Here we are on the eve of the Dew Action Sports Tour’s night-time snowboard rail jam at the Rose Quarter in Portland. The Dew Action Sports Tour used to be the Gravity Games and is now owned by NBC/ Universal and Live Nation, a spin-off from Clear Channel. I heard the snow for the event is going to be delivered late tonight, but the rails and stairs are all in place, waiting for the snow. No one is sure where the snow is coming from, maybe it’s from Mt Hood, maybe a skating rink.
I don’t snowboard any more. I used to ride a racing snowboard, but I never raced competitively. My favorite part of snowboarding was going fast and turning hard, usually under the lift so people could see that we could actually turn. My second favorite part of snowboarding was watching my friends ride, stopping to hit jumps, logs, or steeps on the way down. My third favorite part of snowboarding was watching videos. My fourth favorite was going to the Burton Snowboard US Open to watch my heroes ride. My fifth favorite part of snowboarding was getting new boards, jackets, hats, t shirts and stickers. My sixth favorite part of snowboarding was going to Burton. My seventh favorite part was reading snowboard magazines. I think beyond that, I was usually doing or thinking about something else.
Snowboard racing today is for snowboard nerds, it’s a super-niche thing called “carving” now. No one in the industry cares about racing because it does not make any money. Years ago, companies made a conscious decision to stop making product for racing, therefore dooming that side of the sport and riders out of existence. They felt they’d wasted enough money on a side of snowboarding that did not make enough money in sales to justify the development of race-specific products. The ripple-effect this had on the sport was interesting to watch. Freestyle snowboarding BECAME all that snowboarding was. Now, there was only one way to ride: Look cool, get new shit, go bigger, grab right (god damn it) and spin.
The emphasis in snowboarding was placed on the segment that made money: fashion freestyle. Companies forced the trend by focusing product and marketing on specific styles of boards, jackets, bindings and one style of riding. Magazines and smaller companies followed, because they needed to make money too. Snowboarding was transformed into an activity that attracted corporate sponsorships for events, videos and magazines, and the pro riders followed the money trail. And if any part of snowboarding, or the riders involved, did not attract those types of dollars in sales or sponsorships, they were abandoned as worthless.
Imagine if this had happened in bicycling. No Tour de France, only BMX Park at the XGames! Talk about doping scandals!
The most interesting part of what’s happened in snowboarding is the relationship between the most influential professional riders and the industry. The riders (who were “driving” the sport) were convinced by the industry and their sponsors to conform to what sells best: dope style, attitude, rails, backcountry jumps. Halfpipe is barely hanging on as a viable part of the sport, mainly because it makes for good TV (see “Advertising”). Not many people go out and buy halfpipe-specific boards any more. If the Olympics did not pick up Snowboarding, who knows if halfpipe would even exist now? The US Open and X Games cannot prop up this part of snowboarding alone. Boardercross (Snowboard Cross?) is the land of ex-alpine racers and is doomed for the same reasons.
So, what does this mean for the “sport” of snowboarding? It means that there is a very narrow definition of what snowboarding is today. There’s a single, narrow path for snowboarders to follow. Snowboarding likes young kids who have parents that buy them things and parents that send thier kids to resorts and kids that work in shops at resorts. And that means that everyone outside of this definition (including most girls and women) do not really fit what the industry needs snowboarding to be. The snowboarding industry needs snowboarding to be young, rich, male and stupid. Or it needs to succeed in attracting more women to the sport, which is hard because they don’t relate to the current singular definition.
Everyone else (usually older male riders) buys product, wears it, rides it and enjoys it, much like golf clubs and shoes. It goes in the basement in the off season, get’s replaced every 3-5 seasons. My guess is that these riders are increasing in number, and decreasing in stoke on snowboarding. It’s possible they like feeling younger when they go ride. It’s possible they’ll watch the Dew Action Sports Tour Rail Jam in a week on NBC prime-time and say “Fuck! I am such a pussy. I am going to Mammoth to practice sliding rails all season next year.” It’s not possible, though, that these dudes will buy as much shit as a young wiseass kid with parents who have money. (PS: I was this kid until recently. It’s a good thing I had friends in the industry…)
What about backcountry or big mountain riding? People in Chamonix, Jackson and Tahoe love that. There are one or two respected professional riders in the entire sport who are hanging on to thier sponsorships by putting their asses on the line in situations that would make an SLC rail-jockey crap his saggy drawers.
Snowboarding began in powder and on hills that had to be hiked. It began with makeshift equipment, NO style and only fun with friends in mind. When it moved to resorts, it attracted more people and made more money for everyone. When it moved into the mainstream media, it attracted more people and made more money for everyone. Some parts of the sport and riders were left behind for the ones that attracted more people and made more money for everyone. Now, there’s no where else for snowboarding to go. And what are we left with? Too much emphasis on style, fashion and attitude. Not enough emphasis on accessibility, creativity and the feeling of snowboarding with friends.
Many people would say that they love snowboarding, they love the part of snowboarding that they now have. So do I. I loved it so much. Snowboarding got me to where I am today and I met the most amazing people in my life. I have vivid memories of snowboarding that I still daydream about. There’s no way I am going to ruin those memories by trying to fit into snowboarding today.
People will say that snowboarding is not about the industry, it’s about getting out before dawn to hike the ridge and make a few turns before anyone else gets there. Super nice. That’s perfect. Get out there and do it.
People will wonder why I care to comment, or what right do I have to try to influence what snowboarding is today. I don’t know why I care. Maybe it’s because I don’t want snowboarding to disappear for you too, because the industry could not make enough money from your favorite part of snowboarding.
20 responses so far ↓
1 your future wife // Aug 17, 2006 at 5:49 pm
whatever. you’re still going to the mountain with me this winter.
2 Vince LaVecchia // Aug 17, 2006 at 5:51 pm
I need some boots. I promise I’ll go with you.
3 Chuck // Aug 17, 2006 at 5:54 pm
I used to snowboard.
4 Your Future Wife // Aug 17, 2006 at 10:57 pm
someone get my man some wide boots… come on you burton people. i know you read this… hook the boy up…..
5 Johnny Bowles // Aug 17, 2006 at 11:00 pm
Well said, sucka.
6 Draplin // Aug 18, 2006 at 6:33 am
Regarding riding: “I still got it.”
7 J. O'Shea // Aug 18, 2006 at 9:18 am
i’m going to ride until i die. i still have as much fun as i always had every time i go. there have probably been less than 10 days that it wasn’t a good idea to go riding. who cares what the new trends are?
i always saw the draw to snowboarding as very similar to what i’m sure draws people to surfing. the basic, rhythmic, addictive motion of riding/surfing. the other stuff (jumping, being with friends) are all nice pluses, but it’s really just the basic riding and carving that makes it such a positive experience every time.
i look forward to riding through the woods with sylvie and violet and taking a break and sitting and listening to the snow falling. seems like that will be more fun that fist-fighting with other parents about my/their child’s amount of playing time. maybe i’ll be able to do both.
you live within an hour of my favorite place to ride. ski bowl. get your ass up there when it’s dumping and ride that upper bowl. you’re sure to be wearing a big bearded smile.
p.s. blotto says hi and that he misses you.
8 Tara // Aug 18, 2006 at 9:34 am
before I met you, Chuck would tell me about how “SUPER FAST” you would always ride and how you only made like 3 turns down the whole mtn at Stowe. I bet you still got it in ya…bring it.
9 Alexi // Aug 18, 2006 at 11:30 am
Id trade a whole season to spend one day in Pemberton BC with you Vin. Ill bring some boots.
10 Vince LaVecchia // Aug 18, 2006 at 12:39 pm
Via Shem:
I think it’s great that you keep thinking/writing about what you think snowboarding is Vince…seriously.
I’m at a point now where I ride when I can, and I know there will be some powder in the woods. I ride whatever gear I can get for free and feel is made by good people.
Working at BMC this summer opened my eyes to what snowboarding can be.
Call me whatever you want, but I’d give my left nut to ride with ALL of Glebelands at Stowe, Bromley, or Mt. Baker.
Shem
11 Jib Hunt // Aug 19, 2006 at 6:50 am
Yo Vin.
Super Rad article. I love the photo will all the vintage Burton Decks with You, Nick, and Backside Air Mikey. Hopefully I will make it out to Oregon this winter for some shred gnar gnar and yes, you have to go ride with me. We can drag Skegler along for some viewing entertainment.
Word Up.
Jib
12 LG // Aug 20, 2006 at 9:46 am
Nice one. did you see the september TWS?
They actually ran a full page on alpine, covering Rosey Fletcher and her Olympic history from this winter and the past…
PS. what size boots you looking for?
13 LG // Aug 20, 2006 at 5:21 pm
Oh, and now that I think about it, the abomination known as the Dew Action Sports Tour is NOT the event series formerly known as the Gravity Games. Gravity Games pretty much ceased to exist because it could not find a home with a decent media partner. NBC squeezed them off to OLN, where they died. Now, NBC (looking at what ESPN has done with the X-Gaymes) has created its own event tour, so it makes all the money off sponsorship and ad sales from the sugar water and deodorant companies.
I would not be surprised at all if NBC launches their own winter version of the AST some time in the future and tries to push events like the Grand Prix and the US Open off their network and into action sports oblivion.
You seem to blame the manufacturer first, and the media second. I’d reverse that, based on my observations from running events and then fighting with the media over how they are covered. The biggest dollars being made on action sport right now are the ones being scooped up by the NBCs and ESPNs of the world. That is why you see shit like “Snowboard Cross” making a comeback. Not because the riders want it, but because it gets ratings and couch potatos love the “nascar of the snow.” (FYI. “Boardercross” is a copyrighted name, which is why X-Gaymes has “Snowboarder X” and the Olympics has “Snowboard Cross”)
I might have to go off and rant on my own site about this.
Thanks Vin.
14 Vince LaVecchia // Aug 20, 2006 at 10:14 pm
Ultimately and unfortunately the blame lies with the riders, who are the only ones who can influence the media, sponsors and manufacturers. But they usually do what thier team managers suggest, in order to keep movin’ on up…
15 egge // Sep 26, 2006 at 1:51 am
don’t be a pussy, check out the photo gallery, website…deschutesriveranglers.com the photos of steelhead are sick, but the redside of a lifetime are where we need to go soon. all caught on a dry hopper im. get it touch w me pussy pants
eggs
16 JP // Nov 8, 2006 at 9:45 am
I read it once, I have to read it again. I’ve never met you, just hear the stories. Somehow we may have crossed paths…. I have a shot of Michalchuck from the last wb classic ever held that is from the exact same angle as the first one in this post! It was one of my first published shots – a seq of his double back.
I ended up here directed from Liam’s blog.. I have to keep reading.
Hope you get back on the powder trail this season!
peace.
Jeff
17 Vince LaVecchia // Nov 8, 2006 at 2:30 pm
Hey Jeff,
Glad you got linked in here. Be good to hear what stories made it your way, the good, bad and heinous.
I always wanted to go fishing/ hunting with Mike, he and I related on that level. Be interesting to see where he’s at now.
18 JP // Nov 8, 2006 at 2:57 pm
Mikes still in Pemberton. He was riding alot last season, unfortunatley didnt see him much.. actually we have only been bumping into each other off and on since he left Alberta years ago…
Funny.. I was just coming back to let you know.. I started going through some old shots for an upcoming gallery and found that shot of Mike.. You must have been forwarded that one through the lines at Burton back in the day… cause it was my shot!!! Stoked you found it cool enough to hold on to for the years.
all the stories I have heard have been good ones!
Peace
Jeff
19 nate // Nov 10, 2006 at 11:57 pm
whats up Vince? that was some deep stuff you wrote up there. I have always valued your opinion and felt that you have a pretty realistic grasp on this industry. these days I feel the same way you do, to an extent. Im still riding a ton, but have pretty much given up on kissing ass to get shit done. I don;t compete anymore (except for the Open, but thats more of an excuse to go back home for a week) and am just content with not having to buy equipment. pretty much im seeing what will happen if I play by my rules. there are more parts in life than snowboarding, but it sure as hell is a fun part!
20 The Re-Birth of Re-Publishing at Vinceland // May 17, 2007 at 10:18 pm
[...] Since then, Vinceland has seen good days and great. [...]
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