of fax paper filled with Beacon Orders on the floor. We were lucky to get some cash up front from the International distributors. We wouldn’t have been able to produce these goods without their help. It was wild how many really wanted to help us pull this off. We weren’t quitting our day jobs either. We knew we had to keep working. We did most of the mfg ourselvescutting rope and webbing on a hot knife cutter in my bedroom (in a warehouse space above One on One Bike downtown), designing a mold for some board wax, and creating unique packaging. Our first t-shirt was an image of a giant Factory belching filth into the sky. With our logo, it said, ‘BEACON, A breath of fresh air.’
The first season was pretty primitive stuff. Not a lot of whistles and bells. The first two seasons were made in the USA. Some in Wisconsin and some made in western MN. Our shit was pretty bomber and would keep ya dry. Everything had some proud Midwest flavor too. We used big metal zippers on some of our jackets and unique fasteners that you might find on a vintage backpack. Our first jacket had a split hood lined with faux fur that opened up when you unzipped it. That feature was more style than function but made it special.
How did you add outerwear to the mix? I was already changing a lot of the outerwear you could by at the time for myself. Wave Rave and Twist were innovating, but the big guys outerwear still looked like flappy patchwork quilts of ski wear. It was pretty gross, and there was so much room for ideas. When we worked at the Alt, we would bring in outdoor brands for pants. The style was so much better than what Burton was making at the time. We just wanted outerwear that didn’t scream, “Hey, look at me! I’m an outdoor sports nut!” We asked, what 35\
What was influencing your style/design at the time? Where did you find this inspiration? We were inspired by vintage snowmobile suits of the late ‘60s and early ‘70s. There was this naive moto feel to it. We even researched ski wear from ‘50s. We had a lot of love for things that were simple, modern and overbuilt. If Beacon was going to make a down puffy parka, we were going to experiment with unique visible quilting patterns. We never wanted to re-create someone else’s brand with our logo on it. Bruce and I would build these large mood walls of inspiration sketches, photos, vintage pieces from street to sport. I remember throwing a really sweet photo of a mid-‘70s station wagon with the faux woodgrain panels on it. We decided to build a whole jacket concept around that idea. It was called The Slopemaster - big printed woodgrain panels and details like the
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car. Everything had a certain amount of wit. It wasn’t for everybody. As for mfg, making outerwear in the US was tough. You had to source everything down to the thread. When you make stuff overseas, much of that sourcing is taken care of. As Beacon grew and the line expanded, we moved most of the outerwear production overseas. It wasn’t always about the price. There really weren’t many factories that could manufacture such technical garments in the US, and unless you were in NY or LA, apparel mfg was nearly non-existent. It’s really cool now to see this movement of American Made craft. What new obstacles presented themselves with that transition? Moving production overseas was faster, but it meant a little more occasional travel to get things done right. You would be surprised how fucked up things could get. Mfg is challenging (as you know). It’s easy to make one of anything, but being consistent with production is tough. Can you even imagine
what it’s like to make your beer taste the same from bottle to bottle? So did you find that the mfg turned the corner to help build sales or was it always a major concern that hindered growth? We were probably better suited for designing and marketing. Sales and production was a game that wasn’t as interesting to us. We figured that out later though. Accessories were so much easier to handle, but our ideas got bigger and making clothing was really fun. Every year we grew the line. The bigger the selection of styles, the more we sold. Having sharp sales reps that really understood our ideas and could see the potential really helped too. This was all pre-internet though. It was hard to get noticed. It was fun making ads. Everybody had the same formula: Here is our amazing team rider. Look at him go. See the pants he is wearing. It’s not like we didn’t like those ads, it just didn’t feel like our brand. /38
Things ended abruptly, what landed you in a position to walk away, when it seemed like things were going well? A combination of factors lead to its demise: an economic downturn in Japan, distributors sitting on a glut of product from the previous seasons. Throw in a couple seasons of bad snow and marketplace saturation. It wasn’t just a couple of guys in the studio anymore. It was hard to get financing from investors and banks. Lenders didn’t really understand apparel mfg. We worked hard to try and stay alive. It was time to get big (investor), get bought (sell), or get out. As you realized things were sinking, where did that put you and Bruce? Was there ever an exit strategy or what not? We personally had nothing to lose. No houses, fancy cars, kids, etc. We rode as long as we possibly could. We both loved design and making things. When we closed the door, I launched Terminal Design, a graphic design shop. My portfolio of work was everything we had done for Beacon. Bruce had a Realtor license and jumped full steam into that. We worked on a few design projects together when Terminal was first formed. We also helped our Japanese distributor out with one more line of Beacon for Japan only. He was an amazing partner and friend, and we still keep in touch. This sounds all so f-ing sad, but really it’s not. We had some amazing times with really cool people- everyone that worked for (with) us: Tad Kubler, Brian Kopish, Brett Mattson, and others that passed through to help, Cole Taylor, Eric Thompson, Geoff, Mark Sundlin. I don’t think so. I mean if I’m following everything, you skated, started to snowboard, started to work at a shop, left, started a brand, and then moved on to having a design shop? Tell me if I’m missing something. Seems like a form of maturation. Oh- and you rode a lot! How did Terminal evolve?
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Fuck yes! Terminal started scrappy, kinda like Beacon. I started calling industry buds to let them know what I was doing. I’d also get gigs from local ad shops and one of those relationships turned into some design jobs for Target. The design scope is fairly large in Minneapolis. Was it hard to “break in” with no formal training? Or did you take classes at some point? No classes, just a portfolio. The Beacon work was pretty broad - tradeshow booths, ads, t-shirt graphics, labels, logos, catalogs. So much. I had a niche, and it had a more youthful draw to it. We learned a lot, but there was plenty of wing-it. Pretty much every Beacon ad was designed the day before it was due to the pubs. So with all that experience and doors opening, how did you find yourself stabilizing in work and life? It’s been a wild path and I have no regrets. Terminal had its highs and lows, but through it all I never stopped working. I was craving some stability, but never wanted to throw in the towel on ideas and creativity. I started doing a lot of projects for Target and eventually took a job as a Sr. Designer. That seems pretty stable? I’ve been at Target for almost 10 years. Honestly, I never imagined it would be so good. I work with amazing designers and get to dream up cool ideas. I’m still learning, and not really sure if I’ve had my best days yet. How many days do you get to ride still? Last year was good (for me). Not sure if I counted, but now that my 11 year-old is hooked, my count is way up. I need a hearty trip this season.
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How do you feel about your sons being interested in the lifestyle that’s brought you to today? Days are up. Still teachin’ my 6 year old, and can’t wait to take them westward! Nothing like doing what you love with the little people you love. So cool to see them share the same stoke. I never wanted to force them to ride. Really want them to make their own choices. Jack says he wants to resurrect Beacon. He draws a ton and already has some new logos. Pretty funny. Cheers to that. This interview has been some time coming for us at Corduroy. Thank you. Anything we left out or you’d like to add? Thank you’s?
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With a quiet demeanor, a silent confidence, a steady hand, an ear for the beat, and eye for the edit, Riley Erickson is the fella in the corner who you know knows about something that you most likely wish you knew more about. His passion for films, process, and perfection have been delivering applause for the last few years on the highest levels of our culture. This wouldn’t have been what it was without a struggle mastered prior. This man knows a thing or two you might be better for having learned.
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Pete- When did you start being attracted to snowboarding? Riley - I started skiing when I was around 5 because my parents were ski bums. My mom was a telemark skiier and my dad was a NASTAR pacesetter for years. We used to go to Giant’s Ridge all the time for family trips, and one year I decided I wanted to try snowboarding. My dad said if I was going to try it, he would too. That was in 1993, and we have both been snowboarding ever since. He gets to go on just as cool of trips as I do and he's charging hard at 61. So you started riding with your dad that’s really cool. Were you riding at the local hills? Yeah, we had an after school ski club and we would go to Afton every Tuesday in middle school and I would ride Welch Village with my dad. I had a friend from my soccer team that I would ride with all the time and we
had a couple kids we would ride with, but I would just ride with whoever wanted to go ride during that whole time period. It wasn't until after high school that I had a "crew" that I would always ride with. High school! Who kind of formed your "crew" and where were you guys riding on the regs? The group of guys I rode with in high school were really just a bunch of kids that would all smoke a lot of pot and snowboard a little. Everyone goes through one of those phases I think. After I graduated, I lived with my friend Eric Schwalbe and we rode Trollhaugen a lot. We were also just starting film school and that was when we met Ethan Deiss, Austin Young, Krister Ralles, Alex Ulyankin and a bunch of other Troll homies. That was when that crew got started and it just sort of grew from there. I started riding Hyland and hanging out with the Michilots,
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John Hodge, Jake OE, Anthony Capetta, Jamie Thomas, Joe Sexton, Ricky Tucker and the whole Hyland crew. That was right about the time we started Newsroom and made ‘Bad Ideas’. Lets back up some. Film school after high school, how did you become interested in film school? Or what happened between being high all the time and snowboarding a little and getting sparked on going to film school? Well I started smoking pot and drinking in 6th grade. It was pretty recreational through middle school, and then in high school it got pretty serious. I won't get into too many details but basically I got really heavy into drugs, ended up going to rehab as a sophomore, went to a sober high school for a few months, transferred back to a regular high school, started doing drugs again, got really bad, dropped out and life got a little crazy. I ended up going back to rehab, and then living in a halfway house up in Duluth for three 45\
months. I ended up staying in Duluth for 6 months after the halfway house and riding Spirit and getting back into snowboarding. I got my GED and decided to try and go to college. I figured I would try and transition my love of skateboarding and snowboarding into something I could do long term, so I went to film school in hopes of learning how to make snowboard videos. Crazy. It's never too late to make moves. This is illustrated in your story. Had you engaged filming before this idea of making a move into film school? Yeah, for sure. All through middle school and some of high school we always had a Handycam or a GL2 and would film skating and snowboarding and jumping off shit and always did it in sort of a dad-cam kinda way like every other kid, but I had always been a fan of skate and snow videos on a level more than just the boarding. I was always curious about how things were filmed, and the editing was what always interested me
the most. After I got sober, my parents told me they would help me pay for college just as long as I went. I knew I didn't want to be an accountant or some basic college program, so I found a film school that I thought would serve my interests best and dove in. It worked out that as I was going through school my friends got further and further into the snowboarding world. The first 2 videos I made I was actually a full time college student and had a full time job. Looking back, I have no idea how I pulled it off. The year I graduated was when we made ‘Bad Ideas’ and things kept snowballing from there. So ‘Here's Goes Nothing’ was the second flick. I thought that was a sick flick, with a good crew. You met those guys through filming and added more crew with ‘Bad Ideas’. How much does your crew help with the filming and end product?
The crew is huge. People have to get along, people have to be motivated to film, the filmer has to get along with the riders, and there just has to be an overall good vibe with the crew. It changes a lot too depending on the level you're filming at. When we were making videos like ‘Here Goes Nothing’ it was all unknown kids who were trying to prove themselves. Then as you move up it's flow and am kids trying to prove themselves and working as hard as they can to "make it". When you keep going up, it's pros who have either just turned pro and are trying to prove their pro status or old school pros who can be doing anything from trying to maintain or build a legacy or just milking it for a paycheck. Luckily with Videograss we have a super solid crew who are all working at their level to push as hard as they can. That's what Videograss has always been about. It's about the crew and the people we want to watch snowboard and we want to film with more than anything else.
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Speaking of VG snow, how did filming locally parlay in filming with VG? Well I was filming around here and just kept filming with the people I had been, and I kept making new friends from out of state and more people would come to MN to film that I would film with or show around to some spots. I started filming with other crews when they were in town or filming second angles for some stuff which led to some freelance work, all while I was still working on my projects. There was one year where I didn't have a project I was specifically working on and I was just doing some freelance stuff. During that year, Hodge (master mind behind 1817) had said that we should try and make a year-end edit for 1817 - just like 3 or 4 minutes of whatever leftover footage we had. What ended up happening was that through freelancing I had a lot of extra footage and a lot of friends contributed footage and we ended up making a full movie. House of 1817: The Movie. That same year, Lance and a Videograss crew came to MN to do a travel story for Snowboarder Mag. The filmer ended up falling through, and I knew Lance so he hit me up to go on the trip. When we got back from the trip, we had all just clicked really well and they had some changes happening with filmers the next year so they asked if I wanted to work for Videograss. Easiest question I've ever answered. Nice. Doing it and right place right time‌so the story seems to often go. House of 1817 is an interesting story. Did that video kick it into where you are now with it, or was it already happening on some levels? It was happening before that for sure at least a little bit. We started the blog and were just posting pictures of us skating and whatever. We started getting a bit of a following- at least in the local scene. We were making lots of Monday Minutes and getting a slightly bigger following- on the internet at least. Having Joe and Jake and lots of homies that 47\
were filming for other stuff really grew the following and the movie really helped push it into more people’s attention I think. And we've just been trying to grow it from there. It's still a pretty grassroots thing and we're still trying to figure out exactly what it is but we're going to keep putting stuff up and hope people keep digging what we're doing.
Yeah people are vibing for sure. What's your plan for this season?
Solid. Thanks for the time and stories. Any thank you’s or such?
The plan is the same- keep making Monday Minutes, keep pushing 1817, keep filming for Videograss, try and progress my filming and editing as always, keep trying to push myself and the people around me, have fun travelling with my friends, and working the best job anyone could ever ask for.
Thanks to the riders that filmed with me along the way. The friends that are always there. Videograss for being what it is. Anyone and everyone who is down for 1817. And most importantly, my wife for putting up with the most unpredictable job ever and always being there to support me. /48
Inspirations comes from all over many times from greatly different perspectives. Once these start to blend through time, thought, and practice, one begins to develop a unique point of view. Jacob Durham has developed his and continues to grow it through process. It’s an active intent to create, deliver, and refine his point of view. A friend of the medium, Jake’s Make Friends or Die movies, online Make series, Busted Zine, and now Riftco, are prime examples of these mediums. Jake’s a maker of moving, still, and story images that are intent to move you.
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Pete - When did you start to stand sideways on boards? Jacob - I took snowboarding lessons at Hyland when I was in 3rd grade and then started skateboarding in 5th grade. What sparked the interest in taking lessons? My old neighbor and I used to ride down this little hill in his backyard on the yellow plastic tie-dye snowboards. Then he got a real snowboard and took lessons, so then the next winter, my dad signed me up with him. I remember it was super cold out during the lessons and I could not turn or anything. My goal by the last lesson was to ride the chairlift. On the last run of my last lesson, I sent it to the chairlift and did it. Did you you guys still ride the hill by the house? Haha, nah. It runs into other peoples’ yards and we used to set up PVC pipe rails and slam on them. Once new people moved into the house where the landing was, they told us to stop. So after lessons and chairlift rides, were you hooked? Did you ride with school or have a season pass the next season? In 5th grade, I went on a ski trip with school. They said that if you rented equipment you had to pass this test on the bunny hill to be able to go off on your own -it required carving through these cones. While trying to conquer this test is when I met Boody. Wait 4th grade didn’t happen? I didn’t own a real snowboard yet so I was still in the backyard. I think the deal was that if you went on the ski trip you got to leave school early, so I was down with that.
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I see, lessons to the yard back to Boody. Did you pass the test and dominate the cones? I’m not even sure, but I ended up in the same class as Boody the next year, 6th grade, and we both had real snowboards and went on all the trips to Afton Alps. There was actually a few of us by then. My roommate right now, Dylan, was in the class and went on the trips with us too.
Did skating the summer before 6th grade fuel the snowboard hype? I think it had to do with it. It just kind of became the thing to do in the winter though. Skateboard in the summer, snowboard in the winter. Everyone is happy. When did you grow into a Hyland loc with all these trips being to Afton Alps? 7th grade was when I got my first season pass to Hyland. So many people were going,
it was insane. Instead of everyone going and hanging out at the mall they were going to Hyland. Boys and girls. It was awesome. That’s where I met so many friends. A lot of really good riders have come and gone out of there. We used to think all of the girls who worked there were super hot too. Right- you’re in 7th grade?! Yeah. Besides Boody, who’s in the crew at this point?
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Around middle school, it was Boody, Chad Dalman, Dirt, Jack Thonvold, Elliot Larrea, Kubler, Jack Dykstra, Mitch, Dylan Miller, and Ben Wheeler - mostly kids from Eden Prairie.
In the beginning, it was cause and effect but I think deep down there was some artistic endeavor. I never thought of my videos, or skate videos in general as art, but I knew there were tricks to editing and filming.
At what point do you pick up a camera? When I started skating, around 6th grade.
What was the first project that you really felt like you made something you were happy about?
Oh- to film the streets of E.P.? What was the inspiration to film?
My senior year of high school I made “The Joke’s Over”. That was probably the first
My old neighbor Elliot and I used to film lines all day in our neighborhood- waxed curbs and tiny rails. I think the first video that really caught my interest was Flip’s “Sorry”. I also really like the CKY videos. We would imitate those and film each other skating and doing stupid things. I also got a bunch of Logic Skate Media video packs, and that sort of set a template to how a skate video should look. I would study those videos. Did you edit small clips or parts how did that evolve? At first, I just messed around a lot making little montages. I didn’t have the patience to make a full video. I was experimenting and learning. How often were you making edits? Snowboarding edits were a once in awhile thing. Skateboard edits were more frequenteither street or park edits. What about the process kept you interested and progressing? How did it affect your participation? Having access to a camera kept me active. Everyone progressing kept me interested. Learning new camera and computer techniques kept me producing little projects. Studying skate videos also sparked ideas. Was it cause and effect or an artistic endeavor?
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project I was stoked on because I finally got a crew together, filmed an entire winter, edited a full video, got DVDs made, and had a premiere at Cal-Surf. Was the title symbolic? Haha, sort of. The year before I tried making a video called “Stuck in the Suburbs”. I remember Hodge and Dan Dan joking around and giving me shit about the name one time
and it kind of hit me about how dumb it sounded.. but when we made the video we didn’t really have cars and we wouldn’t really venture out of the “suburbs,” so it made sense. And at the time all the film crews hit spots in Minneapolis. I also got interested in the artist who did the illustrations for Hunter S. Thompson’s books, Ralph Steadman. Ralph Steadman had a book called “The Joke’s Over” of all his art. I was really into the book and the title kind of clicked. Kind of an inside joke, to myself.
there. During winter break, we snowboarded down in the cities. This whole time I was filming whenever I got a chance. My plan was to put together a big friends montage video because no one really had enough for personal parts. That’s how “Make Friends” came about. Somehow in the end, a few people had enough for full parts, and we premiered that at Cal-Surf too. Make Friends became a carryover name. What’s the story behind Make? Boody and I made up “Make” back in the day. We would always make stencils and spray paint our skateboards and snowboards. One day, we wanted something of our own to use. Haha, we combined our names, “Matt/Jake” and came up with “MAKE”. Hahahahah. Damn...Stuck. We would make things so it just made sense. It’s pretty funny when you know that, isn’t it? Some bro shit. Awesome I think. So “Make Friends” was the second film. Was the idea tighter, or did you just keep the vibes from “The Jokes Over”? The idea was super loose. There was freshman partying going on- not as much free time. It was a pretty sloppy video. It sort of reflects that time in our lives though.
Interesting. With Joke’s Over hype, how did the next project take form? After high school, my parents sent me to college. I knew it would be hard to make another “full length” video while doing full time school but I really wanted to make something to follow up on the first project. Boody was my roommate at University of Wisconsin Superior, and we would go over to Duluth and snowboard with the crew over
So telling the story of the season vs. droppin full on hammertime. Is that just what it was or had you considered what you were trying to convey? That’s pretty much what it became. Being in Duluth meant there would be new dudes to film. Jeff Anderson was living up there, and he talked about filming, spots, and a crew to go out with so I knew there was potential to make something happen. I just had other responsibilities- college- which drove me nuts.
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Still is? Yup. What’s happening to your point of view as these releases are happening? “Time Travel” and “Make Friends or Die” both drop the following seasons. You’re dropping skate edits and a blog edit series, Methanol Mondays. What’s driving the creative side? Even though I am a full time student I still feel like I need to produce on my own terms. I think of new ideas for projects everyday. Only a few of them ever end up being started and hardly any finished. There is always a drive to keep creating. I like the brainstorming process, somewhat directing the action, and then putting together the pieces in a way that makes things interesting. Interesting, not predictable. Cool I like that. Brainstorming is my favorite part of the creative process too. What drove the new makefriendsordie series format this season? Was that a choice or a product of something? The makefriendsordie series was a lot of fun. I wanted to make a series that was
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different from other online snowboarding edits. By shooting in standard definition, I already had something different, but I tried to be selective with the different riders and tricks that I used to show who I thought had good style. I was able to ride a lot while making the series too. It wasn’t always a filming mission. If I saw something cool I would ask to film and then grab the camera, film, then put it away and ride again. I like riding- makes the session more fun to share that filming responsibility. Did that make the edits more fun at all? Yes. I was also riding with everyone so I would throw out a line I thought would look good on film and sometimes someone would be down. It helped me direct, rather than standing next to a down rail filming the same tricks that are in every online edit. Most importantly, I got to trannny find and get in the party lines with the bros. Super. You also party lined to Japan for a Signal tour with some OG homies?
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How did that all play out? Holy smokes, that was the best trip I have ever been on in my life. A few days after Christmas, Jake OE called me and asked me to go to Japan with him and Danimals for a Signal trip. Since it’s Jake, I thought for sure he was pulling my leg, but then Marc at Signal hit me up about it. I told them I was super down. It was a two week trip so I had to plan school around it which made me just barely a part time student. But I was able to go and it was probably the coolest place ever. I enjoyed the culture shock- mellow but present at all times. We traveled the country in a little RV. The people we were with- Yusaku, Jin, Kio, and everyone else we met up with- were super nice. I enjoyed the food a lot. All the chicks are super cute. The mountains were beautiful; the snow was amazing. The first day we got there we rode the craziest powder ever at Yusaku’s home mountain. It was waste deep and I was riding a 148. I felt like I was doing wheelies on a motorcycle, completely out of control. It was so fun. You filmed? When are you droppin that? Yup, I filmed a little tour video. The dudes at Signal are going to make that call. I think sometimes this summer, 2013, or in the fall.
Nice. Spring’s here. Your filming is rooted in skateboarding. What’s on deck? Josh Manoles and I are starting a skate project called “Rift”. He is always making designs and graphics, and I love shooting skating so we thought it would be cool to combine both worlds through skateboarding. We have a few edits out and some patches made. I’m hyped. Where can we find this stuff ? For now, there is a YouTube channel, youtube.com/riftco. A blog is in the making, and there are some other ideas in the works. We want to get some DVDs into local shops too. Speaking of local shops your point man on the Bald E-Gal edit this year. What’s happening there? Is it coming along? Leak? I have been making timelines for everyone’s footage. It’s looking pretty cool. I didn’t do any of the filming, so it is interesting working with other peoples’ shots. It’s going to be cool though. I’m hyped to be able to work on a Bald E-Gal vid. I grew up watching them. No leaks? Ha. No time. The boys wanna go skate; I’m in. Thanks for the time. Really stoked on the vast number of projects you’re taking on and mind bending. Looking forward to view some of these and review some others. Any last words on your skull? Enjoy your company, take nothing serious, laugh out loud, smile, make friends or die. Gotta run, peace!
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Pay your dues every day. Every little choice, every path you choose contributes to where you will go. Continue to work hard and work towards something you believe in and amazing things will happen. A lot of us would never be where we are today without the connections and network of relationships that the Midwest has given us. Keep sending it. - Corduroy
PHOTOS Cover: Anne Noble Inside Cover: Dan Huseby Contents: Erik Zimmerman 5-6 IPP AD - Ryan Taylor 7-8 None LEISURE 9-10 Erik Zimmerman 11-12 Jake Durham 13-14 DJ Ward 15-16 Jake Durham 17-18 DJ Ward 19 Peter Limberg 20 Jake Durham 21 Erik Zimmerman 22 Erik Zimmerman, DJ Ward 23-24 Peter Limberg 25 Cody Kemmet 26 Erik Zimmerman PA S T 27-28 Glen Jones 29-42 Jon Baugh PRESENT 44 Peter Limberg 45 Riley Ericson 46 Peter Limberg 47-48 Riley Ericson FUTURE 49-50 Jake Durham 51-52 Peter Limberg 53-54 Jake Durham 55-56 Jake Durham 57-58 Jake Durham
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SURROUNDINGS 59-60 DJ Ward 61-62 Jake Durham 63 brandon Lapasti 64 Jonas Michiliot 65-66 DJ Ward 66-67 Riley Ericson 68-69 Dean Ferrari 70-71 Peter Limberg 72-73 Nick Lewy NETWORK 75 Erik Zimmerman 76 Jake Durham 77-78 DJ Ward 79-80 Nick Lewy 81-82 Nick Lewy 83 Brandon Lepasti 84 Jonas Michiliot 85-86 DJ Ward 87-88 Jake Durham 89 Nate Harrington 90 Jake Durham 91-92 Riley Erickson 93-94 Riley Erickson 95 Nick Lewy 96 Jake Durham STRUCTURE 98 Erik Zimmerman 99-100 DJ Ward 101-102 Cameron Strand 103-104 Cameron Strand 105-106 DJ Ward 107-108 Nick Lewy 109-110 Dylan Riffer 111-112 Dylan Riffer 113-114 Dan Huseby 115-116 Cody Kemmet
EDITOR IN CHIEF:
Pete Harvieux EDITOR:
Carrie Harvieux C R E AT I V E D I R E C T I O N :
Dean Ferrari
We would like to thank all of our contributors for bringing CORDUROY to life.
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