Randy Walter and Michelle Yu make a nice couple.

I remember one day in particular, you couldn't miss them. I didn't know them at the time and they were all decked out in their "Shorelines" team outfits yelling shit at snowboarders from the lift at Diamond Peak. "What dicks!" I thought. "Especially the young kid with the funky hat on (Randy). Smartass!" Like most things, it turns out that these two South Shore boys who ripped at various contests around Tahoe weren't big mouths after all. They were rowdy as hell though, and it showed in their riding. (More about Jimmy in a future issue).

Totally absorbed and into shooting photos, Randy and I mostly hiked backcountry (to ride also). We therefore, over the years, became friends. One day in 1990, we went hiking with Bud Fawcett out near Kirkwood and a girl named Michelle Yu came along. She had just moved to Tahoe from New Jersey and was pretty much a beginner on a snowboard. They met that day and from then on, slowly became a nice couple. Since then, they have moved in together, gotten rid of Michelle's yellow Karman Ghia (their official snow car, that was driven out here from New Jersey) and acquired an older Subaru Brat. Randy takes the "Suby" out to the Kirkwood backcountry in the summer to jump dirt-road moguls. Both Randy and Michelle have since dramatically improved as riders. (Within the last month, Michelle won a World Cup Halfpipe Competition at Sierra at Tahoe). When they are not together following the contest circuit around the globe, they can be seen training and riding halfpipe or freeriding at Kirkwood and Sierra at Tahoe. Oh yeah, and they sometimes come to Reno to fill their stomachs too...

The Olive Garden, Reno-January 12, 1995

A group of us are sitting at the mini-bar, waiting to eat and I'm fidgety. I break out the mini-recorder for the slated interview. But wait, something is catywampus. Something that doesn't add up. Ah..ha!
There is something wrong with Randy Walter's hair, It looks like..it looks like shit! The type of haircut that was cut with an egg beater, so I ask him, "Who cut the hair?"
"Jimmy (Halopoff)." is the response from several mouths at once, like they were reading cue cards. Then (Canadian resident on tour) Sean Johnson cuts in, "Jimmy cut it with a steak knife."
"Why?," I ask as Randy eagerly responds, "Cause I let him, I was drunk."
"Why didn't you just get out the razor dude?" questions a perplexed (Reno resident) Corey Kapahee.
"Cause I like that style, it's.. stylee!," answers Randy laughing goofily.
"Well don't complain dude.. hehehe.." responds Corey who's now shaking his head, smiling and hungry.
Actually, we were all hungry! Randy continues; "Yeah, he cut it with one of those small steak knifes. But it hurt though."
"How long till they call our name?," I ask the hostess as Sean Johnson goes into another one of his tales.
"Just a few minutes and you will be seated," she replies as Johnson continues on about his $240.00 clown suit that he purchased for friends to be drunk and disorderly in.
"You can put on this suit, go into a supermarket and cause havoc! Randy, being all shitfaced, put it on the other night and..have you been to his house, the two story one? Well, he put the suit on and slid down the stovepipe from the top of the stairs and pulled the chimney pipe out of the ceiling! Hahhaha.. it was soo rad!"
Everyone was now laughing. It was apparent that the ever destructive Johnson had been in Tahoe corrupting the Walter household for weeks now. He even answered questions for Randy as we were finally being seated for dinner. I ask, "What are you doing for work nowadays, Randy?"
"Work? Yeah Randy works, he does 720 Waltairs!"
"And I also do 540 Seatbelts, Sean," Walter responded in his smart ass tone. After all Randy invented the crazy grabbing between the legs "Walt-air," and is a master at the "Seatbelt," (An around the body tailgrab trick him and Jimmy Halopoff have dialed).
Do you still clean carpets? I ask in a serious manner.
"Yeah, only one hhahahha.." Him and Johnson were at it being clowns, until Michelle returned.
"Hi `Chell. Uhh, actually I got a job now, I snowboard and.. I ride for Yellow Bus now, and I have a model. I ride for Gordini goggles.."
"He's a rippin', radical dude!" Sean blabs like a dork as Randy continues. "And I go to contests.. and.. oh yeah, I'm sponsored by a Masseuse. The place is called Holistic Therapies, they're in South Shore. I'm also sponsored by Sorel and Fuel Clothing."

Stock interview part here-
Chris: Did you get to design your own board."
Randy: Yeah, I got to design the shape, width, flex.. (starts talking fast, dorking out again) yeah!
Corey: Is it parabolic?
Randy: Like "The Pear."
Michelle: Ian Rueter's "The Pear."
Randy: He's got a skinny little head with a skinny little neck, all the way down to his fat little ass... HHhahaahha!
Chris: (All serious) Did he quit exercising?
Johnson: He never started exercising. He does a trick called the "Pear" to Fake Eye...hahaha.
Randy: He does handrails to "Pear" hahaha.. I don't see him much anymore, he moved to the North shore and rides at Squaw a lot.
Chris: Who do you like to ride with?
Randy: I ride with Michelle, Jimmy Halopoff, my friend Sean Johnson when he comes down. My friend Dusty Orcutt when he's not building roofs. I think I've ridden with him only once this year though.
Our appetizer breadsticks arrive now and I hand the recorder to Randy so he can interview his girlfriend, Michelle Yu. Bye-Bye.
This photo of Michelle, the above photo of Randy and the portraits are by Chris Carnel Randy: (In a cool D.J. like voice) So `Chell what do you think about the snowboard scene in nineteen-nine-doe-five? (Everyone at the table tries to answer this one, it's spastic!)
Michelle: (Being sarcastic, after everyone's quiet) The Volcom-Arnet-Burton riders?
Randy: Oh yeah, that! What about those guys?
Johnson: (In sarcastic dork mode) Those guys are fags.. Hhahahha..
Michelle: I like `em. I was introduced to a couple of `em at this contest, they're real nice people.
Randy: They're good riders, huh?(In cool radio guy voice)
Michelle: They're very, very talented people.
Randy: I can't tell the difference between `em, everything they do is the same and I just don't know who is who anymore.
Michelle: But they look good and that's what counts.
Randy: Yeah, but they're stylish, alright! Hhahahaha (Now Everyone is laughing)
Randy: Who are you riding for?
Michelle: I'm gonna be riding for Pzalm.
Johnson: I'm riding for booze.
Randy: Johnson is riding for Booze... (Laughter)...
Michelle: The two concentration maniacs are getting engaged.
Randy: (Mike) Jacoby and (Kristy) Elder, Wow! How did you do at the recent Sierra at Tahoe contest?
Michelle: My hometown was backing me. For a local contest, I think I did pretty well. I got first in the halfpipe, and third in the.. (testosterone voice) triple air shootout!
Johnson: (Talkin' like a seasoned athlete, in cool guy voice) Well, you know, I showed up. I didn't think I was gonna do very well, I decided hey I'm gonna do my best, and I came out on top man, I didn't do the revert and all but...hahahahaah (everyone laughing again).
Randy: Who did you have to compete against, who was there?
Michelle: Elise Sather, umm.. it was a World Cup contest. Carabeth Burnside was there. Christy "Einstein" Elder.
Randy: (being a smart-ass) Isn't Carabeth second in the world?
Michelle: I don't know, is she?
Randy: You kicked her ass, huh?
Ohhh....hehehe (everybody laughing at attitude boy).
Michelle: Carabeth.. rules.
Randy: Yeah, she is a good rider. So what else is new, come on. The tapes runnin' and your laggin'.
Michelle: I'm gettin' old, life expectancy is three years. I want to pump out some puppies...hahaha (we won't get too into this department).
Corey: Michelle, do you clean carpets too?
Michelle: I gotta clean the carpets cause I had some party animals at my house, that are still here.
Randy: Where are they from?
Michelle: Canada and Utah and.. hell. Some local vagrants also.

By this time we were getting off the track, talking about Ian "The Pear" Rueter, again..
Chris: Let me interject, Michelle are there any riders you look up to, that inspire you.
Johnson: Listen to the business man over here.
Michelle: I like riding with Vickstar she knows how to work it, and riding with guys. I'm so used to it; riding with Randy and Jimmy (Halopoff) and Nate-Dog they give a lot of support. And I do look up to Carabeth.
Randy: How about Sierra at Tahoe?
Michelle: Oh, that's right. Sierra at Tahoe gave me a season pass. I ride for Yellow Bus also, and I want to get sponsored by Vans so I can get some of those white low tops.

From this point on it was persistent babble. I grabbed my mini-recorder back..
Chris: Have you guys been juicing a lot?
Randy: Well actually in the last week..
Sean: Gettin' juiced.
Randy: Not in like the last week, week and a half. We've been drinkin' our heads off!
Johnson: He's such a deril dude, he did fifty pushups the other day and then busted out the amino acids..hahahah (everybody laughs).
Chris: I never ask people their age, but how old are you Michelle?
Michelle: Twenty-five.
Johnson: She's twenty-two.
Chris: How old are you Randy?
Johnson: I lied again!
Randy: I'm twenty-three and I've been around the block Hahahhahhh..
Chris: Do you guys ride at Squaw?
Randy: I've ridden at Squaw several times and it sucks! I'll never go back. I ride at Kirkwood cause it's steep. I ride at Sierra also.
Chris: Why don't you like Squaw, the amount of people there?
Randy: Pro pile up, what? Naw, I don't know. Never really been there on a good day, I don't really care.. and it's too far away. I don't wanna live over there. But Sierra has got the best pipe.

The tape has stopped and the subject is changed. Randy is talkin', getting into detail about how picky he is while using lavatories.
Corey: What if they don't have the door hook to hang your clothes on? hhheehe (laughing)
Randy: I hold `em or I hang them (clothes) up over the bathroom stall, I'm just too tense. I need to relax when I take a shit. I take my boots and all my clothes off.
Corey: Dude, it must take a whole day by the time you're done..Hahahaha
(Everyone is laughing)
Corey: How did you hook up with those guys at Yellow Bus, Randy?
Randy: This last summer at Hood they gave me a board to ride and It was rad. So they said they would give me a model and some other shit.
Corey: Is your model out?
Randy: Yeah, well it will be out at the Vegas show. It's rad though, its a 148, a kick ass pipe board. The graphics are all computer 3-D images, it's original, nobody else has it and it makes me feel proud.
Corey: Did you get to sign it?
Randy: I didn't sign it, they're all block letters. I could have but I didn't want to. It's a good board though. It should sell pretty well.
Corey: That's cool. What is your favorite type of riding?
Randy: Pipe is my favorite, but I have too much fun freeriding.
Chris: Doing' chutes and cliffs?
Randy: All that's fun, that's why I like Kirkwood so much.
Corey: Ever busted your ass on rocks cause your friends said, "It's cool, do it?"
Randy: Remember that? That hurt!
Corey: I'm surprised you can still ride today after that.
Chris: What happened, did you get seriously hurt?
Randy: It was a thirty footer and somebody said go right here. So I went off right into the rocks, hit my ass and bounced off.
Chris: Did you have to get hauled out in a sled? Yeah, fully. At first I didn't know. I stood up and I was like, "I'm alright." Then I went to take my front foot out of the binding and my leg just collapsed. It was a big bruise though.
Chris: Did you break anything?
Randy: Naw, I've never broken anything except my arm skating. I'm sure I'll break my femur or my hip or my back someday...I expect it. I'm not gonna worry about it though.

We all finished eating dinner and stood outside in the cold air. Randy's hair dominated conversation. It then dawned on me that his steak knife haircut had style, originality and most of all, the best excuse for ever owning a can of spray-on-hair I've ever seen. -Chris Carnel