Andrew
Crawford
Sponsors: Rossignol, Billabong, Northwave, Drake, Smith,
Exit Real World, Gravis
Tom
Burt / Jim Zellers
Sponsors: Avalanche, O’Neil, Da Kine, Alpine Meadows,
Vuarnet
Sponsors: North Face, Duotone, Smith
Lance
Pitman
Sponsors: K2, Bluebird Wax
So you wanna be a pro snowboarder? Doesn’t it just sound
so fun. All the travelling to exotic places. Riding nothing
but three feet of powder on crystal clear days. Going to parties
in New York, LA and Paris that your sponsor throws. No boss
on your ass for weekly reports. Driving a new Ford Expedition
while talking on your pre-paid cell phone. Never having to bug
your sponsors for gear ‘cause boxes just show up to your
new house in Utah. Filming with all the top dawgs at the best
locales on the planet. Signing autographs at trade shows in
Japan. Being invited to the biggest contests around the globe.
Drinking the finest whisky in the winter and snorting the purest
cocaine in the summer with all your new friends. Throwing down
your credit card at the most lavish resort spa in New Mexico.
Having your own sports massage therapist on-call whenever you
feel a little body tweak. And best of all, you only fly first
class... right?
At this point in the crazy evolution of snowboarding, it seems
that the professional snowboarder is finding it harder and harder
to live the above mentioned life. The champagne and caviar is
not flowing as much as it used to. And with all the major corporations
entering our industry and mingling with what’s left of
the core group, the fight for survival on all levels is on.
Riders are getting cut left and right and travel budgets are
getting slashed, even though snowboard sales are showing some
of the best numbers ever. From a company’s point of view,
once their brand becomes well established, they may not even
need a team to push the product. Do they see pro riders as an
unnecessary expense? What does this all mean for the pro snowboarder?
What does it take to make it these days? What does it mean to
be a pro? Hear it from 10 riders who have been, or are going
through, the ringer of professional snowboarding.
From the time that you first started snowboarding to now, being
pro; is it everything you thought it would be?
Basich: Heck no, when I first started snowboarding in ‘85
it was very different, even as a pro, than it is today. I didn’t
join the pro division till ‘91 I figured it would be a
fun way to travel the world for a couple years.
Growing up I never thought I would be a pro athlete. Snowboarding
has changed forever from back in the day, some good some bad.
But the reason I started my first day is still why I snowboard
today. The fun and adrenaline of it. It’s the heart of
the sport and always will be. There’s some bigger obstacles
in the way from the industry and media but underneath if you
search hard enough you’ll find the heart of it like it
was your first day.
Crawford: It’s everything and more. When I got to the level
that I’m at now, I had no idea what it was going to be
like when I first started, and some people complain about it,
but I can’t complain whatsoever because it’s the best
job in the world. I get paid for something that I love to do
and there’s so much more involved with the industry in
snowboarding right now than just snowboarding. I’ve learned
so much about photos, marketing, advertising, you know, just
kind of making my own business which is essentially what I am.
You know, I’m my own business. It’s so cool. It can
get stressful at times, but the good definitely outweighs the
bad, and you just have to figure out ways to get around the
bad stuff so that you can keep on having fun.
Burt: Probably more! I never thought about being a professional
snowboarder, it just kind of happened. So everything has been
way more and lasted way longer than I ever thought it would.
I’ve gone more places and had more ideas of things I wanted
to do come true than I ever thought would happen.
Egge: No and Yes. When I first started, nothing mattered except
riding and getting better at riding. My gear was hoopty, I had
a tough time getting to the hill and I really didn’t know
what a pro was for a year. I then met or said hi to JD Platt,
Kurt Heine, Robbie Morrow, and Kris Jamison. These guys were
really, really good. I would see them at the mountain or doing
contests that I would attend. I always thought being a pro would
be the best job in the world. This dream started to turn into
a goal after I was exposed to other pro’s like Jeff Brushie,
Craig (Kelly), Terry Kidwell, and a heap of others. I would
read about the world travels and endless days of riding pow
and hitting kickers. What a life. And it is. But what I didn’t
realize was that all of these people had worked incredibly hard
to obtain this life and once they “made it” the work
only increased. To sum it up, I feel that I have the best job
in the world and I wouldn’t change a thing. But I know
now that being a pro isn’t just riding every day, It’s
working hard at a lot of different things to help the people
that are helping you live your dream.
Cummins: Yeah, but in the same way it’s way different because
I didn’t realize what I was doing when I started. I was
thinking, “Yeah, it’s gonna be killer snowboarding
all the time, it’s my favorite thing in the world to do!”
Once you start doing things, and people start paying for it,
which is killer: it’s your favorite thing, it’s your
hobby, it’s what I do most, and once that gets in there
it twists everything around. Like, you start having to do things
at times that you don’t want to do them, and you’re
tired, and you’re just burning out this hobby that you
love the most. So it gets harsh sometimes. It’s like, I
just want to go ride powder and do these things, and you can’t.
You gotta do what these people want you to do. But oh well.
I’m not working everyday, so at the same time it’s
not so bad. Just at times it’s rough. You get over it pretty
quick after a few days.
Rippey: Yeah, pretty much. Since I’ve kind of made my name
through doing movies, that still allows me to make my own schedule
and go out when it’s good and hook up with Standard Films,
who I’ve worked with for the last 7 years. It’s pretty
much allowed me to do my own thing. When I first wanted to turn
pro I had to do it through competition which is the way that
most people have to do it. I did one year of doing the Cal Series
and won the Cal Series and the next year I turned pro. I caught
the eye of Tim Pouge who was our team manager and he invited
me to a photo shoot and then I finally got to kind of freeride,
hit kickers, which was more my forte. That got my foot in the
door, a little bit of travel budget and free equipment and everything
like that and then I just started filming because I knew filming
was just more fun. You’re going out looking for the coolest
thing you can find, the coolest thing that mountain is going
to offer; you and try to make the most of it, try to do the
best thing you can do on it. You’re really pushing yourself
as far as you can everyday and that is really challenging where
as a lot of times contests kind of suck because you get there
and you’re nervous that you’re going to be competing
and most of the time you’re just trying to be consistent
and stick everything and you can’t really push it as far
as you possibly could. Once I kind of made a little bit of a
name for myself, got Burton to back me, I kind of just shied
away from the contests and I went and started just doing the
filming thing. So it was kind of what I expected because when
I first started snowboarding, I’d just watch videos and
those were like the stars of the sport. You might hear who won
a contest here or there, but unless you’re actually at
the contest it’s not going to really impact. What the kids
know is what they see on the videos and I saw that early and
I was like, okay I’m going to have to work my way up through
doing competition but as soon as I get some money behind me
or can travel then I’m just going to film and I knew what
filming was, just go out and do the best you can. It’s
not too much different than I really expected; and it’s
great, it’s everything that I had dreamed of.
Zellers: I didn’t think it would be anything. To start
off with, it was just something to do. There was no sport to
speak of so I didn’t have any expectations. It just sort
of ended up how it was. As far as being a professional snowboarder
being what I thought it would be, it wasn’t really a job
application at the time. There was really nothing to think about
in the future, it was more of just what do you do everyday,
ride and develop the gear. What
does it mean to be a pro snowboarder?
Basich: A lot of people say I’m lucky for what I do for
a living, Sure maybe that’s true. I get to travel the world
and not have a 9-to-5 job. But when I go to work, my worries
are not about giving a report to my boss or something. I worry
about making it through the day without breaking a bone or getting
stuck in an avalanche (knock, knock). Your body takes a beating.
You’re never home. Lots of lag time at the airports. You’re
in the cold all the time. Sometimes I wish I was a pro surfer.
But I think it’s worth the risk.
Crawford: To me what it means to be a pro snowboarder is that
I’m no different than a lot of other people, it’s
just that I’ve been snowboarding a long time and I get
paid to do it, and the way I try to look at it is as being a
role model, because when I was a kid I had people that I looked
up to, and to me that was the coolest thing in the world: seeing
someone do something so incredible that you want to get on your
snowboard and go try it. So I try to do that on and off the
hill, as far as being a role model goes because I know there’s
kids out there and I’d rather be a role model in something
like this than in something negative, like a gang or something
or that. If I can help kids in some way, get stoked, or just
get into something, get involved in something and be really
stoked on something, that’s my job and that’s kind
of the way I look at it. I want to be the best I can be so that
others will take it even farther, take it to the next level.
Burt: For me being professional is basically acting professional,
taking it as a job that you enjoy doing and you put that off
to people. Sometimes being professional is a lot more work than
what the average person might think it would be especially in
snowboarding, to be able to do the work and still be stoked
about it, still love snowboarding or any sport you do. Still
love the sport but also don’t mind the work that is involved.
Some people get burnt out and it becomes a job. They lose that
love for what it is and that becomes the unprofessional part
of it.
Egge: Being a professional means that you need to be professional
on and off the snow. I truly believe that all the pro’s
out there are really good at snowboarding-duh. But you need
to be able to talk to kids like friends. I will always remember
the pro’s that I looked up to as great riders, and then
after meeting the ones that took the time to sign an autograph
or give me a tip, or just be a nice person, they then became
even cooler. I just think back to why we are all snowboarding.
It’s fun and I try to remember how stoked I was to learn
and progress and it makes me stoked on kids that are where I
was then.
Rosenthal: To make enough money to get to snowboard everyday
and work with your sponsors and... I guess it’s getting
paid to snowboard is what being a pro snowboarder is.
Lafonte: Alright, let me break it down for you. I am an athlete
and I think that being a professional for me means I’m
representing a sport and I think that my sport is mostly about
freedom. It’s changed so much for me, it’s represented
different things for me like when I first started out the excitment,
the newness of it all and getting product. For a time it was
you were riding, getting product, starting to get paid. It was
a big party, but now for me being professional is serious. It’s
serious for me because I’m dealing with a higher level
of everything. The people that are interested in snowboarding
now and the people that you want to appeal to are big corporations,
people that have PHD’s and they don’t even snowboard,
they don’t ski, they go to the gym for their work out.
For me to try to go from working with people that snowboard
to people that have absoulutly no idea, who have never even
seen snow and they are the people that are making all of the
decisions now and you have to market yourself to them. Being
a pro snowboarder means being versatile, kind of like an entrepeneur
of your own talent.
Pitman: Flying to Japan for a weekend to do a big contest. To
do an indoor contest for $50,000.
Cummins: It means riding everyday, riding super hard, not going
in for lunch, not being a pussy, doing stuff, pushing what you’re
doing; scaring yourself each time.
Rippey: It means a bunch of different stuff to me. It means
that you need to stay in the public eye. If you get hurt you
need to come back from the injury fast and not really fall out
of the loop. It takes a long time to get your name where you’re
popular in snowboarding. It takes years, and if you have an
injury that takes you out for a whole year, then all of the
sudden you’ve just dissapeared from the whole loop for
a year. For me it means trying to stay able, trying to not get
hurt but pushing it as far as you can and going out and shooting
with people. When you consider yourself a professional you’re
trying to make money by snowboarding. So to make the money you’ve
got to go out and hook up with the right filmers. I don’t
really shoot too many photos much anymore, I mainly just film.
By getting in 1 or 2 of the biggest movies of the year that
is going to keep the hype out on you. I’ve been in TB2
through TB8 so I’ve been in 7 years of their movies and
I haven’t missed a year and that is what it takes to get
your name to a big level.
Zellers: If you like doing it so much then the energy rubs off
on other people and they say, “God it’s really cool
to be around that guy that likes to shoot photos, or that guy
that loves to pour concrete; I can’t believe it, let’s
hire him for our job.” You don’t want people around
you that are just bummers and hate what they are doing or you
don’t want people around you that are not very good at
what they are doing. When they’re great at what they’re
doing and they’re psyched doing it then they just get hired
for anything and that’s where people don’t understand
I think. The money always just follows. What’s
your favorite type of exposure?
Basich: Contests give you exposure right after your jump. I
like free-riding the best because 5 or 6 months later you see
a photo in the mag from that day and you get to relive it. And
it’s more relaxing being in the back country hiking around
jumping anything you want. Contest coverage is more of a challenge
because you only get one chance to land your trick. Free-riding,
you can go do it again if you didn’t land it.
Crawford: The thing that satisfies me the most is filming all
year for a video part. Like with Standard Films or Whitey or
someone like that. To me that’s the most satisfaction because
you work for a whole year filming everyday, and at the end of
the year you have all these shots, and you have to edit, you
have to pick the good ones, you have to throw away the bad ones,
and you kind of blend it all into this masterpiece that finally
comes out, and when you look back on it, there’s a whole
year’s worth of work in there that you can be proud of.
My favorite part of snowboarding is filming and shooting photos
because photographers are amazing and I give so much credit
to them and I love working with them.
Burt: My favorite type of exposure on myself would be doing
things I like to do which is freeriding. Things that make me
happy like when I see something like a line that looks fun to
me and a camera can make it look as fun as I visualized it,
that’s what I like about film.
Egge: I don’t really do any contests anymore. Although
that is changing.
I like riding with friends the best. I feel fortunate to be
able to film with some of my closest friends; Kevin Jones, Josh
Dirksen, Jason McAlister, and Dave Downing. And I have more
friends doing the shooting as well, Quinn, Embry, Curtes, Ruben,
The Hatchetts, Whitey and Owen. This makes work feel like riding
always has: super fun.
Rosenthal: I hate contests. I’m so sick of contests. I
think I like filming for my video part and I like getting some
pictures too. My favorite thing is filming because I film with
my friend Brad Kramer and he’s one of my top five best
friends. We just have a good time and go out and dick around
and try to get stuff done. It’s just fun. Way better than
stupid contests on icy jumps from a bunch of people that don’t
know how to build jumps in the first place. That’s what
it seems like it is these days. I just got back from Breckenridge
and they built this huge jump for the Triple Crown and people
were just breaking themselves and it was totally icy; it was
December 2nd and people just weren’t even ready and they
tried to have this huge jump because they wanted it to be good
for TV. No snow, nobody had even ridden, and they don’t
take the athletes or snowboarders or whatever the hell you want
to call them into consideration enough; what we want to ride,
what we’re used to and what we want to whatever...
Lafonte: I really dig the coverage on TV. Everybody sits in
their home everynight and watches TV. I just had a feature on
Dateline. I can not even believe the amazing amount of feedback
from people all over the country that have called other people
and said, “We saw Morgan on Dateline.” I think you
can’t beat it. That’s as far as if I had any sponsoros
they might have appreciated it! (laughter) For me, I love to
freeride and I don’t like being too serious about things
anymore, I don’t like to put my talents against somebody
else’s. I think I have matured from it; I don’t really
feel that I belong there anymore. But I do love to be in front
of the cameras, that is always a flattering place to be.
Pitman: Footage of snowboarding in the mountains. Going out
snowmobiling and hiking lines and stuff. Contests are a totally
different world. It’s not like real snowboarding. You’re
actually riding your snowboard, but you’re more doing your
routine.
Cummins: My favorite type of exposure is when you’re coming
down after you did something rad and there’s some kid in
the lift line who’s like, “Fuck, that was killer!”
You know, just to see you riding in your flesh. That’s
the funnest part, that’s the best exposure for me. Probably
not for my sponsors, but I can’t help some things.
Zellers: (Laughing) Contest coverage, if I could get just one
gold medal. That would just sort of cap my career. Seriously
though, I think my favorite type of exposure is working on documentary
films. Going on an expedition and making a documentary that
actually tells a story. I don’t have to be a huge part
of the story, just involved in the whole film about the expedition,
location, culture, weather and environment. To really go somewhere
exotic nobody has ever been and bring back to them a really
great story. When
it comes to your personal direction in the sport vs. the direction
that your sponsors want you to go, where do they agree and where
do they collide?
Basich: I did get tired of doing things for my sponsors awhile
back so I started my own clothing company, 241. That gives me
some freedom. I don’t let all the media and industry sponsor
thing get to me. If they’re stoked on me great. If not,
oh well.
Crawford: This is an easy one for me to answer because when
I chose all my new sponsors I didn’t just choose them for
the money or anything like that, I looked at every aspect of
it. First of all I had to get along with my sponsors, second
of all I had to agree with the way they were trying to promote
snowboarding and third we had to communicate in a way that wouldn’t
make difficult decisions down the road, and my sponsors understand
that. I get work done by myself and they appreciate that and
they let me do my job and it works out perfect. I don’t
have any disagreements with my sponsors because we are focused
on the same thing which is promoting the brand that I’m
riding and so it makes it so easy for me because before the
year starts we sit down and we write down everything that I’m
going to do in a schedule and that we want to accomplish together.
I am just so stoked, it’s such a fun time because they
know what needs to be done and I know what needs to be done
and they just go out and let me do it. I think with some people,
some sponsors maybe put too much emphasis on contests and things
like that, but if that happens what the rider needs to do is
before he or she signs up with them say, “hey, this is
what I am good at, this is what I like to do and this is how
I can help your company the most.” For me before I chose
any of my sponsors I looked ahead at this problem and said how
can we do this and that’s what was so cool about Rossignol,
first of all they let me keep all of my other sponsors; boots,
bindings, clothes, all that other stuff and especially in this
day in age, Rossignol understands cross promotion.
Burt: I usually don’t have any beef with my sponsors, they
pretty much let me do what I want. Some of the biggest ones
was over competition, a lot of sponsors wanted me to compete
in the realm of extreme competitions and things like that where
as I chose not to compete. That would be the only thing, not
that it was a big deal but I think a lot of my sponsors would
like to see me compete against other people.
Egge: I have never had a head-on with any sponsor. Where I want
to go in my personal direction is right in sinc with Burton
and Smith. I used to compete a lot. After that I wanted to get
started filming. I did that for a couple of years and am now
right where I want to be. It’s kind of weird because last
year I became re-fueld by progression. The more I learned snowboarding,
the better I felt. And of course Burton doesn’t want you
to sit back and cash checks, they want you out there making
the most of your skills and their support. So I am happy to
say that we are all on the same page.
Rosenthal: Pretty much my sponsors have no problems with what
I’m doing. I don’t think there’s anything they
want me to do that I’m not doing and there’s nothing
that I don’t want to do that they want me to do. It’s
pretty good. I have a good set of sponsors that aren’t
just a bunch of idiot businessmen; they’re in the sport
because they know about it and because they’re snowboarders
themselves. They’re people that know what they’re
doing and I have a lot of influence on most of my sponsors,
like what kind of product they put out, and marketing, and whatever.
So, when it comes to what I want to do, it’s pretty much
up to me.
Lafonte: Well with K2, they wanted to change up their whole
program. I had lost my friend last year that I was living with
I ended up doing a bunch of crazy stuff and had to relocate.
So I didn’t get to do a lot of snowboarding and it was
really tough for me ‘cause it was like my father and my
best friend had been taken away from me. When I went to go renegotiate
my contract last April, I felt that they were not very forgiving.
They basically said that they wanted to keep me on the team,
but they didn’t really know where I fit it anymore because
I didn’t want to do contests. They wanted people that did
the contests and that was going to be their new shape; their
new focus. The contest scene, which wasn’t even really
that hot until last year or with the X-Games 4 years ago, and
in the meantime I’ve been doing them for 10 years. It was
like I had already phased out of that and then all of the sudden
it was phasing back in and that is where it collided. Which
is fine, but for me to take a step back down the ladder from
a company that I thought I was well respected at wasn’t
working. So I said, “I’m sorry I can’t take your
offer, I don’t think we have anymore business together.”
It did hurt though. I felt like I was cutting the ties; they
were my family for so long.
Pitman: When riding takes place.
I like to ride in Jackson as much as I can and they want me
to travel more. That’s the only thing that’s ever
been an issue.
Cummins: All of my sponsors back me up pretty hard because they
know what I like to do and that’s why I chose them. I don’t
choose them because I’m making the most money, I choose
them because they’re behind me in what I do. I don’t
do these TV shows or TV contests or this type of thing, I do
the Mt. Baker Banked Slalom and that’s it. I’m lucky
enough to have good people backing me that understand the part
of the sport that I’m into. Just the snowboarding part,
I’m not too mixed up into the contests or the TV stuff,
it just beats people down constantly.
Rippey: They don’t push me at all. They have to give me
free reign to do what I know how to do and they trust me. That
is hard ‘cause in the beginning you have a team manager
and you’re one of the kids, you’re one of the fish
in the swimming pool, you’re just trying to work your way
up and prove yourself, and it takes years. That’s the best
thing about my job is that I get to make my own schedule and
do what I want to do and there is not many jobs that you get
like that.
Zellers: At first we disagreed. In the late 80’s, my sponsors
wanted me to maybe do something with my hair, maybe get some
new clothes, get a “rad” personality and I wanted
to be in the back country a little bit more where you couldn’t
spend as much time on your hair or your clothes. So that was
a big clash and they were pretty much dropping us because of
that. There were a few sponsors that were thinking that way.
Speaking to mostly me and Tom (Burt), other guys got to keep
up this image thing, me and Tom were not strong on image at
the time. Now since I’ve decided to do what I want to do
it made it work and people just latch on to that thing and they
never ask me to do what I don’t want to do. Do
you feel that you are paid enough for what you do?
Basich: Yep.
Crawford: Definitely. It’s taken me awhile to get to where
I am but I couldn’t be happier. I think maybe one thing
as far as the general of snowboarders go they risk their life
a lot more than a lot of other athletes and I think that overall
they should increase the pay in snowboarding if the companies
can afford it and if they can’t maybe do certain things
like life insurance, health insurance, help the riders out in
that regard. A lot of riders are just doing so much and working
so hard and not getting adequate pay for it but the way I look
at it is if you keep working hard somebody is going to notice
somewhere, someday, and you’re going to eventually get
what you deserve.
Burt: I’m not one to make a lot of money in the sport of
snowboarding, but I make a living which I am very thankful for
so I’d have to say yeah, I do make enough. I didn’t
get into this sport to try and make money. I came in this sport
because I like to snowboard and I still get to snowboard. One
of the most important things to me is that I get to go out and
make great turns all over the world. I can’t complain,
there are a lot of people who make a lot of money which is great,
and I’m not going to be like I can make more money than
that guy, but whatever, it’s not my initiative to make
a killing.
Egge: I feel lucky to make anything from snowboarding. When
my dad and I look back about me telling him I could make money
doing this snowboarding thing we used to laugh. Now I look around
and I feel comfortable. As for getting paid enough, it’s
tough to say. I feel that for what you’re doing and the
time frame of your career, riders who are getting it done should
be paid very well for their time and commitment to the sport
and their sponsors. When you’re flying through the air
upside down for 50 feet, or riding steeps that can kill you
it makes you wonder. But on the other side, it’s not pro
hockey yet.
Rosenthal: I’d do it for $400.00 a month. Just enough to
pay my rent, and if I couldn’t get that, I’d do it
for free. It’s all relative, the only reason I ever expect
any more money for snowboarding is, you know, it’s hard
if you hear someone else is getting something, and you think
you’re in the same position as they are. Aside from that,
honestly I’d do it for nothing. I’d pay to.
Lafonte: (Laughs) God no! Hell no. The only time I’ve ever
really been paid, and it really wasn’t even worth it was
a Mountain Dew commercial I did a few years ago. The residuals
I got from that were well worth it; the energy and the time
and the risk that I put myself at, but apparently my niche could
be, or K2 thinks it is, back country. Anybody that goes into
the back country, you’re putting yourself at risk right
away. For say, someone like K2 to ask me for a film segment
in Hatchett’s movie, I gotta be out there bustin’
my ass.
I’ve gotta be one up on the guys. You know, whoever gets
up there first gets it. I’m not saying it was a motivation,
I’m just saying for what you do to your body and yourself
and time. No, you’re definitely not getting paid what you
need to.
But you shouldn’t have to have a middleman. It should be
one on one, it’s a contract, it’s a handshake, you
look ‘em in the eye and say, “This is what I do. Do
you understand this? Do you understand what’s going on;
the scope of things?” Which I think is probably part of
the reason people aren’t getting paid. Because the people
that are paying them, they sit in an office. They don’t
see what goes on. Apparently at Breckenridge last weekend, for
the Vans Triple Crown, a lot of people got hurt. That’s
the first contest of the year, and you want me to do how many?
(laughs)
Pitman: Yeah I’d say so. Plenty of people make way more
money than I do but I’m not out there trying to kill myself
winning contests and stuff. Some people make more money and
some people don’t, everyone has their own deal. I don’t
worry about it too much.
Cummins: Ask me in 10 years when my body’s all tweakin’
and shit, and I’ll be like well, I don’t know. For
right now, I’m pretty stoked. I could be working pretty
damn hard building shit or answering phones, so I’m definitely
pretty stoked to be in the position I’m in.
Rippey: Yeah I think I am now, but it took me 8 years. It’s
one of those things that are really tough and with a company
like Burton, I’ve been with Burton for 9 years, they’re
smart about the way they sponsor kids. They give them a couple
of boards and then they slowly work their way up, but it takes
four of five years of your life to get to the point where you’re
making good money.
Zellers: I would probably guarantee that of all the people you’re
probably going to talk to in this interview, I get paid the
least amount. You can figure that one out. I never made any
money, I never got paid as a snowboarder from a snowboarding
company until last year, and there was one other year where
Avalanche paid me. So basically I’ve been an amateur snowboarder.
Maybe I don’t belong in this interview (laughing). What
are some of the stresses that come with being pro that people
don’t know about?
Crawford: Number one the travel. A lot of people when they hear
you’re going to all these exotic places and having a lot
of fun assume that it’s blue birds, sunny and powder and
everything is care free where in reality there is a lot of nights
spent in airports, a lot of missed flights, a lot of stresses
that go along with traveling that a lot of people don’t
really think about. Number two, injuries. When you’re injured
or you’re hurt and there’s pressure for you to do
good or something like that, it’s really difficult because
snowboarding is a cut throat industry and there’s always
that kid that’s nipping at your heels that is so good,
but I like that because it keeps you on your toes.
Burt: I don’t complain too much. Lets see, trying to explain
your daily job to people. A lot of people think that being a
professional athlete doesn’t take any work, but actually
it is a lot of work and a lot of commitment. It’s not necessarily
that it isn’t fun but it definitely is a job; it’s
a job that I love. The only other bad thing about being a professional
is that you’re the first person to hit the floor when companies
fall through because your just a marketing tool. That part of
it is kind of rough because you never really know.
Egge: Getting hurt is a big one. I have seen people who are
on top of things and then an injury gets them and it’s
like a set back. That can make you feel stressed. Keeping up
with people stresses me out. I am worried if I space a phone
call or miss an e-mail, people will get bummed out on me. Stress
is Alaska. When you get to the bottom it’s the best feeling
of all, but on your way down, at least for me, it’s burly.
Rosenthal: Having to stop and go sometimes gets really old.
Waiting for the light to hit a jump or waiting for the sun to
come out from behind a cloud whereas if you were just riding
for fun you would just go. On a powder day, “Wait, stop,
I want to film this,” is very typical. I’m afraid
of flying too. I fly like twice a week, and it’s kind of
harsh. I’m not really afraid of flying, I’m afraid
of turbulence; I hate it.
Lafonte: The major, biggest one is travelling. Period. When
you’re in one place for two days or two weeks and you’re
back home for a day, you’re on your way out again; travel
is very stressful. In an airplane, on the ground, different
altitudes, different time zones, bad water, bad food, food that
you can’t even stomach, and I think that if you’re
not eating correctly and you’re not getting the proper
amount of sleep, you obviously can’t be at full throttle.
Now that I’m settled down a little bit more, I’m so
much happier. I’m so much more motivated to ride. Unpack,
put your board back together, break everything down and you’re
back on the road again. Definitely travel.
Pitman: Actually it’s riding non-stop all the time; everyday
it works your body. And just feeling obligated to ride well
all the time, it’s pretty stressful sometimes.
Rippey: I would say rising to your highest level, like if you
do movies that is what you need to do because if you get stale
and people see you doing the same tricks every year in the videos
no one is going to really watch you. Each year you’ve got
to do things bigger and better. That puts pressure on you.
Zellers: Convincing people you work. Nobody ever figures that
you work, but when you actually get into the job and doing everything
it’s bringing back footage of what you promised you’re
going to go do and knowing what you can bring back. I think
that is really really tough. You’re out there a step away
from your eyeballs freezing and it’s blowing like crazy
and nobody can help each other deal with frostbite because you’re
all just barely hanging in as it is. But you’ve got to
get the photo because you’re in the spot and the light’s
good and you’re coming down. You’ve got to work in
adverse conditions and you’re hoping that you can get back
in the snow case, get in your bag and get warmed up and that
everything works out. Trying to convince people that it’s
a job is impossible.
What are some of the best things about being pro?
Basich: Having the freedom to do stuff when you want to. Making
your own hours. Having friends all over the world. Being outdoors.
Traveling. It’s a job that has its ups and downs, it makes
it exciting that way, not a steady line. I like to live in the
changes of the seasons.
Crawford: The best thing for me is I’m getting paid for
something that I love to do and if anybody can have a job that
they love it just makes it so much better because you can focus
on what you need to do and you can have fun at it. For me just
being out doors and in the mountains and being active like in
shape is so important to me. I think it’s the best job
in the world and I am so fortunate to have what I have and I
never want to lose that.
Burt: The best thing for me is being able to see different places
and ride different mountains around the world. I am totally
lucky to have been able to snowboard all over the place from
Europe to New Zealand to South America to Alaska. Another thing
is getting to ride with the highest caliber of riders out there.
I get to ride with some of the best in the world all over the
place along with when I travel, I meet the local population
where ever I go and get to ride with great local people who
don’t necessarily make it in a magazine, but they just
rip. Those two experiences; meeting the people and going to
the places are the best thing about being pro for me.
Egge: Being able to ride everyday with friends is the best.
Learning new tricks and getting stoked on trying new things.
Snowmobliling. Flyfishing with Jones all summer. Meeting new
friends on trips and shoots. I have met a lot of really cool
people along the way, people I would have never met without
snowboarding, people who are now my closest group of best friends.
Rosenthal: You get to snowboard a lot and you get to travel
places that you probably wouldn’t otherwise get to go.
Getting to design stuff exactly how you want it. That’s
pretty rad.
Lafonte: Freedom to travel. You’ve chosen to be a healthy,
happy, active human being.
I definitely think it’s a conscious choice; I think people
can do whatever they want to do.
If somebody really wanted to be a pro athlete, they could do
it. They could turn themselves into one. I think so. Free product,
travel.
The opportunites that you get to meet new people. The opportunities
to see different cultures. Oh, and breathing fresh air. That’s
definitely one of the huge perks.
Pitman: Getting to ride everyday and I’ve got to travel
quite a bit because of it, to lots of places that I probably
wouldn’t have gone to. Snowboarding took me there. That’s
probably the best thing about it. The memories from traveling;
it’s pretty cool.
Cummins: Being able to stay at one place, or go to where it’s
really good, and knowing that you’ll get some good snow
if you just wait. Just to have the luxury to kick it and wait.
In turn, you get to ride with the people that you’ve met
snowboarding which are like some of the raddest people, and
you’re snowboarding with them, just grinning from ear to
ear taking a run, one after the other, just scared, both of
you. That’s super fun.
Rippey: Just getting to snowboard for a living.
I think snowboarding is the best sport. It allows you to have
the opportunity to go places like Alaska and get a helicopter,
put your credit card down and not even have to worry about paying
for it because you know that you have a travel budget that is
going to pay for it. Doing things that people would dream of
doing and you get to do it every year.
Zellers: The lifestyle is 100% the best. Since I’ve been
a pro rider there have been no regrets, every year just keeps
getting better. So it’s this lifestyle of playing as hard
as you can, then you work and when you work it’s intense
and you’re focused and you’re into it. You’re
not working everyday at all, you’ve got this great lifestyle
and you get to be out in the mountains. You get to spend time
doing what you love to do.
What
does it mean to be a pro snowboarder?
What’s
your favorite type of exposure?
When
it comes to your personal direction in the sport vs. the direction
that your sponsors want you to go, where do they agree and where
do they collide?
Do
you feel that you are paid enough for what you do?
What
are some of the stresses that come with being pro that people
don’t know about?