Our buds over at Ride Snowboards have made some tweaks to their team – bumping a couple of dudes up to pro status and recruiting new Rookies – and launched a new Team microsite where you can keep up with their haps. Read more…

Following the launch of its 2012 product offering and website, Ride Snowboards is amped to announce some big changes to the pro team. Ride favorites including Sebastien Toutant, Mikey Leblanc, Jake Blauvelt, Hana Beaman, Juuso Laivisto, Marco Feichtner and Darrell Mathes will now make room for Alex Cantin and Austin Hironaka, both of whom have paid some serious dues in the Ride lineup over past seasons.

Joining Ride’s Rookie pro team will be Dani Raycsani from Germany along with Clemens Schattschneider and Sebi Geiger of Austria, who bring the latest style and progression out of Europe to the global stage and are making all the right moves to motivate the next level of snowboarding. The fresh-faced additions to the international team are wonder boys Yuki Kadono of Japan and Seamus O’Conner who splits his talents between Ireland and the USA. These youngsters caught up with professional snowboarding by the age of 13 and have no signs of slowing down. They are without a doubt the future of riding.

Ride’s Team section hosts complete coverage of International, Rookie, and regional riders from North America, Europe and Japan – Riders like Silvia Mittermüller whose unmatched technical stylings have been crushing the women’s contest circuit for years, Japanese legends Aki Hiraoka and Takashi Nishida, along with everyone’s favorite Canadian stunt/comedian Andrew Hardingham.

Building off of the record snow season that lasted until the summer months, Ride has geared up for the best year in snowboarding history with a product and team line-up that promises to deliver temptation until the season begins and carry you through the last lift in the spring. To follow along with the team, go to ridesnowboards.com/riders today.

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.

Jake and his Ride steed. The only thing missing from this is you nabbing it.

With Jake Blauvelt’s full online part imminent, we’ve got our mitts on his brand new Ride Snowboards pro model that we’re offering up for you to win. Get involved…

As you’ll know, all last winter Jake Blauvelt focussed his considerable energies on shooting for his online-only Naturally series, with some pretty spectacular results. Giving insight into his life scouring the globe for natural features to send it off, plus some A-grade riding of course, it’s always an interesting way to while away a few minutes. But as they’ve been cutting these episodes together Jake and the crew have been holding back on the A+++ bangers for the all-singing, all dancing full-on Jake Blauvelt banger part – which will drop exclusively online first.

With this full online part in the toaster and about ready to pop (check back here on September 7 to have your mind blown), so to celebrate the release of what’s sure to be a backcountry bangfest our homies over at Ride Snowboards Europe have kindly donated Jake’s band new 2011/12 pro model bad boy – dubbed the Berzerker – for you to win.

The deck is the tits. Aimed at your… well just look at what Blauvelt does and if you like that kind of stuff it’s perfect. Here’s what we made of it when we razzed the 161…

“Now this is a proper snowboard. Jake Blauvelt’s pro stick is a charger with awesome edge hold, pop and stability. The nose felt soft so would be a joy to ride in powder and the ride was light, fast and super lively without being too gnarly. If you dream of powder and freestyle this is it. Not for jibbers, but for real all-mountain snowboarding, charging and backcountry freestyle.”

All you need to do to enter is head over to the Onboard Facebook page and Like the post titled Win Jake Blauvelt’s Ride Pro Model OMG OMG OMG! Rocket science, eh? The comp will be open for 2 weeks from the time of posting. After that, the Random Number Generator will do the rest… Good luck.

As you may have noticed from our earlier guttural post, we are deep in the bowls of the snowboard tradeshow ISPO, feasting our eyes on that latest, freshest product that the brands will be offering you up come fall. Check out some of the highlights from our first day of snooping, with the Ride, Dragon, K2, Capita, Union, Analog, APO, DC, Rome, Bataleon, Rip Curl, Volcom and more in snappycam’s eager viewfinder…

THIS IS IT! 2011/12 gear sneak pics for you! Boards, boots, bindings and snow wear from the best brands in the game. We’ll be at ISPO for in depth coverage of new collections but here are already some cool pics of the gear you will ride next winter! Enjoi!

Click on the image below to discover all our pics!

This looks like Ride’s sequel to their award-winning foray into soft porn that was ‘Save the Plastic for Dildos’.

The Seattle-based brand have also already launched their new site with all the 2010/2011 Ride Snowboard product where you can check out their binders, boards, boots and more. Sadly the dildo flick has been removed.

Where: Summit-at-Snoqualmie, USA

Think Canada, think snowboarding, and Jeez! will ya get those five rings out of your head already! Canada’s largest and most popular snowboard event, the RIDE Shakedown, will debut in the U.S. at Washington State’s Summit-at-Snoqualmie (Summit West), from March 12 to 13, 2010. And no worries, no need to book a pricy flight to the West Coast, just watch the live webcast here, starting on 13 March from 11pm (Munich time, GMT+1):

And to pass some time until the event kicks off you can check out their teaser. Pretty cool, huh?

So, what IS this RIDE Shakedown after all?

Now in its ninth season in Canada, the jam-style event which has drawn upwards of 20,000 spectators, is recognized for its spectacular urban rail features and 50-foot jump that is only unveiled to the athletes the day of the competition. The Ride Shakedown is the only major snowboarding event that features a big air jump followed by a rail set up, in addition to the popular “Jam Format” competition.

Top pros, including Seattle’s-own Austin Hironaka, Darrell Mathes, teen phenom and two-time Shakedown champion Seb Toutant, Hana Beaman, who won Shakedown’s first women’s edition last year, and Leanne Pelosi, will showcase their abilities in the event’s signature thrill-a-minute format. With $35,000 in cash prizes for the top performers, the U.S. stop looks to continue the trend while putting a unique Northwest spin to it. 

Spectator events begin on March 12, with amateur qualifications, followed by Rail Jam qualifications and the Rail Jam main event. Festivities continue on March 13 with a signing session, semi finals afterwards, and a pro skate half-time show, then end with the Big Air finals . The RIDE Shakedown after party, presented by SKDW MFG, will be held at Hard Rock Cafe in Seattle both nights with doors opening at 9 p.m. (we left that bit in just in case you happen to be in the greater Seattle area).

Here’s Oakley themselves talking about this piece of news:

This is an evolutionary step for a kid who is devoted to progressing what is possible on his snowboard. From his early days on hill as a Vermont contest local, Jake has consistently pushed himself to find a path that is true to his dreams. That path has taken him from icy park jumps to powder turns; from podiums to heli drops and he has continued to evolve with every step taken.

Oakley is proud to welcome Jake to the Pro Rider Series apparel team along with existing PRS teammates Eero Ettala and Eiki Helgason as they continue to push the envelope. “I can’t even describe how stoked we are to have Jake on the Oakley Outerwear program,” stated Eero Ettala about Jake joining the apparel team. “If I could pick any rider in the world, it would be Jake for sure. Welcome to the team bud, your a perfect fit for Oakley!”

“To be a part of such a small and exclusive team is a huge honor,” said Jake. “In my eyes Eero has been the most progressive urban and park rider for years now, and Eiki is following fast in his footsteps.” But with each Oakley Pro Rider Series it’s about defining snowboard style through personal influence.

“I can’t wait to get started working with Oakley’s design team on my new outerwear series,” exclaimed Jake with a smile. “I have loads of techie ideas and knowing that I will be using products that I personally have designed will give me peace of mind when heading out into the backcountry.”

]]> http://onboard.mpora.com/news/jake-blauvelt-oakley-apparel.html/feed 0 http://onboard.mpora.com/news/jake-blauvelt-ride.html http://onboard.mpora.com/news/jake-blauvelt-ride.html#comments Wed, 17 Feb 2010 10:13:35 +0000 Uli Köhler http://onboard.mpora.com/?p=15141

Fresh out of the ever busy rumour mill comes something rather newsworthy…

Jake Blauvelt left his long-time sponsor Forum and just signed with Ride Snowboards. Jake, kind of the American (and slightly upbeat) version of Nicolas Müller, is one of the most recognized backcountry riders around. Rumours about him looking for some new challenges had been floating around for a long time. Forum might have foreseen something when they signed Andreas Wiig a couple of weeks ago. But would you trade a Blauvelt for a Wiig? Anyhow, things are official now as the following press release shows:

Ride Snowboards today fortified its international pro snowboard team with the likes of Jake Blauvelt, one of the world’s most recognized backcountry slayers. The initial contract extends three years and includes a board design collaboration heading into the 2011 season.

“Jake is unbelievably creative and smooth riding on any backcountry terrain,” said Scott Mavis, Global Vice President of Marketing for Ride. “He makes it look effortless. His style and personality are a perfect fit for Ride. We can’t wait to get started with him for filming, working the dealer circuit and helping our engineers dial in our new board profiles.”

Blauvelt is a Vermont native who currently calls Bellingham, Wash., home and shreds Mt. Baker. He made his first major global statement by winning the U.S Open Slopestyle event in 2004 but since has dedicated himself to mastering the craft in natural terrain conditions. This season he’s filming with Absinthe and has a role in a new TV series that will air in North America, Australia, South America, Europe and Japan.

“I am so stoked to finally be able to announce Ride Snowboards as my new board and binding sponsor. It feels so good to be in a position to have the freedom to fully take control of my career. Ride shares my vision and they’re 100% supportive of all my plans. This partnership makes complete sense: The boards are amazing and with their offices just down the road in Seattle, I will be working closely with Ride’s R&D team on some new signature board models… This is like a dream come true!”

Blauvelt rounds out Ride’s deep squadron of international pro riders, including: Seb Toutant (signed this season), Mikey LeBlanc, Hana Beaman, Juuso Laivisto, Marco Feichtner, Darrell Mathes, Nico Droz, Akifumi Hiraoka, Hiromi Takahashi, and Takashi Nishida. For the remainder of the 2009-10 season, he’ll be shredding on the new Ride Highlife snowboard and Double Agent bindings.

Check more of next season’s gear now.

The madness of ISPO has come to an end for 2010 and while the fingering of all the new kit and broing down with the riders and industry types is a fun way to pass several days cooped up in a cavernous hall or 10, our livers and vocal chords could certainly do with a vacation.

So, let the images do the talking as we run through yet more shots of next season’s kit…