Which
is better? Waking up at 6 am for a powder day or skating until
the sun rises? Brand new wheels and bearings or a freshly waxed
board? Sliding a log or grinding a ledge? Exploring a city for
the first time or dropping into those trees you never noticed?
Catching your edge or getting wheel bite? Lincoln Ueda or Keir
Dillon? Mark Gonzalez or Kurt Wastell? Riding pipe in July or
skating while it’s snowing? Frost bite or road rash? Slashing
a windlip or carving the deep end of a pool? Falling on ice
or slamming on concrete? Building a mini ramp in your backyard
or a kicker at the pass? Taking your friends to your powder
stash or to your secret spot? However you look at it, skateboarding
and snowboarding compliment each other in so many amazing ways.
Doing both allows you to explore the whole world around you,
from the most desolate mountains to the most crowded urban environments.
Skateboarding makes you a better snowboarder and snowboarding
makes you a better skateboarder. Tricks cross over between the
two mediums. Something you’ve always wanted to do on your
skateboard is possible on your snowboard and visa versa. Regardless
of how much you compare and contrast, when it comes down to
it, skateboarding and snowboarding fulfill the same needs.
This spread has more roots than Alex Haley.
While on vacation in Landsdown, Maryland, Jerry Springer (opposite)
got surfy with a longboard carve, proving that some moves never
go out of style. Photo by Landi.
Chris Englesman (here) will never forget that snowboarding wouldn’t
be as much fun without a skateboarding heritage. Frontside slider
on edge on the makeshift vert extension on Mt. Hood. Photo by
Andrius Simutis/The Slide Project.
Be it snow or skate, focus is a key to making tricks. Up-and-comer
Brandon Biebel (opposite) shows power, precision and creativity
with a frontside fiddy-fiddy against Mrs. Culbertson’s
Home Ec’ class. “Hey Brandon, what do you like to
do?” “Skatin’ and chillin’.” Photo
by Landi.
Laying pipe is pretty easy, but riding pipe takes skills. Contest
superhero Ross Powers (here) is fun to watch because he makes
boring contests exciting. Blaster backside at Copper Mountain,
Colorado. Photo by Andrew Hutchison. Style
is something that can’t be bought or sold it’s something
that comes naturally from within. And of course, after tons
of practice. One of the sickest young pro skaters right now
is Rick McCrank (opposite). Here he demonstrates to Eric Koston
how having his feet surgically replaced by hands has helped
his skateboarding. Ollie to fakie in Brazil. Photo by Ortiz.
David Foback Irwin is best known for eating a big plate of spaghetti
and then drinking Ipecac, a solution that induces vomiting.
Unfortunately, he’s not that well known for his stylish
and aggressive snowboarding skills. How many stink bug nose
grabs did you see in the media last year? The guy is creative
and good. Photo by Carnel
Which
is better? Waking up at 6 am for a powder day or skating until
the sun rises? Brand new wheels and bearings or a freshly waxed
board? Sliding a log or grinding a ledge? Exploring a city for
the first time or dropping into those trees you never noticed?
Catching your edge or getting wheel bite? Lincoln Ueda or Keir
Dillon? Mark Gonzalez or Kurt Wastell? Riding pipe in July or
skating while it’s snowing? Frost bite or road rash? Slashing
a windlip or carving the deep end of a pool? Falling on ice
or slamming on concrete? Building a mini ramp in your backyard
or a kicker at the pass? Taking your friends to your powder
stash or to your secret spot? However you look at it, skateboarding
and snowboarding compliment each other in so many amazing ways.
Doing both allows you to explore the whole world around you,
from the most desolate mountains to the most crowded urban environments.
Skateboarding makes you a better snowboarder and snowboarding
makes you a better skateboarder. Tricks cross over between the
two mediums. Something you’ve always wanted to do on your
skateboard is possible on your snowboard and visa versa. Regardless
of how much you compare and contrast, when it comes down to
it, skateboarding and snowboarding fulfill the same needs.
Style
is something that can’t be bought or sold it’s something
that comes naturally from within. And of course, after tons
of practice. One of the sickest young pro skaters right now
is Rick McCrank (opposite). Here he demonstrates to Eric Koston
how having his feet surgically replaced by hands has helped
his skateboarding. Ollie to fakie in Brazil. Photo by Ortiz.