Portland Oregon-Based Digital Media

RIP Yobeat.com

Posted by admin in Features | News - (25 Comments)

Dear Dedicated Readership,

Twenty-one years. When I began this website on my AOL account, I never imagined it would last this long or take me to the places it has. But they say all good things must come to an end, and my friends, that day is today. The website you love to hate will not see any futher updates. It will remain online for the time being, but may be deleted at any time. I recommend you print out your favorite articles now or forever live in regret when they are gone.

This was not an easy decision to come to, and it was aided in large part by a legal battle with my former partner. As a result, the name Yobeat no longer belongs to me. For the record, the instagram @yobeat is no longer affiliated with this website and any merchandise you may encounter is not either. The media juggernaut and the T-shirt company have parted ways and I do not want to do anything to inadvertently promote the latter.

Instead, I aim to continue my efforts on a new platform under the name Blower Media. As of right now, it’s just a logo and some stickers, but it could be something amazing some day. Stay tuned.

Brooke Geery
Founder, Editor, Publisher, Yobeat.com.
1997-2018
RIP

 

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The Art of the Bro Deal

Posted by admin in Features | Hot Shit - (1 Comments)

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Free stuff. Discounts. Pro forms. Everyone wants em, but how you get it? Truth is, it’s not that difficult. If brands have stuff to sell, they have stuff to give away! So how do you get them to give it to you?

That, my friends, is the art of the bro deal.

There are a few ways to score. The first, though not necessarily the easiest is to be important. Whether due to above average athletic ability, extreme physical attractiveness, superior coolness, or general longevity, when you matter, companies are just begging to throw stuff at you in hopes you’ll find their wares suitable for your needs. If you happen to possess any of the above characteristics, you don’t even need to keep reading. Just keeping being your amazing self and the product will flow like the Colorado river

But never fear, poor plebeian person, the bro deal can still be achieved even for you normie. The most important thing you can do is know the right people. Figure out who has the authority to give out deals, and make friends with them. Depending on the size of the company, this could be a marketing director, rep, or coordinator. What you need is someone with a budget, but no actual connection to the bottom line. For this reason, you should skip the owner, since it is their money they are often tight in the pocket book.

You may also have luck with an unscrupulous warehouse employee who is smart enough to know the systems but too dumb to value their job.

Now these people fall into the aforementioned important category and accordingly, they probably have lots of friends. Relationship building is only the first step. Next, it’s all about timing. You’ll want to go in for the kill when they are flush with product and have little hopes of anyone actually buying it. In snowboard world this happens twice a year- once when samples have exhausted their usefulness, and once when production gear arrives from the manufacturers. Obviously it is easier to get beat up samples for free than new gear, but both are possible!

The next step is simple. You must ask. Again, you are not cool, but if you’re also not annoying, and you ask nicely and have sound reasoning, you’ll be surprised at people’s willingness to hook it up. Your reasoning really does have to make sense, though. How will you help them sell or market their product?

Chances are they don’t care about your 500 Instagram followers or the fact you talk to everyone you share the lift with. You’ll have to use your wit, charm and creativity here.

Once you’ve succeeded in getting a sweet deal, or promo item, remember, there’s nothing actually free in this world. You were gifted this item for a reason and now you must actually deliver on your promises. Did you say you’d ride the snowboard at 20 different resorts this season? Then you better be riding it when you run into the person who gave it to you. Did you say you’d use it as a prop in an epic Instagram series? Then it better show up over and over and over.

If you don’t come through, you’ll decrease the likelihood of getting another deal, and make yourself look like a real jerk. What if you don’t actually like it, though? Tough cookies! As the recipient of a hand out, you are now morally obligated to hype it up and let everyone know how dope it really is, no matter what.

Sure, some marketing guys will tell you to be honest, but what they really mean is, be honestly positive you’re going to like it.

Once the item has expired it’s usefulness to you (last season’s gear, ew) you now have a new responsibility. Assuming you didn’t totally ruin it, you may be tempted to try to turn that free or discounted item into pure profit. Again, this is a major no-no in the bro deal game. You never want to be the guy caught by Burton spies selling your “cool-guy only” model on eBay. Even a craigslist ad or Facebook marketplace ad is a risk.

No, bro, you should do one of two things. 1) Hoard it forever, so that some day, you can tell your grandkids about the time you got that item for free for being very cool/important. Or 2) share the wealth with a needy homey. Even though getting free stuff isn’t very difficult, many people lack the ability to talk to others at all. Surely you’re friends with a social misfit like this and so now it’s your turn to help someone out. Who knows, maybe this kind gesture will make up for one of the other shitty things you’ve done in your life.

The only sure thing is you won’t piss anyone off or hinder your chances of getting more free stuff in the future.

Bro deals are not only a privilege, but a point of pride you can certainly strive to achieve. As long as you keep your cool, while simultaneously providing a small value to the company at large, you too, can master the bro deal. It definitely beats paying full retail!

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Win: Mountain Mix: A Coloring Book for Radical Grown Ups

Posted by admin in Features | Win - (5 Comments)

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When I was a child, my mother used to distract me from being annoying by giving me crayons, markers or colored pencils and some blank paper. Not only did it work, occupying my growing young brain for hours while I artfully drew my versions flowers and animals, but it fostered creativity, too!

Twenty-something years later, my mom purchased me my first “adult” coloring book. Like mothers do, she remembered how calm and happy scribbling made me as a child and has read some expert reports that adults could find a similar calming effect in coloring. The drawings were more elaborate and I rarely used crayons, but god damn it the experts were right! Coloring is fun at any age.

Which is why you need to get a copy of Cy Whitling’s Mountain Mix Coloring book.

For the last three years, Cy has been doodling outdoor scenes in a notebook. Some are hilarious (like the crumudgeonly old man and his pick-up truck) and some are straight-up extreme (Sasquatch carrying a pow board! what!?) but they’re all naturiffic-outlines ready for you to fill in with your own colorscheme.
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For those of you who require more pursuasion before investing $25 in something, Cy offers even more uses for his project:

  • Killing time on rainy tent days
  • Coloring on the plane ride to your next trip
  • Practicing your fly-tuning hand-eye coordination
  • Keeping the kids occupied while you go out for another lap
  • Using as a fire starter in an emergency situation

So yes, you need and want this coloring book! It’s awesome. And the best way to get it is to click on over to Kickstarter, where Cy is raising funds the new-fashioned way. For $25 ($5 off retail) you can have your own copy of the book delivered to your doorstep by the US Postal service, or you can also get stickers, a puzzle, prints, t-shirts and more. On top of that, Cy is very funny and you will laugh at least a few times reading his hand-crafted Kickstarter campaign.
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Children still enjoy coloring, too! 

I assume you are still reading this because the title said “win” and so far it’s basically a review and a Kickstarter plug, so congratulations! You’re right! We’re also giving away a Mountain Mix Coloring book to one lucky Yobeat reader and entering is easy. Just email submissions at yobeat dot com with your mailing address and “Mountain Mix Coloring Book” in the subject line. One person will be selected at random on April 2 to receive a coloring book FOR FREE! (One entry per person please!)

If you’d like more information on the project check out www.bemorestoked.com and/or visit Kickstarter:


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X Games Real Snow 2018: Hump Day Goes Behind the Video Parts

Posted by admin in Features | Hot Shit | Videos - (4 Comments)

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Happy Hump Day! It’s officially Real Snow time and the full edits are alive via the links belows.

Six snowboarders who’ve been deemed the most gnarly, progressive, prolific, heavy, insane, talented, and any other superlative that means good you can possibly come up with have joined forces with some of the best filmers in the game to vie for X Games Gold.  How and why were they selected? We don’t get paid to know or care about that. Who will win? That’s up to people more relevant and intune than us! What we do know is these edits are always a real hoot to watch and for you, dear Yobeaters, we’ve done our best to track down the 12 individuals involved to give us the dirt.

Click the images below to watch the edits and read into the minds of the riders and filmers! Voting ends Sunday March 25th.
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Benny Urban
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Frank Bourgeois
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Anto Chamberland
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Ozzy Henning
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Dan Brisse
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Bode Merrill
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Love/Hate: Matt Wainhouse’s 2017 Video Memories

Posted by admin in Features | Interviews | Love/Hate | Videos - (0 Comments)

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Washington state’s influence on snowboarding is stronger than ever. The humility, respectfulness and willingness to get wet (very wet) has continued to prove the Northwestern corner of America breeds snowboard talent. Matt Wainhouse is riding those concrete cascade waves hard all winter with the help of sponsors such as CAPiTA and 686, as well as a summer gig laying real concrete. Above, you’ll find his latest winter scrapbook. If you want more, check out the past few years on the other side of these links. If you just wanna know his current feelings about hot topics effecting his daily life, and see some sweet photos, scroll down!
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Photos courtesy Waino. Right image: Eric Hoffman

Pillow lines

Love: Destroying them

Hate: White rooming yourself in the middle of them

Riding Backcountry

Love: Escaping from the crowds, riding an untouched line, earning those airs and having a real sense of being in the mountains

Hate: Random people following you in the lift access backcountry, avalanches

Below: Self-caused avy action. Photo: Brad Andrew
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Being Blonde

Love: Chicks dig it

Hate: Blonde eyebrows sometimes don’t show in flash photos and it’s creepy like Skeletor

The Northwest

Love: The green, the moss, jagged mountains, cliff drops, sweet hikes, alpine lakes, humidity, The Columbia River, seeing my friends slay the fish

Hate: Traffic, people moving here

Powderboard Shapes

Love: When someone hits a kicker on a shaped board. Looks so sick! Extra points for landing or taking off switch

Hate: Not enough landing gear

Below: Matt parents never told him not to play around power lines. Photo: Brad Schaefer

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Powder Surfboards

Love: It’s a very calming feeling when powder surfing. Small features seem big. Hiking with one is so damn easy. Stand up and go, no strapping-in required. Shark snowsurf for life! (That’s an ad) lol

Hate: You need the right snowpack for it to work well

Snowmobiles

Love: Possessing hundreds of horsepower at the will of your thumb, climbing up mountains with ease, counter-steering in pow, and the smell of gasoline

Hate: Showing up to the spot and something isn’t working, getting stuck

Road Gaps

Love: The feeling of being so high off the ground yet knowing your going to catch a good transition

Hate: The thought of potentially hooking your edge off the kicker and falling to your death

Going Upsidedown

Love: Being able to spot your landing well, trying new ways of going upsidedown

Hate: Not being able to figure out those new ways of going upsidedown. I’m stuck with only a couple!

Below: After miracle March… Justin Kious Photo
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Laying Concrete

Love: The honest hardwork keeps you physically and mentally tough. It pays well and allowed me to take winter off to shred hard. Also working on skyscrapers has helped me be more comfortable with heights and sketchy situations.

Hate: It’s demoralizing, extremely dirty, your back might be really sore each day and lots of egos

Having a travel budget

Love: The fact that it was earned. Certain companies realizing that I do have influence on the products that are being purchased at my home mountain and region. The little bit of more freedom it allows me to have in the winter

Hate: Not being able to see the exact numbers of how it’s actually benefiting these companies. Not much I hate about getting paid to ride though!

Follow Waino on Vero

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The Yobeat Race Team Competes at Slash and Berm 5: Last Weekend, Whenever

Posted by admin in Event Coverage | Features | Hot Shit - (0 Comments)

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The Google bots want keywords in the header so here goes: This is a story about the 2018 Slash and Berm Banked Slalom at Killington, Vermont. This two-day event was sponsored by Darkside Snowboards and Whiteflag Sales and benefited the High-Fives foundation. The weekend consisited of an individual race Saturday and an Industry Team event Sunday. As is to be expected from Yobeat, I wrote a story about our team’s journey, as well as a quick review of Torah Bright’s autobiography “It Takes Courage,” which you can read below. And since we snowboarded instead of watching the individual race, please enjoy this non-exclusive gallery from Killington sharp shooter Dave Young!
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Torah Bright had already won an Olympic gold medal in halfpipe and established herself as one of the the most progressive and stylish women in the snowboard world, when she decided to do the incomprehensible. She aimed to compete in all three disciplines of snowboarding in the Sochi Olympic games.

“Why?” Everyone asked. “Why on earth would you wanna risk a broken neck in snowboard cross and huck yourself of the sure-to-be-unsafe Russian slopestyle course?”

And that’s not even taking into account the grueling qualification process to earn slots in each of the three events for her motherland of Australia. But Torah’s answer was simple.

“Why not?”

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I purchased Torah’s autobiography, written not just about this incredible feat, but also about her childhood, family, religion, career and even her short-lived marriage to Jake Welch “It Takes Courage” in 2015. It’s been sitting idly on my bookshelf since. But with my sights set on the team event at the 5th Slash and Berm Banked Slalom in Killington, Vermont, March 3rd, 2018, I thought, ‘what better way to waste a cross country flight than actually reading it?’

As I sat in the JFK airport watching Winter Storm Riley bare down on the Eastern Seaboard and the departure of my flight to Burlington push further and further back, I lost myself in Torah’s cute Australian phrasing and the quick and easy reading that was her life story. I read each chapter (which she cheekily referred to as Runs) with a much better understanding of what it takes to be a top-level competitive snowboarder (of any gender.) And I smiled and pondered deeply as I read each of the inspirational quotes at the beginning of each “run.”

What I didn’t realize is that when I finally made it to Rutland (8 hours later than I was supposed to) and woke up on Sunday with sore muscles from the recreational shred day with friends I’d enjoyed the previous day at Killington, I would actually need to channel my inner Torah make it down the course that day. In fact, the first thing I did after wiping the sleep from my eyes was text my teammate Jason Bayne.
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Bayne had been instrumental in helping assemble team Yobeat, and had already recruited Ian Nugent from Darkside Ludlow. Our fourth recruit (teams could exist with three, but since the lowest score would be dropped, that’s just silly) was Colorado-bred eyecandy Patrick Whitehead. Patrick had landed on the East Coast right as I’d posted a plea for team members on Instagram and a few quick texts later had secured his slot. Really, they didn’t even need me, I told myself. And surely there would be someone else that would take over my pre-paid entrance fee to benefit the High-Fives foundation happily, and do a better job.

But nothing resonates with me like the word lame, so I thought about Torah’s book.

“You may be disappointed if you fail, but you are doomed if you don’t try.” — Beverly Sills, Run Six

She’s right, damn it.

“The one thing you can give and keep is your word.” — Unknown, Run 15.

‘Fuck,’ I thought, as I pulled on my Airblaster ninja suit, and realized I didn’t have a choice.
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When I arrived at Darkside Killington to pick up my freshly-waxed snowboard, Patrick was in the shop scraping the wax off his board. He smiled and hugged me and thanked me for letting him represent Yobeat that day. I continued to the journey to the Bear Mountain parking lot. With no parking lot attendants in sight, I chose to begin a new row directly perpendicular with the lodge and was happily relieved as our first alternate and waterboy Jim O’Leary pulled in right next to me. The rest of the row filled in quickly and I realized I’d set a trend. This was my calling, to lead the team to victory. Yeah, I probably wouldn’t go the fastest that day, but if I didn’t show up, why would anyone else even want to try?

At registration, Bayne and “Nuuge” had already signed us up and left to go get beer. I carried a 12-pack of CL Smooths in my hand and cracked the top to hand one to Patrick as he put on his bib.

He accepted it and said, “Perfect, I’ll have this right after my runs.”

I shook my head in disappointment. “Please, that’s your warm up beer and liquid courage,” I explained.

“I wish I could drink and snowboard,” he said. “But all I can really do when I drink is drink.”

“Oh Patrick, it’s a dosage thing. One is just right, two is too many.”

“You’re the best coach I’ve ever had, Brooke,” he laughed, as I cracked my own warm up beer and headed out to the lift line.

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At the base of the Skye Peak quad I encountered another unforeseen challenge. How to strap in with an open beer in one hand and an open 12-pack in the other? I gently placed one on either end of my first-generation DWD Bogart and figured it out. But as I stood back up, an angry skier lady scolded me.

“You know it’s illegal to bring your own alcohol on government property,” she said.

I had a flashback to the last Slash and Berm event I attended. When I’d done the exact same thing in the exact same line and was pretty sure the exact same lady scolded me in the exact same way.

“Oh sorry, I’m not from here,” I laughed, slamming the rest of the beer and tossing the can in the garbage. She didn’t need to know that I’d grown up here, right?

At the top of the course, energy levels were high. We still had time for a course inspection and I decided in the interest of training, I’d take my first run swaddling the opened 12 pack of beers. I wiggled through the gate and made it through the first two turns, down the staircase, up and over the step up and even managed to figure out there was an easy way around the gator pit. I didn’t go fast, came to a couple complete stops, and I skipped the icy halfpipe wall gate entirely, but me and my 10 silver bullets were in tact when I crossed the finish line. The Killington Parks crew had created a totally manageable course and I didn’t think I was going to die even once. Success!
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Worried about another encounter Debby Downer in the lift line, I decided to stash six of the beers at the finish line and put the other four in the Kangaroo pouch of my Saga jacket for safe keeping/additional training. I gave one to the finish line attendant to keep an eye on my stash for me and continued on my way.

When it actually came time to race, I discovered my team was a good one. After the first run, Patrick sat in 9th, Ian in 15th and Bayne was in 24th. I held it down with a solid 59th place time (not terrible, considering there were 115 competitors.) The Phat Italian had catered an incredible lunch of sub sandwiches and choosing between the “Phat Italian” and the “Phat Stallion” actually proved to be a much harder decision than forcing myself to compete that day.

Of course, we still had another run to complete and the rapidly firming man-made snow was starting to give way to the classic Eastern Blue Ice you knew was under there the whole time. We took our runs quickly and I’m sad to say, Team Yobeat suffered two rider crashes and a DSQ. Only Patrick was able to improve his time to earn 10th over all.

The winning team was basically unbeatable anyway. Nate Soucey was riding a boardercross board and like, trains for this shit. Ryan “The Crusher” Mrachek and Ryan Flynn are just that good. And their late addition Mike Garceau definitely felt he had something to prove. In second, unable to make it two in a row, was the Darkside Dream Team of Tim Major, Mike Fanning, Tucker Zink and Tucker Speer. They earned it through handwork and gumption. And in third, Team Surf the Earth — Steven Kelly, Connor Waldon, Tim Parker and John Charles — smiled graciously as Darkside Snowboards Manager Tucker Zink handed the representatives of Killington’s other long-standing snowboard shop each a free-tune card to the Darkside.

As for the Yobeat team, we took home a solid 6th, which put us on the first page of the results list and highly satisfied with our performance! Sure, my time was the one that got dropped and sure, they could have done it without me, but damn it, we did it as a team!

Below: Not photoshopped
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Holy shit, you’re still scrolling? Well here’s the Day Two Gallery shot by Dave Young!
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Last Weekend, Whenever: Mount Southington’s Under the Lights Interstate 84 Rail Jam

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You may not think of Connecticut as an epicenter for snowboarding, but a mere 5 minutes off exit 30 of Interstate 84, Mt Southington is quickly establishing itself as a destination for those who fancy themselves part of the New England snowboard community.

“A little over 10 years ago the now-General Manager, Jay Dougherty, started the terrain park at the bump, Mount Southington,”Freestyle operations manager Kordian Stanecki said. “When Jay became the general manager he made a commitment to renew the mountain. A lot of money was invested into the infrastructure and face of the mountain.Today we have one of the most powerful snowmaking systems out there which really gave us a huge advantage this year with such a bad winter. The freestyle department has been so undervalued and underbudgeted in the past and we have really opened that up to provide the best freestyle experience and terrain in Connecticut. We also have one of the few mini pipes on the east coast! Each year we plan on going bigger and better including building new features this upcoming summer to add to the 17 new features built this season and 30 total features currently.”

And while those words may sound convincing, nothing proves it like an event, so on February 24, 2018, the crew at MTS Parks scrounged up $4000 in cold hard cash to help entice some of the best snowboarders in the region to brave a little rain and make the trip for the Under The Lights Interstate 84 rail jam. Cutting Edge, Vans and Nimbus League also provided support to make it like, a real thing.

The set up was described as “pretty cool” through the mega phone, but the riding was nothing short of amazing. While the antics of the Carinthia Parks crew have been slightly less-documented this season (RIP C Sessions) it doesn’t mean the riders are any less ripping. So it came as no surpise that the naturally slippery set up was manhandled confidently by those who call the other MTS (MT. Snow, that is) home. And choocing straight outta Killington, Savannah Shinske took home the W for the women. This is where a better, more serious snowboarding website might list the names of the tricks performed in the above video, but since we’ll definitely fuck that up, we think you should just click play and watch it instead.

Following the distribution of cold, hard cash money, the party moved into the Mountain Room for the official Connecticut premiere of Vans 16mm instant-classic movie Landline. Once the credits rolled, those who were wise enough to bring dry clothes (or didn’t have to work too hard in the morning) contined to celebrate until the calendar read February 25th.

Results

Men

  1. Shaun Murphy $1500
  2. Jeremy Ellenburg $1000
  3. Levi Gunzberg $500

Women

  1. Savannah Shinske $500

Best Trick

  1. Casey Willax (50-50 Front Flip disaster on the Flat-Down-Flat-Down) $500

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Jersey Shore Goes Snowboarding: The Exclusive JBrew Interview

Posted by admin in Features | Hot Shit | Interviews - (0 Comments)

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Much like the US Presidential Election cycle, the snowboard industry gets a major shakeup every four years.  Just when we get bored with (read: completely give up hope) on the world at large, our cold little world gets that much-needed burst of energy in the form of the Winter Olympics. Complain all you want about corporate sponsors and the the loss of soul, but shit, it is fun to watch and exciting to see our friends and heroes take the world stage. And luckily, for us Americans, these two totally unrelated worlds are offset by two years, otherwise our heads might just explode.

Because behind the scenes, the corporate media machine gears up too. For a month, snowboarding actually matters to society and accordingly, you get a shit ton of peripheral content to enjoy. Yes, you read that above title right, even MTV has gotten in on the action! On Tuesday, February 27, 2018, snowboarding is returning the households of all us lucky Americans. Check the official teaser (just wait til the shitty ad ends and fullscreen that shit):
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Surely, we’ll be tuning in, and we recommend you do too. And in order to arm you with a few pertinent insider details, we shot a text to our boy JBrew (who looks uncannily like Bobbie Boardin’) to get the straight dirt on how the hell this all came to be!
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How did you come to be part of Winter Break: Hunter Mountain? Can you describe the process for getting cast?

Oh boy, a couple of my buddies from Plymouth had posted a link on FB about this new snowboard show. Seemed pretty tight so I filled out the questions. Got a call a couple weeks later to do an interview. The process, well it’s been a long ride, I can tell you that much!

Did you expect the breakdown of characters that were cast alongside you, or were you surprised to be the only “core” snowboarder in the crew?

Yoooo, no not at all! I knew some of my other whackjob friends were being casted such as The Gravedigger and Lazz so I kinda assumed I’d be in a house with a bunch of other homies Nnnyeah not so much haha! After meeting the rest of the cast for the first time I was def thrown off, like way off. But you gotta expect the unexpected right? At that point I just knew I had to bring the static! Had to rip the Velcro apaht a little bit ya know? TJ can def hold it down on the hill

Rumor has it some real pro snowboarders showed up. How did this effect the dynamic in the house?

Going to the hill with the cast is fun and all but I needed a breath of fresh air so I had my good buddies Brandon Reis and Johnny O’Connor come visit, and they helped to ramp things up a bit!

Did you guys actually ride much or was it just one big party?

We rode a pretty fair amount I’d say. Well, TJ and I did. We sent it the entire time and it was a straight bender! Let me tell you, those dudes can drink! Marc could funnel a 12 pack of diesels at once

How did you stay sane in a house full of crazy people?

You ever use a weed whacker with no string? Welcome to our house

I can’t help but imagine the “mad real world” episode of the Chapelle Show. Was it like that?

Haha yeah, little less gangster. More like an alcoholic Brady Bunch.

Were your female castmates impressed by your snowboard skills, or did they even care?

Taylar held it down pretty hard! She was definitely hyped on the boarding. As for the other girls, not so much haha
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Premodern Competitive Snowboarding: A Hump Day With FIS Agent Ted Martin

Posted by admin in Features | Hot Shit | Hump Day Interviews | Interviews - (2 Comments)

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Pre-modern snowboarding, the mid 1990s to be inexact, Mike Ranquet was a self-proclaimed “anti-Olympic guy.” Meanwhile, Ted Martin was a competitive skier who’d moved to Vail and inadvertently became the literal “man” who’d help usher snowboarding into the Olympics. Ted would switch from two planks to one, co-found the ISF (International Snowboard Federation), and later jump ship to work for the FIS (Federation International de Ski). He also once kicked Ranquet out of Japan, but we’ll get to “the incident” at the end of this post…

20 years later, older, and possibly wiser, the two once sworn enemies found themselves hanging out in Hawaii over beers and talking. The stories they shared had evolved, and as time often does, old battles are now the stuff of humor.

As we watch these 2018 Olympic events unfold in PyeongChang, South Korea, we can expect much of the same shit that went down 20 years ago. Some people will display Olympic outrage over unsafe courses and judging scandals, many will swell with national pride and watch as kids’ dreams come true, and the third sect of the snowboard population will enevitably say, “What’s an Olympics?”

But whether you love it for the glory or the agony, the Olympics are definitely still happening, and snowboarding is now a staple in the Winter Games. In this three-part series we attempt to answer the eternal question: how the hell did we get here? — Brooke Geery

If you’d like to listen to the entire interview in one long sitting, here’s the uncut audio version:

Or if you prefer pictures and well-timed breaks with your informative historical content, scroll down for the video courtesy of Mike’s neighbor Matt Williams. Filmed for fun, and provided to you at no cost for your viewing pleasure!
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And why the hell would a skier wanna organize snowboard events, anyway?
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The true story of how Ted switched sides
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Snowboarding vs the World
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Post script.

An official statement from Michael Ranquet describing “The Incident” discussed throughout the interview.

The incident is in reference to a mishap involving Chris Roach, Ted Martin and myself while at Rusutsu resort on the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido in 1990.

On the last morning several obviously angry Japanese men in finely tailored suits were in our room. To my surprise, Ted Martin was also in our room!  What an honor! Being unable to recall coming home the previous night made my stomach shrivel. My initial thought was, “Oh no, no, Gold please help me, what have I done now!?”

I hadn’t done anything wrong, but from what I could gather, the hotel had double-booked our room and we had to vacate, pronto!

I felt sorry for whoever eventually incurred the wrath of Ted and his very angry, well-dressed, Japanese friends. Lucky for us, Ted quickly came to our defense and they agreed to book us another room, But here’s the kicker — not only was our hotel booked, but they said every hotel in Japan was booked!

They were such gracious hosts, which made it impossible for us to say no to their gesture of booking a room in the next closest city… San Francisco!   So in the face of their unwavering insistence that we fly to San Francisco, we witnessed the great Japanese tradition of never giving up despite impending and imminent defeat.

When we left the hotel it seemed like the entire hotel staff (some in tears) and even the police came to bid us farewell. The hospitality of this once fierce island nation extended to the airport as the police let us follow them (in case we got lost) and even walked us on the airplane!  I wanted to convey to my hosts a big artigato, but I don’t speak Chinese. They really wanted us to make the flight and in that sense, it was like a tickertape parade in reverse (ie switch/fakie).

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An Occult Hump Day with Andrew Tassell aka Tassellhoff

Posted by admin in Features | Hot Shit | Hump Day Interviews | Interviews - (0 Comments)

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Sometimes it’s hard to choose, which is why we do the People’s Court. It’s a perfect way to let other people do the choosing for us, and that is how Andrew Tassell, a 23-year-old multi media kid from Ohio, came to receive this week’s Hump Day. If you missed the voting, never fear, another episode will happen soon and if you send your video, perhaps you’ll win, too! But in the meantime, let’s talk about not choosing.

Andrew is into a lot of things – editing, music, occult art and more. He lives in Salt Lake and goes to school, but works in Park City slanging trays. He had a coach, but now (unprofessionally) coaches others, and it’s all working together for him under the dream of being a pro snowboarder. Will the dark lord grant his wish and continue his journey on a path to snowboard super stardom, or will he one day find bandmates and travel the world playing surf rock? For that, only time will choose and we invite you to continue reading. — Brooke Geery
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Photos courtesy Tassellhoff. Left: Timonthy Woodruff

Brooke: So, tell me, how does it feel to be the People’s Court champion? Is it everything you’ve ever dreamed of?

Andrew: I must say I feel as though I am on a parrot’s wings flying through the stratosphere… it’s quite fantastic.

Brooke: Wow what a description! haha. So as an Ohio native, who do you feel is a better representation of the buckeye state, Louie Vito or Jesse Csinsak?

A: Non-profits are tight, but Louie’s Dad runs a local radio station so I can’t argue against some radio marketing (tap dances off)

B: For real tho, what’s something great about Ohio most people don’t know? Something you actually miss about living there (other than your family, cause duh)

A: State fairs were like the biggest thing to do in the summer there, super sketchy carnival rides, gut busting food, and farmer art. Makes you miss the old town vibes.

B: What’s your go-to carnival snack?

A: ”Elephant Ears” Big’ol flat funnel cake thing covered in cinnamon sugar

B: Solid choice. Another serious question, and this one has a photo.
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A: Oh dear.

Brooke: Could your parents be any cuter?

A: Man, I’m like the mutant black sheep of a couple of angelic doves. (eyes roll back)

B: How do they feel about your fascination with the dark lord?

A: Occult vibes in art are one of the strangest things to me. It has a very vivid way of expressing the theme of the topic represented.

B: I have no idea what that means. Can you explain it in a way someone in their mid-to-late 30s who still listens to Blink 182 can understand?

A: If you were to make art about Trump, it would way sicker to represent him as Satan, than a typical bourgeois. haha

B: Now I get it! Thanks.
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Because shirts are for people who give a fuck. Photo: Alden Dow

A: Is it bad to use Trump as an example?

B: No I like it. Someone anyone can picture. I like to picture him as a Cheeto. One of the puffy ones. But maybe we should talk about snowboarding. What was the biggest adjustment for you moving from Ohio to Utah? Anything you didn’t expect?

A: Oh man, I rolled into Park City thinking a big jump was like 40ft. I was wrong. The riding level and strength of the snowboard community around Utah was obscene to me at first

B: Explain.

A: I jumped into riding at Park City from Ohio to snowboard with a freestyle developmental team. Ended up riding with people like Dave Reynolds, and SLC kids like Taxwood, and Bilodeau. Coming from a town with one pro, it was crazy seeing kids that good that young

B: Ahh so that’s what you meant by “snowboard team” when we were talking earlier… I wasn’t sure if thats’s just what the kids are calling crews now. What’s your opinion on coaching? Are you glad you came up with one?

A: Coaching is crazy, I feel like there’s definitely a part of developing your personal style and making your snowboarding your own that could be stunted in the process for some. Having solid fundamentals in the park is so key once you start building your own spots/jumps and such though. That being said, there are some sick coaches out there, Nick Poplawski, and Jacob Levine, who are all about getting people hyped on their own riding.
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Seriously. To hell with shirts! p. Alden Dow

B: On that note, what’s your answer to the question “Why do snowboarders build jumps in the streets?” Skateboarders don’t need em…

A: That’s simple! Skateboarding is way more hardcore.

The future is minimal setups. Start making speed lines out of nothin. Snowboarders need to learn to ollie.

B: Tell me about Alday? Do you guys function as a crew all season or is everyone kinda on their own program and then Alden just puts everything together?

A: Alden and I are definitely the two coach monkeys of the crew. We get the footage together and get overly opinionated about each others editing. Alden does have his own softgoods over there, too. [Ryan] Flaska has been Homie since day 1, he spent last winter filming with Tanner Hall’s crew and let me kidnap his hard drive. haha. And Sam is just a straight vagabond over there, he shows up and disappears haha. Everyone else are the local homies that just feel like getting after it.
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Airin’ over the river styx. Photo: Alden Dow

B: Is living in a place with such a heavy snowboard scene motivational to you? Or do you dream of moving further out into the wilderness some day?

A: I’m a full-fledged city kid. If I’m to old to eat cement riding, then I’ll film and edit.
Salt Lake has this sickest scene too, with the Cottonwoods access to backcountry. Then bam, once you’re done hittin’ some booter, you can drive straight down to the thrift store and get a trendy outfit for whatever weird sub genre of music you’re into.

B: Tell me about your weird music sub genre fetishism.

A: Psychedelic, garage, Doom, and some good’ol soul are all fetishes of mine haha

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B: Do you make your own music?

A: Yeah! Been making what I thought was surf rock as “Tassellhoff” up in my garage for a bit! Playing up at Cabin PC on Mondays. Playing all the instruments at the moment, any vagabond musicians out there?

https://soundcloud.com/user-318886867/sets/gloom
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B: Surf rock huh? Do you even surf, brah?

A: Man I wish. I hate sand. I thought a double snare would make it count, but dang it’s something else.

B: DUDE I am with you on the sand thing. That shit is THE WORST.

A: Why’s it gotta get everywhere like that!
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Out in the wild. Photo: Jayden Adam

B: What’s your ultimate goal with snowboarding?

A: Ultimate goal; Snowboard in new creative ways every day.
^^Cheesy^^

B: lol. yes it is. But it leads me to another deep question. Has everything been done on a snowboard already? Has progression gone too far or will there always be room for more? I mean, when you hit a spot that’s been hit 1000 times by 1000 people, how do you come up with something new and different?

A: Have you seen Cole Navin’s part?

B: Nah, I only watch videos in the People’s Court. lol

A: The funnest part about snowboarding is just tryinggggg to make a spot work. As long as weather keeps doing its thing, and architects keep making cool stuff, people will keep find crazy ways to snowboard on them.

B: That’s a great answer.
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Captured by Daly, created by Dow. 

B: Anything else you wanna say to the Yobeat public, thanks to the people who made this all possible?

A: (tears up)
Max Snowboard shop for suuuure,
Nate Love over at Ride Snowboards
Alden at Alday putting up with me.
And everyone who’s ever touched a shovel during my missions.

FOLLOW Tassell’s adventures on instagram @tassellhoff
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