Method Mag Issue 24.3

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P: Aaron Blatt

Mikkel Bang, Ben Ferguson, Brock Crouch

THE PARKER SZUMOWSKI

VERSE

WE RIDE TOGETHER

RAW PERFORMANCE LEARN MORE AT VANS.COM/SNOW

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JEREMY JONES PHOTO: ANDREW MILLER

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The desire to leave a physical mark upon the world may stem from the certain knowledge that one day, we will die. A dick on a zebra crossing isn’t exactly profound, but it’s still a mark. Is that what motivated the person who did this?

It could have been. Or, possibly, they were just walking to work, saw wet paint and thought, why not? It’s hard to put into exact words what’s driven me during my time at the helm of the mag, but I think it’s similar to whatever motivated the creator of the dick in the above photo. Behind every choice of story, photo, caption and interview question has been something that can probably be summarised by this:

I guess I’ve viewed the magazines as one part mark on the snowboard world and one part dick on a pedestrian crossing. Something that recorded our achievements and said ‘we were here’ while also acknowledging that the fact we’re here at all is fairly absurd. Whatever they’ve been, I hope you saw some inspiring stuff, read some interesting things, and, most of all, I hope you had a laugh or two along the way.

Over and out.

Kas and I have been filming together for over 12 years. Will was the first non-Dutch rider who joined our crew, and Ivika and I are living together. It’s the tightest crew I could wish for, and a bigger crew wouldn’t fit in our car anyway. It’s usually just three riders and me as a filmer, and no one to take photos. Sometimes I can get away with asking my friends if they mind going a few more tries for a photo after landing the trick on video. Sometimes, I try to get a couple of photos during warm-up runs, and sometimes, that results in somebody getting to the end of a rail when I haven’t picked up the video camera yet (Sorry Ivika, and thanks Kas, for picking up the video camera in the meanwhile).

This time, when Kas was serious about riding a no-way-out-waterslide, I knew I could count on the crew, whether it was spending hours using a tarp to haul a drop-in worth of snow onto a 10-meter tall tower or picking up a camera. I set up 3 cameras, me filming handheld, Will was on the second angle and Ivika took responsibility over the shutter. When Kas rode away, Ivika said, half-jokingly, half-serious: “I just shot a cover”.

Talking with Theo about the technicality of photography credits and ownership, we couldn’t figure out who to credit for this photo. But I guess the reality is that most of our images, and every video frame you see, are a result of collaboration. The credit goes to our entire group of friends who are there for each other.

Taken while filming for Transparent, featuring Kas Lemmens, Ivika Jürgenson, Will Smith and Dominik Wagner. Dropping fall 2024. - Tim Schiphorst EDITORIAL

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ONLINE & OFF-PISTE EDITOR: JUSTIN DUTILH justin@methodmag.com CONTRIBUTING EDITOR: JOY DUTCH joy.dutch1@gmail.com ONLINE EDITOR & BRAND MANAGER: WILL RADULA-SCOTT will@methodmag.com ART DIRECTOR: MACIEJ PRZĘŻAK mjwp3.com PRODUCT AND BUYERS GUIDE MANAGER ALEX ROBERTS alextroberts@gmail.com ONLINE AND MERCH GRAPHIC DESIGNER AGATA SZKARLAT agata@method.tv CONTENT SUBMISSIONS content@method.tv CONTRIBUTING WRITERS: Bastien Sturma, Mikaela Kautzky, Dani MK, Stine Tønnessen, Sierra Forchheimer, Maria Hilde, Egan Wint, Sophie Zichkina, Henrieke Ibing

Theo x

KAS LEMMENS, 50-50 PHOTO: THE CREW

ROVING REPORTER: THEO ACWORTH theo@methodmag.com

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS: Jérôme Tanon, Bastien Sturma, Peter Limberg, Sam Jorgensen, Ryan Pluche, Thibault Viard, Bruno Rivoire, Joe Simpson, Justin Dutilh, Daniel DaSilveira, Andrei Fin, Sergei Nemcov, Stephan Jende, Henrieke Ibing, Bob Plumb, Marco Morandi, Theo Acworth, Michal Prouza, James North, James Griffiths, Felix Adler, Willem Jones, Jake Simpson, Eli Thor Magnusson, Weitse Thomas, Dani MK, Norma Ibarra, Zuleyma, Jess Sung, Jacob Applebaum, Dominic Zimmermann, Tim Zimmerman, Tim Schiphorst, Ivika Jürgenson CEO/PUBLISHER - SALES & ADVERTISING Chris McAlpine chriso@methodmag.com CFO/IT MANAGER: Steve Dowle steve@methodmag.com PRINTERS: TUIJTEL Industriestraat 10 | 3371 XD PO box 18 | 3370 AA Hardinxveld-Giessendam | NL DISTRIBUTION: Rhenus Logistics Eektestraat 2, 7575 AP Oldenzaal The Netherlands METHOD MEDIA LTD Method Media Pantiles Chambers 85 High St Royal Tunbridge Wells TN1 1XP England Tel:(+44) (0) 871-218-9978 Copyright 2023 Method Media Ltd. No liability is accepted for the accuracy of the information contained herein, nor feck are any guarantees given by the magazine. Copyright worldwide of original material is held by Method Media Ltd and permission must be obtained for any use, transmission, storage or reproduction.

Opinions expressed in this arse magazine are not necessarily shared by the publisher. Method Media Ltd assumes no responsibility for the loss or damage of unsolicited material. Thanks for choosing Method Mag, we sure hope you like it!

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FLO CORZELIUS PHOTO: THEO ACWORTH

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REID SMITH GOES FOR BROKE PHOTO: BOB PLUMB

HOLY SHIT

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32_M

AS S EEN I N

Photo: Jeff Heit

DROPPING NOVEMBER 20TH

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KERKELA TONI

23.11.2023 19:56 10/7/23 5:12 PM

PHOTO: STEPHAN JENDE

5 things you can’t reuse 1. ABD’s 2. Video part songs 3. Style 4. SD Tapes 5. Crusty socks 5 tips to stay calm while riding gnarly spots 1. Build a proper setup 2. Bring a solid crew 3. Ease your way in 4. Trust your instincts and ability 5. Don’t be afraid to call it off if you’re not feeling it 5 things about Arbor Snowboards 1. My first sponsor 2. Sustainable since the beginning 3. Legendary team 4. Run by snowboarders 5. Solid boards and bindings 5 guilty pleasures 1. Candy 2. Sleeping in 3. Empty skateparks 4. Eating breakfast for dinner 5. Shower beer 5 things you like about Europe 1. New friendships 2. Trying different food 3. DIYX 4. Skateparks 5. Architecture 5 things you dislike about Europe 1. Long plane rides 2. Jet lag 3. Language barriers 4. Prices 5. Having to leave 5 things about The Impaler 1. Homies 2. No bullshit 3. Constantly evolving 4. Some of the gnarliest boarding that I’ve ever seen 5. New video “Recycled Reality”

PHOTO: SAM JORGENSEN 5 THINGS: MIKE LIDDLE

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5 things you can reuse 1. Spots 2. Tricks 3. Clips on Instagram 4. Old/unwanted gear to your friends 5. Work ethic

5 favourite snowboarders 1. Jake OE 2. Keegan Valaika 3. Jake Kuzyk 4. Louif Paradis 5. Dusty Henricksen 5 tips on how to clean your building’s windows 1. Hire 2. Me 3. To 4. Do 5. It $$$

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WORDS: JOY DUTCH

ALL’S FAIR IN GLOVE AND WAR Ah, the age-old debate – fisting vs fingering. Get your head out of the gutter you sick fuck, we’re talking about gloves and mittens. There’s no real need to delve into the merits of either of these things, but as someone who likes to be both contentious and has too much time on their hands, I’ve decided to spend my day dissecting the pros and cons of each. Let the battle commence.

Gloves pros • There’s an easy argument to be made for the dexterity afforded by gloves. If you’re someone who likes grabbing, grasping, prodding, pinching or fondling things then gloves surely have the edge.

• You can publically flip people the bird. (This one’s a double-edged sword, and whether or not you see it as a pro or a con depends on how brazen you are. To maintain my neutrality, I’ll put it in both columns.)

Gloves cons • This one might just be a ‘me problem’ but I’ve had more than one occasion upon which I’ve struggled to get the correct finger into the desired hole. This is usually (but not limited to) when I have wet hands • Gloves seem a little serial killer-esque?

You don’t see true crime documentaries where the bad guy is wearing rubber mittens to make a necklace out of someone’s teeth, do you?

• The German word for glove is ‘handshuh’ and that’s equal parts adorable and fun.

Mittens pros • Mitts undoubtedly have the upper hand when it comes to warmth, think four homies tucked up in one sleeping bag on a cold winter night, extra cosy- we sharing that heat baby!

• I would argue mittens come out on top for solid high-five and butt-pat contact. Having that larger continuous surface area makes for a more resounding connection.

• You can flash the old ‘digitus impudicus’ with zero consequence and absolute impunity.

Mittens cons • No easy way to hand gesture, scratch, fiddle, twiddle, or whatever else you deign appropriate up a mountain.

• Another one that might be just a ‘me problem’, but my enduring memory of mittens is being forced into a pair by my long-suffering mother to wear to school when the temperature dropped. They’d inevitably be made of wool and went on to soak up every drop of liquid in a 5-mile radius.

Nowadays, mittens seem to be the choice of the cool kid snowboarder (I scrolled Method’s IG account and mitts easily take the dub), they’ve turned the tables and crawled to the top of the fashion pyramid. But fashion is a wily mistress and practicality often falls by the wayside to make room for style (as is witnessed by no one wearing waterproof gear in the spring). Trends, and style in itself, are cyclical, so gloves might have their day in the sun soon enough but I’m sure you’ll all join me in praying that the overly bright, über-baggy style of the early 2000s is well and truly buried. Please, God, do not let that rear its ugly head anytime soon. Anyway, enough from me, we’re being held hostage by megalomaniacal governments on a floating rock hurtling through space, who actually gives an iota of a fuck what you put on your hands to go slide down hills with your friends. Gloves, mitts, it’s all the same really. Or you could just sack all this nonsense off and go bare hands à la Jamie Lynn, horses for courses and all that jazz, eh?

JOY’S DIVISION: ALL’S FAIR IN GLOVE AND WAR

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PHOTOS: DOMINIC ZIMMERMANN

A smooth operator on and off the board, as well as behind the decks. Ladies and gentlemen, the Method Mini Mix from David Djité.

METHOD MINI MIX: DAVID DJITÉ

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THE INTERNET’S OWN WAY TO BUILD YOURSELF A SNOWBOARD WORDS & ARTWORK: JUSTIN DUTILH PHOTOS: JACOB APPLEBAUM, JUSTIN DUTILH

I

n an ocean of very precious web resources, such as porn, funny memes, fake news, or cooking recipes involving a bottle of coke and mentos, you might find a couple of tutorials to build your DIY snowboard, but never quite activate the urge to do it. Well, I have, and I will share my experience.

This might sound too spiritual for a tutorial, but I first invoked the soul of Aaron Swartz to help me navigate this. Let me clarify: this is a tribute to the internet hacktivist/whistle-blower and not to the talented, almost homonym artist/photographer we enjoy publishing on these pages now and then. Unlike you my friend, “Internet Aaron” might have never strapped in before he left us, though, and that’s too bad. He would have shredded crazy lines like the heavy code lines he typed on his computer, I’m sure. For those who don’t know Aaron’s story and how he enhanced the web, I strongly suggest you dig into what he did. You’ll discover a genius with a vision whose engagement had a massive influence on the connected world that surrounds us today.

Back to snowboarding, a few years ago, my good friend Sylvain Furlan, who’s been designing and producing snowboards for a while, decided to make a snowboard as a tribute to him. That’s when Aaron’s story became an obsession to me. Aaron’s comprehension and web use were next level, prophetic even. His contributions are numerous and, for the most part, genuine to the founding principles of the World Wide Web. Sharing as much information as possible, considering that knowledge is humanity’s very own heritage, was his life goal. In the spirit of making, hacking, and sharing, I embarked on the equally gratifying and painful journey of making my own snowboard using Internet resources and a couple of other things to share this experience with others and ride my own board!

Welcome to my lousy DIY snowboard-making non-exhaustive tutorial and attempt to contribute to broadening the net with some indie snowboard culture.

STEP 1: SURROUND YOURSELF Aaron did not program Reddit or the RSS Flux all by himself.

He got some precious help from other talented program nerds. Before the creation of Wikipedia, he built a lookalike wiki website at the age of 10. It’s fair to say his webdeveloping skills and unique vision were pretty strong. Things that I lack to some extent. That’s why I was lucky to have a couple of shapers/artists willing to help and share their experiences. Sylvain (Furlan) shared his snowboard inventor/ maker savoir-faire with me, and the very talented artist Tristan Barroso, fueled me with his DIY culture and approach to pretty much everything he makes.

DIY NERD CORNER

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DEELUXE.COM

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STEP 2: GET TOOLED Just like Aaron needed a hard drive to store all the data he secretly and massively downloaded from M.I.T. You will need some equipment, too. Nothing that would get you in trouble with the FBI though, but a jigsaw, for example, is a good start. A router, some heavy protection stuff (that resin will put you to sleep in no time), a vacuum bag (if you go on the no air press route as we did), a blowtorch, and another thing or two.

Little tip: If your house vacuum has “Tornado” written on it, don’t use it. It’s a scam.

STEP 3: GET SUPPLIED You’ll need a bit of wood to build the mold you’re going to customize to the shape of your dreams. You’ll also need a bunch of more snowboard-specific stuff, such as a core, a base, a top sheet, some fabric, and edges. We went through a small company called Junk Supply, and it was quite good quality for a decent price.

Fun fact: these top sheets have two different sides, a smooth and a rough one. Of course, I installed mine on the wrong side without noticing. It came off when I unmolded the board as quickly as an Englishman’s shirt on a sunny spring day on the mountain. Bummer.

Although the print I did on it stuck to the resin, though, which turned out quite fantasticly!

STEP 4: GO ONLINE There are a ton of Youtube tutorials and videos that explain how to make a snowboard. I suggest you watch the ones that go through the manufacturing process, too. Even if you won’t have half of their tools, the fabrication process is similar. While at it, watch “The Internet’s Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swartz” too. You might learn a thing or two. As he would put it: “Be curious.”

STEP 5: GRAB SOME TECHNICAL AND GRAPHIC DESIGNS ONLINE We decided to provide you with the technical plans of the wide version of the Aaron Swartz tribute Furlan Snowboard. Type this URL: https://www.flickr.com/photos/analog-pixel/, and you’ll find them there with many art designs you can use. Thanks to Aaron’s contribution to the Creative Commons website, we protected and licensed all these to avoid commercial abuse. ;) STEP 6: BUILD YOUR BOARD! HA Please refer to step 4 to get going. There are quite a few steps that go into making your snowboard, and I don’t have enough space here to go through all of them, so screw you! Wasn’t that a great tutorial?

Feel free to contact me, though, and I will gladly share my detailed experience with you.

About that, well, my board came out completely flat. No trace of the desired shape at all! Thanks to the “Tornado” vacuum cleaner, I’m pretty sure. The board was still rideable and very fun to shred. It’s most likely the stiffest board I’ve ever ridden, but it’s still pretty rad! It cost me around 200 euros to make (without the tools) and gave me quite a few headaches, but it was worth it. To ride a board you made is gratifying.

It is quite a journey, and I strongly suggest you to do it if you already have some tools with you. If not, well, you can always buy the manufactured board from Furlan Snowboards, no surprises there, it’s very user-friendly! Anyway, stay curious.

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CORNER Listen up, gaming fans, we’ve got some rad news for you.

Method has linked up with Shredders to bring you not only our shreddable chalet in Maple Acres but also a winter-long photo contest that could see you getting hooked up with some quality Method print products and soft goods from our new Merch collection.

In the game, you’ll find us hanging out on the edge of an epic snowpark between maple trees and deep powder runs, and we invite all of you to come and hang out and shred our DIY spot. We found some fallen trees and a few wooden crates and put together some fun hits right outside the door. There’s also a step-up onto the balcony rail if you’re feeling gnarly.

To celebrate our new establishment, we’ve got a challenge for you all… and it’s pretty simple. All you need to do is shoot the sickest photos you possibly can in Shredders and post them on IG with the hashtags #ShotinShredders & #MethodPhotoChallenge or email them to us at shotinshredders@i-illusions.com with the subject line ‘METHOD Photo Challenge Submission’.

Renowned snowboard experts will pick a new winner each month throughout the winter. Winners will receive an exclusive prize pack that includes all 3 METHOD Mag Volume 24 print editions, a METHOD x Corduroy beanie, a pack of METHOD stickers, and an item of your choice from the METHOD Winter 23/24 Collection. These photos can be shot anywhere in the game, not just at our chalet, but we reckon you’ll be able to get some sick shots there, too.

Good luck!

Full rules, terms and conditions and all that other stuff can be found by scanning the QR code below and at: www.methodmag.com

COMPETITION CORNER

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PHOTOS: MARCO MORANDI

CHECKING IN WITH MARCO MORANDI ABOUT HIS LATEST FILM ‘ARE YOU OKAY?’ Finn and Gian edited the movie.

Was letting someone else work with your footage okay?

Yes, to be honest, I don’t really like someone else editing the footage, but this time it was different. I think the project was handled by the whole crew. From travel to commercials, from filming to editing. They did a good job. Big Fellas!!

You were in Canada and Scandinavia for this movie. Were the trips okay?

Oh yes, we did a lot of Timbits in Canada but my favourite trip of the winter was to Narvik, near the North Pole. It’s just amazing up there.

Are the guys in this crew okay?

Yep, I like the fact that they have the same view and approach to snowboarding but they have also such a different and unique style.

Is your Century fisheye still okay?

Yep, still alive, turning 10 in February.

Is producing independent movies still okay?

Yep I think it is nice to have independent projects. It gives more freedom to riders and filmers to share their own view.

Was there anything about this project that wasn’t okay?

I think we’ve never been so lucky with logistics, snow conditions and weather, especially up north…. It’s rare having five sunny days in a week… Everything was okay!!

Is your dog Huston okay?

Ohhhh yes… getting old, turning 9 in February, like the Century, but yes he is okay.

Are you okay?

I’m Very Okay.

PRODUCTION VALUES

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20YR BOOK

WORDS: JOY DUTCH

With this season marking twenty years under their belt, Bataleon has released a whopping 400 snowboards. Far, far too many to mount on an apartment wall, so in the interest of saving space, they’ve decided to compile two decades of snowboard history into a special anniversary book that pays homage to each and every graphic they’ve ever made and dives headfirst down the rabbit hole of Bataleon’s journey as a brand.

Through their 20YR book, we’re privy to the behind-thescenes story of Bataleon right from day dot. We hear about founder Jørgen Karlsen’s initial lightbulb moment with the 3D base shaping technology with which Bataleon made a name for itself and his subsequent rejection from almost every major brand in the industry. As Bataleon’s Art Director Danny Keibert explains “He tried to sell his idea, first to ski companies but they wouldn’t listen to him because they’re like, ‘Who’s this dude?’ and then he thought, ‘Well, these snowboard companies are probably more open-minded, and actually on a wider base, my invention has more success’. But they were also like, ‘Who’s this guy?’ It was then he realised it was going to be a bit more tricky than just having the best idea. It turns out, you need to put in at least 10 to 20 years of hard work to make something out of it. But I think at this point, we can say that he sort of proved his point.”

Through the eyes and memories of those along for the ride, we see Bataleon burst onto the scene in the direct aftermath of the late 90’s snowboarding boom. The sport had gone from strength to strength through the latter half of the decade, with global recognition thanks to its inclusion in the Olympics and cookie-cutter cereal box athletes like Sh*un White. It really was a different ball game back then, a semi-lawless land where pro athletes on the ‘big brands’ were receiving Beatles-level hysteria.

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20YR BOOK We see how Bataleon decided not to buy into this hype train, instead choosing to focus on creating the best products on the market and creating a brand that people authentically resonated with. “We thought to ourselves, ‘What do we really want to do?’ And then we made a conscious decision that we wanted to make snowboarding more fun for everyone. So it wasn’t about us, it wasn’t about the team, it was about everybody that snowboards having more fun if they ride our boards.

That’s basically as simple as it gets.”

The book takes us step by step through Bataleon developing their nowiconic visual identity and how it was the customers who were buying and riding Bataleon snowboards that inspired their trademark insignia. “When we initially designed the logo, we wanted something that was almost like a gang sign, you know? But a positive one. In the very beginning, when people saw each other and both had Bataleon, it was instantly like “Okay, we get it” you know? So, we wanted to emphasise that and do a logo that you could express with your hand. Of course, peace and shaka were already taken, but then we had Triple Base, which was three, so we thought the Three Finger Salute.”

Twenty years on much has changed at Bataleon, and the Three Fingered Salute can now be seen on tens of thousands of boards all over the world, but one thing remains the same as it did on day one – “Snowboarding is the most fun you will ever have while fully clothed”.

PRODUCTION VALUES

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SPARROW KNOX’S FLAMETHROWER SHARK

“I WAS SCARED FOR EVERYBODY’S LIVES WHEN I GAVE HIM THE FLAMTHROWER. I INSTANTLY REGRETTED IT, BUT IT WAS AMAZING.” ETHAN MORGAN PHOTO: THEO ACWORTH

“Made with gaffer tape and snowboard boot boxes. I bought three cans of Lynx (Axe) but it seems they’ve changed the formula and it’s no longer flammable. So with Doobie we head off to get hair spray. In his wonderful words after testing the flamethrower in the supermarket “That’s the one”.

I knew he’d meet his demise and didn’t want to get attached, so I decided not to name him.”

Sparrow Knox

PHOTO: THEO ACWORTH

PHOTO: FELIX ADLER

ART PAGE: SPARROW KNOX’S FLAMETHROWER SHARK

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Quality products since 1993

MIKKEL BANG

NFX MAG / 30 YEARS // LL RED ION Dragon by Marchon ©2023 Marchon Eyewear Inc.

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HALLDOR HELGASON PHOTOS: MICHAL PROUZA, THEO ACWORTH, JAMES NORTH, HENRIEKE IBING, ISAMI KIYOOKA, WILLEM JONES, JENNIFER LANG, JAMES GRIFFITHS

CSTL

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FABI FRAIDL

JAM

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MAGGIE LEON

WILLOW VOGES FERNANDES

CSTL

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JOE SIMPSON

TREY WOOD & YAM BEHAR

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JAM

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ALEX KLERUD

LENNY OLIVER

CSTL

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DIAGNOSIS OF A RECOVERING SNOWBOARD COMMUNITY WITH

LE JULIEN COMEDY SHOW

I’ve been snowboarding in France for over 20 years now, and that is way more time than I thought it would be. I’m not sure how to feel about it, but no one cares. Recently, it came to my attention that something pretty cool was going on. Our French snowboard community is slowly but surely getting stronger, and about that, we care. Being in that little bubble of the French snowboarding world always felt good, regardless of how small it could be. However, Nowadays, you do so many things. I was apart from some gatherings we would wondering how you see yourself today. Are have from time to time, that sense you some sort of “James Cook travel agency” of community was fading over time. for French riders looking for all-inclusive Simply because there aren’t many of us snowboard weekends? A great reporter out there, I suppose. It sure felt pretty covering every major snowboarding scarce for a long time and still does event? Or, a wedding planner of the French today in some places. Coming from the snowboard scene, putting together all these Pyrenees, that feeling has always been events and all?

These days, I feel more like a coach for quite strong actually. I’m not saying struggling teenagers on holidays *laughs*. we ever feel alone; we have crews and For sure, at first, Bangingbees was more like a all, but there’s definitely not a ton of us media outlet, but now it’s also a video and event ripping the slopes, the streets, or the production company. So I kind of mix these big mountains. It’s when you travel a three activities now. But yeah, every project bit that it becomes very vivid. Things has different aspects to handle, but every time, are changing, though, and a lot of it you have to handle pothead riders. Some more comes down to what some people are than others, though. To stay zen is the key. willing to do to kick the hornet's nest. I *laughs* So what is Bangingbees? was happy to sit down with one of these For a long time, people just thought it was a people and catch up on the state of this crew, although it started as a web media outlet. recovering community. Julien Mounier At the time, there were so many friends helping is the man behind Banginbgees and has us out that we were very active right from done a lot for the French snowboard the beginning. Riders, photographers, and scene over the past few years, and videographers, to name a few, Pierrot (Scafidi), since he always has something clever Lionel (Simon), Anto (Brotto), you, Adryen (Barreyat), Jon (Vital), etc. People from my close to say, we thought it would be fun to see circle. I guess we looked a lot like a snowboard what that might be.

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INTRO & INTERVIEW: JUSTIN DUTILH PHOTOS: THIBAUD VIARD COLLAGE PHOTOS: BRUNO RIVOIRE, BASTIEN STURMA, JUSTIN DUTILH, THIBAUD VIARD, JOE SIMPSON

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crew, for sure. We were definitely a large, recognizable group of people who built strong foundations and gave editorial directions to the project. We were inspired by what was going overseas with things like “Sunday in the Park” or “I Ride Park City” and started doing similar edits here in France. We would do it wherever we would go, but Chamrousse was a real starting point for a lot of this. And we always promoted something accessible with the simple goal of encouraging people to go snowboarding. We never faked it. We always really enjoyed filming every second of these edits and being creative with them, too. It also quickly became a central point for many French crews and turned into this spider web of the French snowboard scene, and still today, you

can feel this unifying aspect in events riders connected too. That’s why like the “Top to Bottom”.

I’ve been posting a bunch of classic vintage footage on Instagram in the Yeah, so nowadays, what’s your summer. The snowboard culture drive to keep the Bangingbees was in bad shape in France for so long we truly want to preserve it. swarm alive?

I do it for the cash.

You’ve been organizing events more and more in the past few *laughs* I knew it.

I’m not really good at it, though. years. How important do you *laughs* But yeah, it’s rewarding think they are to maintain and to see the role it’s taken in the stimulate this struggling French snowboard community. I guess it’s snowboard community? cheesy to say that, but it’s true: if I’m It definitely creates real connections still passionate about it, interested, between people. Especially now that and capable of doing things the way so much of the snowboard culture I want to, I’ll continue. And today, is digital. By following Instagram I still feel that it brings something accounts, people think they know cool to the community. People each other without even meeting follow us. Young riders grew up with in real life. So to meet, ride, and party us. We try to create links between is very important. It also encourages generations as well. Keep the old resorts to shape original features, so

LENNY OLIVER CAN TAP DANCE

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A FRENCH ACCENT

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make our experiences better and continue offering rad and popular events. We’re actually creating this complementary project called Coldwave Agency with Bruno (Rivoire) to solidify this path of building more action sports events.

How long have you been activating things in the snowboard world?

I’ve been doing all sorts of things for over 20 years now.

What do you think changed the most since you started?

I started at the end of the big-money years of the snowboard industry.

I definitely witnessed a decline in budgets with brands and resorts.

But we can still do a bunch of things, as long as you do the job, you know.

A lot of people back then had this “open-bar” mentality, but I always felt the need to do whatever was expected. I also manage to find some time to simply enjoy and snowboard, don’t get me wrong. So many people in this industry forgot this and fell into a 9 to 5 way of life. And if I lose this passion, I’ll do something else. We’ve heard so many times the cheesy and now so irritable phrase, “It’s not a sport. It’s a lifestyle.” It’s kind of true, though. You have to keep the vibe of the ride, man! *laughs* *laughs* Thanks for saying that in English. It helps me with the translation. *laughs* I have a feeling nowadays, that the snowboard community is as pure as it might have been at the very beginning. It went so high and then dropped that the people who stayed JULIEN NEVER FORGETS TO TAKE A LAP OR TWO were the real passionate ones. All the people who were there for fame, money, or connections are gone, or at that’s cool. We always design At first, we did one or two every least most of them. The pro-rider star very accessible and shreddable winter, but lately, it could go all the system faded over time. set-ups, so it works perfectly way to 10 per year. I don’t organize regarding this “connecting” aspect. all of these events per se, though. I noticed that every year, you have For years, event set-ups were so Sometimes, I would just come to new snowboarders that stick cleaving that so many riders were shout stupid things in a microphone. around. I came to realize that uncomfortable riding them. you’ve become the “cool uncle” of What’s next, then?

French snowboarding. The one that And everyone came to your events Well, every year, it changes. It all offers all the new and forbidden right from the start as well! depends on who wants to do what experiences to the new generation.

Yeah! Well, at first, it was mostly and where. I’m talking about brands *laughs* You mean with shitty jokes people from our close circle, but very and resorts mostly. You don’t want to and all. But yeah, it’s rad to see new quickly, we started seeing outside copy/paste too much of what you’ve riders emerging and potentially taking people tagging along. done in the past already, you know. over. We’ve seen a lot of kids turning We will always keep this grassroots their back to competition lately. Riders How many events do you think you side to it, but we’re definitely looking like Lenny (Oliver), Mehdi (Soltane), or organized in the last couple years? to be more organized and staffed to Eliot (Pentecote), for example.

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How do you see the French scene nowadays?

Something is happening for sure. This new generation rips, although they lack so much of the snowboarding culture. I don’t want them to watch every Jamie Lynn video part out there, but still.

Do you think the vintage clips you’ve been posting help?

For sure, I asked them, and they’re pretty hyped about it. But I feel pretty optimistic about French snowboarding’s future. You see things like Brust Studio, young riders coming out of competition, and getting deals with cool brands.

In every resort, you see more and more riders as well. However, I have to say that it’s still pretty small. We probably lost one or two generations in the battle. Freeski did a lot of bad to snowboarding in France. It’s funny, though, that we see a lot of freeskiers switching to snowboarding now.

I guess some of them came to realize that it’s way more fun to stand sideways. It’s rebuilding itself, let’s say. I think we have a part of responsibility in that as well. Maybe we appeared to be too elitist at one point. But today, if you come to one of our Top to Bottom, you realize the scene is alive for sure.

Yeah, more and more riders show up to the event. How many people came last time?

Around 400 people per day, I think.

Wow, that’s amazing. I suppose you get a lot of help from people around you to organize these events, right?

I would like this opportunity to say that Justin Dutilh never ever helped me, so this is a massive “non big-up”. *laughs* *laughs* True. But yeah, I noticed that your motivation just spirals into having a bunch of people helping you out.

I guess I enjoy organizing cool things and seeing people having a good time. I used to plan every trip with my friends way before it became a job, so I suppose it just turned into something more professional now. Also, I think people realize you need to help out at some point if you want cool things to happen in the snowboarding community.

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I guess every bee has a role in the colony.

What’s your strongest memory since you started Bangingbees?

The first big session we organized in Chamrousse was when we saw the community come alive for the first time in a very long time, and that was something. The last one was rad, too. I mean, the conditions were so shitty with bad weather and no snow, and people showed up and had a blast! It’s a strong sign of how the French scene is today. And it’s very rewarding as well.

It’s tough to narrow it down to one memory. I mean, the Vans Off the Bees series was a cool thing. It took us all the way to Russia to make one of them. Going to Wappulunas was sick, too.

We did a bunch of things to be proud of for sure.

Nice one, Julien. Thanks for the catch-up, and keep on doing cool things.

These last words are yours: It’s very important to believe in your dreams.

The sky is the limit! Which means whisky is the limit, by the way. *laughs*

THOMAS ZUBIRIA IZ JUST ANOZER FRENCH HIPPY

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INTRO & INTERVIEW: JUSTIN DUTILH

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hat is it like to embrace the snowboard way of life in today’s Russia? Let alone do it with a considered alternative punk attitude. It’s difficult for us to understand what it means to live and pursue our passion for snowboarding in a country that is so implicated in a conflict as major as the war in Ukraine. What would I do if my home country decided to invade our neighbor/brother-country? Would I stay, or would I go? Would I fight? Maybe, but who would I fight and how? To imagine a situation like that and how we would react to it is unreal and very disorienting. In fact, simply trying to grasp Russian society can be quite confusing. We’ve been there in the past, exchanged a lot over the years, and got to understand a little better what it means to be a snowboarder there. And most of all, we developed some rad friendships with Russian riders, photographers, and filmmakers. So when Vadim Taran and Nikita Sekh reached out about their new movie “Undecided” (which is rad, by the way), we jumped on a call to catch up with them about what’s behind the making of this movie and what it means to be snowboarding for them these days. And just like they hope to do with their snowboard films, only with words, they decided to share some light on an unusually darker moment of their lives.

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V: Yeah, basically, we can’t really go anywhere in Europe. I mean, we could, but it’s a pain in the ass. They don’t give tourist visas. People travel east now. People go to Asia, people travel within the Russian borders. But for Europe or the States, it’s much harder and very expensive. I haven’t been west for like five or six years, even though Helsinki is literally four hours away from my house right now.

VADIM TARAN, OLLIE PHOTO: ANDREI FIN

I never realized it was that close.

I guess traveling inbound is what you’ve been doing to make your video. What’s that about?

V: At the beginning of the season, we were wondering if we should do something and decided to go for it, and the local company Joint Snowboards was down for it. I mean, I work full-time, Nikita was busy doing his stuff, filming, and just doing all kinds of shit all over the place. And all the guys we snowboard with are not sixteen years old anymore. We all have jobs and shit, meaning we can’t really travel as much as we could in the past. We can’t ride as much as we could, either. But we made it happen with a few trips. It could’ve gone better, of course. But you know, it is what it is. And we ended up doing this short film this year.

Why did you call it “Undecided”?

Were you just too lazy to find a name? *laughs* N: *laughs* We’re not rap artists, come on!

Hi guys, where are you both at right now?

Vadim: I’m just chilling at home in St Petersburg, where I’m from originally, and I think Nikita is somewhere on a skateboard trip. Where are you at?

V: *laughs* Yeah, don’t tell anybody.

No, seriously, I don’t know, but with everything that is going on right now, we can’t really plan that far ahead anymore. It’s like you have no idea what’s going to happen, not even the very next day. Things just happen so quickly these days.

Nikita: I’m in Kazan near the Ural With that name, you decided mountains in the middle of our to add some uncertainty to it, I country. I’m in a giant indoor suppose. When and where did you skatepark, like Woodward, I would say. film this movie?

V: I think we started filming in early Cool. I guess snowboarding is right January. We went for a small trip to around the corner…

Petrozavodsk, a pretty small town V: Yeah, I’m seeing videos from Ruka, next to Finland, actually. But that Finland. It’s almost putting a tear in didn’t go too well. I caught the flu my eye because we used to go there and couldn’t ride much. We also hit every time for the opening. a couple of spots in St Petersburg, but we didn’t have much snow. And I suppose it’s harder for you to it was always raining. We did a short travel now?

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trip to Cheboksary, where Nikita already went for the Vans project “Stepmother”. He actually got to ride this time, and we got some cool shots there. Then we went to this place called Murmansk, which is pretty famous. A lot of crews went there over the years. “Goodsport” among many others went there, for example.

That was a super late trip, and Nikita wasn’t there. It was just me and Max, and I got super hurt on the second day of filming. We basically divided it into a couple of small trips, and you know, we had to take time off from work to go there. In the end, we probably filmed for 25 days or something.

Nikita, I remember you telling me that filming in the streets of Russia can become some sort of culture shock between you and the people not understanding what you’re doing. Was it any different filming this time?

N: Not so much, like this one man in a small city was getting really pissed off at us because his job is to paint all the rails in the city. He said he remembered us filming here three years ago and didn’t want to repaint all the rails again.

V: If anything, he’ll get more jobs because of us.

I guess this man doesn’t see it that way. He probably just thinks you’re ruining his job.

V: Yeah, absolutely. I was figuring out the speed on this spot and going in those concrete stairs, and the guy was literally inspecting if I didn’t break them or anything. But you know, nothing out of the ordinary, really.

Pretty classic stuff. We did have some cops this year that were pretty chill.

They still took our numbers, though.

A couple of weeks after that trip, they called me and started asking all these questions. As soon as I told them that we cleaned everything behind us, they said it was all good. I guess it’s hit or miss.

This other time, we were hitting this rail near the local mall. We went there super late to make sure no one was there, but a security guard showed up to kick us out. But we had a plan.

We bought a little bottle of cognac for him. *laughs* He took it, and we had fifteen more tries to get the clip.

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Alright then, classic bribing right there. Nikita, do you still have to tell people you grow your hair in honor of Jesus so they leave you alone?

N: Yes, but it doesn’t work as much as before. This taxidriver asked me one time why I had long hair, and I told him that I wanted to look like Jesus.

He was impressed at first, but after five minutes, he said: “Wait a minute, they didn’t have scissors back then!” *laughs* I guess he thinks that if Jesus were here today, he would have short hair.

Oh yeah, I never thought about that.

Well, who knows? If Jesus were around today, maybe he would have face tattoos as well. It must be harder for you to pull that one off when you’re walking around with purple hair, though.

N: Yeah, but I always manage to talk my way out. Even with face tattoos, coloured hair and nails, nobody hit me in the face for the past three years. Many have tried, though. I usually have to explain to them that this is my life, that I want to look bright, that I’m a snowboarder, or whatever. Sometimes, I tell them that I’m thirty years old and have been married for thirteen years. They realize I can do whatever I want since I’m not a teenager anymore, and they go away for a while.

those problems, those funny stories, and so on. But the main reason we do this is to keep the good vibe. This means I always pick the funny trick.

Sometimes, I go for more serious tricks, but I always aim to keep it fun.

because we got cut off from the rest of the world. Some mags like Thrasher or Method keep sharing, though, and I love it. You understand that we are skateboarders, we are snowboarders, or whatever.

Snowboarding has nothing to do with I guess you stepped into my next politics. Every minute in this world, question a bit. When you reached there is a war… out to us about this project, you said it was also “made to draw attention to the fact that NIKITA SEKH, CAB 270 snowboarding in Russia is alive PHOTO: ANDREI FIN and has no political affiliations.”

Can you elaborate on that?

V: Yeah, sure. I know you guys get a lot of negative feedback every time you post content from Russia. We realized right from the start of this crisis that Russian content gets red-flagged straight away. All of a sudden, we just became unwanted persons. But we just snowboard for fun, and everything we do comes from the heart, not because we try too hard to do anything. Also, we never necessarily wanted to portray any seriousness or any sort of affiliation to politics and what is going on. It is kind of surreal because you would think that the industry is in a complete ditch right now, and it is in some ways. But in other ways, we can still do what we‘ve always been doing and will continue no matter what happens. But yeah, definitely, our main goal or message is to maintain the fun and love of snowboarding, and that’s it.

Okay, so if you want people to leave you alone filming in the streets of Russia, you either have to lie or How do you feel when you see bribe them.

N: Yeah, something like that. *laughs* this negativity on social media whenever Russian content is You guys have a generally pretty shared then? fun way to approach snowboarding N: When I posted this “Americanathat shows on camera and on social style” video last winter, some guy media a lot. Do you reproduce this commented on it in Ukrainian, saying careless attitude in the streets how bad I was and everything. when you film, or does it get more I responded to him with a voice message and told him that I am serious?

N: No, I’ve had enough of serious Belorussian, I speak Russian and snowboarding, competition, and Ukrainian as well, and I’m just stuff. I’m tired of this. Now, I’m always snowboarding with an American going towards creativity and maybe bandana. I’m not responsible for this riding something ridiculous or not shitty situation. I’m just snowboarding so impressive. I’m really inspired by with my friends. He ended up deleting Scott Stevens, who’s just doing stuff the comment. I don’t handle this in out of the ordinary and randomly fun. an angry way. I usually just say that Especially nowadays, with everything it’s bad for you, bad for me, bad for that’s going on. With all the situations everyone. Some people are angry in the world, I just want to go deep inside, and I feel it. I understand snowboarding with my dudes and it. But hopefully, the whole situation go on trips. I see those smiles, I see will get better soon. It’s killing me UNDECIDED

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- Nikita

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So, Nikita, you grew up in Belarus, right? When did you move to Russia?

N: When I was six years old. But I feel very Russian because my mother is Russian and my father is Belorussian.

I respect my motherland, but I spent most of my life in Russia. But in the end, who cares? We’re all Slavs. It was very sad when I saw these posts of people saying that Russian riders were terrorists or something. People quickly forget the main reason we spend so much time skateboarding, snowboarding, or whatever. This is our way of saying, “go fuck yourself, everyone.” We are different people.

We don’t support any politics. I don’t even want to speak about it most of the time. It’s super bad, I know it. Actually, I could get in trouble for saying these words in this country right now.

I still have my friends in Ukraine, my snowboard friends, and we keep a good connection. I called them after this shit had started. I told them: “I’m just a snowboarder, and there isn’t much I can do about this whole thing. I can’t change this, but I’m with you, and let’s keep in touch.”

Some people are angry at us, and the whole country, but all my snowboard bros told me they understood. They said: “Let’s keep connected, and when this shit ends, because every bad situation ends someday, let’s snowboard together.” It’s super hard because we’re more than brothers.

try anything that could get me into trouble. The first couple of months, I didn’t post anything on the internet. I went through pretty depressing times.

Before this, I was wearing sunglasses, you know. I was convincing myself that everything was good. At first, all of us were scared to show or even do something. We didn’t know what people in Ukraine would be thinking about us. I was also afraid to call them, I thought maybe they wouldn’t want to be friends anymore or something. But after a few months, I started calling, and the vibe was good. They would say that it’s alright, that it sucks, and that I shouldn’t worry. They thanked me for calling, too. It instantly relieved me from this big rock I had in my soul.

Today, we text on Instagram, see our stories, and share things about what’s going on in our lives from both sides.

That’s cool! It’s such a weird situation, I’m sure it needs time to figure out what’s happening too.

N: Yes, and today, it’s almost back to normal. Most of my friends moved to safer parts of Ukraine and started skateboarding, snowboarding, and working again. It’s been almost two years now. It took time to figure out how we all feel about this.

V: It’s been going on for two years at this point. It’s pretty surreal everything that happens, and as Nikita said, you can get in trouble for saying things. You can get detained for a social media post just V: The majority of Russians have like that, and it’s been happening all relatives or some sort of connection over the place. with Ukraine. It used to be the same You’ve seen that happen? country in the past.

V: Yeah. Actually, here in Saint It’s good that you can still speak Petersburg, one of our filmers was with them and that you do it, too. detained for twelve days for being I suppose that the ones that were with his camera during one of the living in Russia had to leave. Their protests in the early days of this crisis. lives must have changed a lot He got swept with the protesters. compared to yours. Do they tell you how they feel when you share stuff Damn. I hope he at least got some good fillers for your movie out of it. on social media?

N: Most of them had to leave, yes, and So you basically can’t speak openly you’re right, not much has changed about what’s going on? What’s the for us compared to them. One of my situation on this? friends had his house completely V: Let’s put it this way: you can’t really destroyed, but he’s alive. When I be expressing a non-mainstream called him to see how he was, he was opinion publicly. If you do, you’re living in his basement, and he was considered a person of interest angry. I was angry, too! I asked him and can be detained for it. What how I could help, but he stopped me happens, too, is that people report and told me not to worry and not to other people for what is called the UNDECIDED

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discreditation of the military, I think.

This allows the police to investigate you and eventually put you in prison.

Okay, so you still have access to any sort of information, but you can only express the official version of things.

N: Yes, exactly. For example, when I MC at a snowboarding event, I’m not allowed to pronounce the word Instagram because the app is illegal here now. So, even though we use it, I can’t tell the crowd to follow us on Instagram. Also, I can’t say that we have a war because the Russian government calls it a “special operation”. However, we do have access to open information because we use VPN services.

Some websites are closed right now,

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VADIM TARAN, BOARDSLIDE PHOTO: SERGEI NEMCOV

but we have the resources from the different sources of information, rest of the world with VPN. It’s like then. Not everyone can use or “China style”, you know. even knows the existence of VPNs and such.

What do you think the general V: You know what? My mom is using perception of this whole thing a VPN now. is, then?

V: The majority of the population N: Yes, my mom as well. *laughs* receives mainstream information through television and radio, and Okay, well, that’s sick! because you can’t use Instagram or V: Of course, we’re talking about other resources without using proxy Moscow, St Petersburg, or other big services, I would say the propaganda cities where people are a bit more is absolutely working for a lot of progressive. But if you go deeper, people. But in our circle of friends, we even just thirty minutes away from are more open-minded and receive the city. It becomes more rural, and information from different sources. people are not as open-minded.

I guess you need to have a certain N: Yeah, one hundred percent true. level of “nerdiness” to access

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Just by being hardcore snowboarders, you guys are definitely members of the Russian counterculture and maybe even on the edge of punk culture for some of you. Does it create any tension with the average Russians? What’s the situation today?

V: The general tension amongst the population is higher than normal.

The economy is not doing the best, and many people are even poorer than before. It’s just putting a lot of stress on everyone. The negativity of media information doesn’t help.

We definitely see a lot of road rage situations. Crazy shit is happening.

Apparently, a couple of months ago, some dudes scalped this kid because he had pink hair or something, which is absolutely insane. In my opinion, due to the overall levels of stress, those things happen more often than ever.

don’t understand the symbols. You can see army dudes wearing HarleyDavidson outfits just because they think it looks cool. This is the main reason why I joke about this. One time, I went to a ski resort with blue hair and wearing a yellow jacket, and nobody said anything to me. Blue hair and a yellow jacket!

Wow. Yeah, but you were in a ski resort. Would you do it in the middle of nowhere in Russia?

N: In the middle of nowhere, it’s a bit scary. *laughs* But maybe. A lot of people support another point of view, and they can’t do anything right now.

Some go away, and some stay like we do. Right now, we’re having hard times, but if you express yourself correctly, then it’s fine. Like I can wear pants with a peace sign on them, but if I go out with a poster saying “fuck the war” then I can go to jail. Many people do it like that because it’s the This is crazy. So what about riding only thing you can do here right now. with an American bandana on your head, Nikita, how does that fly?

There’s only so much you can do in a N: *laughs* Look at me. I’m still doing tricky situation like that, I suppose. it. Nobody says anything to me when And it is quite similar everywhere in I do something like that. It’s like they the world, to some extent. I mean, I don’t take in my look. Maybe they play by the rules in my country, I pay UNDECIDED

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my taxes and stuff, even if I’m not thrilled about what my government does in general. How do you guys feel about that in today’s Russia?

N: It feels weird because it’s kind of like supporting the government in a way. But what can you do? It’s the same everywhere. You can’t make big changes, you need to wait. You need so many angry people to meet and do something about it. And we tried, but people here are super scared. Right now, we’re fucked. My life right now is about living and doing whatever. Not war, not supporting anything, simply skateboarding, teaching kids, MC’ing in contests, and so on. We ride and do our normal jobs, but we don’t fuck with AK-47s or tanks. Fuck this!

V: Basically, it’s been a couple of years that our lives have changed to a day-to-day basis. Nowadays, I am fully prepared to eject myself to another country if I have to. You have to be on your toes. You can’t sit down and relax. It’s not pretty, you know, but it could be worse. Especially if you put our eyes on the other side. We’re not going to say much more about that because we probably shouldn’t, but the situation

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MAX TIKHONOV, 5050 PHOTO: ANDREI FIN

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unpleasant, and we just try to live our lives as best as we can. I almost left at one point, actually. Every Russian male has to serve before they turn twenty-eight. It’s called mandatory military service. But thanks to our snowboarding injuries, I wasn’t suitable for this. At one point, they called every Russian who did the program to go fight this war. Most of our friends who were concerned got drafted and instantly left the country to avoid it. Who’d have thought these injuries were a blessing in disguise?

UNDECIDED

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N: For me, it was the same situation. I was crazy. I’m talking about borders had ACL surgery in the past and have to countries like Georgia, Armenia, titanium knees now. That’s why I’m and Kazakhstan. not in the military.

N: Yeah, same with me. My mother Wow, okay, I guess you guys were and my father have their bags saved by snowboarding in a way… ready right now, and if it turns into Maybe not saved, but at least you a worse situation, my choice is the don’t have to run away. same. I love this country, I love the V: If must be, we will, though. But it good people. I mean, you’ve been can not be an impulsive decision. Last here. We have bad people, too, like time, the borders were super packed, everywhere in the world. But I don’t some people had to turn around, and want to put my hands in the blood. some people were starving, I mean, it No way. So if leaving is the only way

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NIKITAH SEKH, TAILPRESS PHOTO: ANDREI FIN

to have a normal life, if we can say it like this, I will.

Yes, that’s very understandable.

Let’s try to end this conversation on a more positive note. Since we visited you in 2019, a lot of stuff happened, obviously. Anyway, I remember witnessing a Russian snowboard scene that was in an amazing place. It was really cool to see, and it’s still pretty active, it seems. How would you say the scene there is today?

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V: It’s smaller because many riders have left the country for obvious reasons. Also, it’s getting even more expensive than it was before to snowboard. Major brands have left the country, products are no longer imported here, so everything is even less accessible. For a kid to start snowboarding now might not even be possible. But the scene is still strong, and we have a lot of people who are still snowboarding. We hope to make another project this year and bring some new blood to it, too.

N: Yes, we still have new crews appearing, like from the middle of the country. It’s cool to see. For a Moscow video premiere, I think a couple hundred people showed up. We’re also seeing more cool backcountry stuff happening, so that’s good.

Cool to hear that snowboarding is not dead in Russia. Last words are yours, boys: V: Peace and love, what else?

N: Yeah, and go ride snowboards!

UNDECIDED

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Snow | Surf | Skate online & in >80 shops in nine countries

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Pic: Tim Schiphorst | Blue Tomato Team Rider: Ivika Jürgenson

HHH TAKES DOWN AN ESTONIAN DOUBLE KINK WITH A PURE PEDIGREE BOARDSLIDE PHOTO: JAKE SIMPSON

HANNA THOR

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She had become the lesson of the best events I’ve ever been to, giver, but who was there when and taking the win really got me all she needed a lesson? That’s sorts of hyped and confident for the where snowboarding comes in. upcoming season. Although my ass got humbled pretty fast at RockaRail When she found snowboarding the weekend after *laughs*. she was the one always getting taken down, and not very It’s always enjoyable to watch lightly. But as stubborn as she stuff like the Olympics or Laax is, she always got back up, Open for the sheer magnitude of she was never gonna become skill, but to me, DIYX is the future the little man again. She had of competitive snowboarding. It found a thing, a hobby, or a job exists outside of the ‘spin to win’ mindset and the shackles of FIS. she could battle for the rest In Ethan’s own words, “You don’t of her days, so that is when even need a snowboard to win”.

Hundi’s journey would begin. What are your thoughts on where She’s meeting lots of beautiful snowboarding is headed? people and having a life full of There are definitely more fun events lessons, as she keeps getting and rail jams starting to pop up and taken down, but as most of you it’s so good to see. It definitely helps already know – she will always loosen up the scene again and brings people together from all over the rise again. - Birkir Georgsson

HRUND HANNA THOR INTERVIEW: JOY DUTCH

There once was a little girl called Hrund Hanna and that girl loved wrestling. She grew up with a gang full of brothers, so life was never easy for her.

Always getting pushed around and treated as the little man.

One day it all changed when she witnessed the famous wrestler Triple H take down everybody in the ring. From that day forward something changed, she added Hundi to the Hrund Hanna and became her own Triple H. She took down her brothers one by one, teaching them a lesson.

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world without it being too serious. It’s so fucking sick. FIS should take some notes… but to be honest, as long as Hey, what’s up? You were out in you’re having fun doing what you’re the States this summer, how did doing, then it doesn’t really matter what kinda snowboarding you’re into. that all go down?

Yes, it was amazing. It was my first proper time there! I stayed with You said after DIYX you went to Dillon, Jenny and Marco Henricksen RockaRail, right? That was a hoot to in Mammoth. It was the sickest time watch, but it looked gnarly as hell. and I got to know so many amazing How was it to ride?

I ate all the shit at that event. It was people. Biggest love to y’all! sick though, a real fun setup, but yeah How do you find the riding in the US I just wasn’t feeling it that day and took a beating. I quit when there were compared to European resorts?

It was real nice to be out there. The probably about 15 minutes left of the people were super friendly and contest and went straight to Kristiin down for a chat, even though I’m and told her I needed two beers pretty sure most of them didn’t really ASAP. One to chug and one to sip on. give a shit about what I was saying It was necessary. *laughs*. The park was fun, it had a lot of gap-ons for the most random Ah, that sounds pretty painful, but features, and the way they do it is a I saw you took another win in Laax lot different than what I’m used to. I at the Vans Hi-Standard comp. Well bet the seasonal work is quite rough deserved, no doubt. What went as well since they open the resort down there? early and are open for almost all of I definitely didn’t expect that one, the year. But it was a sick time for but it meant a lot to me. Everyone sure and I’ll be coming back for sure, there was killing it, the riders and the Snowpark Laax crew that helped put no doubt. it together as well! It felt really real I feel violently hungover even just when they called the finals and we thinking about DIYX, but you came all had three runs each, but I just put out swinging and had a strong my headphones in and waited until start to your season, taking the win I could drop. I put down two good in Innsbruck. How was that whole runs and then I got a lil’ too excited and slammed gracefully on almost experience for you?

Aayy, it’s just pure madness. So every feature. Gotta have balance, many amazing people came to you know. ride and hang. It’s definitely one

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INTREVIEW

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TAKING THE WIN AT DIYX INNSBRUCK 2022 PHOTO: JOSEPH ROBY

I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say that I think it’s universally acknowledged that the Lobster crew are the most fun and unique team in snowboarding. You’ve been with them for a while now. How is it being on the team with them?

They are just the best. The greatest idiots you can find, and I’m so hyped to be a part of it. They keep snowboarding what I want it to be.

Fun, creative and just the perfect amount of seriousness in between.

days. I’m heavily impressed by the team. Then, of course, at the end of the trip, we went to a brewery that sponsored us, and things escalated. I just remember going to the bathroom from my room in the morning, and I open my door, look out and at the end of the hallway, I see Halldór and Þórir aka Toros El Logos, sitting by the kitchen table with their beers, completely naked with their towels tied up in their hair like the elegant old ladies they are. I have a picture of this somewhere... we should make Lobster Cream Week. I know deep this into a painting. down in my bones that a lot of heavy riding and debauchery went You were also out filming a heavy down in Iceland. Any stories you’d part with the Simpson Brothers last be happy to share? season. How was all of that?

It was so good and so athletic. We The best, these boys are so amazing walked up and down mountains for and so talented, and I really have a HANNA THOR INTERVIEW

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lot to thank them for. They took me on two years ago when I really struggled to find a crew to hit street with, and they were so stoked to have me. They really make it so easy to go hit spots cause they know what’s up and are just a blast to be around. We had a great crew with us as well.

We were with Simon, Marko and Senna. We struggled with snow to begin with, so my first spot was that filthy DFDF with a bunch of skatestoppers and I hit that probably around 300+ times over the span of 3 days. I couldn’t get it, but we got some quality shots of me absolutely losing my mind, but the rest of the trip worked out real good.

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Working as a shaper and trying to get as much time riding, filming and travelling as you do must be pretty exhausting. How do you maintain a healthy balance? *laughs* Wow, I don’t really. I live for the chaos, but I gotta start watching out a bit. I can’t do it all, even though I’d love to. It all catches up to me at the end of the season, and I need to hibernate for a few weeks. I’m trying to focus more on just filming now and going on trips while still being able to come to help out when I’m in Laax and have the capacity to do so, so I don’t burn myself out. Joos and the Snowpark Laax crew have been supporting me and helping make that happen. So thankful for y’all.

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As a shaper, I feel like you have a different appreciation for features than the average snowboarder.

If you could design one feature for a park or comp, what would it be and why?

I’m very simple in what I like, to be honest. My favourite features are a decent DFD, a flat-down and a good old PVC tube. I do like getting a bit creative when designing setups though, mostly just a good flow with a lil’ bit of a skate feeling in it, some transitions and things to hit in different ways and speeds.

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WALLIE TO BARRIER BASH PHOTO: THEO ACWORTH

On the note of being a shaper, would you recommend or deter people reading this to get into it?

So the main reason I started shaping was cause I just loved snowboarding, and it can be quite rough to do that as much as possible living in Iceland due to the weather conditions. So I figured I should go somewhere else where I could ride as much as possible, make a living and support myself while doing that. That worked out so well. I’ve met so many great people through it. I’ve learned so much about so many things, and I absolutely love the rawness of the mountains and find it empowering to be out there.

So I definitely recommend it if you are HANNA THOR INTERVIEW

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motivated to work with your body and need to find a way to ride resorts you might not be able to otherwise. This is definitely a way to do it. It can be hard though, I feel like a lot of people might not know how much work we do in Laax and if you want to ride as much as you can in between shaping, it can be tough on the body, but it is possible for sure.

Lobster Snowboards, CHPO Brand and OG Labs Genetics, big shout-out for the support! Then to just keep shouting, Jake and Joe Simpson AKA. The Simpson Brothers for giving me the opportunity and for just being you guys, always. Then of course Joos Caviezel, Luca Kuppelwieser and the whole Snowpark Laax family, biggest love. The Stomping Grounds gang, Charles Beckinsale, Fin Pringlebooth Do you have any filming plans for and the whole crew. Big titty energy the coming season? over there. Dillon’s been my nr.1 Yesss, I’ve got some things cookin’ supporter as well, and then all my with Dillon Henricksen and Lil John. friends, family and everyone that’s helped and supported me. I fucking Any shout-outs? love you all so much.

Shit yes! So of course, Vans Europe,

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The range of creativity surrounding the simple act of snowboarding is rad. We’ve seen the works of the Brust Studio mainly through their video productions, but these guys do it all. They create art shows. They publish books and fanzines. They curate art like Niels Shack’s painting, Michel Lafleur’s photography, or Clawitch’s embroideries. You name it, they do it. We were stoked to discover what they would come up with using the mag as a blank canvas to present their own vision of the art of snowboarding. If you’re still unfamiliar with what they do, we strongly suggest you to go peep their website [www.bruststudio.com] and see what they’ve been up to lately.

But before that, check out the Portfolio they’ve designed for this issue. The photos and words were done by Bastien Sturma while making the new Ride Snowboards movie “Radar”. His brother Guillaume then chewed it all up and spit it out into this intense artwork inspired by their time filming for the project.

BRUST

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JONATHAN BEGLEY HANGING AT THE DOOR

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BRUST

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DARIO BURCH FEEDING HIS ADDICTION

Shooting for a snowboard part can really turn you into a junkie. After just a few days of getting after it, you truly feel the need to get that shot, that adrenaline hit. It’s only when you finally get it that things can calm down, for a while at least.

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STUDIO

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NICO PALLADIO RUNNING RIVERS

BRUST

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Y EXIT EMERGENC TAKES THE RTRANDE,

LOUIS LABE

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STUDIO

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KRISTIAN SKJØMMINGIN TAKES THE SAFE WAY DOWN

If you think the streets of Romania are not the safest places to snowboard, try driving on their roads!

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Tr a v e l i n g to make a snowboard film is not like your regular holiday trip. You spend so much time out there that you can really get the feel of a place. And as long as there is something cool to ride on, you can discover many facets of a city or an area. Sometimes, you end up in super touristy spots, but most of the time, really not…

BRUST

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SIGHTSEEING WITH MIKKO REHNBERG

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NING SCULTPPIERRE SCAFIDI TUR FORMANCE TURE INTO LIVE PER STUDIO

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I

’m not sure if I know anyone who likes snowboarding as much as Len does, and he’s shown me that it doesn’t have to be complicated. You don’t have to sit in your car for hours, you don’t have to wait in lines, you don’t have to spend lots of money, and you don’t have to rely on others to build things for you to ride. You just need some snow and the right attitude. He and I first met on a shoot for Method Movie 2 a few years back, and our paths have crossed several times since then. Whether chasing him as he rips his way down slopes or adventure-boarding in the woods, I’ve always had a good time and come away from the day with my love of snowboarding reaffirmed. When he invited me to his cosy home in Heggedal, Norway, for a backyard banked slalom and powsurfing in the woods, I said yes immediately.

WORDS & PHOTOS: THEO ACWORTH

He’s currently living in what was briefly his childhood home. His parents had since moved closer into town, but the property remained in the family, and he’s now raising his own family there with his partner Amanda, their daughter Livia, and their dog Ronja. As with most Scandinavian cabins, this one had basic infrastructure but needed a bit of an overhaul to make it comfortable for family living. Luckily, Len is good with his hands and also at sniffing out bargains. Since moving there, he’s completely renovated the bathroom [which he admits might have been a mistake with a 2-month-old baby], installed several windows [one of which is a door turned sideways, same thing though, right?] and built two greenhouses [only one of which collapsed]. The wood for their large deck was being given away locally, as was most of their outdoor furniture, and the sewage system he installed should have cost 20,000€ new, but he got it used for 200€ [he even managed to get a further discount because the previous owner had failed to empty it fully. Yummy.] Oh yeah, their yard is large and on a slope, ideal for a shred freak like Lenny Powers to get his freak on in the winter.

As he’s lying on his bed and balancing Livia on his feet, he proudly tells me that the best thing he’s ever built is his daughter, and after a moment’s hesitation he does admit to her being a joint project with Amanda.

LEN’S

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BACKYARD TWEAKER

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PLACE

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As well as his own property, he’s also been pretty busy in the woods just down the street.

The terrain is playful if you look at it in the right way, and the more you look, the more opportunities you see for fun hits and small lines. During the summer, he’s been clearing low branches and fallen trees and now has several perfect areas for pow surfing. He also filmed pretty much an entire short movie in there called ‘Hjemme-Kontor’ a couple of years ago, in which he brought the street mindset to the woods and is a shining example of how much fun you can have in your backyard if you’re willing to put in a bit of work to make it happen. And as a bonus, he can combine dog walking with shredding, genius!

One of my goals from the visit was to film an episode of our new series, ‘Dropping In’ with Len, and the setting was ideal. No outside influences and no schedule to follow other than our own. After a mellow breakfast, we booted up and headed for the woods, Len being towed down the snow-covered street by Ronja. We ripped a few powsurf lines and narrowly avoided several trees before swapping to snowboards and catching some air. We were only out in the woods for a few hours, and the approach to the session was very skate-like. We just went out and looked for cool stuff, hit it once or twice, and then moved on to the next thing. The walk back to his house took 15 minutes, and there was coffee and cake waiting for us, courtesy of Amanda. Is that good or what? The remainder of the day was spent shovelling the banked slalom course, making pizza and taking a few runs in the dark. It was a pretty idyllic day, and I think the episode turned out nicely. *You can watch Len’s ‘Dropping In’ episode on Methodmag.com

LEN’S PLACE

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NOT YOUR AVERAGE DOG WALK

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The following day a bunch of his friends came over, but we didn’t end up doing an official banked slalom. Firstly, we didn’t have a timing system, and secondly, the course was just fun to ride. We took runs, we grilled, we drank some beer, Livia boosted around in her snowsuit, Amanda caught some air, and snowboarding was the winner.

CAUTION, SHRED FREAK CROSSING

I was lucky enough to spend a lot of time on the road last winter, but it was definitely a hectic one with a lot of back-to-back travel. The few days I spent with Len and his family provided some much-needed breathing space and once again confirmed just how much fun snowboarding can be. Most of the riding that we did wasn’t filmed or photographed, which is exactly how it should be. My gratitude goes out to him and Amanda for hosting me so nicely. I don’t know what the purpose of life is, but it seems like Len is well on his way to figuring it out.

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AMANDA CATCHING AIR PAST THE FAMILY JUDGE PANEL

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LEN’S PLACE

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THIS SEASON, JUST LIKE THE PAST ONES, SENSESSE HAD STREET MOVIE-MAKING IN THE PLANS. BUT THIS SEASON WAS A LITTLE DIFFERENT. IT ALL STARTED LAST SPRING WHEN MARIA AND STINE MET SIERRA AND EGAN FOR THE FIRST TIME IN NORTH AMERICA, AND A POTENTIAL PARTNERSHIP STARTED BLOSSOMING. A couple of weeks after Stine and Maria got home, the American girls approached them about doing a project together.

And so the journey began.

Stine and Sophia went to Trollhaugen in November for the pre-season, where they met up with the Americans. The idea was to get to know each other better, and what bonding experience could be better than two weeks in the big, intimidating nothingness of the Midwest?

Snowboarding, attending premieres, and experiencing an American Thanksgiving.

INTRO:

Stine Tonnessen

Next, Egan and Sierra visited Sensesse headquarters in Oslo in March, where the goal was to stack up on clips for the project. Simultaneously, Mikaela Kautzky flew all the way from Canada to shoot photos and film for her and Abby Furrer’s video "Life is plastic”. Mikaela also brought in photographer Dani Kasparov from the UK. This was Dani’s first time doing snowboard photography.

While everyone was in Oslo, the work began. Spot checking, snow checking, waking up early to scrape, film, get clips, dig a spot for the next morning, and so on for about ten days. The snow conditions were close to non existent. An entire Mikaela Kautzsky, week of scraping and chopping snow and ice became everyone’s daily exercise. Until Sierra’s and Egan’s last day, Wietse Thomas, Oslo got the heaviest snowfall it had seen in a while. With this came more opportunities for street snowboarding, Dani K M and Mikaela stayed for a couple more days to film Maria, Stine, and Sophia.

What follows next are expressions by the participants of this project of emotional successes and emotional challenges that they experienced while making it.

PHOTOS:

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SIERRA ON THE FENCE

Feeling insane is surrounded by it apart of it I've begun to enjoy it Decisions drive me insane opportunities taken lost Everyday I make a decision and Everyday I feel insane Digestion __________ Silence Silence is important find someone to sit in silence with vulnerable yet comfortable to be in the presence of someone who is watching you become the decisions you have made We had silences every night Comfortable silence that is where my most insane decisions were made

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Emotional challenge:

Sensesse is growing, and that is something I want, but with that there are new challenges. I have to give up control, and there are more people’s expectations to be met. I have to remind myself that this is what I want and that everything will be good if you trust people and communicate well. This has been occupying my brain and figuring out my motivation and where to focus. I am trying to build a career inside and outside of snowboarding, so I had to set some goals for myself so I wouldn’t be drained.

My goal for the season was to make this project as good as I could with what we have and to ride a couple of spots that I am attracted to. The week we had visitors, I was really struggling with what my position was and stressing that everyone got back out what they put into the project in terms of resources and efforts.

My riding vs the project vs snowboarding as a community vs my career outside snowboarding was the big balance mission. And on top of this, coming out of the autumn broke.

Emotional success:

We grew! I can feel it. The project is real. The people we chose to work in this project are all amazing, and I am so proud of every single person. It just feels right. It’s sensitive finesse! It was just so good having new people in the crew, and they all put in the effort and made it easy to concentrate on the final goal.

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After a long day of chipping ice, hesitation started to build around our evening plans. First, we walk to the venue in the freezing Oslo cold, and then somehow stay on our feet in the pit? It seemed to be more and more of a distant possibility.

Personally fuelled by curiosity and FOMO, I rallied the troops. Two pairs of pants and some careful ice shuffling later, we showed up at the venue. Dazzled by squatter symbols and paintings of police depicted as pigs, our shoulders relaxed a little, and we got excited.

At the front, we handed the person $10 and got a sad face sharpied on our hands. Very edgy.

Inside, there was a courtyard thick with cigarette smoke and a barrel fire. Maria and Stine are inside; we just have to find them.

As we pushed our way down a busy staircase, excitement builds. It’s getting mustier, darker, and louder. When we arrive, the first band screams their EGAN, FRESH AF last song at the crowd, and we find a table to ditch our jackets and roll up at. After a good conversation and a the pit. My bottom layer is already soaking up more sweat than I care to smoke, I get nervous about going into admit, and my legs feel shaky. "This is going to be a rough one," I think to myself. After some time, the room begins to fill again. Here we go, just stay on your feet.

When the music started and the mass of people began to move, it wasn’t the pit I was used to. As a short person, I am usually pushed into sweaty backs, armpits, and elbows. Here, mid-winter in Oslo, everyone still had their puffy jackets on. I was getting shoved into different assortments of human airbags.

For the first half, I didn’t notice how hot I was because of how surreal and fun my down-padded evening was going. This was until I got a look at Sierra giving herself a second to cool down. She had hair and sweat covering her brow and was fanning herself off. Did I just pee my pants, or am I really sweating that much?

I realized how hot I was and started to panic. Now, the puffy jackets I was enjoying so much were suffocating me, my legs were shaking all over again. Just in time, the band finished their set, and we all flocked outside for the negative temperatures and another smoke.

There’s one more band, but we got the experience that we came for. Maybe it’s time to go home and rest up for a day of chipping ice tomorrow.

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EXPANDS PAST THE ATLANTIC

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Emotional success:

I think as a new filmmaker and photographer who is also new to the sport /subculture of snowboarding, I go through a lot of processes of building trust. Trust with new people around me and trust with myself and my decisions and problemsolving abilities in every moment.

I experience a really wide range of trust and respect levels because people are only starting to know me or my work. Some people really trust me and my vision, and others are sceptical of my lack of knowledge or newness, and honestly, I totally get that and respect it. But I will say when people can work with me and trust me, I’m able to trust myself more and work a lot better, and when people are sceptical of me, it sometimes makes me doubt myself for a second and need to take a step back and check in with my own thinking. Classic imposter syndrome stuff. Am I qualified to do this? Is this the right place to stand? Should I ask them if they want this? When people are open to being a bit more patient and exchanging knowledge and problem-solving every moment, spot, and decision as a team, some really beautiful creative stuff can happen. I find sometimes the traits associated with traditional masculinity can block those sorts of humble /generative moments. When people assert an inflated sense of confidence or sureness, it kinda squashes the potential to be vulnerable together and come up with the good stuff.

The moment we can all kind of admit that we are all simultaneously flailing dorks who don’t know everything

but also random quirky people with unique sets of knowledge. I feel like we can kind of do anything because everything in life is just layers and layers and layers of figuring the thing out. When you drop the ego, it makes figuring things out a lot more fun and easy.

Honestly, the whole trip to Oslo felt like emotional success. I’d never been to Europe, and it felt unreal to be there with this group of people who I’m soooo inspired by. I fucking love people who go soooo deep into their projects and are hyper with passion for what they do. Every single person on that trip was like that. I think Sensesse is that. There are so many layers to it, and everything is considered. The styling, the studio,

the creative visions, the approach and thinking behind why they do what they do, the hike parks, the music, the community and events that surround them. Every detail has love and passion and creativity, and even humour oozing out of it. It was like hyperstimulation heaven. Getting in the car every morning with coffee and someone new on the aux playing bleep bloop blop bangers I’d never heard before but love, sent my mind into this excited-daydreaming state.

Flying my internet photographer crush, Dani, out from London to take photos for three days, and everyone getting along perfectly. Emotional success was looking around me at the spot and genuinely feeling inspired by everyone there.

Emotional challenge:

I couldn't help but feel like a fish out of water - a scene entirely foreign to me, I grappled with it with a mix of emotions. As a photographer, I understand my job can be often times intrusive, so I felt torn, unsure of my place among these talented individuals without any prior experience in the snowboarding scene, and I really wanted to respect their space. Amidst my insecurities, what I didn't expect was how their genuine acceptance and inclusive spirit would transform everything - I was greeted with overwhelming kindness and warmth. The amazing and inspiring girls in the group embraced me, making me feel safe and accepted despite my lack of familiarity in this scene. Their inclusive nature provided a sense of belonging, easing my worries and allowing SENSESSE

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me to open up to new experiences and learn from their expertise. I want to thank them for their trust - I was able to capture not just their athletic prowess but also the authentic beauty of their souls. Inspiring girls in the group embraced me, making me feel safe and accepted despite my lack of familiarity in this scene. Their inclusive nature provided a sense of belonging, easing my worries and allowing me to open up to new experiences and learn from their expertise. I want to thank them for their trust I was able to capture not just their athletic prowess but also the authentic beauty of their souls.

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Emotional success:

The thing that gave me the most satisfaction this street season was for sure getting to meet and hang with all the people contributing to the project. It felt good that so many different people believed in this and contributed to expanding Sensesse with more professional content. So epic that Mikaela, Dani, and Wietse helped with filming and taking photos. I also really appreciate Egan and Sierra for coming all the way to Norway to get clips for our project.

This season has been different for me and it has shown me what street boarding potentially can be.

Emotional challenge:

The most memorable emotional challenge I had filming was for sure time management. At the beginning of winter we had to be out early digging so there would be time to film before the sun was down. In January in Oslo, it is dark by four o’clock! On multiple occasions this resulted in us having to pack up and leave the spot before we had secured a clip, and having to return the next day. This was a bigger challenge than I expected.

Not satisfying and kinda terrible having to battle the same thing for so long.

With less daylight, it usually is harder for me to keep up my energy levels.

I remember feeling like I never had energy in the mornings to film street. I am luckily blessed with good friends that made it all a lot easier by being supportive and motivated.

Another problem I had with time management was trying to combine work and snowboarding. Trying to dig, film, and land a trick before work was stressful.

This winter I worked part-time as a waitress, and all my shifts started around four. This extra layer of stress was an annoying time pressure that messed with my focus. We were counting hours until I had to leave the spot, basically having this clock inside my head like; tick tock, you have thirty minutes to land this trick. Really unpleasant. And the most unsatisfying feeling was leaving for work after not getting the clip. On the way there, I could only be thinking what might have happened if I just had one more try.

SOPHIA GETTING CLIPPED UP BEFORE WORK

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Starting a new filming season fills me with excitement and a touch of stress. The anticipation of capturing that first clip is immense. There’s a triple down rail in Oslo that Alek filmed on for Void, that I’ve been longing to hit. I made a decision to go there when the first snowfall arrived. I wanted to kick off the season really challenging myself, and this challenge became a way for me to believe in myself.

In December, Maria, Sophia, and I headed to the rail as soon as the first snow fell. December’s short days meant daylight was running out by the time we set everything up. I tried my best until we ran out of daylight. Although I didn’t succeed, my confidence remained high. I was proud of myself for attempting my biggest street rail yet.

Having a full-time job in December made snowboarding impractical, and it frustrated me when heavy snowfall arrived a week after my first attempt. The previous winter in Oslo had been disappointing, and it added to my stress and the fear of a snowless future. In a moment of frustration, I called in sick to work, but ironically, I ended up getting hurt. This setback kept me off the snowboard for a few weeks, and my confidence hit an all-time low. The fear of re-injury or the possibility of failing on my third attempt felt scary.

In March, Egan, Sierra, Mikaela, and Dani came to Oslo. We had a goal to get Egan and Sierra clips for the video. Typically, we faced a week of minimal snow and more scraping than ever before. Still, the girls managed to get some incredible clips. Of course, heavy snowfall arrived on their last day. I was already sick when they arrived, so I was relieved to have made it through the week. But this unexpected lateMarch snowfall compelled me to return to the rail once more, for the sake of my future emotions.

SENSESSE

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MATCHING THE BOARD TO THE SPOT: SUCCESS

The day after departure, Maria, Mikaela, Sophia, and I returned to the rail. This time with much more daylight. I kept trying and falling off at the first flat section, feeling more and more hopeless, doubting my capabilities. I told myself, "Just one more try, fully committing to it." Before I knew it, I had ridden the entire rail. A wave of relief and accomplishment washed over me, and tears started running down my face as Mikaela came over and gave me a big hug.

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THIRD TIME'S A CHARM

EXPANDS PAST THE ATLANTIC

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BRANDON REIS PUSHES THE PANIC BUTTON IN THE MOST STYLISH WAY POSSIBLE

HOLY

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THE BOWLY MASTERMIND, KRUSH KULESZA

WORDS & PHOTOS: THEO ACWORTH

So, Holy Bowly. As a snowboarder, I am drawn to banks and waves. As a photographer, I am drawn to beautiful forms. Bowly is, therefore, something of a dream destination for me. I managed to let the event get to 10 years old before making an appearance, but I finally got my shit together and made the jump from Austria out to Canada to experience it for myself. On the drive from Calgary to the Mervin house in Canmore, the Northern Lights were dancing above the mountains, which I took as a good omen. I arrived around midnight, then lay in a ditch and watched patterns in the sky with some new Canadian friends.

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The week at Sunshine Village begins with a Stoney Nakoda Nations land acknowledgement ceremony led by Elder Henry and members of the Cousins skate crew. We hear about the history of the surrounding landscape as a place of play for Elder Henry and his people, which seems very fitting considering the nature of Holy Bowly and the week of play which is about to commence. There will be some shooting, but the priority at this event is on riding. No elite invite list, no livestreams, just pure shredding.

After an unspecified amount of time ‘researching’ the transitions via my board, I then switch my brain into photography mode and start to step back from the fences and observe things from a distance. I love finding angles where I can stack features up together or find some clean space where their forms can really be seen, and I find a few spots that have my fingers twitching. These objects are unique, and having the chance to see and photograph them myself is something that I’m very excited about. Hearing Krush talk about his creations, I realise his mindset to the course is very similar to my own.

MATT WAINHOUSE FLOATS ABOVE THE 10TH EDITION OF HOLY BOWLY

HOLY

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STONEY NAKODA NATIONS LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT CEREMONY

My arm starts to hurt from holding the camera to my eye and waiting for riders to enter my desired frames, and I find myself jealous of the photographers smart enough to bring tripods, but my patience is rewarded, and I slowly start gathering the shots I’d hoped for.

CHAUNCEY SORENSEN ON THE 196CM LIB TECH DOUGHBOY SHREDDER

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One angle took me to the other side of the mountain, where I could really see the whole course. It was a hazy morning, so I didn’t get the strong shadows I was hoping for, but I actually love the softness of the features and how these shots turned out. I didn’t have a radio, so I was just waiting for people to do things, and fate delivered two of the most photogenic tricks possible: a method and a handplant. Thank you, universe.

Speaking to Krush throughout the week, I come to realise that the Bowly setup is as much conceptual as it is physical.

Each feature has a history, such as the various editions of Ben’s Butthole, Titty City, Avocado Rollers, Barbell Boobs, and the Tenjin Bowls, which link all the way back to the second edition of the event in Tenjindaira, Japan. The features are sketched out in Krush’s field notes notebook, and the approach to planning the course itself is very organic and also playful.

EVAN RIDDEL

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LIAM GILL

The mindset towards the build is also very zen. Once they are made, the features are constantly changing. No matter how much he and the Quality Hand Jobs crew reshape them, they will never return to their perfect original form or regain the same amount of vert. Instead of seeing that fact as a source of frustration, they have embraced it instead.

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CANNON CUMMINS, IN FULL CONTROL AND NO NEED TO PANIC HOLY

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Krush has a way of rallying people to him, and what makes Bowly unique, besides the things they build, is the collective effort put in by all in attendance to maintain it. This takes the form of the group rake each day between 3-4 pm. A warning to all those who try to leave early, don’t. Whether you’re side-slipping a landing or reshaping a takeoff, everybody helps. We ride all day, and a little effort to get the course ready for the next session is the least we can do. Krush’s eyes are usually hidden behind his sunglasses, but they see everything. He and the Quality Hand Jobs crew remain on the hill for the fine tuning, while the rest of us descend to the parking lot for beers and caesars. I don’t know how clams are juiced, and I don’t think I want to.

Being responsible for something with as many moving pieces as Holy Bowly means that Krush’s experience of the event is very different to everyone else’s. He’s constantly observing what works and what doesn’t, listening to riders, checking on his crew, but amongst that is also managing to take laps with his son Ronin. The list of things requiring his attention is a long one, but the work/ life balance on the hill is something he’s getting better at managing as time goes on.

THE AUTHOR OF THIS ARTICLE, SHOT BY TIM ZIMMERMAN

The penultimate day on the hill ends with a private shoot for riders of the supporting brands who have “Skin in the game”, which are Lib Tech, Airblaster and The Source.

It’s universally decided that people want to focus on the Volcano and the Panic-cano (a Volcano with a panic button on it), and the session begins.

Krush stands at the top of the course like a captain at the helm of a ship, observing and soaking it in as legends mix with up-and-comers, putting on a masterclass in style and flow. Holy Bowly is a gathering of snowboarders, a melting pot of mindsets, a place where style can progress and a point from which small ripples flow outwards into the snowboard universe to create much larger waves.

My gratitude goes out to Julian Ankenbrand and Jesse Burtner for helping me get there, Tim Zimmerman for car rides and wisdom, the Lib Tech family for taking me in, Smiley for feeding me doughnuts, anyone I shared conversations or turns with, and Krush for sharing his time with me at this amazing event. The man gives more to snowboarding than most, and engaging with his work first-hand and feeling the energy of Bowly was a special experience for me. If you know, you know. If you don’t, I’d recommend that you find out. *make sure to check Krush’s episode of Dropping In playing on methodmag.com

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READ AND

THIS IF YOU ARE CURIOUS ABOUT THE IDEAS BEHIND THE VIDEO PROJECT

PROCESS “DRAGO”

SIMON PIRCHER ON THE VEGI LEDGE FRAMEGRABS FROM MINI -DV FOOTAGE BY MORITZ DRAGO

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1.

VISUALISATION

TO

REALITY

WORDS: MORITZ AMSÜSS PHOTOS: THEO ACWORTH

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When starting to think about this project in September 2022, I knew that I wanted to focus on riding spots that are not just gnarly but also photogenic and preferably rough and urban looking so that both the riding and the scenery are enjoyable to watch. From the beginning, I had the idea to create animations based on visual elements taken from the locations and spots. In my mind, it would make the locations even more interesting and could add up to a sick composition when putting the footage together with the motion graphics.

What I didn’t know was where we would actually go.

I spent days scouting colder areas of Turkey on Street View and already started animations of flying Anatolian rugs, but in the end, there was just not enough snow.

We also thought about going to Iceland, but there were already three film crews hitting spots there that season, and we didn’t want to be the fourth one. So for a while I was asking myself, where could we find enough snow for at least a week of shooting in an urban/ residential area with a kind of rough look?

Finally, we figured out that Ljubljana, Slovenia, aka the City of Dragons ticked all the boxes, and it was only a 7-hour train ride away from our homes in Innsbruck. We were lucky to get some support with spots from local rider Naj Mekinc, but we still spent a lot of time scouting, and the snow melted quickly, so the shovelling effort increased each day.

After spending one week there and getting plenty of clips, the snow conditions got pretty bad, to the point that we had to move north.

Luckily, Klagenfurt, Austria, still had enough snow for another week of shooting. At first, I was a little bummed that Ljubljana was over, but KF worked surprisingly well for street riding – don’t tell anyone, though.

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MO IS A CHILL GUY BUT HAS NO CHILL MODE ON A BOARD

2.

NAMES

&

MEANINGS

Both Ljubljana and Klagenfurt have dragons as their landmarks. The name Ljubljana is translated as “beloved”, which I think is pretty cute! The Slovenian word Drago is translated as “dear one” and we definitely got cosy in the lovely streets of Ljubljana! So yeah, that’s where the title DRAGO came from.

DRAGO

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FLO CORZELIUS, BLUNT IN THE BLOC

SIMON SERVES UP A DELICIOUS BS LIP PRETZEL

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PROCESS ANIMATION 3.

I basically made 3D scans from a couple of buildings and sculptures on the trip, which I later tweaked and animated. Additionally, I rebuilt some objects or parts of spots where I missed scanning them in the first place. I have to admit this is quite time-consuming, and I had to watch hours of tutorials to get to the point where I was happy with how it looked. But why spend hours figuring out the software and weeks on rendering for a few strange snippets of animation, you might ask? To me, this was a challenge and an experiment. To see if it would work and actually look good in the end was exciting for sure! I’ve got to say I am pretty stoked on the outcome.

DRAGO

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SIMON, TRANSITION FINDER 50-50 TO 50-50

DRAGO

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MO DOING MO THINGS FRAMEGRABS FROM FOOTAGE BY SEBI MADLENER

FLO, DOOR SCRAPER TO FRONTBOARD PRETZEL

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THOUGHTS

Obviously, the final film is way different from what I’d been imagining before we started. But I am really hyped about the whole process, from initially pondering about locations and visual moods to having a clear look and tangible footage at some point. In the end, I asked myself, “How did we even get here?” The actual riding and shooting is such a small period of the whole project, but that’s where the actual magic happens. That’s where you swap ideas and imagination for experience and reality.

Enough of the big words, though.

It’s still just a fun snowboard film! :-) Thank you guys so much for making this project a reality with me!

Sebi Madlener, Simon Pircher, Flo Corzelius and Theo Acworth.

Big shout out to Jens and Jan from Volcom and Flo Heim from Deeluxe for making this project possible <3

4.

*make sure to check the movie at methodmag.com

MO, VERY DRY 50-50 TO BOARDSLIDE

DRAGO

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SIMON, MULTI-MATERIAL 50-50

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DRAGO

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TAKEOVER SNOW GROUP PHOTO

WORDS: JESS SUNG PHOTOS: NORMA IBARRA, ZULEYMA, JESS SUNG COLLAGE: RYME LAHCENE

W

hen Takeover founders Ryme Lahcene and Taylor Lee met at Plaza Skatepark during the first-ever Takeover meetup, a synergistic kinship connected these two artists in work that would change Vancouver’s local, non-traditional skate community forever. It all started when Ryme crafted a series of palm-sized DIY zines. They would drop them off at Antisocial Skate Shop every other week, each with a different anarchic theme from how to make your own zines to short history lessons akin to what an Instagram infographic now resembles before they even TAKEOVER

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existed. Over shop chats with Michelle Pezel, Ryme rejoiced in their desire to dip their toes into skating but found the lack of diversity in skill level and identity at the local parks incredibly intimidating and isolating. They felt that surely they couldn’t be the only one feeling this way. Beginners deserve access to these public skateparks just as much as the OGs, even if it’s not always felt.

The idea for Sunday Skate Meetups was thus born from a need to connect and encourage peer learning amongst a community that had yet to be formed within a sport as antiquated as skateboarding.

As a High School youth and refugee settlement worker, Ryme has always centered fun and radical joy for underprivileged BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Colour) youth in their mission to collectively create, carve out, and foster intentional safe spaces for those who have historically been and are currently marginalized and underrepresented within skateboarding, snowboarding, and skiing. Takeover is a BIPOC, LGBTQIA+ 2S, and Womencentered movement led by BIPOCs with an emphasis on decolonizing and Indigenizing futures. Play as an act of resistance.

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ALTERIOR DESIGN AT A LIVING TASTE: HOME OF THE FIRST TAKEOVER BIPOC FREE SNOWSPORT SHOP

DANIYOURDARLING

JESS SUNG AND VOLUNTEER INSTRUCTOR ORIENTATION

After countless successful skate meetups, Takeover Snow was formed as a natural evolution into snowsports while the freezing temps and torrential rain engulfed the city, rendering skating obsolete for the next six months. `Vancouver` is one of the only major cities on Turtle Island without an accessible indoor skatepark. Astronomic rent prices and skate stigma make an indoor park an unfeasible business proposition despite the best efforts of local community organizers, The Vancouver Skateboard Coalition, and other numerous local skate nonprofits. In the two years since its inception, they have been able to put

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on four snowboard and ski meetups, including the Land Back and Black Joy meetups, offering free lessons, equipment, rentals, transportation, meals and lift tickets to hundreds of BIPOC youth with the help of a community of volunteers and funding from Vans. Snowboarding has always been a sport with a high barrier of access. With that in mind, the concept for this city’s first-ever Free Shop came to fruition. The Takeover Free BIPOC Snowsport Shop would rely on community crowdsourced new or gently used gear donations, ardent volunteers, and a more than generous offering of space from a local clothing studio and retailer

called A Living Taste, helmed by brothers Dallas and Cole Chreptyk allowing the Free Shop to be open from 11 am - 7 pm, seven days a week for the entire winter and spring thanks to the unrelenting work ethic these brothers put into their label, Alterior Design. In the shop’s first day alone, we were able to kit out nearly a hundred people with snowboards, skis, boots, bindings, goggles, insulated jackets, snow pants, shells, base layers, gear bags, toques, socks, thermals, balaclavas, gloves, mitts, helmets and more. A display of what is possible when generosity and community organizing coalesce to fill a need that so many take for granted.

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JESS SUNG

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ZULEYMA

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TAKEOVER YOUTHS

So much of what Takeover does is done with the intention to show what is possible with creativity, a positive spirit, dedication to resource sharing, community building, and radical joy with very little resources.

We want others to create initiatives in their cities using our model as proof of concept. The work is needed worldwide, and intellectual property is meant to be shared and built upon.

Grassroots organizing has and will continue to be a voice for the people. As the saying goes, `Those with the least give the most, and those with the most give the least`.

This has been especially apparent in navigating the snowboarding and skateboarding industries. Industries that are built up to deify a select few while relying on the unpaid labour of countless amateurs, photogs, and videographers.

TAKEOVER

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Everything is predicated on scarcity, and we see that in how resources, funding, and opportunities are hoarded with so many clamoring for their rightful and often short-lived places at the top. Snowboarding and skiing have a huge diversity problem, and as we seek to find sustainable solutions, we often wonder. How does the industry go from a place of not noticing the issue of diversity to noticing and not really caring enough to do much, to noticing and feeling propelled towards action that instigates lasting change?

We wish we could say a lot has changed since 2020, but markers we look to as symbols of gradual change like what the media team looks like, or what the cat trips look like, or what the brand Pro teams look like, or what mag writing staff looks like, or

what the heli trips look like, or what the Instagram friend groups look like, or what the podcast guests look like, and on and on still don’t reflect an acknowledgement or dedication towards even incremental change that feels genuine. Outliers exist everywhere, but as a whole, the majority of the industry leaves many feeling unseen, unheard and unwanted.

Where the change is palpable is the onslaught of BIPOC founded initiatives like Takeover Snow (Ryme Lahcene), Colour the Trails (Juju Milay), Indigenous Women Outdoors (Myia Antone), Edge Outdoors (Annette Diggs), Brown Girl Outdoor World (Damiesha Dennis), Incluskivity (Indra Hayre), Indigenous Life Sport Academy (Siginaak Blackbird Court), Nations

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Skate Youth (Rosie Archie), and many more. A resounding conundrum amongst these organizations is a lack of available funding even when they have laboured to create the template for a more diverse user base for sports that require it. One of the big laments within the industry is that the margins are low, and yet, a viable solution for increased profits in broadening who gets access to the sport is still narrowly supported by the brands that run the industry at large. Large brands virtue signal with BIPOC models in their campaigns but not on their teams or staff.

It begs the question, does seeing yourself in a model wearing the gear, but never actually riding in it make any difference in how the BIPOC youth of tomorrow will view their place in the industry without the

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funds or connections to access it?

As we’ve seen through our meetups, if you don’t see yourself in the sport, then it’s hard to envision yourself being able to do it in the first place.

Our hopes for societal and industrywide change are ambitious and revolutionary in that they require new futures, big dreams, boundless opportunities, allies and advocates to step up and be a loud voice for those who have been silenced. The local hills here, Grouse Mountain, Cypress Mountain, Mount Seymour, and Whistler Blackcomb, are all on stolen and unceded lands of the xʷməθkʷəy ̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx w ̱ ú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwəta (Tsleil-Waututh) peoples.

Kin who have stewarded this land since time immemorial so it could be owned and profiteered by

settlers with little acknowledgment or efforts put forth for reparations or reconciliation. When we took a group of Indigenous youth up on their first chair lift ride for the last run of the day, upon the first glimpse of the view overlooking the entire city, 17-year-old Nora Pape decried ‘Why have I never seen this before?`. There stands a question that continues to pierce my heart and enforce Takeover’s lifelong dedication towards Indigenizing the mountains that surround us. The Orange Shirt Day Slogan, ‘Every Child Matters’ also means every Indigenous child here deserves inherent and hereditary rights to access snowsports on the very mountains where their ancestors held ceremonies, rituals and offerings for their Creator. It is not too late. In fact, it’s only the beginning.

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CURATED BY JUSTIN DUTILH PHOTOS: DANIEL DASILVEIRA ILLUSTRATIONS: RASMUS NIELSEN

I

f you’ve paid attention to Scandinavian street snowboarding lately, you might’ve come across the Stay Basket crew – a very colorful street gang, to say the least. Over the years, they’ve put together some super tight videos with spot and trick selections that speak for themselves. Their new movie “Expand The Net” might be their best yet, and by the time you’re reading this, it should be out on the net. I was delighted to meet a handful of the crew last winter. We talked about their genuine vision of making snowboard movies and snowboarding in general. They somehow always put a surprising twist to whatever they do and are always open to new things and new people within a very curious mindset. In fact, that vision started to be articulated when they picked the name STAYBASKET: “It came up from this Danish word “basked” which is Danish slang for being high, sort of unorganized, or a bit lazy.” The crew “started when all the good old homies finally got to film together after being all over the place for many years.”

They wanted to return to that fun vibe like it was when they started snowboarding together. As Alex Klerud puts it: “The style and the vibe of snowboarding always brings the best out of each other, and since we’ve all got our own different creative skill we work well together as a team. Throughout the years, we brought new pearls into the crew that had the exact same vibe, and to this date, we always expand the net”.

Take Rasmus Nielsen, for example. He’s been Staybasket since day one and has been creating many powerful illustrations and visuals along the way. He even did a comic book about Simon Houlind ripping the streets on a snowboard! After seeing that, we thought it would be cool to ask him to explore some of that for this feature. The following pages are a collection of anecdotes and reflections the crew shared with us about their filming sessions, some of Daniel DaSilveira’s photos and Rasmus’s pencil touch here and there. This is the Staybasket portfolio.

EXPAND

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JUICY WALLRIDE FOR GRANT

Dani (DaSilveira): “It was at that wallride spot where that old drunken former ski jumper dude was shouting “hop hop” all the time. *laughs* He told us not to put the jump down when we were done because he was gonna come back to hit it the next day...”

Grant (Giller): “They ride public transit to every fucking spot! I was there for about 6 days, and we didn’t touch a car, a winch, or a bungee. We all just fuckin’ get on the bus with these massive shovels and snowboards. This is just Oslo style. Oslo style boils down to me riding public transport to the spots, being next to juicy weather, and then eating loads of kebabs.”

Alex (Klerud): “Having a car in Oslo city is fucking expensive. We had a car for two weeks when the other guys were there, but it cost us so much money. I would say the Oslo way is more that whenever it snows, you try to do as much as possible because it usually melts.”

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THE NET

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KASPER GETTING PRETTY CLOSE TO KISSING THAT LENS

Simon (Houlind): “We film so much in Oslo, even if finding new spots is hard. But we want local rippers who don’t have the money to travel to be able have some shots in the video. So many riders deserve to be in the Staybasket net. It’s hard work, but we want to keep having fun doing it. We try to pick spots that we think are fun, and then each individual picks how sketchy they want to go.

For this video, we’ve been expanding the net even more, bringing some outside riders to Oslo to film with us!”

Alex: “When we had Fabi, Pauli, and Nik come over, they had less experience in the streets, at least in the city, especially Pauli and Nik. But they went all-in, learned a lot, got clipped, got hyped, and brought a lot of fresh and hyped energy too.

They brought a good new energy that we needed.

It was so good to have them in the crew!”

EXPAND

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NIK GETTING PRETTY CLOSE TO KISSING THAT WALL YOU CAN NARROW PAULI DOWN TO PURE RADNESS

FABI DOESN’T ENJOY BINDINGS THAT MUCH

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THE NET

23.11.2023 19:30

SIMON, IN FOR THE LONG HAUL

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Dani: “I remember that evening session on the down-flat-down. It was cool! Everybody showed up and started hanging out with beers, hot coco and marshmallows.”

Kasper (Brattested): “It was super sick watching the masters go to work on this spot. And yeah, all the boys also pulled up with beers and cheers. This was also after the season’s first heavy snowfall, so everyone was hyped to go after it. Later that evening, Pauli and Nik pulled up straight from the airport, and I suppose a night of partying in Germany, to join our party.”

Alex: “That session was so long, and we had so many people on the spot that we ended up being one camera short. So, I started figuring out how to get another one. I ended up selling some snowboard gear out of the trunk of my car in the parking lot, enough to raise enough money to buy a new camera. Got time to do that, come to the spot and get clipped up. Meanwhile, Simon was still battling that trick...” *laughs*

Simon: “After 200 tries, this guy started screaming at me from his balcony, telling me I couldn’t ride there and all. I landed my trick on the very next try! Definitely the battle of the winter for me.”

THE QUICKER YOU LAND, THE FASTER YOU GET TO THE KARAOKE BAR

Emil Mo: “I remember my first day of filming in the street last winter.

We went to this sick school with a lot of spots and a big crew. I also remember that after wrapping it up, we went straight to the karaoke bar to celebrate being alive.”

THE NET

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Alex: “I haven’t used the winch for like five or six years. The snow that day was sticky, and there was a lot of moisture in the air. It took so long to figure out the right speed as the snow changed. Pauli was trying to figure out how to use the winch as well.

Poor Pauli handling that winch.”

Simon: “I remember having to run all over the place doing a four-man job, like filming, handling traffic, checking out when the winch would break down…”

ALEX THRIVES ON PRECISION SPOTS

EXPAND

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Simon: “We went to film in that whole area that was super weird. An 80-year-old lady was shouting out from her balcony about coming down with a Norwegian flag to support us because she thought what we were doing was so sick. So she did.”

Alex: “The flag lady was actually face-timing her French daughter when the boys were sessioning.”

Simon: “There was another woman who was bringing some food to us, too, which was cool.

But then she kept coming with more and more food even though we said we had enough.”

Alex: “This woman had some sort of mental episodes where she was starting to speak nonsense and asking for help, saying she was getting kicked out and wanted us to come back and help us with moving and everything…”

Dani: “Nik suspected she had something for him. Like that she wanted a little more than just a nice chat. *laughs* The old lady with her flag told us we should keep our distance from that crazy woman though.” [ed. Always trust an old lady holding the national flag] Alex: “Anyway, Simon came to the spot like the ninja that he is and slayed it.”

CAN A NINJA WALLRIDE? WELL SIMON CAN...

THE NET

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Alex: “My multikink season has been the worst after Larrogs (Julien Haricot) jinxed it at DIYX Street Jam in Innsbruck.

He kissed me on the cheek, said he loved me, and that I was getting a bit fat. He also said our last movie was sick but I needed to do more multi-kinks.” [ed. Proper team managing skills right there.]

ALEX KEEPING THE TM HAPPY

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Simon: “I remember one time Rasmus showed up straight from work and got a shot. That was pretty cool after all the shoulder injuries he had over the years.”

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RASMUS DROPS THE PEN AND DROPS IN

23.11.2023 19:30

FABIO STANLEY - CAMEL PLANT

I

magine this: Your private park.

You get to build whatever you want. You get to shred it with a bunch of friends. Day and night and during epic sunsets.

No tourists. No park closings.

Only shredding. Never leaving the mountain. Spending long nights at campfires, doing a lot of weird shit and just living the life. Yes. That’s what three guys were dreaming about when they got stuck in a hut in Ötztal during the pandemic. One shaper, one cat driver, and one hut owner. The magic mix that made it happen: Styland Sessions.

STYLAND

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PAGE 1-3 PHOTOS & WORDS: HENREIKE IBING PAGE 4-6 PHOTOS & WORDS: JUSTIN DUTILH

Last year this event had its first test run – and it was some unexpected epic fun. I’m saying unexpected, not because I didn’t expect to have fun.

Rather because last year, same as this year, I planned to go up for 2-3 days to take some photos, and both times I ended up staying a whole week. No chance for reality. The vibe just catches you, and you get sucked into this world of shredding and just living in the moment. Let’s be honest – we could all use a little bit more of living in the moment. So I stayed.

I forgot my mum’s birthday, I missed an important business meeting, and I flaked on a good friend of mine.

I suck. This event doesn’t.

In case you’re planning to go next year (let me advise you already) bring double the socks and underwear.

Especially socks. Some guys were shredding two weeks in two pairs of socks. Good luck staying in the same room with them. Back to the point.

I haven’t actually told you anything about this event yet. It’s a true passion project just about shredding with friends. Everything is DIY. No profits. No one is paid. Costs are just about covered. It is special.

This year’s setup consisted of about fifteen different features. But actually, it’s impossible to count exactly. The setup is so playful, and

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ALOIS LINDMOSER FLYING OVER SOME AUSTRIAN DUNES

it is not about single features but your imagination. Volcanos, shark fins, and massive rainbows (you get where the name comes from) are just waiting to be destroyed. Some guys were shredding the setup for ten days straight and found new lines and tricks every day. Dinners were planned for 8 pm but mostly happened sometime between 11 pm and 1 am. There was some serious Celine Dion action going on around the fireplace, and some snowboards went for a park run on their own in the middle of the night. Luck of the drunk, I was able to find my board again on a piste right in front of the hut the next morning.

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I guess you get the idea. It’s the kind of event where anything is possible, and everyone can contribute. Beers up there are countless. The 20th of April was celebrated not only on that day, and in case I forgot to mention, the main event was still all about shredding. Taking turns driving the Skidoo, filming, or sending it yourself. It was friends for friends, and everyone was just there for the good times. Word is that the first ever official Äsmo death races took place, which was probably the only thing that everyone was serious about during these days.

Are you hooked yet? Styland Sessions always happen at the end of the season. So before all the more private craziness begins, there are public days while the resort is still open. Everybody is welcome to shred the one-of-a-kind setup and join in for a dance at the sunset DJ set. Come and check it out next year!

Full disclosure: there are some sponsors to make it happen, but no money is involved. My true point in writing all this is to say how cool it is that people got together and put in a crazy amount of work just to create something beautiful to enjoy without any profit in mind.

SESSIONS

23.11.2023 20:33

KEN POLLU IS NOT GOING ANYWHERE BUT HERE

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FABI FRAIDL WAS SOMEHOW HERE TOO

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ALEX KLERUD KEEPING THE METHOD BLURRY

The cool people of Styland Session were nice enough to invite Fabi (Fraidl), Alex (Klerud), and myself to come and shred one of the most creative set-ups we’ve seen in a while. The meeting was set for Monday at 10 am in the deserted parking lot of Ötztal, Austria. The resort had closed for winter the weekend before when they actually hosted the official event. It felt like we missed something cool once again but luckily, a handful of riders were down to go get some more and spend some extra time on the STYLAND

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mountain. We were told to wait here for a skidoo pickup because the spot was pretty high on the mountain. It’s about an hour hike, which isn’t too bad but after 3 days of “Snowbombing” in Mayrhofen, it would have simply killed us to walk up that hill... Anyway, soon enough we got up there and discovered the rad-looking park full of crazy transitions everywhere and situated in the middle of a little bowl on top of the mountain. The Styland Session is the real deal!

Before we knew it, we were leaving already. Ha. Yes, we spent our blurry white day shredding and shooting moody photographs on an outdated film and it was mad fun but it happened in a blink of a groggy eye.

So we gathered our stuff, strapped in for one last run down the ghost slopes of Ötztal, and proceeded to a series of “thank yous” and farewells to the crew on our way down. And as we were leaving we clearly had the feeling we shouldn’t be going already. We were going to be missing out for sure.

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FABI FOUND SOME MINI VOLCANOES

In fact, I even think we weren’t really there. The entire day felt like a dream and as we were leaving, it hit me. I think I understood then what the Styland Session is and left the spot with the simple reminder that rad gatherings can truly be driven by passion. As long as you have a group of motivated people and a hut next to the spot, it’s gonna be rad.

Because you see, after ripping all day and before heading for some chiller times on the spot or at the hut next to it, the whole crew worked pretty hard straight up on the reshape. It

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felt quite normal of course for an event like this but it got me thinking a little. Half of this crew shapes for a paycheck during winter but here they don’t. Here they might even work harder and better than on their “real” job. Here, they design what they really want to ride and every evening they reshape what they’re really looking forward to ride on the following day.

At this event, you can genuinely feel why we can sometimes work so hard on the build of that feeling.

Whether it’s for a paycheck or for simple pleasures, it often comes to taking our own shovel and building it ourselves. Snowboarding and building cool stuff to ride on have been so intricate since the very beginning. It will still be for years and Styland Session is no exception!

Next time we’ll hang around more than just one day, we won’t be as hungover from the weekend before and we’ll reshape for our next day of shredding just like you do.

SESSIONS

23.11.2023 20:33

NIELS, NOLLIE BOMB DROP

INTRO & INTERVIEW : JUSTIN DUTILH PHOTOS: JÉRÔME TANON

A CONVERSATION WITH NIELS AND YLFA ABOUT BLOOOM BLOOOM

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Ever wondered what’s in the minds of two of the most creative rippers when it comes to putting a Burton movie together? Or what’s it like to direct and perform stunts at the same time for such a project? We did, so we sat down with Niels Shack and Ylfa Runarsdottir and talked about their involvement in the making of “Blooom”. It was, without a doubt, one of the most anticipated films to come out this fall, and it did not disappoint. A picture that’s not without its pressure in the making. Expressing your artistic approaches and sensibilities under such a corporate umbrella is always quite tricky. Let alone the fact that you’re riding some pretty dangerous spots while doing it. Lately, these two have been thriving and evolving in this puzzling equation. We were curious to know more about their state of mind. To explore their visions and challenges about it all, we focused on talking about one of their major trips from last winter, Japan. This is “The Art of Ripping” interview with Niels and Ylfa.

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YOU CAN’T FIT YLFA IN ANY CONVENTIONAL BOXES

directing role. “Goodbye Horses” was such an artistic experience that I was excited after “Wop” to do something more classic and just bring all the stuff I had learned into something edgy but also popular.

I wanted to have all these kids come to have fun and go on this kind of road trip adventure where we would continue this New York utopic experience into the “real world”.

People got pretty excited and even started shooting before the big trips we were planning on doing. We kind of lost control in the beginning. But these early trips were very good because nobody really knew each other, so it was good to do a little trial run before we all went to Japan. So by the time we got there, Ylfa and I were like, “OK, we’re ready”. Ylfa and I arrived there first, and we had a week together before the rest of the crew Can you tell us what this movie is kind of spiced in until we were 11 in and how it came together? a van.

Niels: We were all in NYC together, and we never really met each other Sounds spontaneous but well before. A lot of us had been on thought out at the same time.

Burton but not at round-table events. What was your mentality when you This one was like a team-building jumped into that first trip to Japan? experience. We were kind of all Ylfa: It was good that we went earlier hanging out, with a lot of new riders, to do a bunch of spot-checking and when I looked at all these people, before the whole gang arrived. First, I realized that “I really like them, but because it’s crucial to spot-check have never filmed with them” apart when you’re there. It’s part of the from Maria (Thomsen) and Luke full experience. Also, apart from (Winkelman) at the time. That trip Jesse, maybe Niels and I are the was kind of crazy. It was like entering most experienced in the streets, so a realm of the American dream. We we were keen to do the dirty work were in GO carts, we were drinking, in a way. After scoping the area we and there were pool parties and all. already had a couple of spots in mind, It was ridiculous. It was this little so the rest of the crew had something vacation of vices and fun times. After to go off when they dropped in. I think that, I realized that it was the first we went to a spot on the very first day time I felt like the team was a team when they arrived, and that’s quite with the street people. Before, it was rare on a street trip. like a couple of street kids and the Burton team. And for once, I was like, Straight from the start of that trip, “Oh wait, we are like a crew of people it seemed like you two were already under the same umbrella now”. It felt directing the shooting in this way. like they brought us together, and Y: Yeah, I think so, at least like with we were like the street kids. It was direction, and then people were all really nice, and after seeing “Hot Google mapping and finding what Coco” where they absolutely slayed they want and stuff. And to not have it, we started chatting with Ylfa and sort of loose vision in a country Maria about maybe filming together. where you get kicked out two out of Then, I got a little obsessive and took three spots is really important. the lead by using this energy to do something new that season. I was Did you ever feel like Niels was doing similar things for the last few directing you or the others as years and wanted to get back into this riders/actors in his movie?

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Y: I think so, yeah. Maybe not at the spot, but some of us would actually take the lead in general just to get things going. Because with a big crew, it’s good to have a director, but it was always like in the flow. I would say it was co-directed by everyone, but Niels was the heart and soul.

It sounds like a lot of pressure for one person, especially for a Burton project. How was it putting together something different from their usual stuff?

N: I think the interesting concept behind this is merging people from different backgrounds. I think energy drink sponsors have curated their visuals to look a certain way, and often these riders kind of stayed together and don’t really branch out. It was kind of nice to have all these kids who are often well surrounded to be with people like us who are often only surrounded by our friends. We never had a coach. We never had people take care of our flights. We both came from different schools. We put the more “competition kids” in this sort of DIY upbringing environment. It was also cool for us to see how good at snowboarding they are. It was sort of an exchange like, for example, Grace (Warner), who is amazing at snowboarding, enormously lacks that kind of ignition you need that Ylfa has.

I’m speaking of the “finding the spot at all cost” spirit. Death abides if the spot is not found.

THE DIRECTOR

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23.11.2023 18:22

YLFA ALWAYS PICKS THE ROOM WITH THE VIEW

- Ylfa BLOOOM

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No coach will do it for you…

N: Nobody is going to. If you take Ylfa and Grace, I think Grace had a huge learning curve. She will probably only realize in a couple of years how much this trip will open her mind to what it means to street snowboard.

And it nearly has nothing to do with snowboarding. It has to do with everything else. Telling ten people that you should go left instead of right because you have a feeling is a complicated thought process.

To trust your instinct, try a spot and then learn how to ride it, eat shit, laugh, try again, and support your friends… All these sorts of things, where everybody has different ways of learning, were some of the most complicated but also the most rewarding aspects of this trip.

I think Ylfa had a hard time also because we care a lot about what we do. Some people earn more money than others, and things can become a little more difficult when you’re on the other side of the world and committing yourself to a project.

There was a lot of very heartfelt discussion, and it was something punk about this project to a certain extent. It puts people together regardless of how stupid things like “skier and snowboarders can’t hang out with each other” can be. Small codes can be broken down slowly by having people being friendly, getting together, and simply enjoying their company.

So you’re saying merging people coming from the competition world and the street kids was something punk about this project? It’s a very interesting way of seeing things.

Punk has always been so much associated with confrontation and the clash of different cultures.

N: Maybe not punk, but on edge. This mix felt more like an experiment than a punk experience. I just want to use the term punk for Ylfa. *laughs* Y: *laughs* Yes, it’s also cool when the age gap is quite big too. I think some of them are quite a bit younger than us and they got a lot from these trips. Not that they couldn’t figure out some things themselves, but they did figure out a bunch following how we process in the streets. It felt like it was very appreciated how experienced and organized we are when it comes

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to filming street snowboarding. Many people see a snowboard street movie and claim they can do it without knowing much about the process. It’s quite punk to see that come to life for real. And some of them got to see it raw from the base of it.

fascinated by colours and auras.

I think that’s why when I see the colour of a building or a rail, I can get so much more attached to that spot if it matches my energy. I like bright and fun. Sometimes snowboarding seems so serious, so when you come across a green roof and get so excited about it, you’re like a little kid again. It’s like if you’re in this “Wes Anderson fantasy world” where if you ride on this green thing, then you’ll be green for the rest of the day. It’s quite magical to be that kind of childish.

You completely control yourself to be childish. You know how ridiculous it is, but it makes you feel good, so you just go for it. I would definitely skip five spots just to do my little green rail because it’s green, and I feel like green today. I’m very childish in that way. I like to do what I like and not what I think I have to do. That’s why working with Niels is so sick because he gets it. He understands. He also has that artistic mentality where the reward of that feeling is so much better than the trick. I’m talking about the reward of that feeling from the moment you see this colour to the moment when it comes to life. Is there a way to hit this? Is there even speed?

We will make it work. I need it to work because that’s my colour today. Not everyone understands that…

Yeah, I guess they switched from the “standing on the side of kicker” coaches to the “eat shit in the street” coaches with you guys.

Cool stuff. I’d like to talk art with you two a bit. Ylfa, you’ve been discussing focusing on colours while picking your spots to ride a few years back. How did that come through when you started filming with Niels Shack, the painter?

Y: I think he and I are going to do a lot of stuff together. We had never filmed together before this trip, but it felt like we had done it our whole life. I could find spots for him, and he could find spots for me. We see the vision of how each other sees in a way.

We can also clear the vision when it’s not even there. *laughs* We’re both big dreamers. Sometimes, we’re super optimistic, like this time when we got Niels on the roof of an apartment building in Japan full of people. Everyone knew it was not going to work. We were going to get kicked out, but we still sent him three times to build the spot. And when we finally got to hit it, we took one shovel That’s amazing. and got kicked out right away. We’re N: That’s very heartwarming to hear. I kind of dreamers, and we know it, and guess we never talked like that. that’s why it works well between us.

You never discussed these artistic I imagine this spot was beautiful approaches of snowboarding while in both of your minds, and it would filming on this filming trip? Or was look amazing on camera, so you it just somehow obvious between both thought it was totally worth you two? the try.

N: No, I think there was a lot of humor, Y: It was this kind of thing where we like we would see a pink spot, and could understand each other. In my like fifteen minutes later, she would heart, I know that there is a ninety- be like: “But that pink, you know!” eight percent chance that he’s not *laughs* going to be able to hit this spot, but I want this two percent to be so true Y: *laughs* Yeah, I would bring it up. that we would put in all the work.

Just because if it is going to work, it’s N: It’s not like we don’t talk about it. going to be magic.

We would talk about it all the time but not intellectualize too much True, and you want magic. like you would in the aftermath.

Y: Yes, and I think the same goes for The obsession can be amazing and searching for colours. I kind of just inspiring, but it can also become too see life in colours, not only in spots. much sometimes.

I like to see colours on people, on my feelings, and on my behaviors.

Since I was a kid, I’ve always been

BLOOOM

23.11.2023 18:22

YLFA, FEELING GREEN

Y: We still talk about deep stuff on these trips. We say, “I love you, buddy”. We know these things, but you barely have time to reflect on them. Like what I just said, maybe I didn’t even see that very point back then. In snowboarding, your hands are full the whole time. You’re just so busy from dawn to the end of the day.

Sometimes, after a trip, I just realized I didn’t even have time to breathe for a second...

*laughs* Oh, ok. And you call yourself a singer…

N: *laughs* No, I just get stressed out and get worked up and tense. That’s when Ylfa would tell me to bring it down a bit.

Y: Yeah, sometimes, as a director, he would feel responsible for everyone but still wouldn’t want to boss them around, so he would breathe up there, and I would tell him to breathe the colours down to his stomach. It’s N: You gotta breathe from the this technique where if you imagine stomach. *laughs* I say that because there’s a light or a colour that goes I always breathe from my throat. from the top of your lungs down to BLOOOM

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your stomach, it calms you down. It makes you realize that your breathing is causing your stress, not what’s happening around you.

So, visualizing your breathing is how you would do your stress management filming in the streets of Japan. It’s not the easiest place to film, right?

Y: Yeah.

N: *laughs* I sent Louif (FelixParadis) a message saying: “What are we doing here? Help us, Jesus!”.

What he answered was amazing, he

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FEELING RUSTY NIELS? DOESN’T SEEM LIKE IT

- Niels said: “First of all, forget everything you know about filming streets in Scandinavia. You gotta start from scratch.” He gave us the guidelines, and then we figured out our own little cheat codes. If there were spots that we really wanted to hit in cities, we had to wake up at five. Otherwise, we had to leave the city and find stuff that was kind of hidden away.

He gave some of the secret potions.

Not spots, but just the confidence that it is possible. It changed our minds because the first three days were hard. We were being kicked out from everywhere, all the time.

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It was comforting because Japan is a magical place. Sometimes, it even felt like a retreat. We did wake up early, and the days felt full, but since there were so many of us, some of these days were quite relaxing. Sometimes, you would eat, you wouldn’t ride, and end your day in the onsens.

snowboarding. Like Ylfa, when you did that green spot where you jumped onto this railing into the water. You found the green, we talked about the green a lot, we prepared the spot, you gave it a few tries, got the trick, fell in the water, and it brought us together. Ylfa, you don’t ask a million questions. You know what you need.

Picking gnarly spots to film You know where the snow should be. doesn’t help with the stress, as We were just following her lead. well, I imagine. It seems like a lot to handle, even with healthy As long as it’s green, I suppose. breathing, good food, and onsens *laughs* in the mix…

Y: *laughs* Yeah.

N: Most riders were confident in their BLOOOM

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BLOOOM

YLFA, BRIDGE BLUNT

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- Ylfa N: *laughs* Yeah, it’s just like following the green on her vibe.

She’s just so excited to ride. I think that’s what I like the most. You can be scared, but the more you let fear in and let it along, the more it disperses among the members. It’s like Ylfa said: there was some experience in that crew. In each of them, if there was some inexperience, we would share it and get really nice feedback.

It would create this nice panel of push that was needed.

Also, Arthur (Couvat) wanted to shoot a lot of not-too-snowboardingoriented clips. We would have artsy ideas in mind, like riding down a street or something. And everybody was super receptive and eager to do things differently. Honestly, since we knew we wouldn’t have enough time to have a lot of tricks, people were kind of down. If they saw one or two spots that they would really want, we would make it work, and the rest was kind of searching for fun.

It seems like you tried to enjoy the trip as much as possible and have a healthy balance between heavy spots and lighter ones, let’s say. Maybe searching for that mix somehow brings the ingredients for you to send it more. Ylfa, you manifestly went over the roof on that trip! What do you think happened here? I remember reading your last interview on these very pages that you were always aiming to film fun spots to ride on rather than stressing about picking gnarly stuff.

N: Hot Coco happened…

Y: *laughs* I think I’ve just come to that place where those things are not as gnarly as I would see them back then when I did that interview.

When you get more experience, a gnarly spot might not feel as gnarly as something very technical, for example. Sometimes I’m less scared of hitting something that’s really big rather than something that’s really

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hard. It all comes down to how we grow as humans and what gnarly means to you.

I don’t like to feel gnarly. I like adrenaline, but I don’t like being scared. If I’m not scared of something, it’s not gnarly in my head, you know. If I see the vision clearly and know what I want to do, then I am choosing the spot that’s fun to ride. Even if it might look gnarly for someone else, it’s still something that I so clearly see that it’s not gnarly for me. To this day, I don’t feel like forcing things. When you see that people are scared, you usually don’t see the same outcome.

It doesn’t look the same. It feels forced. It’s never been my goal, and it still isn’t, even if I’m hitting bigger stuff. That’s not my intention, and I’m still calm when I do it.

today, I can put the formula together way quicker than before. Landing can take quite a bit of time, of course.

There’s so much going on.

We gained a lot of confidence while filming the WOP movies, too. This ease has made me enjoy snowboarding so much more. I was like really, really scared before that. I always felt anxious, with my stomach always ticking. I feel less like that now, especially since I’ve been allowing myself to say no. I used to go to a spot, and it was either death or I would get it. Since I hurt my knee, I don’t feel bad to decide not to do a spot even if I built the whole thing.

I’m also less angry than I used to be.

I used to like wanting to get to the top, climb the ladder, and make it as a professional snowboarder. Now, I don’t feel the same anger, and I’m What do you think of that, Niels? also enjoying myself a tad more and You know a thing or two about pushing myself less. It’s the drawback mixing fun and flowy spots with of these things. gnarlier ones.

N: I think it comes down to taking over Y: And just like with other stuff in life, this sort of duality between craziness Niels, you can be very present. You and pragmatism. Sometimes, I see are like a little Yogi, doing things in the stuff that I ride as gnarly, and I do the flow for spot choices and stuff like that sort of “death-defyingness” like that. I don’t think you fully know to spots. But as the puzzle kind of if you will hit the spot. If it’s gonna comes together, and when I find a happen, it happens, and the flow kind spot that really ignites the fire in me, of comes. That’s really charming. I then a more pragmatic person takes noticed that you would get stressed over and leaves that crazier person out and start breathing from up there aside. That’s when I put all the things while being in the director’s role, but to let my body do the work rather than never when you start snowboarding. my mind. I would identify all these You are the kind of person who wants mind pieces that would stress me everyone else to feel good before you and make me scared and place them do. It’s a very beautiful trait for other as little totems, you know. people you have, but for yourself, it For the past four years, I really have can be harmful when you put others found this sort of emptiness where I first. I think that’s how you are in your just trust a little more that I will have everyday life, and that’s when you the right speed or that it will simply would stress. With snowboarding, work. I let go and trust my instincts you can take this space for you, and more. So the moment I drop, I get you can tell that you’re there and it, and then it gets in this flow. I ride you’re enjoying it. You’re comfortable really fast as well. The idea is to and in your element because you’re fulfill the mission. However, I am still calm. Snowboarding calms you. scared right until my very first drop.

Then there’s such a lot of information N: True. that comes from that first try, and BLOOOM

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NIELS, LAND OR DEATH

It feels like you both meet in the things you’re looking for in snowboarding, and it’s nice to hear. It also seems to be working well because you bloom and do beautiful crazy shit with your snowboards. What’s the role of the camera crew in this search of this filming serenity?

N: It’s major. For this project, I tried to figure out who we should film with and quickly called Colt (Morgan), whom I had met a couple of times while joining the Dustbox. He’s very sensitive, gentle, and thoughtful, and I connect with him. He instantly embarked on the project and was receptive, which was heartwarming.

So everybody was thrilled when I told them he was down. Also, I asked Arthur, a Parisian friend who’s like a video director in advertising, to come BLOOOM

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along and shoot some 16mm. He’s always been asking me for the past ten years to come film snowboarding but never knew if he was serious about it. It turns out he was and joined the crew along with Jérôme (Tanon), the best photographer in the world, and Blotto (Dean Blotto Gray) joined for a few days as well.

he will do it very, very gently. He’s a caring person. With that crew where everyone is so strong-minded, and as an artist with a strong vision as well.

Just like a chameleon, he always finds ways to work around the rider’s plans or thoughts, putting his own view into that without clashing with anyone.

The relationship between the art of filming and the art of snowboarding Y: Yes, it’s crucial. I discovered how can be so fragile. If it doesn’t feed off amazing Colt is as a filmer. He sees each other, it doesn’t work. everyone. Even if he sometimes doesn’t like the spot, he will always N: So true. And that goes on to Jérôme trust the vision of the rider. He’s there as well. He’s just a glue that can bring for you either way, and he’s there, everybody to a constant uplifting. He honestly. Some filmers are there, always has the right distance between but not honestly, you know. They’re the moment and what we’re living to holding a camera and putting up a make any experience just how it is face, but they’re not there for you. and not this emotional rabbit hole or Also, he doesn’t want to push you, but something. It was really nice when if he knows it’s genuine, he will, and Blotto showed up. It was so generous

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YLFA SEEING THE LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL

having the two together. They would really take different angles and different vibes. They had so much fun talking about their subject. We were like their study. It was fun to witness.

I’m the biggest fan of Jérôme as a friend, person, and artist. He uplifts, he puts his heart in, and at the same time, he’s so professional. He’s kind of like the director but always in the shadows. He answers questions that no one dares to ask or propose.

Y: He’s the unfiltered kid in the back seat but with all the wisdom. *laughs* He’ll say whatever he’s thinking if it’s accurate. He’s the funniest guy.

You know these types of friends when you meet them, and they’re immediately your best friends, and you have inside jokes you don’t even know what they’re about anymore.

That’s Jérôme. You just know.

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N: Also, it was interesting to see how both filmers Arthur and Colt positioned themselves in sort of this “gonzo” journalism/second angle/ “what the fuck was Arthur doing there” kind of vibe.

Y: Yeah, and it was so refreshing to have someone filming that had worked so much on sets and stuff but never in snowboarding, really. He was the person who would make us realize how crazy we are sometimes and would just bring us back to basic things like to go eat something, you know. Or go relax in the onsen instead of turning around for hours in a van full of riders scoping for spots and not finding any. You know how things can be tense on street trips when everyone is exhausted and with crazy work ethics where we can never stop. If we get a clip, we just

want to get another one and would easily forget to enjoy here and now.

So he really contributed to that, and that was pretty cool. He was fully in for it but contributed with a “take a step back and enjoy this because we’re in Japan” mentality.

N: He made fun of us, too. You can see how far we’ve become between actually snowboarding and actually thinking we’re snowboarders. He absolutely saw that delusional side of it and kind of like respected us for it. In a very humorous way, he made us feel appreciated, and at the same time, he would make us feel fucking crazy. Which is like a nice place to be to have a laugh. And we laughed a lot.

BLOOOM

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METAPHYSIC DILEMMA: HOW CAN ONE BE SO LIGHT AND SO HEAVY AT THE SAME TIME?

Cool to hear how a caring and lighthearted media crew can help in the bonding of a group and the general success of a project. Okay, well, it’s been a very nice chat, and I think we can wrap it up here. The last words are yours: N: I mean, thank you for keeping being interested and pushing up. So happy you suggested this

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conversation because it’s kind of what this project is, anyway. I don’t feel like it’s a directing Niels Shack movie. Even if it was our idea, I kind of led the idea to where people trusted me to take it.

after that. Well, it was so cool that Niels stepped up and took the role that needed to be filled by one of us.

None of us were ready to do it. It’s a lot of work. So thank you for doing that, Niels. I had the trip of my life and will always remember my first time in Y: You know how you talk about Japan and all the shit we did. This was dreams, and you say things like: “That amazing. would be sick!” and nothing happens

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CHUCK FOLKERT, UP AND DOWN BACKTAIL

INTRO & INTERVIEW: JUSTIN DUTILH

PHOTO: SAM JORGENSEN

F

or how long can you send it in the streets? I mean, really send it in the streets. The level of risk can be so high these days that one wonders what the expiration date of heavy street riding is. As much as we all cherish and enjoy seeing these dangerous endeavors in the form of photos, videos, or, for the few lucky ones, in real life, most of the ones that do it quickly stop, for various reasons. Sometimes for dramatic ones, but most of the time, more or less by choice. Of course, when you know a little bit about how things go down behind the making of a snowboard street clip, you know that everything is calculated to some extent. There’s a handful of basic ingredients to even make this type of snowboarding possible. But that doesn’t make the entire risk factor vanish. In fact, it is probably one of the reasons why it’s still so appealing. One crew that totally embraces this side of snowboarding is, without a doubt, The Impaler. I mean, just their name triggers a little shiver when pronounced. They have been scoping for gnarly spots since day one, and they haven’t stopped. Not every initial member of the crew sends it as much today. Some of them stopped filming, but some of them still do. In any case, the group definitely has some of the strongest momentum out there. We caught up with the main man behind the lens, Chris Duncan. Chris has been the first eyewitness to the madness in the streets while filming their movies. In other words, he’s the best person to discover the process behind the making of these unique films, the visions, and the tribute to those who still go after it, heavily.

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Hey Chris, how’s it going?

It’s going. I have been running around a little bit, spread thin lately, but we’re here.

What are you up to?

Currently, I’m just waiting for the blank garments to arrive for all the new clothes and putting the final touches on the new movie.

So Chris, are you the brains behind the Impaler?

Well, there’s a lot of us. It’s not necessarily just me, but I am the longest-standing member aside from the snowboard homies at this point, at least on the media side.

That’s cool. Can you describe your role in the crew a little bit for us?

I’d say just communicating where we’re going to go and what we’re going to do and then managing all the footage and editing that type of stuff, you know. Running Instagram and working with different artists to make the clothes. Basically just communicating more than anything. I’m trying to make sure I know what everyone wants because everybody is kind of all over the place now. We’re not just in Minnesota anymore.

Oh, okay, I didn’t know that.

Yeah, so the Moron Wax dudes are like our same group. A lot of them moved out to the West Coast and just kept running the same thing up, and yeah, Jack is the guy that started Moron. The wax thing became pretty fruitful, and things have been going really well, so they just keep pushing it out. In fact, their new video is going to premiere with ours.

You told me earlier you were having a premiere soon. Do you like presenting your movie at premieres, or does it make you nervous at all?

I have been doing it for a really long time now, so I don’t think nervous is a good word because that almost sounds like a little bit uncomfortable.

No, it’s my favorite thing. I love just seeing people filled with enjoyment from all the stuff that we went and did and documented to show people and get them excited to snowboard.

I wish I could watch everybody watch the movie the first time. Like when I’m sitting here putting it CHRIS DUNCAN PHOTO: RUAN PLUCHE

together, and I’m thinking, yeah, this is going to get them. They’re going to be surprised when this hits. I love watching people’s faces when they get to live that moment. So when I get to watch that and see all the The one from last year was pretty guys that did the stunt feel that while everyone’s in there. You know, can’t good as well. I really liked it.

Yeah. Jack has a very good eye. His replace that. We live in a society now compositions are really good. I’m where you stare at cell phones, so… excited for this new one.

I guess you’re not there watching It’s good to hear that he’s doing people’s reactions when people well. I guess there’s a bunch of look at your movie sitting on their toilet or something. *laughs* morons out there. *laughs* *laughs* That’s exactly right. There *laughs* Exactly, and we’re so far removed from the DVD player where are a lot of us. Yeah. your one friend had the movie, and

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we were all going to so-and-so’s house, sit around and watch this movie, and get hyped together.

So, does it mean that at movie premieres, you just sit down and watch people’s faces? That can come out a little creepy. *laughs* *laughs* I’d say I’m like barely watching the movie compared to how much I’m scanning the crowd.

Also, that’s got to be fair because I’ve stared at it for so many hours, right?

It’s a little bit of both. I definitely watch the movie. But when those moments are coming, you think I’m not looking at the faces, but of course I am.

You decided to call this new movie “Recycled Reality”.

It’s quite a conceptual name.

What does it mean, really?

It essentially means that, in a roundabout way, we’re doing the same old shit. Nothing’s changed, you know. We’re here, we’re snowboarding in our local area. We traveled a little bit, but you’ll notice there’s a handful of spots in this movie that are some pretty iconic spots. The whole entire recycled reality just wraps back around to that. This is a reality for a lot of people who participate in doing this thing that we do. It’s just a regurgitated version. That’s the recycled reality take.

I thought The Impaler was getting into recycling and concerned about global warming and such. *laughs* I mean, the fact that recycling is such a scam in the first place for plastics, you know. Everything you’re taught in school isn’t necessarily the truth about how that system works.

I think it’s kind of funny to use that name right now when people are becoming more conscious of the fact that it’s not totally how shit works. So, it kind of circles around that too.

I guess you’re not afraid of not having long and frozen Midwest winters.

We’re a little too close to Canada to be too scared about not having snow. But yeah, who knows? We’ll see, I guess. No one knows what’s happening in the world.

THE IMPALER

23.11.2023 17:54

Speaking about names. Why the name The Impaler? I suppose it has links with the Transylvanian legend of Vlad the Impaler?

So it comes from our second movie, “Working for the City Two” and at the end of that movie, there is a clip of Vinny where he does this very large ollie to flat over this fence post that doesn’t have a top rail. It was just literally sticking straight up out of the ground, out of concrete, and would not move if you fell on it. And while at the spot, Sam Duncan, with whom I’ve originally conceptualized The Impaler, and who grew up with Vinny, started making jokes. Saying like, “Yo, look out for Vlad while you’re up there”. And I was like, “What?” And he would just say, “The Impaler”. So we decided that’s what we should call it: The Impaler. We convinced ourselves for the next six to eight months that the board sports world did not need another “ER” magazine name like Thrasher or Snowboarder. But as time went on and after talking to some of the homies, it became more and more clear that the name was really good.

in Brasov, Transylvania, where that story comes from. Maybe you should go there too, like on a pilgrimage journey, you know.

The European area, in general, and just going across the ocean is very, very important to me. I want to make it there, but I’ve been dealing with some poor past decisions I’ve made, so I’m not able to leave the country until after this coming February. But I’ve spoken to Riley (Nickerson), and he said it was pretty awesome over there. It would be really cool to go there, and I’m sure there are all sorts of different types of architecture, that would be awesome.

because that’s what I get excited to be a part of. That’s what I’m looking for. When I sit down at the computer and start watching a lot of the videos that come out, and this might sound negative, I realize a lot of stuff looks very similar nowadays.

So many people are able to do this thing, so you’re undoubtedly going to have videos that look the same. I think for us, we just want to let the spots and the snowboarding do all the talking instead of any of the other production values. We have the extreme, we got the P2 cameras, so take it or leave it because this is what you get.

I guess it’s been heavily ridden, but you guys have a specific vision, so it would make something special for sure.

I do like to think that everybody kind of has their own flavor. And just because something’s played out doesn’t mean you can’t do cool stuff. It probably just means that the most obvious options Yeah. It’s funny how you can have been exploited. get obsessed with the idea that something is cool or not cool, but Let’s talk gnarly because in the end, it’s a very good name. gnarly is important. The I appreciate that because, you know, crew keeps going after you’re also so blind to it when you’re the gnarliest spots, trying to decide from the inside. You it seems, often very have preconceived notions about original, too. What’s why something can be too wannabe the drive behind finding hardcore or something. these spots, you think?

And is the Midwest I thought that name might also a never-ending spot have something to do with the quest? fact that everyone in the crew is Well, we just go to the willing to end up impaled on a rail river valleys where or something. there’s a lot of hilly Yeah, that’s a big part of it. I mean, terrain. And there’s a that’s the kind of thing we pride lot of old industry shit ourselves on as being really around there, too. I think reminiscent of those old snowboard the pursuit of getting videos like “Chulksmack” and clips you call gnarly or “ShakeDown” and all this stuff. Just whatever is just chasing chasing that run-through-a-wall that feeling. I don’t know energy. how to explain it. We’re adrenaline junkies.

So if you come back to the legend That’s got to be what of Vlad The Impaler being the it is. I don’t know what tyrant, then in your case, the else it could be, you “street spot” becomes the tyrant, know. I typically gravitate I suppose. You know that last towards people that are winter, a few crews went filming willing to do crazy shit

LONG LIVE

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MIKE SKIBA, BOARDSLIDE PARKOUR

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THE IMPALER

23.11.2023 17:54

Yeah, it’s a good way to put it, and that equation. *laughs* I realized I pretty simple, too. I like it. really, really like filming this shit. Let We just get fired up, you know! alone, I don’t want to go put myself on those spots. When I’m filming, How long have you been doing the I tell these guys all the time that whole Impaler filming project? through the production, I want to The Impaler is reaching its decade make everybody feel how I feel while of production next year. Before that, I’m hanging out with them when they I was making videos elsewhere with do that shit. That’s what I’m trying my friends and was snowboarding to translate. As blown away as I am more. Then I removed myself from when I watch these guys do this LONG LIVE

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psycho shit, I want to help convey that in the most compelling way possible.

Well, you’re doing a good job at it!

I appreciate that, thank you.

So, considering the intensity of the spots you film on. What do you think is the secret to keep going on like that? Because you’ve been doing it for a big chunk of time.

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Well, I’m not snowboarding, so I’m not the best person to ask that thing.

But without speaking for them, I think they’re all adrenaline junkies, too. I mean Sam Bakken, for instance, that kid is a beast. He only eyes up the most fucked up shit. And the way he goes about doing those things, you know, he’s just so whatever about it. I remember a time when I think he was nervous, and he was just like, “fuck, yeah, this is what we’re doing, you

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nothing, and I hear so many people saying like, you guys are so lucky living all in one area. I sometimes take offense to someone calling us lucky because that’s like misguided terminology.

There’s a lot more to it than luck. But yes, we are very fortunate to all have You must be proud of them. been in the same area because we Oh, incredibly, are you kidding me? could very easily have grown up in a It’s unreal. To have that participation state that doesn’t even have a ropeand to be able to do this. Without all tow park. of us working together, were literally know, like, he loves it like that”. I see Mike’s the same way. The way Mike eyes up a spot and Chuck (Folkert), too. I mean, dude, insert anybody’s name from any of the movies. We’re all chasing the same shit.

THE IMPALER

23.11.2023 17:54

I guess there has also been some fresh blood over the years. Do you think that they feel some sort of pressure to go mental when they start filming with you?

They absolutely do. Charlie Folkert, I’m not trying to air my little homie out, Charlie, I love you, but he wanted to do this crazy-ass frontboard on one of the first spots that we were going to go out filming, and it’s a really, really heavy spot. It’s a down-flat close-out with bleachers at a local high school here. It was a really steep kink rail that people had boarded on. The spot is not safe, and Chuck said he wanted to frontboard it, and we had to say no.

I mean, that probably sounds so crazy for people to hear, but yeah, we will, as a group, tell them that they’re not ready for something.

He wanted a great entrance, I guess.

That was some of his first stuff, like coming out with us, to really make it for real. And we told him, “Dude, we don’t doubt for one minute that you couldn’t do that. But do you really think that’s the best option right now?”

Because it’s a close-out, with narrow stairs and there’s no outs. A frontboard is a trick where you have no outs.

You’re typically sagging off inside.

You’re not going outside every time for that. That’s not the only time that has happened. We all check on each other, you know. If someone says he’s not even worried about something we point out, then we’re like, “Fuck yeah, it’s on!” If that person is showing us that level of confidence, then we’re going to help them out and make it as safe as we possible.

That’s probably the secret of duration right there. I mean to aim for that balance between a group that’s pumping you up as a rider but also knows you enough to be capable of saying, “Maybe not this, or maybe not today” or whatever it is to keep you safe.

Yeah, it’s exactly that. So someone stated to me the other day:” You guys are just really good risk analysts, all you do all day is analyze risk and decide which ones to pick”. I think the level of snowboarding that’s coming out now is so high. I just want to maintain progression, you know? I want to keep seeing crazy stuff. You’re seeing this on jumps and all of that, but we don’t have mountains or big hills here. Our version of snowboarding is unconventional LONG LIVE

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experience of filming looks pretty mellow and somewhat healthy. But then the outcomes of the videos are rather violent. What’s up with that?

I want things to be that way, personally.

There’s a whole lot of really bright and sunny stuff out there right now, and I really like the edgy shit, so that’s cool.

I feel like a lot of these snowboard movies are missing something. You have all these film angles of people’s faces, but you don’t see them laughing, and they’re acting with each other.

There’s no personality and style to a lot of this shit. We want to have this edgy, sort of violent, scary look but with that Over the years, you’ve lost a few sarcastic comedy with it, too. members of the gang in these filming battles, like some of them turned their back on it or whatever, but you’re still a solid gang out there. What’s the vibe out there when you’re filming with a big crew?

It’s a bunch of people hanging out, smoking weed, and just having fun together.

That’s pretty much the vibe.

You feel like a close family, you know, everybody’s pretty tight. So many groups of people are doing the snowboard thing, and like you said, some crews turned their backs. I feel like the group thinned out because we’re going out and doing certain levels of shit. Well, maybe some people are not interested in that. Just because the people that are in our group function with our dynamic doesn’t mean that everybody’s going to thrive in that group. And it doesn’t make us not friends either on the outside.

Anyone who’s been down with us is always welcome to come out, and they know that. The only times that we would ever tell someone not to come at a spot is when we think we’re going to get kicked out right away anyway. So that’s when we’re going into secret agent mode. in certain ways. We shovel big piles of snow in our yards to have a ramp so we can have the speed to hit a flat bar. That’s some kid’s whole winter.

In my dad’s yard, I had a little mini hill and a fucking table on the ground and a little flat bar, and that was my life for Winters. Going to Trollhaugen was awesome, but it’s also an hour away, and it costs a lot of money. I think us chasing this shit is like what we grew up on. We don’t know anything else. I mean, we love to ride the mountains too, but this is very close to home for us, and it feels accessible.

After watching a few of your behind-the-scenes edits, I noticed that even if there’s always some stress and nervousness, the whole

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Do you feel completely free when it comes to the creative side of putting these films together?

Yeah, absolutely.

So, The Impaler is fully independent, or do you have partners with expectations?

I mean, the only partners are the ones that are riding in it, and this winter is the first year that I’ve ever gotten money prior to doing the thing. I’ve always been reimbursed later. This would be the only time that I guess we even had partners. But it’s the support of these brands that is making this shit possible. Not that we wouldn’t do

it alone, you know. I mean, maybe not every year or whatever. That’s why you saw the big gaps before. Having a little bit of backing goes a long way, it gives us a lot more opportunities. And yeah, it’s full freedom. I haven’t had any of them say that they particularly want anything other than, you know, us doing work with Mike with what he’s got going on. But that kind of makes sense, right?

did get the delivery during our call, and I most likely witnessed his first new collection pitch to the delivery guy…]. We did snowboards for two years, and it was fun. It was super expensive, too. *laughs*

Well, it was nice chatting with you, Chris. My last words would be, “Long live The Impaler!” What are yours?

Go snowboard with your friends Yeah, for sure. You guys still sell and have fun doing it. And watch our fucking movies! I don’t know. some stuff, right?

Yeah, we sell soft goods. In fact, we *laughs* have three new hoodies that are supposed to be delivered today. [Chris

CASEY PFLIPSEN, 50-50 CLOSEOUT

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THE IMPALER

23.11.2023 17:54

SIERRA FORCHHEIMER PHOTO: PETER LIMBERG

“IF YOU ARE BRAVE ENOUGH TO SAY GOODBYE, LIFE WILL REWARD YOU WITH A NEW HELLO.” — Paulo Coelho

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