Method Mag Issue 19.3 by Method Snowboard Magazine

R E A L

S N O W B O A R D I N G

19.3

193 FRONT COVER.indd 1

26.11.2018 03:41

193 FRONT COVER.indd 2 3 vans_method_FA18_all.indd

26.11.2018 03:38

ADS 193 FRONT.indd 3

25.11.2018 22:10 16/10/2018 11:05

ADS 193 FRONT.indd 4

25.11.2018 22:10

ADS 193 FRONT.indd 5

25.11.2018 22:10

For over a decade, Bataleon has led the industry in 3D shape technology. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve perfected our patented Triple Base Technologyâ&#x201E;˘, producing boards with traditional camber and lifted contact points, making snowboarding more enjoyable for all.

Ethan Morgan storming the castle on the Wallie

ADS 193 FRONT.indd 6 METHOD_SPREAD_ETHAN.indd 1

25.11.2018 22:11

bataleon.com

ADS 193 FRONT.indd 7

25.11.2018 11:31 22:11 24/10/2018

METHOD_MAG_TRANSITORS-SEBBE-320x225.indd 1 ADS 193 FRONT.indd 8

25.11.2018 22:11

ADS 193 FRONT.indd 9

10/16/18 11:53 AM 25.11.2018 22:11

ADDICTED TO POWDER BY T Y L E R C H O R LT O N

N I G H T H AW K J AC K E T FW18/19

ADS 193 FRONT.indd 10

Water repellent laminated membrane

20.000 mm waterproof 20.000 gm breathable

PrimaLoft 40g insulaton

Outer C6 DWR treatment

YKK zippers

Threads by Coats

25.11.2018 22:12

W W W . H O R S E F E AT H E R S . E U

#ADDICTEDTOPOWDER

ADS 193 FRONT.indd 11

25.11.2018 22:12

PHOTO: MARKUS RORH BACH ER R I D E R : L U DV I G B I LT O F T S P O T: L O F O T E N , N O R WAY TRICK: METHOD

193 HELLO.indd 12

26.11.2018 16:17

19.3

193 HELLO.indd 13

25.11.2018 22:55

19.3

PHOTO: PONCH I KZ RIDER: IVIKA JÃ&#x153;RG ENSON S P O T: K U O P I O, F I N L A N D TRICK: NOSESLI DE TO NOSEPRESS

193 HELLO.indd 14

25.11.2018 22:55

193 HELLO.indd 15

25.11.2018 22:55

P H O T O : S E A N K E R R I C K S U L L I VA N R I D E R : S E V I VA N D E R M E E R S P O T: S A I N T- L U C , S W I T Z E R L A N D TRICK: TUBED

19.3

193 HELLO.indd 16

25.11.2018 22:56

193 HELLO.indd 17

25.11.2018 22:56

* When ya boil it all down, it’s really just about sending it. Laurenz Haunschmidt, FS bone P H O T O : M A R K U S R O H R BA C H E R

19.3 How we’re here so soon, I never know. The final issue of Volume 19! But we’ve got grand plans for the year ahead. We hope you continue to ride alongside and we appreciate your tenacious support. A quick thought as we part ways for a bit: I’ve dedicated a fair amount of space in these letters over the years encouraging readers to support brands, media outlets, and initiatives that align with the way they see and value snowboarding. I will always feel this way, and continue to advocate such an approach. Yet, I feel I may not have spent sufficient time emphasizing what I consider to be the ultimate point. No matter what the current “scene” looks like, no matter how dire the “state of the industry” discussions grow, or what sort of boardworld politics or posturing or other bullshit is in vogue, don’t let it interfere with your love for snowboarding. All of those things, while they can seem massively consequential at times, are peripheral. This is all really just about an individual and a passion. For such a plain statement it can at times be a tall order, and thus, remains a tenet worth reflecting on in times of stability and uncertainty alike. Now, dig the hell into the mag and don’t look back! Thank you for tuning in, - Mike EDITOR: Mike Goodwin michael@methodmag.com SENIOR EDITOR: Chris McAlpine chriso@methodmag.com ART DIRECTOR: Maciej Przężak PWEE3000.com ONLINE EDITOR: Will Radula-Scott will@method.tv ASSOCIATE EDITORS: Thomas Shapiro tom@methodmag.com Alastair Spriggs CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS: Daniel Bernstal, Mike Dawson, Josh Dooley, Kuno Egli, Mark Fawcett, Oli Gagnon, Andrea Gallardo, Chris Gallardo, Matt Georges, Erin Hogue, Erik Hoffman, Daniel Loosli, Cole Martin, Gabriel Ostapchuk, Evgeny “Ponchikz” Pavlov, Perly, Markus Rohrbacher, Ashley Rosemeyer, Corey Schlittenhart, Robbie Sell, Kealan Shilling, E-Stone, Sean Kerrick Sullivan, Max

193 EDITORIAL.indd 18

ABOUT THE COVER Alek Oestreng / Ollie. Valais, Switzerland Usually in real life there are two types of spots: - The ones the snowboarder chooses because it’s nice to shred but sometimes shitty for the photographer - The ones the photographer chooses because it’s nice to shoot but sometimes shitty for the snowboarder Hopefully this one was kind of a mix of both. Everything is simple here: natural hit, white snow, blue sky, full-speed ollie. That’s what we always ask for, right? COVER PHOTO AND WORDS: MATT GEORGES / FIRST LAYER

Tokunaga, Derek Weimer, Finn Westbury, Sam Weston, Rudi Wyhlidal CONTRIBUTING WRITERS: Theo Acworth, Will Radula-Scott, Kealan Shilling, Alastair Spriggs, E-Stone, Max Tokunaga PUBLISHER: Method Media Ltd CEO: Chris McAlpine CTO: Steve Dowle FINANCE DIRECTOR: Steve Dowle

Spatial House Willow FarmBusiness Park Castle Donington Derby - DE742TW United Kingdom METHOD MEDIA LTD Method Media Pantiles Chambers 85 High St Royal Tunbridge Wells TN1 1XP England Tel:(+44) (0) 871-218-9978

ADVERTISING: Chris McAlpine chriso@methodmag.com Skype: chrisomcalpine +46 729 338 556

DISTRIBUTION: Steve Dowle steve@methodmag.com

original material is held by Method Media Ltd

PRINTERS: Buxton Press Palace Road Buxton SK17 6AE United Kingdom

transmission, storage or reproduction. Opinions

DISTRIBUTION: Spatial Global Ltd

of unsolicited material. Thanks for choosing

ity is accepted for the accuracy of the information contained herein, nor are any guarantees given by the magazine. Copyright worldwide of and permission must be obtained for any use, expressed in this magazine are not necessarily shared by the publisher. Method Media Ltd assumes no responsibility for the loss or damage Method Mag. We sure hope you like it!

26.11.2018 16:38

SINGLE

Alexander Klerud on the GW

193 EDITORIAL.indd 191 SINGLE_TOBIAS.indd

bataleon.com

26.11.2018 24/10/2018 03:55 11:44

enny Urban just about bustinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; out the jacket with this ultra-poised tail grab jab. PHOTO: MATT GEORGES

193 REVENGE OF THE BONER.indd 20

26.11.2018 02:19

193 REVENGE OF THE BONER.indd 21

26.11.2018 02:19

* Stompin’ five atop the Melvin Brewing bus at Timberline. PHOTO: E-STON E

5 ways to kill time - Skate 3 - Chess.com - Read - Watch board stuff - Shoot shit with the homies

5 celebrities you’d love to punch - Donald Trump - Tomi Lahren - Most snapchat “celebs” - Brangelina… Figure it out - Lil Tracy

5 ways to start a relationship - High five - Handshake - Stalking - “Cheers!” - Give birth

5 worst places to get lost - Quebec without a Quebecer in the crew - Quebec even with a Quebecer - Instagram… Shit sucks you in - The rabbit hole - Deep end

5 underrated rippers - Kix Kamp - River Richer - Parker Zoom - Andy Glader - Levi Gunsberg - Jackson Happ *had to go with 6

5 ways to end a relationship - Ditch & run - A tender kiss on the cheek - Spend a winter trying to film a video part - Bring them to Plymouth State - Say goodbye

5 things you’d buy in an airport - Milk - OJ - Gummy sharks - Beer - The unfortunate overweight bag fee

193 5 THINGS.indd 22

5 best foods on the planet - Stir fry - Breakfast sandwiches - Any of my folks’ homemade cooking - Garlic with most things - Beer

5 last words - If you’re not living on the edge - You’re taking up too much space - RP - See ya too - Sorry too - Didn’t mean to spook ya too

26.11.2018 02:20

193 5 THINGS.indd 23

26.11.2018 02:21

* Artem flexin’ out a mean backside lip board breaker PHOTO: PONCH I KZ

Date of Birth?

Furthest you’ve ever ran?

Current board length?

Number of years boarding?

Times arrested?

Coldest temperatures you’ve ever boarded in?

Video parts filmed?

Most people you’ve packed in a cab?

Boards snapped last year?

Continents snowboarded on?

Most kinks conquered in one rail?

Age you hit your first street rail?

Years of school completed?

Surgeries?

193 CRUNCHINGNUMBERS.indd 24

How many drinks, is too many drinks?

Books read this month?

26.11.2018 02:21

193 CRUNCHINGNUMBERS.indd 25

26.11.2018 02:22

DIMI SHUBIN The reason I started to make collages is simple - I just don’t know how to use Photoshop. And I’m happy about that. My collages have a special meaning for myself, and that’s part of why I don’t give names to my works. Usually I prefer to leave them up to the interpretation of the people who look at them. I just want to let people perceive them in their own way. I don’t want to influence opinions. One fact on these: most of the shots you see are made by my father. And one more thing - I am down with powder riding as well! Huge respect to Romain de Marchi for opening my eyes to it.

FART 193.indd 26

25.11.2018 23:21

FART 193.indd 27

25.11.2018 23:22

he snowboard lexicon is full of terms skirting a formal definition, words that carry an incorporeal vibe beyond their listed meaning - style, shred, stokeâ&#x20AC;Ś Sparrow fully embodies the latter, and this look edges closer to the wordâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s essence. P H O T O : M AT T G E O R G E S

FULL ZOOM 193.indd 28

25.11.2018 23:27

LEN JÃ&#x2DC;RGENSEN | @sirframeface

FULL ZOOM 193.indd 29

25.11.2018 23:27

uring the series of East Coast blizzards that buried Boston in 2015 for weeks on end, Zander Blackmon came and stayed with me for a few days at my dadâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s house just north of the city. The entire city had shut down, with a driving ban in effect so that plows could work on clearing the roads. Zander and I walked around town looking for things to snowboard on. We walked to this old fort near the ocean, and found this caution tape barrier on top of an icy cliff that went down onto some rocks at the waterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s edge. I shot a few frames not thinking much of it, but looking back at these now, I realize what a wild scene it was. The ocean literally began freezing over that year because of how cold it was. This was the same year those infamous slushy waves were photographed a little further to the south. PHOTO AND WORDS: KEALAN SHILLING

193 FLASHBACK.indd 30

26.11.2018 02:23

193 FLASHBACK.indd 31

26.11.2018 02:23

ne hell of a method at Chadâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Gap from Brandon Cocard! Perhaps one of the larger ones ever done? Serious control on a serious gap. PHOTO: E-STONE

HOLYSHIT 193.indd 32

26.11.2018 02:24

HOLYSHIT 193.indd 33

26.11.2018 02:24

special Holy Shit double dose this issue because this view of Laurenz Haunschmidt lining up in Lofoten straight floored us. PHOTO: MARKUS ROHRBACHER

HOLYSHIT 193-kopia.indd 34

26.11.2018 02:24

18_Mou

WATCH THE UPCOMING

WITH NILS ARVIDSSON

NILS ARVIDSSON A PRODUCT OF THE SEARCH RIPCURL.COM HOLYSHIT 193-kopia.indd 35 18_Mountain_NAN_SEARCHSERIES_1_160x225.indd 1

26.11.2018 20/09/2018 02:25 12:06

A quick check in with Finnish lensman and dance floor Casanova, Mr. Anton Stennabb

When did you start producing music and DJing? And where are you based? Helsinki bound all the way! We have been doing regularly tracked sketches for about seven years now. And when I say we, I mean the Skooge Records boys, because making music always happens with them! It’s always been a kind of quick ticket to take your brain away from bad things. DJing came along about five years ago when I bought my first turntables from a friend. It wasn’t long before I played my first gig at a local party’s second room. I remember how fucking nervous I was, man! What equipment do you use? For music making we got a Native Instruments Maschine and for DJing I have two Technics turntables and a legendary Stanton SA-5 battle mixer, which will be changed soon to a handmade one. How would you describe the music you make? Fast. Steady. Electronic. Whatever. What sort of venues or clubs do you prefer to play? Lounges, cozy bars, afterhours clubs or basically any place with a comfortable vibe and a good sound system. My passion is definitely afterhours spots because the crowd is always pleased! What type of music do you spin at the club? Mainly house and techno but it depends a whole lot on the context of the party. If it’s a bar or restaurant I will definitely be more easy going! Ambient, jazz, slow house etc.

HIGH VOLUME 193.indd 36

Loosest party you’ve ever Dj’d? MK54. RIP! It was so brilliant! When things are starting off slow, what’s the secret to getting the party people moving? To be patient with your track choices. The biggest mistake you can make while warming up is to drop big, loud bangers. That’s not the way to call people to dance. It’s like waxing your friends snowboard - you want to be sure that the homie will have a nice time. Build the set gently and make sure the guy who follows up will have a good platform to start from. As my good homie/booker/club manager says, “The best school to DJing is the warm-up sets.” Where can we check out your music? You can check mixtapes and a couple of tracks on Soundcloud @stennabb. And of course, @skoogerecords! Or listen to Basso Radio’s program “Shelter Sound Radio.” And below is a little playlist for ya! S.o.n.s - New Life (planet earth mix) Hugh B. - Floating on a Trippy Biscuit Tom Ellis - Divided in Two Oshana - Jazz In My Soul D. Tiffany - Get Back to You Soon Tochigi Canopy - Velvet Lane Al Dobson Jr. - Everyday Yussef Dayes & Alfa Mist - Love is the Message Mateis e. Aqir - Higher Ground Housemates - Soul Value (Florist’s 99 adrenaline groove)

26.11.2018 01:12

HIGH VOLUME 193.indd 37

26.11.2018 01:12

WWW.STINKYFAMILY.COM FIRING STANCE: ERIK LEON PHOTO: NICK DIRKS

ADS 193 38-39.indd 38

25.11.2018 22:15

STINKY MOVIE SOCK COMES WITH BONUS DVD ADS 193 38-39.indd 39

25.11.2018 22:16

* Taylor Elliot FS 180 over the set

PHOTO: ASH LEY ROSEM EYER

Recently, the Jess Kimura-presented, all-girls blockbuster, The Uninvited, exploded across the Internet. The movie features the gals who will continue to raise the bar in the streets for years to come, and an intro montage honoring those who’ve paved the way. In short, it’s one hell of a film, and without a doubt, the product of one hell of an effort from all involved. The movie also, from the title on through it’s production, forces us to once again take a critical look at the support and opportunities women are given in the snowboard industry. Looking to get an unadulterated take from the rippers right in the thick of it, we asked each of the girls the following question: “What do you think are the toughest barriers facing women snowboarders and how do we overcome them?” A full-length version of this piece with additional responses can be found on MethodMag.com. When it comes to street snowboarding, the toughest barrier is the inequality and the fact that there are rarely any girls invited to join bigger movie projects. To be honest, I understand why: mens’ snowboarding is more progressive. There are many girls who film impressive video parts, but in general, there’s a long way to go before guys will watch a girl’s video part for inspiration. I don’t think girls should copy guys snowboarding or go to the same spots and do the same tricks just because they’re girls. If we do something that’s original, we’re going to get the same respect. The goal of The Uninvited movie was to take a big step in that direction. Who knows, maybe, eventually, the industry will start supporting women’s street snowboarding more. But it’s a loop: girls need support to produce something fresh and good, but if there’s no support, it’s hard to go out and film. Hopefully with The Uninvited we break that loop. - Ivika Jurgenson I think one of the toughest barriers is opportunity. The industry has gone through waves, and although it seems like a peak for women right now, it is still a deep valley. Ten years ago there were tons of competitions large and small that included women, especially on a lower level to incorporate less advanced riders and get them interested in the sport. We had Forum Youngblood, Volcom PBRJ, Burton Am and TransAm. All of these contests had a huge female turnout of all abilities, cash prizes and stops all over the country, if not the world. They had free registration with qualifying opportunities for larger contests. The Burton Am was my personal route to the Grand Prix and then the Dew Tour circuit, which was short lived thanks to the Olympics. I met all my friends that I still have to this day at these contests. These contents no longer

PROD V 193.indd 40

exist. It seems the very few contests that still allow women are extremely small with no rewards, or are on such a professional level that almost nobody can qualify. It seems it’s the same top-20 girls who have been invited for what seems like the past 10 years and there is not a real qualification process that’s easy to navigate without a team or personal coach. I have noticed that a lot of girl boarders right now are in their mid-to-upper 20s, if not older, and hardly any new girls are getting into it. When I started filming I was 16 and so was everybody else. Now the same group of people, with a few newcomers, are still filming. But I’m not surprised. Why would anybody want to start filming if all their favorite pro female street riders obviously don’t get paid? And if all the money is in slopestyle? Not something to look forward to, huh? Year after year we film each other, as all paid filmers are typically reserved for the male team members and are in short supply. Finding and compensating a filmer is the girl’s job to handle on her own if she wants it bad enough. How is it that Jess Kimura had to pay out of her own pocket to support what seems like the entire generation of women’s street snowboarding? - Madison Blackley That’s a big question. I could touch on a lot of different things, and I’m pretty sure everyone knows what they are! And if they don’t, well, that’s also part of the problem. I think the only way things are going to change is if people start to give a shit about women in sport. There’s a big movement of women in skateboarding right now. If we don’t follow that lead, it will be pretty embarrassing. It’s not rocket science. Women should be given equal opportunities in every sport. Once that hap-

26.11.2018 16:18

team-m

AUSTRIA | GERMANY | SWITZERLAND | NETHER LANDS

PROD V 193.indd 41 team-method-160x255-5mm-nov-18-ic.indd 1

26.11.2018 02:26 09.11.18 12:59

* Big league tailpress from the ultimate young gun, Anniina Perhovaara PHOTO: PONCH I KZ

pens I think we will see a big change in content, progression, and overall just more women in sports. - Kennedi Deck I think there has been a very small area in women’s snowboarding for us to really thrive. Most companies just have that “token girl” on the team and do not make much room for others. I think that created a lot of hostility between females back in the day, which I think really hurt the progression on our side until now. The companies I currently work with - K2, O’Neill and Dang - don’t run that way, thankfully. I think they are on the forefront of giving more space for more girls to have a chance. One way to solve this problem is just giving more girls that opportunity to shine. Along the same lines, big film companies usually just have “room” for one female in a movie. I think that’s an outdated model. - Melissa Riitano I think girls like us who are aiming for expression in movies are harder to evaluate than men. As a practical matter, it is difficult to get financial support from sponsors. And it is difficult to hire filmers. I understand that when these evaluations are made, there is a difference in physical ability compared to men. So is the female snowboarder a degraded version of the male snowboarder? I think it is exactly the opposite. I think that there is an excitement only women can provide because they express a style that’s only given to women. I hope that the industry as a whole will pay attention to this fact so that talented women can more freely express themselves. - Miyon Yamaguchi I think the toughest barrier facing women’s snowboarding is the exposure for women compared to men. Looking at major contests and even sponsorships, it is still highly divided between men and women. I feel like women in snowboarding are still underrated in some sense. This is all changing, as seen with The Uninvited, and women are being recognized for their talent and how we do it differently. I think to overcome these barriers we just have to keep doing

PROD V 193.indd 42

what we are doing and show everyone what we are capable of. It’s cool to see how women’s snowboarding is evolving, especially over the last few years. - Laura Munro I think, first and foremost, it’s how a lot of brands market women. They pay their models but not their athletes. Or they represent women’s snowboarding in a way that’s “cute and playful” rather than real. Another issue is how it’s portrayed as “women’s snowboarding.” In the end, it’s just snowboarding. I think to close the gender gap we need to stop labeling it as one thing or the other and start co-existing and co-creating. - Taylor Elliot The opportunities the girls are given are almost always half the time, half the resources, half the effort... So the result is half as good as it could have been, and it just continues the vicious circle that perpetuates the appearance that girls can’t perform at a certain level. This image effects the young girls who would or could be the ones pushing the limits of snowboarding in the future. What they see is a watered-down version of what we are really capable of. There is also no incentive for them to go out and throw themselves off of shit. They’ve seen that they won’t get the proper resources, if any. Very few girls continue to push beyond this level because it’s obvious that there are few rewards for doing so. Companies are happy to sell women’s product but they balk at the idea of helping to support their up-and-coming female riders. I never claimed the girls are riding at the same level as the guys, but if you look behind the scenes, they are systematically being held back. I’m supposedly at the top level of this system and still I get pushed to the back of the line when it comes to filming. Even when I bust my ass despite the circumstances and pay my own filmer to try and give myself the same chance anyway, my shots still get cut from the movie. Or I’m forgotten about altogether and the editor doesn’t even look through my footage to consider it. Treat us like an afterthought and we will continue to perform like an afterthought. - Jess Kimura

26.11.2018 02:26

team-m

AUSTRIA | GERMANY | SWITZERLAND | NETHER LANDS

PROD V 193.indd 43 team-method-160x255-5mm-nov-18-ic.indd 2

26.11.2018 09.11.18 02:26 12:59

Sparrow Knox - Cruisin’

Sparrow was in town and I wanted to show him Nordkette, but didn’t realize the chairlifts were closed. No matter. Fresh pow, an empty hill, and English enthusiasm made for the best day ever.

* MY PORTFOLIO 19.3

hese photos were all taken at Nordkette, the resort that sits above Innsbruck. I moved here three years ago, and last season was the first winter when I really had the time to ride it. Holy shit it’s good. I can ride my bike to the lift, and despite it being a giant mountain, the vibe up there is like a skatepark. There’s always something happening, and it suits me down to the ground. Much love and gratitude to everyone who has welcomed me so warmly to Innsbruck, and also to you guys for giving me the chance to show these photographs. Method is the fucking best.

182 MY PORTFOLIO BRAGOTTO.indd 44

26.11.2018 02:29

Max Buri - Tailgrab

This was a dream session. Fresh pow, a group of my friends, no building required, and 0% planning in advance. It happened, and then it was done. This is why I live here.

182 MY PORTFOLIO BRAGOTTO.indd 45

26.11.2018 02:30

Lukas Ellensohn - FS air

Luki is one of my favorites. Despite this QP being a bit of a fucker to ride, he is always down to have fun on anything and put the time in for this shot. Snowboard like you skateboard.

Lukas Ellensohn - Home run

I love feeling like Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m going somewhere on my snowboard. This run snakes all the way down to the gondola through the trees, and always leaves me with a smile on my face. Even when itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mostly ice and full of rocks. You all know the feeling.

182 MY PORTFOLIO BRAGOTTO.indd 46

26.11.2018 02:30

Sophie & Myself - Method / Photo: Florian Trattner

I like Nordkette so much that in April I got married up there to my wife, Sophie. I also got to throw a method in the first and only suit Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve ever owned. Easily the best feeling of my entire life.

Sparrow Knox - Slash

How many places in the world can you ride pow with a backdrop like this?Â

182 MY PORTFOLIO BRAGOTTO.indd 47

26.11.2018 02:30

PHOTO: COLE MARTIN

1995 - 2018 In loving memory of Dillon Ojo, and all our fallen brothers and sisters. Your legacy lives on in all whoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been inspired and uplifted by the energy and contagious enthusiasm you brought to boarding, to life. Rip in Peace.

193 OJO.indd 48

26.11.2018 16:20

PHOTO: OLI GAGNON

193 OJO.indd 49

26.11.2018 02:44

193 FOUNTAIN.indd 50

26.11.2018 02:38

19.3

DISCOVERING THE FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH

INTERVIEW WITH CHRIS GALLARDO BY: MIKE GOODWIN

rowing up in the seaside community of Pismo Beach, California, Chris Gallardo took an affinity to surfing and skateboarding from a young age. At 16 he got his first taste of snowboarding and was instantly hooked. “I tried it and I just fell in love with it,” he recalls. Following high school graduation, Chris left the coast and headed for the Sierras with the homies, making a new home in Squaw Valley where he lined up a job valet parking cars in the resort parking lot, a gig that afforded plenty of riding time. “We would work really early in the morning to park people but then get a huge break in the day to go ride before we’d help people leave at the end of the day.” It was a legendary time at Squaw and Chris got to see his idols from early shred flicks - names like Salasnek, Roach and Hatchett - and try to follow them around the mountain. After some prodding, Sean Sullivan invited Chris to tag along on a shoot up KT 22, one that produced his first published photo, in the pages of TransWorld Snowboarding. Chris was able to build a successful pro boarding career from there, securing sponsorship deals, landing dozens of photos across the pages of various leading magazines and traveling the world. At 23, his girlfriend now pregnant, Chris realized the $750 per month he was currently netting from his sponsor wasn’t going to cut it in raising a family and made the move toward a more traditional career in corporate America. Yet, his love for boarding, and desire to pursue it never faded. His approach simply evolved. “I never stopped being me,” he says. In this evolution he discovered splitboarding, a passion that meshed well with the disdain he’d developed for standing in resort lines and fighting for fresh tracks. “I was like, ‘Fuck this. It’s a bunch of kooks and it’s tracked out within an hour,” he says looking back. “The backcountry is where I need to be.”

* Chris Gallardo maxin’ and relaxin’ across the pool PHOTO: COREY SCH LITTEN HART

193 FOUNTAIN.indd 51

Splitboarding opened a whole new world for Chris; he’d go on to found and operate the influential community site Splitboard. com. It was also on his splitboard that, in 2008, he stumbled upon a high Sierra oasis, a gem of a pool whose turquoise-tinged mysticism has captured the minds of boarders worldwide. Below, we discuss this discovery and the personal meaning of the Fountain of Youth.

26.11.2018 17:57

* Skyler Gallardo pours one out

DISCOVERING THE FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH

P H O T O : M I K E DAW S O N

* Skyler and Chris, father/son cruisinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;

19.3

PHOTO: ROBBI E SELL

193 FOUNTAIN.indd 52

* Where the adventure begins

PHOTO: CH RIS GALLARDO

26.11.2018 16:21

We’re headed out to the Fountain. What does the journey look like? You start out with a boat taxi ride. Taking the first leg of the trip on this boat taxi essentially saves us about two and a half miles of walking. It doesn’t sound like a lot, but when you are carrying your snowboard, all your gear, your beer, and everything that you want to take out there, it is super nice to be able to take that boat taxi across. They drop you off and then you have to basically walk about four miles to camp. From there you climb about two miles and 2,000 vertical feet to get up to the Fountain. Usually the way it goes is you hike in the afternoon and then you set up camp and spend the night. The next morning you wake up and make the climb to the Fountain with just your board and your day pack. You don’t take all your overnight gear that is at camp. For a lot of people it’s a scramble. For those of us who have been splitboarding for 20 years, we kind of just go up this mountain and it’s not that big of a deal. But at that time of year there is often not enough snow to really skin up, so you are just kind of booting it and scrambling up rock. A lot of people at that point are still kind of in doubt like, “Jesus, I have already hiked four miles out here with my overnight pack and my snowboard attached to it,” - which ends up being like 50 or 60 pounds. “Now I am climbing up this god damn mountain and I still don’t know what I am in for. I hope this is worth it, Chris!” And I am like, “Yeah, it’s really fun. You skim across water. Doesn’t it sound cool?!” (laughs) When the Fountain first comes into view, what is the typical reaction of those who’ve never seen it? You get to this ridge and finally crest over it and get this little view of the Fountain. A lot of times people are just like, “Woah! Radical!” Then you start to see the gears spinning in their head. All this hype - and they have seen the pictures - but now they have to put up. They have to strap in at the top, get all the speed they can and point it across this body of water without falling in. When I see first timers show up and they kind of have to sort it out, figuring out how to keep their speed and how to dump speed by making a turn but not dump enough to where you can’t get back to shore, and just figuring out how not to get wet - it’s a fun thing to see. A lot of good snowboarders have no problem with it. They just step up and rip it. They definitely feel that moment when they crest over, see that view and are like, “OK, OK. Game on.” You’ve mentioned how the lake can vary dramatically in terms of size, color and physical formation. Are you able to give an average size and depth to the Fountain? It varies, but it’s pretty easy to put a number on it I think. I would say that the depth, even on the smallest year or when we have gone the earliest - because if you go too early the snow hasn’t melted enough and there hasn’t been enough water that has drained into it - at the minimum there is probably 10 feet in there at the deepest point. This year, when we could actually see the bottom for the first time, it was probably 15 to 20 feet deep at the deepest spot, easy. You don’t want to fall in the water in the middle. Generally, when we consider it in good shape, and there is a lot of open water, which you want so that you’re able to try to make those long distances. But you don’t want too much open water, where you can only go longways and all you can really do is go straight. It’s fun and it’s cool to go that far of

193 FOUNTAIN.indd 53

a distance, but for me, what really always drew me to the fountain and pond skimming was that weightless feeling of sinking your tail and gouging into a turn. It’s kind of like riding powder. It’s like surfing to me; it’s that weightless feeling. I prefer when there is both a lot of open water but there are also options to go different ways. Then you can do more tricks and try to do 360s, 180s and do more than just go straight across. How do you decide who you are going to bring out? I assume that these days, as word has gotten out, you get a number of requests? Yeah, I get a bunch through Instagram and stuff. First priority is my family - my son Skyler. Sky is 23 and he is pursuing a snowboarding career as welI. I took him in 2010 for the first time. I always want my son there. As far as other people, it’s really just the homies. I have found a good relationship with Corey Smith from Spring Break and Robbie Sell. They are just really good dudes. They are older, kind of like me, and have been in the game and are still relevant, but humble. They are just good dudes so I like going with those guys. The Warp Wave guys went with us for a few years in a row too. Other than that, there are some homies who maybe aren’t as popular or relevant as those guys who come out. It’s just my close-knit crew. For a while we were real protective of it. But as it’s been 10 years now and I have matured and evolved, I think I’ve realized that it takes effort to get out there and it’s not like you can turn it into a junk show that easy. You still have to carry your shit out there and climb the mountain. So you are less worried about the hike getting blown out than you were? To me, the trek seems to take a certain amount of dedication and with that, an appreciation for where you are and where you are going that might keep some of the more mildly interested masses from making the trek. I would agree and I think that that is why I have come to the realization that there is no sense in keeping it from people or trying to keep it a secret. Obviously we still want to be respectful of it but I don’t really worry about it, no. Not too much. I think the thing that bothers me sometimes is when people go out there and take a bunch of photos and they don’t pay homage to us as the ones who found it. I didn’t make the pond. And I didn’t invent pond skimming, but I put it all together in our backyard and made a rad trip out of it. Is there an ideal size crew for going out? I think what I was scared of was people not having respect and kooks going out there, but honestly, the more people in the session the better. The more runs the in-run gets, the smoother it is and the faster you can go. Plus there is more stoke when more people are hitting it. I think we had upwards of 15 people there this year at one session and it was awesome. People were hitting the big pool, the little pool, and I didn’t really feel like there were too many people. I have come to the realization that, yes, you want to protect things and you don’t want it to be blown out, but at the same time, you can’t prevent people from going up there. They should go find it, or they should find their own fountain. That’s what I have told people. For me, it’s more than just skimming across the water. It’s the whole experience. It’s kind of like a tribute to the winter

26.11.2018 02:38

* Stacked at camp

P H O T O : M I K E DAW S O N

* Eric Messier, Sierra planter

DISCOVERING THE FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH

PHOTO: CH RIS GALLARDO

* Robbie Sell headed for the long haul PHOTO: CH RIS GALLARDO

19.3

* Gray Thompson cooking up

193 FOUNTAIN.indd 54

PHOTO: CH RIS GALLARDO

26.11.2018 02:39

There’s nothing like getting to see the genuine stoke on the homies’ faces when they make the skim across for the first time. Plus, I’m always stoked and grateful to shred with my dad. I hope the memories of him laying down the illest turns and skims across the pond over the years never leave my head. - Skyler Gallardo

193 FOUNTAIN.indd 55

26.11.2018 02:39

DISCOVERING THE FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH 19.3

* These shots are nuts. John Foy S-curving at the Fountain PHOTO: COREY SCH LITTEN HART

193 FOUNTAIN.indd 56

26.11.2018 02:39

For me, it’s more than just skimming across the water. It’s the whole experience. It’s kind of like a tribute to the winter because it’s always at the end of the year. We’ve made it through another winter. I can go detach. There is no risk of avalanche. I don’t have to worry like back when I was hitting road gaps and all these life-threatening things. I can just go out there, camp, have fun, skim across the water and sink my tail and make these carves. I look forward to it every year and get all stoked the two weeks leading up to it. It’s really this special thing to go out there and retrace our footsteps in these places we have gone and all these different memories we’ve had with different crews. I guess what I am trying to say is that people don’t have to come to my Fountain of Youth to experience that. They can create their own thing. Maybe it’s not even snowboarding. Maybe they’ve discovered that they like to go do some activity, whatever it is, and it’s right in their backyard. Now it’s their happy place.

a skier, found it. At the time I didn’t have a lot of snowboarder friends who liked to suffer. Part of this trip is about suffering too. I legitimately like to suffer. I love to sweat. I love to hurt a little bit because then when you get to the goal, it’s so much richer. You feel so much more accomplishment when it hurts a little. Anyway, I couldn’t really find any snowboarders to suffer with so my best partners at the time were skiers. I would splitboard and they would ski. Matt and I were out on a season close-out trip, kind of the last trip before we hung it up for the summer and waited for next November. We just set out to find snow. We had no idea of pond skimming; we just wanted to take some photos and do what we used to call patch skiing. Literally just finding patches to ride on. We were just out there doing our thing and we came upon it as we crested the ridge. We came from a little different direction but it was a similar thing where you get to the ridge and it’s like, “Woah! What the fuck?!”

What has this annual trip come to mean to you? And do you have any advice for riders looking to find their own getaway oasis? My advice would be to just do it, especially for the younger crews. I think sometimes people think things are just going to fall into their lap. While sometimes that is true, often you have to go make something happen. I pursued a career in snowboarding and I had like 50 shots in the magazines during my prime and all that. But then I started a family at 23 and it made me kind of grow up. I couldn’t just pursue snowboarding. I had to get a real job and do all these things. So for me, going into the backcountry and continuing to snowboard and not withdrawing from it like you do as you get older was really important. I never gave up snowboarding. I always snowboarded. I just got into splitboarding and went about my snowboarding differently.

I think what makes that place so special is the way that the snow and the water meet. It’s not abrupt. It’s not like a ledge or a drop or anything. It’s just this perfect ramp into the water. It makes skimming there super easy for most people. I had done a little bit of pond skimming on smaller ponds and I knew what it was. At the time it was one of those things where we could have gone home with a story about finding this pond, or we could go and try to send it. And I went and sent it. I sent it once and it was rad but I had no idea what that would mean 10 years later. But I knew that it was cool and that I wanted to come back. The next year, me and Matt - the only guy I could rally - we went back again and it just kept getting better and better. Then I went for a third, fourth, fifth year, and here we are 10 years later. Had Matt not been there as my support crew, we would have never found it. We kind of drifted a part over the years as splitboarding grew and I was splitboarding with snowboarders but he came to the Fountain this year for the 10-year anniversary. It was rad to have him there! He hiked out there solo and rocked it.

As you get older, you are going to realize that you can’t take shit for granted. You start to become wiser. For me, I just started to realize like, “Hey, I have to get away and get back to being a kid.” That’s where the name Fountain of Youth came in some years later. It really made me feel young out there. I don’t feel like I am 46 years old when I am at the Fountain smoking weed and drinking beer and pond skimming. On that topic, what do you appreciate and value most about the Fountain? What I appreciate and value most is that feeling I get when I go out there. I don’t want it to end. I appreciate the whole process; I take a week to pack my bag leading up to the trip. I think it’s the relationships, too. I really do feel bonded to the homies. When we go out there, I see their stoke. Like Dawsy (Mike Dawson) had never done anything like this. He brought two kids from New Jersey and they crushed it. They had never camped out but they crushed it. For me, that is rewarding. To see people get it. To really get that it is a process and a journey and the destination is the icing. It’s really about that whole journey and that camaraderie. But it’s a hard trek, and for some people, you can see that it took everything they had to get out there. To see them smile at the end is super rewarding. For me, it’s that feeling I get when I’m able to detach from life for a few days, feel young again. You discovered the Fountain in 2008, correct? Just a random occurrence? Yes, June of 2008. My and my friend Matt McPheeters, who is

193 FOUNTAIN.indd 57

Anything particularly notable or different about this 10th anniversary trip? I think maybe just the condition of the pond. I’ve never really seen it like that. That opened up some different ways to ride the pond I imagine, having those mini icebergs floating in it? Those were pieces of the frozen lake bottom that had come loose exposing the true rock bottom below? Yeah, you could use them as little jib platforms. We had to wrangle them a couple times. We’d throw a rock out onto it and literally drag it out of the way to make room to skim. We were calling ourselves iceberg wranglers. It was definitely weird this year, but it was really cool. It was a little ominous because you could see that depth. You could see the rocky bottom. In the past it’s just been this kind of this turquoise blue oasis of nothing that can hurt you but this year it was a lot more like, “What’s down there?” (laughs) It is such a fun place to shoot and be at. When people get there they are kind of taken back just because it is so pretty and it is such a weird little setting. You’re up on the top of the mountain, not at the bottom. And there is such a difference from year to year. Every year it will look similar - it’s the same process of skimming across - but it is a little bit of a different beast every year and that is part of what makes it fun.

26.11.2018 02:40

* The hike out. Consider it an annual endurance checkup DISCOVERING THE FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH

P H O T O : M I K E DAW S O N

* Corey Smith kicking up a rooster tail that’d put Kenny Powers to shame PHOTO: COREY SCH LITTEN HART

19.3

The F.O.Y. is such a unique spot in both its natural beauty and the time of the year in which it’s accessible. Having Chris take us out there and share it with us is one my favorite snowboarding experiences. It is literally a dream spot. Paradise, heaven - whatever you wanna call it - I’m drinking from its waters. - Corey Smith

193 FOUNTAIN.indd 58

26.11.2018 02:40

* Skyler and Chris Gallardo

PHOTO: AN DREA GALLARDO

* An overview of the Fountain of Youth, 2018, with Skyler starting across P H O T O : M I K E DAW S O N

* Overview of camp

PHOTO: CH RIS GALLARDO

193 FOUNTAIN.indd 59

26.11.2018 16:22

INTRO AND INTERVIEW: ALASTAIR SPRIGGS VOID

PHOTOS: MATT GEORGES / FIRST LAYER

After years of filming standout parts in major film projects like Arcadia, Insight and Beacon, Alek Oestreng decided it was time to take a step back last season. “It felt like the right thing to do,” he told me, to cultivate a creative, personal masterpiece of his own. Everything fell perfectly into place, as Oslo was hit with the best winter he’d ever seen. He paired up with longtime homie and filmer Martin Strom, and set for the streets. All the spots he’d imagined himself riding over the years were finally rideable. We’re hyped to see new spots, some of our favorite riders, and a plethora of one-footed trickery, in a snowboard flick 100 percent approved by Alek Oestreng. In addition to Alek, you’ll see riding from Len Jorgensen, Fred Perry, Ståle Sandbech, Haakon Eilertsen, Markus Olimstad, Jesse Blackwell, Tobias Himmelstrøk, Ben Ferguson, Øivind Fykse, Jonas Steen and Simon Houlind. It’s a heavy hitting crew, to say the least.

19.3

We had the opportunity to ask Alek some quick questions about his new project, Void.

193 VOID.indd 60

26.11.2018 16:25

193 VOID.indd 61

26.11.2018 02:45

What motivated you to make your own personal project? I think the main motivation was making something that I had full control over. Also, being able to film things that I want to film without having to live up to someone else’s standard. And being able to just film, without trying to film the 25 best things you can for a part. After a couple of years filming parts for other projects, this felt like the right thing to do. How was last season different from prior seasons when you filmed for more traditional, major film projects? It was quite a different year, for sure, with a lot of things I didn’t think about before starting. Everything from budgeting to planning. But it was also different in many good ways. I feel like I really got to do things that are representative of me and just follow my own mind.

Did you feel additional pressure because you were making a personal project? I definitely felt a lot of pressure from myself. To make a film yourself, you have to film a little more than a video part, so I felt pressure to stay injury-free and productive throughout the whole season. How about pressure to stomp heavier tricks? Any long battles trying to land a single trick? I don’t know. I think I knew I had to film more tricks than usual so I knew I couldn’t spend days on a single trick. I picked kind of wisely, I think. But I do remember spending at least 80 tries on one. (laughs) Which clip are you the most proud of? Every time I get a clip I feel really happy and relieved, but there

VOID

* The ‘ol fashioned DIY barrel

19.3

How was filming with and working closely on a project with Martin? I have filmed with him for the past couple of years and we work really well together so it only felt natural to do this film with him. What do you like about Martin’s approach to filming snowboarding? What makes him a great filmer, in your opinion? Well, I think he captures snowboarding in a way I personally like to watch. And he has a good attitude and is really on it. He is super easy to work with as well. He’s capable of creating what I have in mind, but makes it 10 times better than what I’d pictured.

193 VOID.indd 62

are a couple that felt even better. I think people can guess which ones after watching the film. What are your plans for this season? Nothing is set in stone, yet. I plan to spend the first bit of winter riding as much as possible and hopefully will work on some projects and ideas I have. What keeps you happy when you’re not snowboarding? Disconnecting. Skating and spending time with friends. But, that also gets me stoked to go snowboarding again. Why Void? :)

26.11.2018 02:45

* All natural FS 540

193 VOID.indd 63

26.11.2018 16:26

ALL IN TOGETHER

PHOTO: GABRI EL O S TA P C H U K

19.3

By: Mike Goodwin

n 2003, a 10-year old John Leslie faced a very adult decision. Diagnosed with osteogenic sarcoma, a type of bone cancer, John needed surgery to remove a cancerous tumor that had developed in his left knee. The knee would need to be amputated, and John had to decide which type of procedure he’d prefer.

femur, positioning the foot and ankle - facing backward - where the knee used to be. The ankle then functions as a natural knee joint and greatly enhances an individual’s mobility and performance capabilities with a prosthetic. John jumped back into the athletic fray with the enviable vigor of youth and never looked back.

With the loving help of his parents, the options, and respective pros and cons, were laid out for him in terms a young kid could grasp. In addition, John was able to meet individuals living with each of his surgery options to help him make the most informed choice possible. “The literature at the time was clear,” says John of the prevailing beliefs in the medical realm. “If you were missing your leg above the knee, you had to sit down to play sports.” For John, a natural competitor with a love of sports, that was out of the question. He opted for a Van Nes rotation, also known as a rotationplasty, a procedure that involves a partial amputation of the leg above the knee. The lower leg and foot are then rotated 180 degrees, the length is adjusted and the tibia is fused to the

Now, a two-time Paralympian, para snowboarding pioneer and decorated competitor, John reflects in amazement at the advances made in para snowboarding in the years since. “If you look at Mike Schultz from the U.S., he is missing his leg above the knee and he hit a 60 foot jump at X Games in 2016. It’s super insane. I would have never thought that was possible until I saw him do it.”

193 LESLIE.indd 64

Indeed, the possibilities are multiplying exponentially in para snowboarding these days. From structure to exposure and funding, the sport has experienced immense change of late, particularly since it’s debut at the 2014 Sochi

26.11.2018 17:55

* Slash at Mt. Hood.

PHOTO: SAM WESTON

193 LESLIE.indd 65

26.11.2018 02:47

ALL IN TOGETHER

PHOTO: MOM

19.3

PHOTO: JOSH DOOLEY

* Turnin’ and burnin’ in the banked slalom at the 2018 Paralympics in PyeongChang P H O T O : DAV E H O L L A N D

193 LESLIE.indd 66

26.11.2018 02:47

Paralympic Games. Likewise, the opportunities for athletes who compete in para snowboarding have never been greater. It’s a heady time of experimentation, exploration, rapidly improving technology and infinite possibility. With an almost evangelical zeal, John has positioned the sport’s continued growth, and the promulgation of that opportunity at the center of his focus. ____________

meaning only snowboarders with a lower limb handicap could compete. Regardless of factor, all competitors with a lower limb handicap, whether they were missing a foot, or an entire leg, competed together. Potential competitors with an upper limb factor were out of luck. The only discipline was boardercross and boarders raced one at a time. After Sochi, the structure of all International Paralympic Committeesanctioned events - World Cups, Norams, Europa Cups, South American Cups, World Championships and the Paralympics - received a massive overhaul. The lower limb category was split in two: LL1 for competitors with one joint on that side of the lower body, like if you have your hip, but are missing your knee and ankle; and LL2 for competitors with two joints on a side - if you have your hip and knee joints, but are missing your ankle, for example. An upper limb category was also added. In addition, boardercross was bumped up to a twoperson race and a banked slalom event was added.

In the small Canadian town of Arnprior outside of Ottawa where John grew up, disabled sport was a very niche market. Following his surgery, it was important to John that he not have to drive to the city to participate in sport, but could continue competing and riding amongst his friends at home. “Finding things that I could do with my friends was really important,” he says. “Snowboarding, just like for most kids in high school, was an opportunity to get out of class and go to the hill. We’d race for like two minutes and then we would get “There were lots of opportunities for competitors to compete the whole rest of the day to go freeride.” fairly,” says Leslie of the improvements to the competition formatting. “If you were not so much of a good jumper, but By the time a high school coach introduced John to para more of a technical rider, you could really excel at banked snowboarding in 2011, he’d been competing on his high slalom. If you had more of a freestyle background and were school team for four years against able-bodied boarders. good at jumping and getting into heat racing you could excel Most of the competition had no idea that John rode with an artificial leg, and that suited John just fine. “I didn’t like people at boardercross.” The Dew Tour remains the only invite event, feeling sorry for me,” he says. “I wanted to battle it out on the and competing on the Para World Cup tour opens up the possibility of an invitation. The event is a welcome outlier snow, man to man. In the bar grabbing a beer, if they found for para snowboarding competitors. With just one category out I had one leg, cool.” for men and one for women regardless of handicap, the prize money isn’t broken down for three separate categories, and John joined the World Cup circuit with a bang in 2011 someone gets to walk with a much fatter check. with a fifth place finish at his first World Cup event in Lake Louise, and had been competing on the tour for a year when In the four years following the Sochi debut, para snowboardbombshell news dropped in 2012. Para snowboarding was ing felt as if it went into a sort of hyperdrive. Visibility was announced as a sport for the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter way up, the funding and sponsorship opportunities were up Games. “That is when having funding, a team and a little along with it, and in turn, the strength of the competition bit more organization really started to come into play,” says went through the roof. Leslie. “That was really cool to be a part of. We got a lot of exposure and a lot more athletes started funneling in.” “Everyone stepped it up,” says Leslie. “I had been taking six months off a year and then competing for the other six On the heels of the Sochi momentum, thanks to the great efmonths. After 2014, this became a full-time job for a lot of forts of advocates like Dan Gale - co-founder of Adaptive people. If you wanted to compete, it was time to find sponsors, Action Sports alongside his wife (Paralympic snowboarder time to figure out a way to do this full time, time to go to and medalist, actress, model and more) Amy Purdy - para South America, Europe, and follow the snow across the globe snowboarding was added to the X Games in 2015 and the Dew Tour in 2016. “I think the 2014 Paralympics is what gave throughout the year. You could see the level of riding was us that sort of - boom! Para snowboarding exists,” says Leslie. getting exponentially better, and it continues to do so. The person who finished last in 2014 in Sochi finished first in 2018 in PyeongChang.” Major changes to the competitive structure of para snowboarding also followed. At the Sochi Paralympic games, there was only a lower limb category for para boarders,

193 LESLIE.indd 67

26.11.2018 02:47

PHOTO: JOSH DOOLEY

19.3

ALL IN TOGETHER

P H O T O : M A R K FAW C E T T

193 LESLIE.indd 68

26.11.2018 02:47

With para snowboarding now firmly planted in the world’s eye, the upper echelon of the sport began to make the transition from a developing discipline to a high performance sport. To stay competitive, athletes and teams began hiring high-profile coaches and former Olympians to help their teams train. Even with it’s exhilarating growth, para snowboarding was still in its infancy, and still relatively small. Though there was now an arena to perform at the highest of levels, a spirited effort was still needed on a grassroots level to inform communities of the opportunities available in para snowboarding and bring more competitors into the sport. As John notes at the time of this discussion, team numbers often drop between big competition years, but to give you an idea of size, the Canadian National team currently consists of John, Sandrine Hamel, Alex Massey and coach, Greg Picard. “A lot of people in snowboarding don’t know about the para side of things. We are very young. We are new. We have a great opportunity at the moment and are hoping to get some more prospects out and continue to grow the sport in Canada,” he says.

for a World Cup. It is a friendly sport.” That openness reflects John’s own initiation years earlier. “I still had a ton to learn when I joined,” he says. “It was the U.S. guys who really took me under their wing, as well as coaches from other nations. Everyone is out there to help each other. We all kind of remember how we started.” That communal sentiment endures, even at the Paralympic level, and is a perfect testament to what boarding in general is all about. It’s what separates what we do from other “sports.” “When we meet up at the Paralympics, I have dinner with the U.S. boys, I grab beers with a Finnish friend, I play pool with the Australian team,” says Leslie of the camaraderie. “The other Canadian teams don’t even look at their competitors. But for us, it’s really been about being a family and helping each other get there.”

Following the games in PyeongChang, while flirting with the idea of retirement, John realized how uniquely lucky he was to be in such an influential position and the power he had to continue to effect change and drive progression in para snowboarding. There was still much headway to be made For John, this outreach includes serving as an official athlete before para snowboarders could participate with the representative for Canada both nationally and internationopportunities other para athletes have. The way he sees it, ally, meeting with organizers at home and with reps of other nations abroad at World Cup stops throughout the year, work- who better to do the work? shopping ways to develop their sport. It includes a vision that looks beyond individual success, one shared by many of John’s “However I leave this sport in Canada, that’s how it’s going to peers. “What I think is so cool about our sport and snowboard- be for the next generation of athletes,” he says. “I really like that it’s up to our current crew to lead by example, look for ing as a whole, is we understand that if we only look for opportunities and develop relationships. It’s not going to individual success, our sport will never grow,” he says. happen overnight. This is a long term thing.” An example: Qualifying for the World Cup circuit and a chance to compete on an international stage works the same John has employed his position to help shape and direct the sport from World Cup gatherings across the globe to as in able-bodied snowboarding - competitors duke it out initiatives back home in Canadian schools. For John, para at different events and tours, each stop holding a certain amount of weight, or points, the accumulation of which lands snowboarding’s development, and the growth of snowboarding as a whole, is largely contingent upon communication, the top performers in World Cup qualifying events, or World continuing to spread awareness and hype and bring more Cup events outright. Because the sport is so formative, many people into the gang. of the top competitors, like John, are calculated in how they approach these events, often attending and taking practice “It’s really just about having these conversations…The para runs, but then defaulting out of the actual competition to snowboarding community is a lot smaller than you think. allow new, developing talent to pick up points and snag My message to any kid out there facing a disability - DM me. qualifying spots. I probably get one or two message a week from someone with an artificial leg looking to know how do I bike, how do “I will do my two training runs and then step away, and we will have a majority vote,” Leslie explains. “If everyone decides I snowboard, how do I skateboard. Just reach out. We are a they want to do that as well, the top 10 guys won’t race. If we super small community.” decide we do want to race, we will race depending on how many athletes are there and how many are trying to qualify

193 LESLIE.indd 69

26.11.2018 02:48

* Mr. Forest Bailey

FSBS

* B

Forest lettin’ the mind wander. Satellite slide

A Fastest dude on the floor. Niels gettin’ after it

19.3

193 FSBS.indd 70

26.11.2018 02:49

Forest and the soon-to-be-sessioned van

WORDS: MAX TOKUNAGA

T H E

S I M P L E

P L E A S U R E S

O F

PHOTOS: ERIK HOFFMAN (A), MAX TOKUNAGA (B)

pot searching can be a battle between mental creativity and physical productivity. Sometimes you continually score, and others you feel like you’ve done something wrong to deserve the lack of visually pleasing, human-created objects to snowboard on. Or maybe your brain is just not seeing how to use that spot for snowboarding? Either way, sessions can go down on just about anything when you’re with your friends - a park bench, a trash can, a forsaken vehicle…

When I was in Europe with Forest Bailey, Niels Schack and Seamus Foster, the innovative eye for snowboard features was near capacity. While working on Frontside Backside 3, searching for original, unique spots paired with natural speed and minimal build time could be a tough task, especially in foreign territory. We desired to find spots that progressed the level of what can be done on a snowboard, rather than the progression of trick difficulty. “Oh, check out that 20 stair handrail…” “OK, it is cool, but can you hit it in a line? Hm, should we just wall ride that? Nah, keep lookin’.” “But wait, what’s up with that van? Let’s get something going!”

We were in northern Italy and the spots seemed to be lacking on this particular day. Driving to the end of a road, we found a van that was stuck in the snow, parked outside an abandoned building. The van looked a lot like the van that we were renting for the month. Busted windows and the stench of rotten food within the vehicle convinced us to go forward with building a lip onto the roof of the vehicle. Although this “spot” may not have been the most progressive, it allowed the crew to get the creative blood moving through our veins again. Laughing and having a light-hearted session on a friendly feature is much needed from time to time. Starting the session with simple slides from the roof to the windshield, we got to boarding again. I did a few boardslides on the roof and Forest came in with heat to follow. Frontside 270s on and a hardway backside 180 onto the windshield got the level of riding up. “OK, let’s hit it the other way.” Toss up some snow against the front bumper, soften up the landing a bit, and game on! Jamming up the windshield and sliding the opened passenger door was the next move. Forest pushed the session forward with a jam to front blunt pretzel 270 out, where he was able to shut the door of the van mid-trick. Jamming from the window to flat ground was another fun option. Forest brought it back to the original lip and did frontside 270 on, same-way 270 off the van roof. “Comin’ in hot like cold turkey!” Niels jumped to the roof of the van and finger flipped into the window to shut down the session. Sometimes it’s not the single, insane clip that someone in the crew gets to keep the fire lit on a street trip. It could be as simple as riding down a snow covered hill or street, sliding a bench or rock, or jibbing a van. Get that out of your system, channel it through some unique snowboarding, and get back to the streets to scare yourself again. Until the next trip... Thanks for the memories!

193 FSBS.indd 71

26.11.2018 02:49

A Max Chuganaga

B It’s the little spots… Niels hippie hop in Switzerland

FSBS

Seamus, faded

19.3

193 FSBS.indd 72

26.11.2018 02:49

A Niels and Max

* B Forest, 50-50 to DFD

* B

193 FSBS.indd 73

The worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s your oyster, er something. Forest 50-50 to trash can smash

26.11.2018 02:49

ADS 191 MERCH AD.indd 74

25.11.2018 22:21

ADS 191 MERCH AD.indd 75

25.11.2018 22:21

BLENDER

INTERVIEW: WILL RADULA-SCOTT PHOTOS: PERLY

* One of the heaviest tandems in the land. Louif and Tommy, front board and nosepress

19.3

Easily one of the most anticipated films of the year, and surely one that will sit in the running for video of the year, Tommy Gesme and company’s Blender smashed expectations. And to make the occasion even more momentous, adidas Snowboarding turned Tommy pro the night of the movie’s premier at the Varsity Theater in Minneapolis, Minnesota. A few weeks later, our very own Will Radula-Scott caught up with Tommy, Ben Bilodeau and director/filmer Colton Feldman before the movie’s premier in London to discuss their latest and greatest.

193 BLENDER ROUGH.indd 76

26.11.2018 02:50

193 BLENDER ROUGH.indd 77

26.11.2018 02:51

Why Blender? Did you get to choose the name or did it come from adidas? Tommy: We were kind of struggling with the name. We thought it would come naturally throughout the year and nothing really did for a while. We were toying with a couple different names during the year, some inside jokes and all that, and nothing really stuck.

Ben: Yeah, they hit me up every single time!

Colton: And then the name came about, sort of out of a brainstorm involving everyone. I personally wanted to call the movie Peer Pressure. Joe Carlino was helping out behind the scenes with everything, and Evan (LeFebvre), Wiz (Alex Sherman), Tommy, myself and everyone else involved were talking about all things video-related, title included, thinking about names, nicknames, funny names, anything like that. The movie is really just a mix of Tommy and friends so Blender kind of made sense. It’s a cool, short name.

BLENDER

Tommy: And it sounds kind of nice. It rolls off the tongue.

Before that, what had you been working on, and how do those previous parts compare? Ben: I’ve never done a full video part. I have just had random clips here and there. I stayed pretty local for all those ones. This was a completely new thing for me.

I’ve heard you kind of have a strict diet. How is it traveling overseas? I am vegetarian and lactose intolerant. I just consider myself extremely picky.

How much were you guys in charge of the movie’s production? Tommy: We traveled wherever we wanted to go, chose locations, and kind of just chased the snow and tried to go to new places. Places that we hadn’t gone in the past. When it came to the edit and the post-production, since we were working with adidas, we had to make sure they were hyped on what was going on. Everyone put their two cents in for the post-production, and I am hyped, excited and proud of how it turned out. It turned out great.

Well, you can’t really fault yourself for being lactose intolerant. Did you find it a struggle when traveling? Ben: Some places it was definitely a struggle, but it was more the language barrier than anything.

Colton: I think it was definitely a group project, like Tommy said. Everything went by everybody. Personally, I like to keep everything under wraps, like no one sees anything until the release, including the riders. That is my dream project, to have it be a surprise to everyone at the premiere. This one was different, where everyone was involved in it. Like Ben got to choose his own song and Tommy oversaw a lot of it.

Colton: Ben, what happened to your toe-straps at that one spot?

Where was it most difficult? Ben: I think the hardest places we went to be lactose intolerant were France and Switzerland. Tons of cheese and cream on everything. Lately I have been trying to broaden my diet in hopes that it will help me on my future travels.

Ben: (laughs) I battled a front board pretzel for what felt like weeks, but it was a couple hours. Slowly my straps started breaking until I didn’t have toe-caps and I got lucky enough to still land it. You don’t need toe-caps for front board pretzels I guess. (laughs)

19.3

Did you see a lot of your shots before the movie? Tommy: Not until the very end, but yes. At the end we would Tommy, what did you think about being more of a central go back and forth, duking out different versions and the pros focus of a film? Was it more or less work or pressure than you expected? and cons of each. Tommy: I don’t think I felt more pressure, but again, I was with some of my best friends so we were just doing our norSo you had a lot of input in the final edit, instead of like, “Right, I will just leave it with you and see what happens. I mal thing. I guess I felt a little more, but either way, anything we film for we always try to give it our all. I think it helped want the surprise.” filming with Colton. I have filmed with Colton since day one. Tommy: Definitely. And then filming with Ben, we are fucking boys, so it didn’t feel too different. When we were out there we kind of just Same with you, Ben? Were you as involved? Ben: I guess I was lucky enough to get invited everywhere so tried to stick to our normal routine. I was just down for whatever! Nothing new to it really. Tommy: Yeah, exactly. Just try to keep the ball rolling. Ben, what’s it like being out filming with these boys? Ben: Very fun. It’s great filming with my close friends. I spent How important was it to have Colton there? like 100 days out of the country. Tommy: I wouldn’t want it any other way. Had you traveled much before? Come on, Colton. You can look him in the eyes! (laughs) Ben: Not like that, no. Before this I’d been to Japan and New Tommy: I wouldn’t be where I am today without Colton. Zealand. Now I can knock off like ten more countries. Did you guys travel together the whole time, start to finish? What’s the back story? How and when did you guys start hanging out and working together? Colton: Ben was with us 100 percent of the time. Colton: We met at Superpark at Mount Bachelor. At the time

193 BLENDER ROUGH.indd 78

26.11.2018 02:51

* Alex Sherman negotiates a tricky kink with a BS 50-50

* Louif unleashing an insane switch hardway 270 front board through the kink in Finland

193 BLENDER ROUGH.indd 79

26.11.2018 02:51

BLENDER

* Craig Cameron finishing up a line with a boardslide in the school zone

19.3

* Mark Wilson gettinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; his art grind on

193 BLENDER ROUGH.indd 80

26.11.2018 02:52

So this is a bit of a next level kind of thing, where they came to you and said like, “Hey, do you want to film for this movie for the whole winter?” Ben: Yeah. I was tripping on that. I still am. I honestly couldn’t have picked better people to do it with. I love these guys, watching them ride, and hanging out with them. I’ve heard you kind of have a strict diet. How is it traveling overseas? Ben: I am vegetarian and lactose intolerant. I just consider myself extremely picky. Well, you can’t really fault yourself for being lactose intolerant. Did you find it a struggle when traveling? Ben: Some places it was definitely a struggle, but it was more the language barrier than anything. Where was it most difficult? Ben: I think the hardest places we went to be lactose intolerant were France and Switzerland. Tons of cheese and cream on everything. Lately I have been trying to broaden my diet in hopes that it will help me on my future travels. Colton: Ben, what happened to your toe-straps at that one spot? Ben: (laughs) I battled a front board pretzel for what felt like weeks, but it was a couple hours. Slowly my straps started breaking until I didn’t have toe-caps and I got lucky enough to still land it. You don’t need toe-caps for front board pretzels I guess. (laughs) Tommy, what did you think about being more of a central focus of a film? Was it more or less work or pressure than you expected? Tommy: I don’t think I felt more pressure, but again, I was with some of my best friends so we were just doing our normal thing. I guess I felt a little more, but either way, anything we film for we always try to give it our all. I think it helped filming with Colton. I have filmed with Colton since day one. And then filming with Ben, we are fucking boys, so it didn’t feel too different. When we were out there we kind of just tried to stick to our normal routine. Nothing new to it really. Tommy: Yeah, exactly. Just try to keep the ball rolling. How important was it to have Colton there? Tommy: I wouldn’t want it any other way. Come on, Colton. You can look him in the eyes! (laughs) Tommy: I wouldn’t be where I am today without Colton. What’s the back story? How and when did you guys start hanging out and working together? Colton: We met at Superpark at Mount Bachelor. At the time I was making the Keep the Change videos. We were making the new video and I had just met Dillon Ojo as well, kind of in the same year. Dillon and Tommy were just upcoming kids and we wanted them in our movie. Pretty much, that is the time when everyone just met up. Tommy: Yeah, that Superpark at Bachelor. Probably in 2014?

193 BLENDER ROUGH.indd 81

Colton: Yeah, that was the time. Tommy and Dillon were just unreal, both of them. Tommy: And then we did those Dragon We Are Frameless tours and Colton filmed those videos. We did that tour together and kind of hit it off. Then the following year - those Dragon tours were always kind of preseason - and after the first one, the following year we filmed Homage. From there, I have only filmed with him. We meshed well. By the way, I’ve not seen Blender yet. Usually, I have actually seen the movie we are discussing and can ask questions about certain things, but this is different and quite nice. We are expecting to see some wild shit in this movie. Any standout riders, clips or surprises that we should be keeping an eye out for? All, in unison: Ben Bilodeau. Tommy: That’s hands down! He comes through! There are many, many clips from Ben... Colton: Mark Wilson, also! Tommy: Mark is our fucking boy. I was just watching Holy Smokes and was thinking of Mark. He’s been a bit quiet. He got injured, right? Tommy: Yeah, he broke his back. Colton: He broke his back this year, just at a random spot outside of Portland. It was right after the trip that he came on when we went to Kazakhstan and Finland, so he is in the video and has some cool stuff, too. Where else did you go to film the movie? Tommy: We started in France and then went to Switzerland. After that we went to western Canada for a quick stint. Then we flew to Kazakhstan, Kazakhstan to Finland, then home to Minnesota. From there we went to Sweden and Norway for another trip. That was cool. We rented a van in Sweden and drove to Oslo, which was cool for us. None of us had been to either place. Did you hook up with some locals? Tommy: Not really. Derrek Lever came with us on that trip and he had been to Oslo for the House Call movie. He was there earlier in the winter and had some photos of spots, some kind of classic spots, but we had somewhat of a reference and could see some spots that they didn’t hit. Colton: We also met up with Alex Tank and Artem Smolin. Artem speaks Russian so he helped us in Kazakstan. He had been there before and was super helpful. Alex Tank, we knew him from the 3:00 AM video and he is a good friend. He was awesome and helped us out with a bunch of shit as well. OK, changing course a bit - Tommy, high-five for turning pro! What’s it like turning pro in front of your friends? Tommy: That was a dream come true. I couldn’t believe it! Big shock? Tommy: Yeah, I was definitely caught off guard! I didn’t think that was happening. At the theater where we did the premiere there is this big-ass projector and we did a little test

26.11.2018 02:52

BLENDER 19.3

193 BLENDER ROUGH.indd 82

26.11.2018 02:52

* Marathon of a boardslide from Tommy

193 BLENDER ROUGH.indd 83

26.11.2018 02:52

19.3

BLENDER

* Ben Bilodeau, FS poke over the frame to back board 270 out on the closeout

193 BLENDER ROUGH.indd 84

26.11.2018 02:53

* Artem Smolin surely bumming out a security guard somewhere with a rooftop boardslide jam in Kazakhstan

where it was like, “OK, the projector is going to come down twice. Once for the House Call video, and then it will go back up. And then down again for Blender, go back up.” So after Blender it went back up, we got some drinks and then the screen was coming back down. Since I was there for the sound and video test I was just like, “Why is it coming back down?” And then this video of Louif came up and I was like, “Oh, fuck!” It was crazy. I am still smiling; I’ve been dreaming of that since I was a little kid. That was an amazing night. And to have all these guys there… Was everyone there? Tommy: Yeah, except Lou. He was on a premiere

193 BLENDER ROUGH.indd 85

tour for Toni’s (Kerkelä) movie, so he was in Europe. But it’s sick he is here tonight! He hasn’t even seen the movie yet! I am excited for that. And the champagne was flowing that night? Tommy: A lot of champagne, a lot drinks, a lot of everything. (laughs) Ben: Popped like six bottles on your head. Tommy: I smelled like champagne. Any bottle popping tips? Tommy: Just got to pop it away from you so you don’t take a cork to the face!

26.11.2018 02:53

WORDS AND PHOTOS: E-STONE

It happened again. Four a.m., a doll’s voice pierces the silence of night. “Momma.” “Poppa.” And then the eerie sound of a child’s laughter. The house stirs with a “what the fuck?” from one room, and the clamor of people running into other rooms to find out who had this damn doll that seemed to go off every night. Once again, no doll was found. What was even more alarming is everyone seemed to think the noise was coming from a different room, or even from inside a wall. At this point in our trip to Finland we had something called the mega-bed in each of the sleeping areas where all the beds were pushed up against each other because everyone was too scared to sleep alone. Our group had been in Finland for about a week and we were following the path of melting snow north. As the snow dried up in our first zone we made the call to go to Oulu as snow levels were still good there. In our crew of shredders we had Finn Westbury, Brandon Davis, Gab Jacques, Benny Milam and Reid Smith, filmers Derek Weimer and Mia Lambson, and myself on photo duty. Our journey was loosely planned since we were chasing snow, so no real lodging plans were made in advance. We’d decided on Oulu the day before we arrived, and being that it was a Friday, the Airbnb options were looking slim. Then we found what looked like the perfect place. It was really cheap as well - an added bonus. Sure it looked to be a bit out of town and kind of located in a secluded forest but we were only there to stack clips. If the place was cheap and had beds for everyone in the crew it sounded perfect, right? I mean, what could be wrong with it?

* The Beta gang

19.3

PHOTO: DEREK WEIM ER

193 FINLAND.indd 86

As we drove through the forest noting the place had zero neighbors we were kind of stoked. The forest was really cool looking during the daytime and seemed really peaceful. We pulled up to the Airbnb and were very surprised to see it was some type of summer camp with one of the buildings turned into a house rental. We kind of tripped out at first as it did not have the same amount of bedrooms as advertised and it turned out the shower was in another building that you had to walk across the camp to use. The old man caretaker did not speak a word of English but got the gist of us saying there were not enough beds. He walked us to another building, unlocked it and pointed to a bunch of beds we could move over to our building. He then showed us how to use the shower and sauna and left the camp. As we got settled, Derek and I went over to the other building to move some beds. This building had no power and was very dusty. It’d clearly been out of use for some time, maybe even years. As we looked around the lower level we heard a loud bang from the upper floor and went to investigate. Nothing was up there. We were really confused about where the noise had come from. Creeped out, we gave each other a look, grabbed our beds and ran out of the building. On the way out we both noticed these really small children’s handprints on a window looking out from an upstairs loft to the main room and this only creeped us out more. We laughed it off and ran with our beds across the camp to our rental. Later that evening, just after it got dark, I was outside alone and noticed something really weird happening in the window of the building we got our beds from. It looked as if I could see the figure of a person in the window. Then it would fade out to nothing, only to come back. I was super creeped out and ran back in the house to tell the crew. Everyone was quick to say I was making it up or my eyes were just tripping out and com-

26.11.2018 02:54

* Finn Westbury, big olâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; tail slap up top

193 FINLAND.indd 87

26.11.2018 02:55

BEWARE, THE DOLLâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S HOUSE 19.3

* Boardslide through the mini waterfall from Reid Smith

193 FINLAND.indd 88

* Gab Jacques, FS lip on the boat railing

26.11.2018 02:55

P H O T O : F I N N W E S T B U RY

ing in and out of focus. We went out as a group to look at the window and, sure enough, everyone saw it. It would appear and disappear at the same time for all of us, coming and going at random. When we went as a group for a closer look there was nothing in the room but a bed with plain walls. Nothing in the room that could possibly look like the human form we were all seeing. Thoroughly weirded out, we all bolted from the place once again. The house just seemed to give us all a weird vibe. Before we went to bed that night, we did the obvious thing anyone would do and told ghost stories, which only made us all more scared!

ness of the situation kept the crew in the main room up most of the night, only catching some sleep when the sun finally came up. The next morning we did some research and that’s when we found out the place was a closed down children’s camp. We all laughed about what had happened the night before and went out for a day of shredding. We did not think too much more about it.

After a great day of shooting we pulled back into the forest where our house was. There’d been a dusting of fresh snow from the day. As we got further down our road we noticed a bunch of children’s footprints in the snow that seemed That night, about a half hour after we all went to bed, all the to start out of nowhere. They led right up to the camp. This lights in the main room where four people were sleeping sud- house was literally in the middle of nowhere; we found it very denly turned on at once. They were the older, florescent lights, odd that there would be any footprints, let alone kid’s prints like you’d see in schools, that made a loud noise when they leading into the camp. Making the scenario more odd, there went on. Derek ran from that room into the next room think- were no prints leading back out. We pulled into the house and ing he would catch one of the others doing it but everyone no one else was there. Just footprints all around the area. At was in their bed, most sleeping and others with headphones this point, even the most skeptical among us were starting on watching a movie. All were oblivious that anything had to trip out a bit. At night we all went to check if the creeping happened at all. Later that night the hallway lights kept turn- form was in the window of the building across from us. Sure ing on. Someone in the main room went to check it out and enough, it would come and go as it pleased, right in front of noticed the bathroom doors also open when we purposely left our eyes. Whatever “it” was, it seemed to be watching us. We’d them shut after the earlier light incident. The general eeriall run back into the house, laughing it off like it was nothing,

193 FINLAND.indd 89

26.11.2018 02:55

19.3

BEWARE, THE DOLLâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S HOUSE

* Brandon Davis tossing a crippler off the wall

193 FINLAND.indd 90

26.11.2018 02:55

* Benny Milam, roof ride FS 180 to switch 50-50

193 FINLAND.indd 91

26.11.2018 02:56

BEWARE, THE DOLL’S HOUSE

but all of us were a little freaked out. That second night is when the doll noise started, and this brought things to a whole new level. This is when we devised a plan to feel safer at night, and the mega-bed was born. We put all the beds together in the two sleeping rooms since no one wanted to be alone in the dark in this place. It didn’t even feel safe having the beds several feet apart. With mega-bed, basically, the most scared people got in the middle. As with the previous night, the bathroom doors seemed to open up on their own and the lights would go on and off without anyone touching them. People in our group were really starting to lose sleep, and the idea that this place was truly haunted lurked in our thoughts.

19.3

After two nights of the doll making noise every night around 4 a.m. we did a huge search of the house to see if anyone had a doll hidden, or if we could find one somewhere in the house. We came up empty-handed. One room had a locked door to the caretaker’s office and we decided we had to know what was in it. We broke into his office and ransacked the place. In the room we found two bins of children’s dolls, which really freaked us out. Even more odd, none of them were battery operated so it would be impossible for them to cry out in the night. We even went as far as to call the lady in charge of the rental and asked her if they had ever had any weird things happen in the house. Unfortunately, with the language barrier, she had trouble understanding. That, or she just did not want us to know about something. Her English seemed pretty good in all of our other dealings. After two more days of this, Derek, who had not slept now in four days, was starting to lose it. He felt the sleeplessness was starting to effect his work so he booked a room at a nearby hotel, just so he could escape what seemed like the ghosts of Finnish kids having their fun with us. I had always heard insane ghost stories and I wanted to believe in them but I had never had a personal experience. After this trip to Finland, that has changed for me. I still don’t know what to believe. We left the place unharmed, only freaked out, but I think everyone who stayed in that house is now a believer. Everyone seemed to have their own personal stories from

193 FINLAND.indd 92

the house as well. For me it was a time when everyone else went to the sauna and I was in the house alone. I think I lasted about five minutes. I was hearing weird noises from every room in the house, almost like the house was alive. I had the feeling I was being watched. The feeling quickly became a vibe I could feel in my body and it sent me running to the sauna to hang with the group until they came back. No one wanted to be alone in the house. I also had reoccurring dreams that a young child was trying to get in the bedroom I was sleeping in at night; I had blocked the door with all my luggage because it led to the hall with the duel bathrooms and the doors with minds of their own, and the lights that found their way back on every time we turned them off. In my dream, the child did not seem overly threatening, like it wanted to hurt me. It was just always lurking outside the door, looking to come in the room. I’d wake up sweating and be scared out of my mind but drift back to sleep only to have the dream again. When it was time to pack up and leave we were all more than excited to get out of the house. I swear, if it had not been something like $12 a person per night we all would have moved out after the first night. Mega-bed kept the crew safe and we lived to tell the story. This is why ghost stories exist. People like us, having insane encounters and keeping the legend fresh. Letting people know ghosts are very real. If you ever get the chance, ask Brandon Davis about the ghost from his childhood that sat on his bed at night and sometimes even sat on him while he slept. His father recently moved back into his childhood home and calls to tell him that now he believes the ghost stories Brandon told as a child. He showed me video proof his father sent him confirming his childhood nightmares were real! Check under your bed at night and be sure to close the closet door. Maybe don’t creep around the house at night trying to find out what that noise was. You might find something you don’t want to find waiting for you like we did in the forest of Finland. Sleep well. E-Stone

26.11.2018 02:56

* A little mute to spice up the boardslide, courtesy of Brandon Davis

26.11.2018 02:56

193 FINLAND.indd 93

* FS 360 poke in Laax from Gian Sutter

19.3

ESCAPE : RETURN OF THE SWISS STREETS

PHOTO: KU NO EG LI

193 ESCAPE.indd 94

26.11.2018 02:57

INTERVIEW WITH LOU STAUB ON THE ESCAPE VIDEO, PLAYING TEAM MOM AND MORE

all it intuition, a hunch. Lou Staub knew it was time to give the Swiss street scene another push. Having quit the Swiss team and moved to Laax at 18, he filmed for, and was an integral part of, the now defunct Mindset Productions. This past year Lou rallied the next gen from the mouthwatering Laax parks and turned not to the outer reaches of Europe as he had for other projects, but to the street landscape right in their backyard. “This season I wanted to film something that is relatable for everyone, and show that you don’t need to ride the rails everybody already destroyed to film a good movie.” We had Lou expound a bit more below. INTERVIEW: ALASTAIR SPRIGGS

From the ashes of Mindset Productions came Escape. You’re still a young guy, what motivated you to keep the fire burning? I started as a competition kid. I was in sports school and I started quite young. By the time I turned 18 I was already burnt out. Then I decided to move to Laax and met Mathias Wittwer with the Mindset crew. I got involved in that crew, first as a rider, but then after some injuries, I started holding a camera. Helping Mathias was a huge building block for me. At the end, when Mathias told me he was going to stop Mindset, I got thrown into cold water. I felt that if I didn’t step up and organize and film a video, then no one would. Mindset was the last real filming crew in Switzerland. I didn’t want our momentum to die.

Fumagali, Martin Lasser, Joel Stuab, Dario Burch and myself. So you’re trying to revive the Swiss street scene? I think it’s been a really long time since a new crew has been fully dedicated to riding street. A lot of crews will pop up, dropping Instagram edits, or park edits. I also love doing that, but we all had the same vision of doing a full movie. Where’d you go to film the project? All the shots were filmed in Switzerland. Mainly all in the Laax area, or within a two hour radius.

Was there a reason you stayed in Switzerland? Last season I went to Finland two times when we filmed for Mindset Productions. It was awesome, and we filmed about 60 percent of the movie there. All the spots we rode were Who’s in the crew? Some guys came from the Mindset crew, guys who I’d already in at least three other movies: Method Mag’s second movie, Labyrinth crew’s Global Warming, etc. Those guys have much filmed with in years prior. The other half were Swiss contest kids. Last season they started their own crew and filmed some more experience than us… So our shots just looked super beat in comparison. street stuff. That’s how I linked up with them. I hit up Gian Sutter and Elias Rupp - they were the youngest ones. Elias is only 17 years old. It’s crazy because he does the whole contest Another reason we avoided common spots was because it’s tour, every European Cup, and every smaller contest with the hard to do anything new on them. It’s not as entertaining to Swiss team. He had so much motivation that he found enough watch. A lot of Swiss riders have always made excuses to not ride street because they say it can’t be done, there’s no spots, time to film a full-length video part that landed him ender. Yannick Messmer was also new. I knew everyone from riding or you always get kicked out. We made Escape to show them that it is possible to film a proper street movie in Switzerland. park at Laax but never filmed with them. In the end it was Gian Sutter, Elias Rupp, Yannick Messmer, Florian Fischer, Elio If you really want to do it, and if you have a creative eye, you

193 ESCAPE.indd 95

26.11.2018 02:57

ESCAPE : RETURN OF THE SWISS STREETS

* Frontside wallride courtesy of Elias Rupp P H O T O : DA N I E L L O O S L I

we rode this wall ride. A frontside wall ride, and a backside wall ride frontside 180 had already been done. Bobby didn’t have any tricks. There was a gnarly down-flat-down next to the wall ride so we thought he should grind the rail. I think Who threw down at every spot? Two people come immediately to mind. First, Florian Fisher. Elias said, “Just do a front board through it.” I don’t want to I was originally bummed because I didn’t think he’d have a blame Eli but I think he said it. (laughs) long part. It wasn’t until the editing process that I realized he was consistently stacking sick shots. His style is so clean! He just went for it. Fully locked in. What the fuck was he doing? I just saw him flying, and landing where there wasn’t Secondly, Elias Rupp. Every spot we went to, he impressed me. Sometimes he’d start with easier tricks and then I’d say any snow; he literally landed on top of rocks. My first something like, “Ay, do a switch back lip.” He’d respond, “Uh, thought was fuck, I’m going to get sued. I’m responsible for the fact that he may never walk again. I felt like it was my alright,” then stomp it second try. fault. I was convinced he had a broken back. We’re all thankful that he was OK. Who had the heaviest bail? Philip Schwan, aka Bobby, for sure. He did a front board What was your role on the team? straight to his back. It’s the heaviest clip in the intro segment. It was at one of our first sessions in November when At first I didn’t even think of everything that had to be

19.3

can basically film anywhere there’s snow. We also had a really good winter. We didn’t have to go anywhere else.

193 ESCAPE.indd 96

26.11.2018 02:58

P H O T O : DA N I E L L O O S L I

* A fine looking frontside board. Yannick Messmer in Ilanz

done. “Let’s go film,” was all I thought about. I was the filmer, rider, editor, team manager, organizer and driver. Literally, everything. I had to show the kids how everything was done. Sometimes I felt more like a mom. I’d show people how to strap stuff to the roof of the van, or how to operate a winch. The guys must have been so pissed at me sometimes. I had to apologize a lot. (laughs) At the end, filming was the easiest part because the riders were so good. Were you stoked on your shots in the movie? In the end I was happy with my shots. They were good filmer shots. My main focus was to showcase the other riders. It was more of a bonus to have a part for myself. Who funded the trips? In the beginning I funded it all myself. I thought it’d be difficult to get funding from sponsors because we were a new

193 ESCAPE.indd 97

crew, with a new filmer. But at the end of the season we hit up a few sponsors with a little preview video of the movie, and we got a lot of support. Doodah, Ride, Laax, K2 and Nitro all hooked us up. I basically got all my money back. What’s next? Well, we already have a little budget so I hope we stay motivated. For me, it’s going to be a similar season, dedicated to making another movie, but making it better. Plus I bought a new van, so we can transport one more guy on our street missions. I really hope the crew is still stoked. We’ll probably do a trip or two this year. We’ve had our eyes on Poland - the rails look really sick. Otherwise, I want to do more backcountry trips. All the young guys are throwing different kinds of double corks so I really want them to try them in the powder.

26.11.2018 02:58

19.3

P H O T O : P E R LY

193 GALLERY.indd 98

R I D E R : L O U I F PA R A D I S

26.11.2018 00:19

L O C AT I O N : Q U E B E C

193 GALLERY.indd 99

T R I C K : B OA R D S L I D E T O WA L L R I D E

26.11.2018 00:19

PHOTO: TH EO ACWORTH RI DER: FLO CORZELIUS L O C AT I O N : N O R D K E T T E , AU S T R I A TRICK: UNDERFLIP 19.3

193 GALLERY.indd 100

26.11.2018 00:20

PHOTO: TH EO ACWORTH RIDER: MAX BURI L O C AT I O N : S E E F E L D, AU S T R I A T R I C K : N O S E TA P B S 1 8 0

26.11.2018 00:20

193 GALLERY.indd 101

193 GALLERY.indd 102

26.11.2018 00:20

PHOTO: E-STON E RIDER: REID SMITH

L O C AT I O N : Q U E B E C TRICK: 50-50

P H O T O : DA N I E L B E R N S TÅ L R I D E R : J O H N N Y O ’C O N N O R

PHOTO: COLE MARTI N R I D E R : JA K E M O O R E

193 GALLERY.indd 103

L O C AT I O N : N O T Q U E B E C T R I C K : B S WA L L R I D E , B S 1 8 0 O U T

L O C AT I O N : O S L O, N O R WAY TRICK: FS 50-50

26.11.2018 16:31

P H O T O : DA N I E L B E R N S TÃ&#x2026; L R I D E R : L U DV I G B I L LT O F T

PHOTO: MARKUS ROH RBACH ERR S P O T: L O F O T E N , N O R WAY

193 GALLERY.indd 104

L O C AT I O N : FA L U N , S W E D E N TRICK: M ELON 50-50

TRICK: VENTURING

26.11.2018 00:21

19.3

PHOTO: E-STON E RIDER: JED SKY L O C AT I O N : U TA H , U S A TRICK: METHOD

26.11.2018 00:21

193 GALLERY.indd 105

P H O T O : P E R LY RI DER: M I KKEL BANG

PHOTO: OLI GAG NON R I D E R : JA K E K U Z Y K

193 GALLERY.indd 106

L O C AT I O N : C E R V I N A , I TA LY TRICK: FS 540

L O C AT I O N : Q U E B E C T R I C K : B S TA I L

26.11.2018 00:21

19.3

P H O T O : DA N I E L B E R N S TÅ L RIDER: HALLDÓR HELGASON L O C AT I O N : S T O C K H O L M , S W E D E N T R I C K : 5 0 - 5 0 T O F S B OA R D S L I D E

26.11.2018 00:22

193 GALLERY.indd 107

Through the portal, into the whiteout. Until next time… RIDER: GIGI RÜF PHOTO: RUDI WYHLIDAL

193 GOOD BYE.indd 108

26.11.2018 00:32

193 GOOD BYE.indd 109

26.11.2018 00:32

ADS 193 BACK.indd 134

26.11.2018 13:32

ADS 193 BACK.indd 135

26.11.2018 13:32

ADS 193 BACK.indd 136 vans_method_FA18_all.indd 2

26.11.2018 13:32

ADS 193 BACK.indd 137

26.11.2018 13:32 16/10/2018 11:04

UNION SPECIFIC INNOVATIONS

EXPEDITION

CONNECTION RECONSIDERED

" We splitboard for the ride down, not the tour up. Finally, we have a binding that doesn't compromise the way the board interface performs." -BRYAN IGUCHI

TECH HIGHLIGHTS: 1

SYMMETRIC DURAFLEX HIGHBACKS

DURAFLEX ST SP1 BASE

Goes from tour to riding mode with the flick of your fingers.

Developed and rigorously tested by none other than Travis Rice and Bryan Iguchi.

3D SYMMETRIC ANKLE STRAPS

SYNTHETIC EVA 3.0 BUSHINGS

Direct Connect System locks you in with zero strap elasticity.

Shock absorbing synthetic bushings compliment the smooth, natural ride of the SP1 base.

DEDICATED TO INNOVATION AND MANUFACTURING

UNION BINDING COMPANY

STRONGER.

INSTAGRAM:@UNIONBINDINGCO

ADS 193 BACK.indd 138

WEB:UNIONBINDINGCOMPANY.COM

26.11.2018 13:32

RIDER/LOCATION

BRYAN IGUCHI WYOMING

ADS 193 BACK.indd 139

26.11.2018 13:33

193 BACK COVER.indd 140

26.11.2018 13:37