High Fives with Todd Richards- Snow Thugs!
Snowboarding has seen many trends come and go: low backs, big pants, tight pants, bigger pants, neon, baseless bindings, etc., and Todd Richards is old enough to have seen them all. So what does Todd think about current tread of big clothes and bad attitudes? Surely he has some sage old wisdom to share, just for fun.
What’s your take on the current “snow gangster” movement in snowboarding?
What is sno thug? huge pants ? I did that once. Listen to Wu tang and Snoop ? I did that once. Roll in a pack and never get more than 6 inches off the ground all day? I did that… I did all that in ’92 and ’93. Tarquin and MFM were the shit, and as far as I’m concerned MFM is really the only OG that there is. He would come to the skatepark in Denver with thugs thuggy thug thugs. I was scared, but then I met his homey Big Gene, and he’s awesome. Any-hoe, I think slope gangsta is no better than kids dressing like they are in The Cure back in the day, or dressing like they are following the dead, or wearing a neon skittle outfit now. It’s just a scene that you are in that will eventually embarrass the shit out of you when someone shows you a photo in 10 years.
Do you think kids from the east coast are more justified in pretending to be “hard” then say, kids from Summit County, because there are real cities nearby?
Well, what the hell is hard anyhow? Hard like MTV ganstah bullshit? Fuck that. Hard is having a rough home and having to fend for yourself at an early age and finding snowboarding and that saves you from a life of bad shit. Those dudes are hard and it doesn’t matter if you are from SLC, Breck, VT, NY, NJ or Aspen. If your home is fucked when you are coming up, you deal with fucked up shit, see fucked up shit and it scars and scares you, you can be hard.
Do you think Tall T’s and giant pants in any way affect your ability to snowboard?
No, but they definitely effect the way you photograph. As in: ” Dude that was such a sick drop off that 20 foot cliff, too bad your Tall T was caked in ice or we would run that in the mag.”
Who is you favorite tall-t wearing snowboarder and why?
Who is my favorite tall t-er. Easy, Lane Knaack
Really, more favorite than the tiny dancer?
The tiny dancer doesnt really wear tall t’s on the hill. Lane does, usually over tall sweatshirts. Lane Knaack is the most underrated Grenerd ever.
Which snowboarders would do the best if they were thrown into a Detroit ghetto? Who would fare the worst?
Oh man, well obviously Marco. Hmm, if you threw Gooner in there he could mumble to himself and then spit in his own hair to confuse the bangers that were coming to rob him. Hmmm, yeah I’ll go with none, final answer. 8 mile smile.
That picture of the fat kid in the New York hat is priceless! Is there going to be an uncensored audio stream from Todd at the Olympics?
I do believe I saw Tarquin Robins at Copper in 93 with a sketchy ass hand gun that would probably back fire and blow the shooters finger off… He wasn’t gangster he was just crazy!
but man Tarquin did oooze style for days ….. also those are not tall t’s that Vito wears those are children,s smalls
Todd Richards has ski resort tourist style. Probably has a goggle gaper.
burritosandnuts- hahaahahahahahah that was amazing.
“Dude that was such a sick drop off that 20 foot cliff, too bad your Tall T was caked in ice or we would run that in the mag.”
ahahaha this is my facebook status. so damn funny!
Lane Knaack for sure. blowing and shitty at boreal and Lane will still just be in a tall T or a tall hoodie. Lane is LEGIT.
Todd how do you find time to do these interviews,don’t you have some Parkour tricks you need to memorize.
Hey Todd, Louie used to were a Tall T. He had to quit wearing it cause everyone was stepping on it or he would trip on it while fist pumping to his favorite Wu-Tang member.
I thought all the snow gangsters traded their guns for sewing machines in 04-05…