Yep, we like watching Kazu ride so much that we’ll even post an interview with him that’s completely in Japanese because it features some bangers from his career being a cool cat. So sue us.

For those whose Japanese is not too shabby, this is the lowdown:

國母和宏インタビュー映像
日本を代表するトップライダー　國母和宏が2010年のバンクーバーでの騒動、その翌年からのUS OPEN 連覇を振り返り、現在の心境とこれからの目標について語る。
KAZUが見据える、その視線の先にあるものは？
KAZU KOKUBO Signature Series オークリー公式サイトにスペシャルコンテンツを公開中。

This is what the Google machine claims that says:

Interviews Kazuhiro mother country
Kazuhiro mother land top rider of Japan and turmoil in Vancouver in 2010, looking back from the US OPEN consecutive year, the talk about the goals of the current and future mental state.
Some KAZU is anticipation, ahead of its eyes?
Published in a special content to the official website KAZU KOKUBO Signature Series Oakley.

Crystal, right?

The Swoosh-wearing crew over at Nike Snowboarding have just dropped the first chapter of their three-part team video, The Nike Snowboarding Project. Check what it’s all about in our exclusive chat with Halldor Helgason…

Featuring the likes of Jed Anderson, Justin Bennee, Jess Kimura, Johnnie Paxson and of course your boy Halldor, you know it’s gonna be full of hammers and having watched it we must say it’s sick. Joe Carlino did a solid job on the edit, too, as you’ll see here. We caught up with Halldor to find out more…

Photo: Phil Young

A couple of off the cuff remarks after watching that jib-centric Chapter 1. That rail of yours. What the fucking fuck? How many kinks were there in that beast, how many tries did it take, and was it the one you guys tried to hit with Factor Films back in the day?

Haha, I’m pretty sure it was a 12-kink and, no, it’s not the same rail that we tried a few years ago. It actually didn’t take that many tries – me, Eiki and Gulli all got it within 3 Hours so we were pumped!

When you’re setting up for something serious, arent you ever worried those little octocopters are gonna go mad and crash into you, leaving a chewed up hunk of Icelandic flesh where a Halldor used to be?

Haha, for sure sometimes, but I always try and focus on how sick it’s going to feel if it actually works out. If you would think too much about the bad things that could happen you wouldnt go to far as a snowboarder I think… Just seeeeeeend it.

Seeing as you have your own project, Pepping!, too, was it a pain in the arse to decide which footage went where?

Nah, it was mellow this year. I actually didn’t end up getting as much on film this season as I wanted, since I only filmed street stuff in Iceland from November till beginning of January, then I had X Games and some more contests and ended up fucking my ankle at the beginning of March during the World Championships in Oslo. My first day back was at Superpark in May so I only filmed a little bit of park at the end of the season, till I fucked my other ankle in June, hehe. The shortest season for me so far. Hopefully a better one is coming up now, my ankles feel bulletproof, 7-9-13, (lucky number in Iceland, incase your wondering) so I’m stoked.

Where did you shoot for this part, and was it a couple weeks here and there or was your footage pulled in from across the season?

It’s only stuff from my first and only street trip of the season, which was back in Iceland in Reykjavik and my hometown Akureyri.

Is there a particular trick of yours in this edit that you’re particularly stoked on? Something that was super hard work or a memorable session with the bros?

Probably the one that I’m most stoked on is the FS blunt on the C-kink, only because I started up with a FS 5-0 and then decided to try a FS Blunt, so I was thinking “If get this it’s a huuuge bonus,” hehe. Plus all the other guys ended up getting bangers as well. Gooood day

For us the heaviest trick in there is Bennee’s wallie bombdrop. What’s your personal highlight from the other dudes? Be specific – dont want any Swedish neutrality here…

It’s hard to say, everyone straight up killed it in that edit, It was sick to see. My favourites are: Justin Benne that gap to landing on the rock and the huuuuge wallie to drop, then Jed’s boardslide on the flat gap to boardslide on the ledge and Paxon’s wallride ender – not kidding around. It’s cool to see that after the bonus edit where he is getting destroyed trying to get it.

I just had one of those nightmares when you’re back at school and have to do an exam, so to make you feel my morning pain, here’s an exam-themed question: Though they’re at complete opposite ends of the spectrum, urban riding and backcountry freestyle are the areas of snowboarding in which there’s the most room for creativity. Discuss.

Not really sure whats going on here… Boardercross and slalom have a lot of room for creativity, I have some banger ideas for that so just wait, hehe. But I love seeing creative riding or just something that I haven’t seen before always gets me so damn stoked and it keeps snowboarding fun in a way you can’t get over it with it. I can relate way more to urban creativity since I do that way more then backountry, but when I see something new in the backcountry just a little bit different then a cheesewedge drop, pow turn, normal jump or all those classic things, I get so stoked. For example I’m going to take the Nitro powder part in Hyped!, I was so damn stoked on that one: Austin Smith pow turn burying his friends in snow to a frontflip of the piste. Baaanger stuff!

Did you get a chance to ride with the other guys appearing in Chapter 1? Whose riding hypes you most?

I actually didn’t have the opportunity this year to session with them, but it’s for sure going down next season. I really love seeing Jed ride since he has a way different style than I do and his riding is always fun to watch.

Leaving aside the things you’re in, what other movie content – online or even one of those old-fashioned DVD things – has stoked you out this fall?

I was so stoked when my Icelandic friends dropped their movie A2M by The Barf Bags, haha. It’s really inspired by the Wildcats, Jackass I guess and the Whisky movies, and that’s what I love to see. Snowboarding has to stay naaaasty dirty and sketchy: that’s what CLEAN really is if you think about it….

Seems like you’re not in any ‘regular’ movies this year – just this and Pepping! and being dirty in A2M. Is that true, if so how come? Has the internet fully killed the video star?

We also do a lot of edits on Helgasons.com. But no, the internet hasn’t fully killed the video star, but it is the way things are changing. I really like it to be honest since it’s so easy for everyone to get a hold on, and everyone is watching things on their computer way more than on their TV. People are for real getting too lazy to go through the process of putting a DVD in to the DVD player, hehe.

This winter’s just beginning. What have you got coming up? And what will you be focussing your attentions on? Contests? Filming? Getting nasty?

A little bit of everything like always, but mostly just [focussing on] staying in one piece. I’m going all in to film for the Nike Project which I’m really looking forward to – I think it’s going to be a banger! – then we are going to keep on doing our Sexual Snowboarding movies because it’s way to much fun to quit and people seem to really like what we are doing, so that is awesome. Then “Harold” hopefully gets another part in the new Barf Bags movie and on top of that I’ll do a few contests and work with all my brands: Lobster Snowboards, Hoppipolla Headwear, 7-9-13 Belts and Switchback Bindings… So my main goal? Have as much fun as possible, like always…

Finally, it’s the start of the road to Sochi. Will you try to go to the Olympics, get the spot, and then get kicked out for shitting on someone’s tits?

Hahaha, thank you, thank you. I don’t dare to claim anything yet, but I would love to go there with my Coach Thunder and see what happens, heheh…

Check Chapter 1 of The Nike Snowboarding Project like now.

Photo: Matt Georges

Read this in-depth profile on Mat Schaer from last season, spiced up with some of his footage from all over the web.

Mat Schaer’s name gets mentioned a lot when it comes to emerging European backcountry talents. We do it, too. Mat Schaer is awesome.

Mathieu Schaer, The Quiet Achiever

[Words: Youri Barneoud]

In the space of just two seasons, the 21-year-old Swiss backcountry ripper has turned heads both in his home country and abroad, while intergrating into both Ero One’s and Absinthe’s film crews – all off his own back.

Growing up in Geneva in the footsteps of older brothers Samuel and Nelson, Mathieu started out attacking the slopes of La Clusaz every spare weekend he had. If you’re familiar with the resort and surrounding mountains, it’s easy to understand why Mathieu has developed such a talent for backcountry riding. But surprisingly La Clusaz isn’t what inspired Mathieu to turn professional, although his passion for powder certainly stems from there. It was a couple of amateur contests in Les Crosets and then a few TTR events that revealed his potential, while at the same time leading him to meet the Ero One crew, who would take him under their wing. Chosing between contests and shooting video was an easy choice. “Contests are often a way of getting your name out there to sponsors and can be what they ask of you to begin with,” he explains. DC, his main sponsor, was quickly happy for him to shoot with the Ero One crew rather than join the tour. Unlike many others who attend specialised sports schools where they focus on half-pipe riding, Mathieu has never been forced to take part in comps.

Ero One’s Voila - Féfé Pellacani, Sam & Mat Schaer & Chris Cunningham

“I never really spent much time training in the reputed snowparks in the States either, but I don’t feel like I missed out on much. That’s not where you’re going to pick up on essential backcountry skills anyway,” Mat says. He finished school in Switzerland two years ago, in a standard state school in Geneva, and since then he’s spent all of his time up the mountain. “For the moment,” but let’s get back to that in a moment…

Mathieu’s first video part came out in ‘Stick’Em Up’. Starting with a bang, his short but punchy part set to breathtaking big mountain backdrops displayed his impressive natural terrain skills. That year he was still in school and itching to be able to dedicate himself to snowboarding full-time. In the winter of 09/10 he’d finally be able to do just that, but things didn’t quite work out the way he’d expected. Mathieu suffered a serious ankle injury in January 2010 more or less putting an end to his season, but thanks to a good start to winter and a particularly productive couple of months he still managed to put together a respectable part in ‘Voilà’. Once again his rounded backcountry riding off kickers, cliffs and windlips surpassed all expectations. Following in the steps of Jake Blauvelt, he admits to “having a preference for natural terrain where there’s little, if not no, need for shaping”. And in fact a goal of his is to one day submit a part in which nothing has been shaped, featuring everything from straight backside airs to switch backside 1080s. He adds, “Dropping a cliff, it’s something you only do once. You don’t necessarily know how the snow is going to behave, you have to adapt, improvise in real time if you want to land your trick.” That kind of skill is something you can learn through repetition, but for Mathieu it’s still a different game entirely to training in the halfpipe. While he admires the guys who continue to push snowboarding in snowparks (like his friend Pat Burgener and his switch backside triple cork 1440) at the same time he believes that it’s easy to lose sight of certain things with that side of snowboarding, commenting “It’d be terrible if snowboarding started to resemble acrobatic ski jumping. For me that’s not what snowboarding is about.”

Mat Schaer – Stick ‘Em Up

His highlight from last winter was without doubt the opportunity to ride with Gigi Rüf and the rest of the Absinthe crew while shooting for ‘twe12ve’. “I spent 10 days with Gigi, it was a real learning curve. I listened and watched as he went about his business.” Everything about Gigi is inspirational to Mat, as much his riding as his persona and the way he approaches life. “Gigi thinks all of his jumps through carefully, he sees things that others just don’t pick up on. And yet, in the time it takes me to find one spot in the backcountry, he will have discovered 10!” To find himself part of the Absinthe crew and learning from the backcountry elite was a dream come true. “With Absinthe, I knew I was going to learn fast. And Gigi, he’s continually learning stuff and gaining local knowledge of new places too!” The other great advantage of shooting with a crew like Absinthe is the opportunity to travel abroad to where the conditions are best. So while Europe witnessed yet another terrible winter for snowfall last year, Mathieu, Sylvain Bourbousson and Absinthe cameraman David Vladyka jetted off to Canada for two months. Mathieu finally got to enjoy a full season with suffering any injuries or having to go to school.

With the support of Ero One (whom he’ll also have a video part with this year), Mathieu is ready to trade pow pow turns with the best of them and take his riding to some of the most renowned locations in the world. “I realise now that the last few years I’ve never really got to ride with any of the best pros. I spend a lot of my time still boarding with friends. It’s been a real wake up call. I’ve never really been on any trips abroad and to be honest never really thought I’d be given the opportunity, it’s a crazy world out there! My main reason for finding a sponsor initially was just to be flowed free gear every once in a while and I never dreamed I’d get this far!” We were keen to know what the highlights from this first experience with the Absinthe crew were. “Our trip to Revelstoke. I noticed that all the spots we hit up were actually accessible to everyone. All you had to do was scout your line, walk for half an hour, shape your jump and off you go! We didn’t even need sleds, we’d just catch the cable car and then spend the rest of the day walking.”

Ero One’s La Cassette – Mat Schaer

Of course, not to say that Absinthe isn’t all about charging Alaska and heli-boarding, but Mat highlights an interesting point. How do you keep the general public interested in things that aren’t accessible to them? “We weren’t in some far off lodge with the chopper waiting outside. In the end, a good video production is not simply down to having an unlimited budget to fly anywhere, but to take every aspect of the job seriously. Getting up early, making sure all your gear is in place, scouting out your spots in advance, networking with local contacts. But most all, staying motivated is the number one thing.” In this regard we’re curious to know what he thinks of The Art Of Flight, or for now the two teasers they’ve released so far? “It’s mental! A real dream come true, those guys really are the best backcountry riders on the planet. But as I said earlier a lot of people will perhaps find it hard to relate to. I’m hoping that with Absinthe’s new release they’ll experience a different impression. And I also hope it’ll show people that they need to familiarize themselves with out-of-bounds snowboarding before going out and doing just anything.” Having the right safety equipment is essential, but even more important is knowing how to analyse the snowpack and dangers of the terrain in front of you. As Mat himself highlights, “the mountains above all demand experience and if you haven’t put in your time then don’t think that you’re just going to be able to improvise yourself out of trouble.”

Besides snowboarding, environmental studies is something that Mathieu also feels strongly about and can even see himself working in in the future. But for now he’s staying focused on snowboarding. “Snowboarding seems to offer two pathways: a fair number of young guys chose to go to snowboard schools, join teams, attend training camps. Others, like me, prefer to do things on their own and just as much backcountry as possible. But both options continue to progress. We might not be able to bust double corks over bulletproof kickers but that’s not to say we’re not pushing our own limits!”

Either way, it’s clear that building a pro career today is much harder than in the past, and no doubt easier than in the future. This goes for contest machines who now have to have double corks on lockdown, as it does for backcountry freestylers who not only have to keep pushing their limits but also battle for visibility in magazines and videos. With the internet offering so much free video content, a career in shooting video parts is no longer what it used to be. Fortunately for Mathieu he has both Ero One and Absinthe to lean on, and it’s well merited.

Sponsors: DC, Electric, Nixon, Superpark.

Photo: Sami Tuoriniemi

Check out our full interview with Mark Sollors that was originally published in issue 129. You’ll get the lowdown on this all-terrain slayer with the hair that makes angels sing, pimped out with some of his banging video parts from the last years. Boom!

OUT OF THE BLUE

Mark Sollors Unveils Himself

[Text: Uli Köhler]

An unknown to most in the snowboard world, in 2010 Burton rider Mark Sollors appeared with a bang. His video part showed an unusually talented rider in an extreme variety of different terrain. He repeated this performance with his excellent appearance in Standing Sideways. Since nobody quite knew where he came from or what he had been up to until then, we met him at the Innsbruck movie tour stop and followed this up with a phone call in his current home Whistler, Canada.

In 2011, Mark Sollors won Transworld’s ‘Rookie of the Year’ award for his outstanding part in the Transworld movie In Color. He was 24 at the time. Most people were asking themselves what the hell he had been up to before bagging that award. And apart from a vague memory of his small appearance in the Nomis/Stepchild flick Child Support we were marvelling about that, too.

ASSORTED FOOTAGE 2007

Then Burton dropped their latest movie Standing Sideways, and there was Mark Sollors again, complete with fluffy hair, versatile riding, and impeccable style. Not much later our photo editor started showing us photos from Mark’s season, and they confirmed that he had grown into a well-rounded rider with a huge arsenal of tricks in both backcountry and on handrails.

“I grew up a quiet kid, and I still kind of am, I’d like to think”

Now, at the age of 24 most riders have long given up their dream of breaking through in the snowboard world. Not so Mark Sollors. He worked hard towards his goals, but never bragged much about his riding. “I grew up a quiet kid, and I still kind of am, I’d like to think,” Mark tells us on the phone in January, minutes after we woke him up on his first day of filming in 2012. “I never did a lot of talking, I never went out of my way to bug people for sponsorship or any of that stuff. So it kinda took a while.”

Mark grew up in Kelowna, British Columbia. “It is in the western part of Canada. It’s a fun place, stuffed right in between the coastal mountains like Whistler and all those mountain places, and on the east side of Kelowna we have Revelstoke and the Kootenay Mountains and the Monashees.” Quite the environment to progress as a snowboarder, indeed: “It was never hard for me to ride Whistler, to ride Revelstoke, and get to ride mountains that most people don’t get to see at a young age. I was pretty fortunate.”

He started riding when he was eight years old, following his older two brothers and his sister: “And before I knew it I had my own board, I had a season pass, and I made a bunch of awesome friends I’m still good friends with.” How did he get his first sponsor, the Island Boardshop in Kelowna? Mark laughs: “I think everyone starts this way. They start with their local shop, and they grow from that into a company. I’ve known them by just hanging around the shop, I would just sit there and loiter with my friends all day and watch snowboard videos, not really buying things.”

NOT BAD! 2007

The Kelownian had taken the route to becoming a snowboard pro.

Then, one day, they started filming for an Island Snow Shop video, featuring a bunch of riders that were already on the team. Disregarding his lack of sponsorship, Mark hung out with them on the hill. “And before I knew it they filmed a bunch of stuff and I got last part in their shop video! They were like ‘We guess we have to put you on the team now, because you got the last part in the video!” Suddenly, the quiet Kelownian had taken the route to becoming a professional snowboarder. Soon after, he got hooked up by Burton. “It took me a long time to get in with Burton at a higher level, but a lot of other people did the talking for me,” Mark remembers. “They were like ‘Here’s this kid snowboarding’, or ‘Here’s this video of the guy that we know’, and slowly people at Burton started listening, invited me on trips, I got to snowboard in front of them, and they invited me on more trips. They tried to give me opportunities, and they wanted me to travel. And from there it was a big jump-start.”

At 17, he made the move to Whistler. He met Kevin Sansalone, who did the Sandbox movies. Burton paid for his appearance in the next three Sandbox productions up until 2007: “And then I was riding for a company called Nomis at the time, and they partnered up with Stepchild, and their movie was called Child Support.” He bagged the aforementioned short part – “and got to meet a lot of people through them. I got to film with Sean Johnson, who – at least in western Canada – is one of the legendary people to grow up with and look up to.”

However, even though he thought Child Support was his breakthrough, and Burton paid a lot more attention, he did not film with any major crew the following year, and even the next year only shot a little with the Utah-based production crew Variety Pack. He did, however, compete at a couple of events. “Whatever was in front of me I wanted to do, and I wanted to work harder. When there was no snow to film, and a contest nearby, I would just go out and do it, because that’s what I loved to do.”

IN COLOR 2010

“Doing what you love and having fun, whatever it is.”

Finally, though, he got noticed and got the invite into the Transworld production In Color, which – as mentioned – earned him the Rookie award, at the ripe age of 24. “Yeah, when I won Rookie I was 24, and I think I’m probably the oldest rookie to win. I don’t know, it’s just kinda cool, but I was given this opportunity at an older age, when I had been around for a long time. It just took me a little bit longer to get to that stage, so I’m happy about it, and that they still considered me for that honour.” And why wouldn’t they? His part was a banging mix of backcountry action and urban tricks, a degree of versatility only a few can muster. Mark explains his all-round approach to the shred: “I love snowboarding. I just want to be on a snowboard. I mean if there is snow in the city we snowboard in the city. If there’s snow in the mountains we go snowboard in the mountains. It kinda follows that same trend: Doing what you love and having fun, whatever it is. And also working hard. Whatever is in front of me, I want to work harder.”

No wonder that he mentioned elsewhere that you don’t have to be the best snowboarder, you just need to have the best work ethic. Does he think this holds true for him? “I like to think so. Because I work pretty hard at what I do.” It is only 7:15am in Whistler, but Mark is already wide awake. “There are a lot of people who are really good, really good at snowboarding, but a lot of it just comes naturally, so they stay within that natural comfort zone. I think if you have a good work ethic you try to push your comfort zone, you try something you don’t necessarily know if you’re able to do, but you give it a try and work at it. So even if things come naturally, you just keep working on them. You learn, you grow, and before you know it, you’re there.”

Looking at his latest video part in Burton’s Standing Sideways, it doesn’t look like his riding was just some hit and miss game. Again, his part is a well-balanced mix of diverse terrain, tech and gnar. “Standing Sideways was really cool. I actually travelled a lot more than I usually did. I got to hit handrails in Oslo, Norway, and Minnesota, we went back to riding here in Whistler, also up north, and we went to Tahoe… it was amazing to film with a whole lot of different people in a whole lot of different areas around the world.”

STANDING SIDEWAYS 2011

A tight crew of friends

“It’s kind of funny that I’m certainly looking up to riders I get to ride with every day. When I go up and do something with Jussi Oksanen and Mikey Rencz, I know that they are riders I look up to since I was a kid, and now I get to spend time with them, watch them snowboarding, and really learn how they ride. And I look up to them even more than I did before.” They can still teach him stuff? Mark laughs. “Oh yeah, every day I go out with them. They’re so experienced, it’s pretty entertaining to watch.”

Would he do more contests these days? “I am so hooked on filming that every weekend we find out where the good snow is and go there. So it’s kind of hard to get prepared for contests when we’re trying to be on the grind and film the whole time.” And then, after some thought, he adds: “It’s crazy nowadays, too. There are not that many riders that do both contests and filming, just because the level of riding in contests is so insane now. You have to stay on top of your game so hard, you have to get ready weeks before a contest when we’re usually in the backcountry doing whatever we can to film.”

When he is not out filming with Burton, he likes to shred with a tight crew of friends. His favourite is his roommate Rusty Ockenden: “I used to shred with Rusty in Ockenden back where we grew up… so it’s kind of taking me back to that now when I rip with Rusty.” Living in Whistler, there’s no shortage of riders when the days are not perfect for filming. “When there’s bad weather we’re together right aways with Robjn Taylor, Rusty Ockenden Matt Belzile, those guys.”

“I wanted to see my friends outside the snowboarding world.”

In summer he now lives in Vancouver. “I think it just came at that time, that I wanted to see a lot of my friends outside the snowboarding world. I just wanted to get into the city… My brothers live there, and I just wanted to be in that kind of environment when I’m not snowboarding.” Sounds like he is trying out new stuff? “I wouldn’t say that I’m always into changing to new things, but I think that’s just what I’ve adapted to. I’m so used to travelling now, it almost gets to this time when I’m in a place for a certain amount of time and I’m like ‘Ok, what’s next? Where am I going?’ I’m so used to travelling right away, getting on a plane, that it’s hard to sit still.”

REAL SNOW BACKCOUNTRY 2012

He has, however, a way of calming down: playing golf. “Yeah! [laughs] Golf is like my next favourite thing! We have a few courses around Vancouver. And I like to make the trip up the Sea-to-Sky-quarter up to Whistler. There are few really, really nice golf courses there.” Is he good at it? “I’m not the greatest, but I enjoy it.” [laughs again]

Speaking of making a trip – what was his impression of Europe, which he went to for an Oslo rail shoot last winter? “I think Oslo was one of my favourite trips. We had Ludde from Sweden come out, and Ethan Deiss from Wisconsin. It was a really diverse crew, and none of us had really been to Norway, so it was all kind of new to us. Ludde was like our little guide, who spoke the language and showed us around. We had a lot of fun on that trip.”

The fluffy hair

And the rest of Europe? Didn’t he attend the full Standing Sideways tour across the continent? “I mean we did, like, seven countries in, like eight days. It was more of a shock, because we didn’t spend much time in one place. But every place we went had its own, I don’t know how to describe it, had its own appeal, its own vibe, its own culture.” He would like to come back in summer: “I would like to spend time in Europe again, and I couldn’t pick a place. Barcelona was a lot of fun, Innsbruck was a lot of fun… it was just a great trip!”

When we were wrapping up the interview we noticed we haven’t spoken about the fluffy hair yet. “Oh my God!”, Mark laughs. Has he been asked about that before? “‘What did you do with your hair?’ ‘Why is it so fluffy and looking perfect?’ Well, that’s just the way it is when I wake up. I didn’t really know they were using that for my [Standing Sideways] intro. I washed my hair, like the day before. Usually, it’s kind of like whatever, and I wash it maybe once a week. And then everyone said ‘Oh my God, your hair looks so awesome!’, and I was so embarrassed.”

We think everything about his part was outstanding, not just the hair, and we enjoyed it very much. We then realise we have kept Mark far too long from going out sledding with the Burton team, and wish him all the best for this season and many more memorable parts to come.

Mark Sollors rides for Burton, Monster Energy, Electric, Gravis, Showcase Boardshop, and Home Watches.

Young Norwegian powerhouse Alek Østreng had a breakout season of sorts last winter. Finals at the WSC, first major career win in the slopestyle at the BEO, a joint part in Forum’s Vacation, and a profile in Onboard magazine. Here is said profile from issue 127 with some added video gaga…

We think it’s safe to say that this is just the beginning for Alek. Heavy skills and a heavy style have the habit of taking you a long way in snowboarding, and the 20-year-old Østreng has them both in spades. This profile was originally in Onboard issue 127.

RAW TALENT AND STYLE

[Words: Uli Köhler]

An exceptional work ethic, a strong set of shred skills, and an ever-growing presence in Forum’s team videos: Alek Østreng might just be the next big thing from Norway. Time for Onboard to shed some more light on the versatile redhead who also goes by the name of ‘The Donkey.’

BATTERY BATTLE EDIT – 2009

It all happened on a trip to New Hampshire, where the Forum team went to film for last season’s team video Fuck It. Alek Østreng had been to the States before, and wanted the crew to stop at a Dunkin’ Donuts. Only he didn’t remember its name and kept asking if they could go to Donkey’s Donuts. That’s why Kevin Keller, his US team manager, started calling him ‘The Donkey.’ Somehow, this name seemed all too fitting for a rider whose snowboard skills might seem boundless, but who more often than not ends up in comical situations. “He is such a cool and funny guy,” his European team manager Chris Patsch tells us. “Not funny as in cracking jokes… more unintentional stuff… he is funny without trying to be. He is nice and polite, but never quite knows what’s going on around him.” Alek’s long-time friend Olav Stubberud uses the words “kind, weird and strong” to describe the 20-year-old Norwegian. But when it comes to his riding, there are no doubts about his exceptional talent, which was already evident from a very early age.

TEENAGERS FROM OUTER SPACE PART – THEY CAME FROM… – 2009

Alek grew up in an unassuming suburb of Oslo called Rykkinn. In fact it is so peaceful and quiet that urban developers from around the world visit the place for inspiration for their own perfect suburbias. However, it was there that he started snowboarding and where he met Onboard’s staff photographer Olav Stubberud: “We met at a playground outside of where we live, I think I was four and he was five,” remembers Olav. “It took some time until we got to know each other because he was too afraid of my sisters to come and visit me at my place.” But soon this changed, and when his grandfather gave him a snowboard for Christmas, it was all about gliding on snow for Østreng and his mates.

Turning Heads

Quickly he progressed his riding, and garnished it with an abundance of talent and style – just as so many world-class snowboarders from Norway before him have done. Kevin Keller has his own theory for what makes Norwegians excel at snowboarding: “As a Norwegian, he [Alek] gets to drink the water up there that makes everyone from that country an amazing snowboarder. People from everywhere else in the world have to work a lot harder to become that good.” Maybe it also helped that from early on he had riding buddies like Ståle Sandbech and Torgeir Bergrem – all outstanding snowboarders in their own right. Alek himself believes it was also down to the local infrastructure: “We have small hills so people get a lot of runs. The hills are also opening in the evening, so kids snowboard pretty much every day after school.” Not surprisingly, it did not take long until Alek got his first sponsors: “I got kind of recognised in a shop. They asked me to give them a video and they were stoked on it I guess.”

YOUNGBLOODS PART – F’ IT – 2010

As most successful Norwegian riders he was also a student at the famous snowboard school in Geilo, from which he graduated in the spring of 2010. But even before that he had many heads turning: partly due to his growing success at local and European contests (most importantly a third place at the Andreas Wiig Invitational in Geilo in 2009) and partly through his solid video appearances. He had filmed for Factor Films’ They Came From (2009), and Video Wizards’ I’m Here Out There (2010), and delivered impressive appearances in both. It was not long until he attracted more sponsors, and in 2010 he became part of Forum’s Youngblood team.

To Olav this success was no big surprise: “Alek has a board feeling that is from another dimension. He can ride anything, and by that I mean literally anything. You can give him a stick and he can kill it. His style is unique, and he is a perfectionist when it comes to how a thing he does is going to look, and that shows.” When we asked Kevin Keller what Alek’s greatest assets as a rider are, and what made him stand out from all the other young riders, he replied: “To answer both questions: raw talent and style.” His short but strong video part in Forum’s latest team movie Vacation is a testament to this sentiment: From front 12s in the park to rail trickery, from backcountry doubles to monster backside 1s – Alek puts every trick in the book down with apparent ease.

RK1 CREW CRUISING AT HOME - 2012

Holding High Standards

When asked about his own style, Alek finds it hard to find the right words. “That’s a hard question. I like to ride all kinds of terrain: Park, powder, rails, transitions.” One has to watch his video parts to understand just how good he is in each of these environments. Chris Patsch is less reserved with his own response: “This might ring hollow as it comes straight from a team manager, but I believe Alek Østreng will be ‘the next big thing’ from Norway. He just knows so many different tricks. When he rides contests he does not show a standard trick with the easiest grab. He is more likely to throw down that one extraordinary trick that nobody else is able to do.” Not only does this make him stand out from the crowd, it also pays off result-wise: he bagged a couple of podiums over the past seasons, and most recently won the TTR 5-star big air competition at the 2011 Livigno River Jump.

WINNING SLOPESTYLE RUN – BEO – 2012

Olav, who spends a lot of time nowadays shooting his childhood friend, points out another of his outstanding characteristics – his relentless work ethic: “You will always get something done when you shoot with Alek. If you don’t it’s because he either ended up in hospital or you broke your camera.” Which makes us doubt Kevin’s “Just add Norwegian water” theory even more. That’s why he is quick to add this to his earlier description of ‘The Donkey’: “Alek is the most mellow, happy-go-lucky kid in the entire world. He loves snowboarding and skating more than anything, and he holds his own standard of riding higher than anyone I know.” And what does the future hold for Alek? “It’s hard to say. An Olympic medal? Enders in videos? He’s so young, so talented, and so motivated … possibilities are endless.” Whatever his future will bring – we’re already looking forward to seeing more of him, and we will keep you posted!

Alek rides for Forum, Foursquare, Arnette, and Junkyard.no

YOUNGBLOODS PART – VACATION – 2011

Photo: Matt Georges.

Read our full interview with Cheryl Maas from last season, beefed up with some of her killer footage over the years.

We think Cheryl’s the bomb – no bullshit; all bangers – so here’s the interview we did with her in the mag last September.

BREAKING THE MOULD

[Words: Uli Köhler]

From the Netherlands to Mayrhofen to Biarritz. From the tough school of dryslopes to the biggest contests to memorable movie parts. From nobody to sponsored rider to inaugural TTR champion. Dutch rider Cheryl Maas is an unusual snowboard pro, constantly on the move, with an insatiable hunger for progressing her riding. To make a formidable comeback after two difficult seasons hampered by injuries she has worked an entire season for her web series Open Air. The series of webisodes will give more insights into her life and is planned to launch in September [2011 - you can re-watch all the Open Air episodes here]. We called her to learn more about the show, her past season, and what keeps her pushing the envelope of female riding time and again…

In September your own web show ‘Open Air’ will be launched. Can you tell us a little more about it?

I wanted to go back to filming, but it is hard to just find a regular film crew. It’s hard to go with a film crew with all the guys, you know? So me and my friend, the filmer John Roderick, came up with the idea to do this webisode series. We just made a plan and everyone was backing it, and we went from there.

How did you decide on where to go and what to do over an entire season?

I wanted to show where I came from, like my personal story, how I got into winter sports, which is pretty unique. We were also looking for good locations for all kinds of different snowboarding. I wanted to go more into the backcountry this year, just to try that out. John knew good spots, so we just picked some good locations. We had to show Mayrhofen, kind of where it all started… the season where I learnt most of my snowboarding. So yeah, show a little bit more about me!

TTR WORLD CHAMP PROFILE 2005/06

Why didn’t you just film a video part with one of the established film crews?

It’s always hard schedule-wise, you know? If you go with a proper film crew you’ve got to dedicate your whole season just to do that with them, and go to the spots they have in mind. I wanted to be quite flexible, and I knew I wanted to do some of the competitions, like TTR and X Games. It’s kind of hard to go with a proper film crew… It was just nice to plan it all myself and focus on the riding I wanted to put down… that kind of worked out.

It is sometimes surprising to see you still have quite a few contest appearances, such as this year’s X Games or the Arctic Challenge, when you have obviously shifted your focus onto filming. Why are you still competing in so many contests? Do the sponsors force you?

No, it’s really fun. You know, a lot of people go there. So you get to meet everybody. The big contests also always have a big park that is fun to ride. And it is always nice to try to get one or two results in during a season, just for fun. I don’t know. I really love filming a lot more, but it is still a lot of fun to see everybody…

You have always been a rider who pushes the level of female snowboarding – just take the back 9 at this year’s Euro X Games. How do you keep yourself motivated to push your limits?

I don’t know. I just want to grow as a rider myself, and learn all the new tricks. The riding I’ve done before… I’ve never really got to do that in a contest. I always wanted to do well in a contest, but a lot of times I had screwed up my contest runs. I did not have the mindset to pace it and say ‘If I do this I will win the contest’. I was more like ‘Oh, this is what I want to try and do my best! I want to progress my riding!’ You know, if I fall on my first run I have to do a second good run. That’s kind of hard. But now I just want to do it: Put down the run I want to put down. I was happy to do it with my knee that was already kind of torn… I don’t think it was the nicest 9, so I’m a little humble there (laughs). I am happy anyway I got it and landed it.

Do you think it comes down to you being a mentally stronger person, are you nowadays better with the whole psychological side of competing?

I’m not sure… stronger? I do a lot of good tricks when I enjoy riding. As soon as I take the pressure off me that I have to win gold or second place I ride actually really good. That’s what I’ve been doing this past season. The last two years I got injured, and now I wanted to have a good season again and not put too much pressure on myself and try to do well on the TTR and all that. I just wanted to have fun and film and do what I wanted to do. That’s how I found myself again, that’s what I used to do, and that’s how I progressed. I got some good tricks for my web show coming out.

PURPLE YEAHH – 2007

What do you think about the development of female snowboarding? Do you think it is still similar to make it as a pro today as it was 7 or 8 years ago?

It’s definitely tougher now. The girls riding are getting a lot younger, because younger girls are getting into the sport. And they have a lot more help than we had eight years ago. They get proper coaching, training, like that new training center that opened at Woodward. That really helps for snowboarding and progressing with the tricks. I think the level has gone up a lot, and the girls are pushing it. Some of us have no fear about them; they just go and try it again and again.

Do you think it is easier for those young girls to make it as a pro? As you said there are all those training facilities, coaching, the support they get?

It is hard to say. I don’t know. They do have to be better now. If you have some talent you’ll get quicker helped out to progress to what you want to do, to reach your goals. I think that’s a lot easier now than before as a girl. You were doing it all on your own, rode with the guys, and tried to keep up. But now it’s a lot more focused on girls’ snowboarding.

What do you think what influence you had on snowboarding in the Netherlands? Or do you think you did not play a big role in helping the sport grow at home?

I think I did influence it when I went to the Olympics; to put snowboarding on the map. In normal people’s eyes snowboarding is not anymore just that crazy people’s sport where everyone parties hard. You know, that was the picture everyone had in their head – especially in the Netherlands, where we don’t have any mountains. But people who go on winter holidays had more respect after I made it to the Olympics, and it turned out to be the most watched Olympic program at home. That was really good that I could do something nice for snowboarding in Holland in that way – that more people understand the sport.

Do you sometimes go back and ride there – either in a fridge or on a dryslope?

Yes and no. My younger sister and my brother still ride on the dryslope. If I’m there and I have the time, I still like to go, it is so much fun to ride the indoor or the dryslopes and just have a laugh and do the things you really enjoy. But I don’t usually have that much time to do it, as much as I would like to. If I lived there I would probably go a lot.

YEAHH LOVE – 2008

You have been living in Biarritz, France for the last couple of years. Do you still feel as deeply connected to the snowboard scene as you were when you were living in Mayrhofen?

There’s a lot of industry in and around Biarritz and Hossegor, and it is easy to keep up with your sponsors and all that. I also got quite a bit into surfing, I like to do that as well. In Mayrhofen you see the snowboard scene, it is all around you, but you don’t get to see the global picture. For me it doesn’t really matter where I live, I just travel around and at the contests you meet all the people in your sport. It doesn’t really matter where you live.

And what does your perfect day of riding look like? Where would you go? Who would you take?

Hmmm… I always love to do fun sessions in the park, not too crazy big jumps, just something you can have fun on and try new tricks on. A slushy sunny day with some good rider friends… no particular names, just having fun together.

You don’t seem to embrace shameless self-promotion as much as, say, the Helgasons. Do you still believe a rider should let the riding speak for them – or does this get outdated in times of Facebook and Twitter?

I am not too loud a person. I guess that’s just my personality. I am kind of shy at the beginning. Only when I meet people I am different. And I do want to let my riding do the speaking, and not get attention in any other way and maybe take it away from snowboarding. And I’m not much of a computer fan. I’d rather have everyone to go out there and go skateboarding and snowboarding, because that’s what I want to do myself – and not getting stuck behind a computer. (laughs)

Yeah, that’s exactly what we have to do all day, and it is horrible! But speaking about loud people: You also don’t like to talk about your private life in public, do you?

I don’t think it’s necessary. I am open about everything. But to try and get attention by telling everybody how things are… I think everyone should do whatever they want to do in their private lives, and live the lives they want to live. You know, I’m good at snowboarding, and people like to see me snowboarding, and I’m happy to show that. But to draw your family life into that is a different thing. I don’t like to be in a Big Brother house where I have to show every day what I am doing (laughs).

OPEN AIR – BANGERS PART

That’s cool for us. Last question: What are your plans for the coming season? Will it be as busy as last winter or do you think about kicking it back a little and enjoy more of your private life?

No! I definitely want to go out there. There are a couple more new tricks I want to learn. This season I did a switch double underflip, and it was so easy. So I was like ‘Ok, it’s all about doubles and stuff now…’ You know, I have so many more tricks that I want to try and learn. As long as I’m hungry I want to get out there. I just have to make it work. I don’t know exactly what I’m going to do next winter, if I will have my focus on filming. Slopestyle might come into Olympics, I don’t know if there is any news about that. I would want to train for that as well… I’m definitely not stepping back. Only forward, if anything! (laughs)

Good luck with that, and thanks a lot for taking your time! Is there anyone you want to thank?

I want to thank Volcom, Nitro, Electric, Vans, Nixon, Celtek and Rockstar. And a special thank you to my family and to Jeroen Bazuin.

Photo: Sami Tuoriniemi

Read our Scott Stevens’ interview that was in issue 128, tricked out with some banging video parts from over the years.

On this slowest of slow news days we felt we needed respite so have dipped into out mag archive and posted the full interview we did with Scott Stevens last season. Regular readers will know we’re a bit Parisien for snowboarding’s equivalent of Rodney Mullen and in the interview he does nothing to dispel the notion that he’s one of the most likeable riders around. Watch all his video parts too. They are frankly INSANE.

A SNOWBOARDER’S SNOWBOARDER

The Scott Stevens Interview

[Words: Uli Köhler]

With a website like Onboardmag.com it is quite easy to see which snowboarders are more popular. After all, there is Google Analytics and some nifty statistics to consult daily. And you know what? Standing out from the obvious favourites like Halldor Helgason or Torstein Horgmo is East Coast native and über-creative jib master Scott Stevens. Be it his appearances in the High Cascade summer camp edits, footage posted on his website, changethattape.com, or his mind-blowing video parts in Think Thank productions, the Transworld flick Get Real and most recently the Capita movie: ‘Sleepy’ Stevens is a favourite among snowboarders around the world, a snowboarder’s snowboarder, the kind of guy Yobeat once labelled “maybe actually the only person in the world with no haters.” We were more eager to find out what he had to say about his own popularity.

Onboard’s interview request reached Scott Stevens around the time of the Thanksgiving holidays in the US. This is always a bad time getting hold of US riders. However, Scott was not occupied with family visits and turkey dinners, he was preparing for an upcoming trip to Alaska to film for his X Games Real Snow contribution. On top of that he had just moved into a new house and out of the legendary Salt Lake City pad he had shared with fellow pros Austen Granger, Ben Bogart, and Think Thank filmer Tim Ronan. “It was great,” Scott remembers. “Lots of things to do constantly. Good people. Good parties and just good times.” However, for him it was time to move on (“change is good”), and now he lives in a “more dog-friendly” place, and a more quiet one at that.

THINK THANK ‘THANKS BRAIN’ – 2007

The Opposite of the Triple Cork

Stevens, though, is not a Utah native. He grew up the small New England town of Westfield, Massachusetts. How was it like to get into the shred over there at what’s sometimes referred to as the ‘Ice Coast’? “Yeah the East Coast! I love it there. There’s a lot of heart for snowboarding. Small hills but everyone makes the most out of their scene!” It is always hard to picture a famous pro to come out of a place that is not close to any serious mountains, and Stevens’ options back then seem particularly low-key. His father had introduced him to skiing and snowboarding in a small ski field nearby (“A hill called Mt Tom. It’s closed now…”), and he quickly became part of the local scene at the Blandford Ski Area – a hill with a vertical of a sobering 140 meters. “Myself and Ross Phillips, (the Think Thank head filmer), Austen Granger, Chris Beresford would ride [there]. We’d pull anything out of the picnic area to jib. They didn’t have rails so people would bring skate rails up and stuff like that. Pretty sick! I kinda wish I could go back to those days.” Was there anyone to look up to at the time? “There were some sick dudes there. You know the type of guys that would do the craziest, sickest shit, but had no dreams of snowboarding any farther than Blandford. Which I think is really cool. They just wanted to be good, not be a professional. It was their hobby. I admire that.” Only a few questions into our interview and we have to admit: It is difficult to hate on this guy.

THINK THANK ‘STACK FOOTY’ – 2008

Scott’s snowboard style is a one of a kind affair – in his own words it is “the opposite of the triple cork” – but he eagerly adds that he would be down for that kind of riding, too. He just sees himself “on the other side of that snowboarding spectrum.” And it is true; what makes his riding stand out is not amplitude or gnarliness of the obstacles he hits, it is creativity, and the ability to impose his style on every small thing he does. Still, he must have had someone he looked up to as a kid. “Well, I had Mack Dawg, Kingpin, and Standard movies. So my favourites were… Terje, Kevin Jones, Travis Parker, Devun, JP Walker, Jussi, Peter Line, Otterstrom, Jeremy Jones. Jibbers mostly. Damn, those guys are legends!” In contrast to the tricks and obstacles shown in those movies, his local infrastructure only offered icy 30 to 40 foot jumps and makeshift jibs. And an early attempt at a contest career also never lead to anything: “I did ‘em but always got beat by Chris Rotax, Alex Soroken and Yale Cousino. Those dudes did some next level shit back then. Stuff that kids are barely getting the hang of now.”

The Skill Part Lacks Occasionally

In 2000 he broke his back while riding at Stratton, Vermont. Up until then he was just sending it, without thinking much of the consequences. “I was that crazy huck kid,” he tells us. The injury made him change his careless approach to snowboarding a lot. Was this the main reason for him not being the big booter double cork kind of person, or was there something else? “I’m not that good at it. Hah!” Maybe it was the combination of all those factors – the quirky New England scene, the injuries, and his unique approach to the shred – that made Scott what he is today. Or how would he describe his route to becoming a professional snowboarder? “It honestly just takes dedication and time. You take opportunities and try to make them, too. There is no set way. Luck and skill and dedication. And the skill part lacks occasionally, so persistence really helps.”

TRANSWORLD ‘GET REAL’ – 2009

When his good friend Austen Granger decided to move to Salt Lake City, it was reason enough for all the others to follow: “Our group of friends move like a pack, and SLC fit pretty good.” It is these friends who have been his main riding crew so far. “It’s changing now because a lot of my friends are soo busy. Bode [Merrill] and [Chris] Grenier are always travelling, along with myself. We all get to see each other often. Snowboarding with each other is a different story.”

Making Others Happy Is a Priority

Nowadays, Scott spends devotes most of his time to filming video parts. From his short yet remarkably creative appearance in Think Thank’s Patchwork Patterns to Capita’s Defenders of Awesome, he has consistently progressed his riding in each of his six parts, pushed the boundaries of what you can do on (or at least with) a snowboard, and stunned fans and his peers alike. If he wasn’t snowboarding for a living, he claims, he would probably only ride the park and powder and have as much fun as possible. Being a pro, though, is a different kind of obligation in his opinion. It is something that makes him constantly push himself: “Every year is a challenge. You want to always make yourself happy, but making others happy is a priority, too.”

THINK THANK ‘RIGHT BRAIN, LEFT BRAIN – 2010

Yet it must be difficult for other riders and, in particular, filmers and photographers when he comes along on a shoot but does not look for the perfect spot and instead shreds whatever lies in front of him – or as Scott has put it before: He does not have spots, he only has tricks. On the contrary, he does not think that riders have a problem with his approach to riding: “Other riders seem to like it. We’re not battling for the best trick on a rail, but filmers and photogs can be uncertain at times. Now things are different because photographers seem to shoot and use more sequences, which is perfect! For my riding anyways.” Sequences or not, people frequently struggle to find labels for his tricks, which often seem to be taken straight from an old-school Rodney Mullen video. “I know some people don’t like skateboarding being related to snowboarding, but the trick names would be whatever they’re called in the skate world, i.e. judo airs, fast plants, boneless, and shit like that.”

No wonder skating is his other great pastime, and obviously he draws a lot of inspiration from it. And while he enjoys it just as much as snowboarding, for a long time he felt more pressure skating, as he did not feel the confidence he has as a snowboarder. In recent times this has changed, though. “I feel lots of pressure snowboarding. Kinda freaks me out. In the past few years the pressure has been building.”

PARK CITY JIB HAMMERS 2011

Snowboarding Needs All Types of People and Riding

Still, as if delivering six standout parts in a row wasn’t enough to please your sponsors and keep the pressure high, Stevens is involved in a lot more things. There is his ongoing commitment at the High Cascade Snowboard Camps, where he’s coaching the kids over summer at Mt Hood. Does he still do it? “Yeah! I love it there! I don’t work the full summer anymore, but I like riding with kids. They keep you in check. You realize how cool snowboarding is.” Watch any of the HCSC edits online and you will realise just how much everyone enjoys riding together up on Mt Hood, and how much crazier Scott’s riding is than everyone else’s. And speaking of the Internet: Together with Chris Grenier and Mike Morgan he created changethattape.com, a mix of their own and friends’ skate and snowboard edits: “Grenier kills it with content. Mike Mo films and I make little edits whenever I have time.” As with every pie he has his fingers in, it is as tasty as it gets. So, what comes next for Scott Stevens? Back to filming with Think Thank? Something entirely new? “Think Thank is always in my blood. Changethattape is huge, and could possibly be bigger things. But damn, I don’t even know that answer!”

At the end of our interview we confront Scott with the aforementioned quote regarding his haters or the lack thereof. Does he really have nobody disliking him? “I do! Haha, trust me! But it’s a nice thing. Snowboarding needs all types of people and riding. I understand that and maybe other people see that?” To us it is obvious, as is the joy and the love his riding shows. It is the kind of passion that is contagious and that makes you want to go shred yourself. And who could possibly hate him for inducing such a feeling?

CAPiTA ‘DEFENDERS OF AWESOME’ – 2011

Kazuhiro Kokubo. Photo: Sami Tuoriniemi.

Check out Kazu’s interview that was in issue 127, beefed up with some epic video highlights from his career so far.

To make the long summer days pass quicker, so we’re dusting off interviews with snowboarding’s great and good that we featured in the mag last season, and spicing them up with some banging video. This time it’s one of our favourite riders around: Kazu…

KAZUHIRO KOKUBO

[Words: Danny Burrows]

Kazu is the lone Ronin of snowboarding, stealing from the bad guys, defined by him as fakers or leaches, and returning it, without want of acknowledgment, to those who deserve it most: the common rider. Filming, competing or getting gnarly in the pow with friends Kazu’s riding conveys a selfish yet selfless purpose, the essence of which, as it is for us all, is fun.

US OPEN 2003 – 2ND PLACE – 14-YEARS-OLD

In 2010, Kazu rode the pipe for Japan at the Vancouver Olympics, his second Games, but no sooner had he stepped off the plane than he found himself in hot water. Dressed in Japan’s official Olympic attire, as all athletes must, he had given the uniform a personal touch, with shirttails and tie worn loose. It was a molehill that became a mountain of scandal and could have seen him on the next flight home had he not apologised. As a lesser punishment he was made to miss the opening ceremony of the Games; not that he was bothered. He had come to enjoy the pipe and compete to the best of his ability, even with four broken ribs from hitting a tree a few weeks earlier.

There was one malignant draw back though, which in Kazu’s words was that he “became known to the general public.” “It is weird when people who don’t snowboard come up to me and know me. I didn’t want to go out at one time, but no one came up and said bad things.” He is snowboarding’s vociferous mute if you like, shouting loudly with his unique and stylish take on snowboarding, while choosing to move quietly through the scene, either because of his modest demeanour and or his temperate grasp of English.

LOST IN TRANSITION – 2005

Long before Vancouver he had been blinking brightly on Onboard’s radar but for fear of not being able to understand each other we had shied away from hauling him in for questioning. However, last season Kazu moved to So-Cal, the Ghetto of émigré snowboarders, and consequently his English has been improving. He also scored the opening part in Burton’s Standing Sideways, so no more excuses, the interview was on.

Kazu grew up on the outskirts of Sapporo, the capital of Japan’s North Island Hokkaido. The city is hemmed to the south by the mountains of Mount Teine, Maruyama, and Moiwa and to the North West by Japan’s infamous powder playgrounds, which rise over the island sifting moisture from oceanic winter storms. There’s no shortage of snow here and with a father who was a keen surfer and snowboarder it was predictable that Kazu should end up sliding sideways.

He started skiing aged two but came in contact with his first snowboard two years later and begged his parents to get him one. They not only obliged but also actively encouraged his riding, with his father taking him for night sessions, after work, at the local mountain of Asari. “We didn’t have parks and half pipes when I started,” says Kazu. “I started in powder and hiking backcountry with my dad and his friends before them.” These early years had a lasting influence on his riding and to this day Kazu is of the opinion that he is a better powder rider than park or park rat.

Of the local snowboard scene at the time Kazu claims that although there probably was one it was not something he was preoccupied by. “Our scene was my dad and a few friends and me.” Nor did he have riding heroes like many kids; this was something that he got into later. “It wasn’t about progression, it was about having fun,” and although his progression is undeniable his grasp of the fun side of riding has never slackened.

FULL PART – DRAW THE LINE – 2007

Within two years of strapping in he was hooked by the local distributor of Burton while competing on the youth circuit and has ridden the big B ever since. According to Kazu Burton and other sponsors, have been instrumental in the development of his snowboarding, allowing him to ride as he wants, which in his case means balancing a burgeoning competition schedule with filming and riding for himself. “I’m just doing what I want to do, I compete when I want to compete and ride where I want to ride.” It may sound ideal but it is also physically and mentally draining: “You have to really focus on each one and I exercise a lot so that I can stay in shape to do all and enjoy them equally.”

And focus he has throughout his career. After winning a clutch of contests in Japan and becoming the first Japanese rider to podium at the US Open in 2003 Kazu became a name on the international circuit and the following year was invited to film for Standard’s Lost in Transition. Before this, by Kazu’s own admittion, he was little known. It was also around this time that he met Mikkel Bang and Luke Mitrani, some of the many riders he now calls friends.

By 2006 and Standard’s Draw The Line Kazu’s parts had matured from pipe and contests to backcountry pow and kicker medleys. This according to Kazu is more of a true representation of the rider that he was and still is. “I always liked this style since I was living in Japan and started riding. I never had a year that I didn’t ride a lot of powder.” According to him if he doesn’t have “a balance of riding park, pipe, backcountry and big mountain” he feels he isn’t being true to himself.

FULL PART – AESTHETICA – 2009

His part in The Storming of 2010 is his best Standard part yet; “I think it showed every part of my riding from big contest to powder and parks. The music was sick and they did a really good job with all the Olympic stuff.” The part relives his contest runs at the Olympics and X Games, where the commentator described his front doubles as landed as easily as backside airs, through to park, pipe and quarter sessions, to backcountry booters and pow lines.

It was a banger without question, but fast forward a season and into our DVD players slots Burton’s team movie Standing Sideways, kicked off by Kazu’s pow, pipe and park romping opener. It was well a reward well deserved for a season that he describes as his best yet both professionally and personally. “I was able to shoot all of my powder footage during 2 heli trips in Canada, and then 3 park shoots at end of the season and a Stonp trip while I was back in Japan last Christmas,” Kazu confided in us.

He also found time to score second at the BEO, 5th at the X Games and win perhaps the most prestigious event in the contest calendar, the US Open. Transworld Snowboarding Japan later ran a cover of his victory lap, in which he was pictured straight lining the pipe, arms outstretched, in an act of solidarity and prayer for the victims of the Japan. “I have gotten covers before but I think that will always be my favourite. It means so much to me spiritually, professionally and personally and to so many people because of everything that happened during the time of the US Open.”

Victory in hand Kazu returned to Japan and headed for the west coast, which bore the brunt of the earthquake and proceeding tsunamis. He primary work was with the animal welfare organisation JEARS: “I went to the disaster area to help animals, as I consider dogs as important a part of my family, same as humans. But we also went to meet the people who were affected by the disasters. If I can just make a few people smile and not think about all of the bad things that happened even for just a few minutes, it is all worth it.”

1ST PLACE – US OPEN 2010

Kazu will also donate the proceeds from the sale of his signature wax from Wend to the relief fund and he and his fellow riders from the Japanese film project Stonp put their weight behind the Jib for Japan event: “It’s our country, our neighbours, our home” said Kazu, explaining his dedication to the cause. “We are obligated to help. This isn’t about making yourself feel good or having a good image for press, it’s our duty as humans to help.”

Kazu too has had his own close calls, not only on the snow but also off. Driving back from the mountains last spring to So-Cal he flipped his truck: “I don’t remember anything before waking up in the ambulance. They said I rolled over 5 or 6 times but I don’t know. I have a lot of people watching over and protecting me and I am thankful for that.” He was lucky to come out of it with just a few cuts and bruises.

On snow his near misses include being sucked up by an avalanche, while riding with Nico Müller and Stefan Maurer but again luck was on his side and he didn’t get fully buried. But danger is something that comes with the territory in which Kazu rides or as he put it “on the mountain, I was in places that every time I dropped it was a close call if I fell.”

Kazu sheathes high calibre all-mountain freestyle comfortably alongside his competition riding and lists the likes of John Jackson, Terje, Mads and Jussi as dudes he has the utmost respect for. But he adds “there are so many guys I have a lot of respect for as snowboarders and as people” and it may surprise you that these include Keegan Valaika, Ethan Deiss, Yusuku Horii and Kotoro Kamimura. They are his favourite riders in the genre of new school jibbery, a niche of snowboarding that Kazu admits is a style that he can’t do. What rails he does hit he limits to the park.

FULL PART – THE STORMING – 2010 – WITH THE ‘DRESS CODE’ INCIDENT

So what is it that motivates Kazu? A competitive streak? “Probably,” says Kazu. “When I go to contest I want to do my best and if I win, cool. But it isn’t the main focus.” Like at the X Games, he was stoked with his runs but was also happy about the feedback from everyone that was watching. “That is like winning for me even if it is not first place.”

Kazu, like the riders he competes against, trains hard, a regime that includes airbags and foam pits. But they were not a tool that he grew up with: “they are new to me but if you want to compete today, the tricks are too hard to learn on just snow. I try and use it very little and get to snow as fast as I can.” Apparently, airbags scare him more than snow.

For Kazu style is as important as technical tricks and this is perhaps why some many people are stoked on him as a rider, whether he is boosting lofty Mctwists in an Olympic pipe or putting down the back wheels in pow. “You can make technical tricks have style like McTwist or even spins and double corks. I don’t think it has to be just technical or just stylish.” Wherever Kazu rides it is his effortless style, and serene manner, that mark him a flag bearer for snowboarding in its purest form. To watch, it is as if he were dropping in to an empty pipe, enjoying the moment while flying high on natural ability. “For my run I will decide right before I start,” Kazu said describing his approach to competitions. “It depends on how I feel.”

Comp jock he is not but organically progressive rider he is. There’s a difference and it is a distinction that he applies to every aspect of his riding as well as his life beyond snow. “I am just me and will always be the same kid from Hokkaido no matter what.”

Concluding our interview Kazu said: “Someday everything I’m doing now will end and I want to appreciate and enjoy this life I’ve been blessed with and take advantage of it while I can before I get old and can’t keep doing the things I’m doing now. I have great people around me and sponsors that allow me to live this life now and I will do the best I can and show everyone how much fun snowboarding is.”

Selfless and yet selfish is what snowboarding is. It is a sport that is individual in execution and yet if you ride, think and behave like Kazu the act of putting board to snow can give some much back to so many.

FULL PART – STANDING SIDEWAYS – 2011

This is a pretty inspiring interview with Forest Bailey. He talks about his life, his approach to snowboarding, and why he doesn’t have a home mountain anymore. For good measure Red Bull throws in a couple of good shots from the GIVIN movie. And if we had any snow right now we could all go out and be creative, too.

Jake Blauvelt is a dude. Super mellow, super friendly, scarily talented. So when he knocked on our office window in the middle of a Munich summer downpour we had no hesitation to inviting him in, getting some good Bavarian beer in his gut and sticking a camera in his face to get the lowdown on his Naturally series, the imminent release of his full online part, his particular brand of natural terrain freestyle, and more. And if that’s not enough then make sure you pick up Onboard issue 123 where we have another interview with JB, delving even deeper into what makes him tick.

We also inadvertently sat him down in the hottest part of our sauna-like office, hence the forehead sheen. Sorry ’bout that Jake.

Check it out and make sure to come back on Wednesday, September 7 when Jake’s full online part will drop exclusive to Onboard in Europe.