Hello, My name is Stephen Duke.
Action Sports Photos by Big Poppa IJV
Portrait by Sonny

Bob Klein: Yes, Is that Duke, D-U-K-E?The major snowboarding media is calling him the next Kevin Jones. Top-level fashion magazines are calling him the hottest item on the slopes. Guys think he’s cool. Girls can’t get enough of him. His name is Stephen Duke and he is one talented snowboarder. Is he the next rock star? You bet. Can he spin off huge kickers and stomp landings? No doubt. Is he soulful? Very. Does he know his snowboarding history? Hell no, but who cares! This is 2001 and things are moving at breakneck cyber speeds. You’re either driving the car, or in for the ride, or getting run over and left behind. Where will Duke be sitting? Assisting with this interview was Bob Klein, a snowboarder for 22 years and one of the founders of the sport. Among his lengthy list of accolades, Bob competed in the first ever Mt. Baker Banked Slalom. This interview was conducted at the magnificent Zelda’s in downtown Sacramento. We ate sausage and garlic pizza, the effects of which would be felt much later, causing this interview to end.

Sonny: How did you get into snowboarding?
Duke: I got into snowboarding in 1992 because a couple of my friends did it and really my dad was the first person to take me, I think in the Spring of ’92.

Sonny: In ’92 what were you doing Bob?
Bob: I was trying to make a comeback as an amateur and I finished second over all at the nationals in ’92. Is this going to be a stock interview with stock questions? “How did you get into snowboarding? What kind of feelings do you have when you snowboard? Do you like powder? Do you like pipe? Do you like park?”

Sonny: Now that we’re done with that stupid comment, where was your first day?
Duke: It was at Donner Ski Ranch.

Sonny: Yeah, me too.
Bob: Good to see the legend of the Ranch still lives on.

Sonny: Another boring comment from Bob. OK, have you ever gotten laid because you were sponsored?
Duke: It might have happened. I can’t necessarily say it was completely because I’m sponsored, but, uh, I would say it definitely helps.

Sonny: Do you use it a lot?
Duke: No, I don’t actually. I should use it a lot more.

Sonny: Have you ever got laid because you were sponsored Bob?
Bob: Absolutely. Before I met my wife…

Sonny: The wife that you love.
Duke: Yes.
Bob: Are you related to David Duke?
Duke: No.
Bob: Good.

Sonny: Where did you grow up?
Duke: I grew up in a little town in the foothills called Greenwood that’s kind of outside of Auburn (Calif.). Just a really small town, almost not even a town, just a place.

Bob: Do the Freemen live there?
Duke: Who are the Freemen?

Sonny: Like Jason and those filmer guys?
Bob: No man, the fucking militia dudes.
Duke: No, I don’t know. There’s some people up around Georgetown. I think there’s some militia types around there but I don’t know any of them, I’ve never seen any of them but I’ve heard they’re around.

Sonny: So do you skateboard much?
Duke: I skateboard when I…well, I don’t skateboard as much as I want to or should, but I skateboard a couple times a week right now and in the winter I skateboard a couple times a month.

Bob: Where do you skate?
Duke: The last place I skated was the Truckee park but, I’ve only skated there a couple times and I’m not used to it. It’s hard.
Bob: It’s hard to find a line in that place.

Sonny: For the guys who suck it’s hard to find a line.
Duke: The last time I was there though it was completely empty. Like four of my friends and I just skated like two hours.

Bob: ‘Bout the first time I’ve ever heard that.
Duke: This was like two in the afternoon till about four. It was right before that storm.

Bob: Oh.
Duke: It was cloudy but it was nice because it was all cool and windy. It was perfect for skating I thought.

Sonny: So are you pretty psyched to travel to Europe for the first time?
Duke: Yeah, I’m really excited. Um, I guess we only have to snowboard for four days and I’m going to be there for almost two weeks and I really just want to see the place because I never have been there and I just want to travel around. And maybe go drinking with the Santa Cruz team.
Bob: Europe’s really cool, but there’s but there’s just one problem: there’s a lot of Europeans there.

Sonny: You’re young, I’m sure you’ve dreamt about snowboarding all over. Where’s the craziest place that you want to snowboard?
Duke: Actually I’ve never thought of that. I just want to go to Europe and travel around there and besides that I enjoy snowboarding in the United States just as much as probably anywhere I ever will. Tahoe’s fun.

Sonny: So now that you’re sponsored do you know Peter Line?
Duke: No, I don’t know that guy at all.

Sonny: If you got in a fight with him do think you could kick his ass?
Duke: Yeah, he’s small.

Sonny: So what’s up with the underflip? Did you invent it?
Duke: No. Actually, I think that tricks been around for a long time, but luckily you and Brett (Sigur) kind of named it the underflip. I think before that it was just called a corkscrew. (laughter) I guess in terms of it being called an underflip, I invented it.

Sonny: So who are your sponsors right now?
Duke: Right now my sponsors are Santa Cruz snowboards, 686 outerwear, Northwave boots, Drake bindings, Von Zipper eyewear, and Boards In Motion snowboard shop.

Sonny: So if Palmer offered you a board sponsorship, what would it take to get you to jump board sponsors?
Duke: Show me the money.

Bob: If I come up with more money and make you ride a shitty board, you’ll do it?
Duke: Well, I guess I’d have to ride the board probably and if I hated them I wouldn’t ride them. But as long as it rode and you offered me like $100,000…

Bob: Well I’m speaking in general terms. If you rode a Palmer you probably wouldn’t want to ride another board, although Santa Cruz makes a good quality board too.
Duke: Yeah, that might be true.

Bob: Is there any substance to the saying, “It’s the pilot, not the airplane?”
Duke: Yeah, I’d have to say so for sure.

Bob: I think you can tell the difference with some boards.
Duke: There’s a difference obviously. Some boards ride extremely well and some ride like crap, but you definitely have to know how to ride it in order to ride it.

Sonny: What’s it like being pro today and what are your responsibilities? How hard are you pushed and what don’t people know about being sponsored?
Duke: I guess, in the last year I realized that when you are snowboarding a lot, it can come to get old. Especially when the weather is bad or for whatever reason you don’t necessarily feel really stoked to go snowboarding, but you’re obligated to. It’s a little bit hard to always be stoked to ride or film everyday, but you gotta find something that makes you want to ride that day. Besides that the only obligations I really have is to keep in touch with my sponsors and try to work with them and get stuff done to help them out.

Sonny: Get what stuff done?
Duke: Like this interview is a perfect example. Brett really wanted me to get this done and, after four months we finally managed to do it.

Sonny: Your team manager, Brett Sigur. When’s the last time he actually stepped on a snowboard?
Bob: I saw that dude at a keg party.
Duke: The last time I personally saw Brett on a snowboard was probably mid-December of 1999 at Boreal. He was on the rope tow.

Sonny: Have you ever personally seen Shawn Sterken sober? Being hungover doesn’t count.
Duke: I think I saw him sober about two-and-a-half weeks ago.

Sonny: Are you the best rider on Santa Cruz’s team?
Duke: Yeah. (Laughing) No. I don’t even know the whole Santa Cruz team.

Sonny: Do you think the snowboarding scene is fun these days?
Duke: It seems fairly cocky in a way, like everyone’s out to set an image for themselves. It does seem like it’s entirely image driven these days, which is odd. It doesn’t come off as being very fun.

Bob: I think it’s split into factions. It used to be, ten years ago, we were all snowboarders. It didn’t matter if you were a punk rocker of a dead head or whatever, everyone was a snowboarder. When you went to the mountain, you just rode and everybody was cool. Nowadays, there’s categories of snowboarders. There’s freeriders, all mountain, big mountain, there’s big air guys, there’s park guys, there’s super pipe guys, there’s half pipe guys, and it totally splits it up. Within all that, you have the overlying factor that everybody’s trying to establish their place in this “youth oriented sport” and be a cool guy. Everybody’s trying to outcool the next guy and it ends up where 99% of the people who are in it are a bunch of fuckin’ morons. And there’s just a few cool people out there. And I just met you ten minutes ago, but I can tell you’re one of the cool guys. It’s usually the good riders that have something different in their mentality that makes them cool. They look beyond having to have the “right clothes” and all that shit. Although, I noticed you have a tattoo and dyed hair. I don’t know what that “image” shit’s all about.
Duke: I just got my hair dyed today.

Sonny: Before your career is over, what do you want to accomplish?
Duke: Become the best snowboarder that I can and push the sport and try to influence positively.

Bob: I think it’s interesting to hear from someone who’s young and is just starting to get notoriety in snowboarding. I’m always wondering what the kids out there are thinking.

Sonny: Yeah, ‘cause you’re totally out of touch. So anyway—
Bob: Hey man, you’ll be 36 some day too.

Sonny: Do you have any thank you’s? Give props, you.
Duke: I’d like to thank—
Bob: What’s props? Isn’t that like propellers?

Sonny: Again, out of touch. Go ahead, Duke.
Duke: I’d like to thank my mom and dad because they’ve definitely supported me more than anyone else and I obviously wouldn’t be here without them.
Bob: You’re not from a single-parent family?
Duke: No.

Bob: That’s why you got your head on your shoulders.
Duke: My parents are incredible people.
Bob: Sonny’s the exception though. He’s got his head on his shoulders.
Duke: Really?

Sonny: Thanks to my wife…and drugs. They both have helped me a lot.
Duke: Secondly, Wendy Woodward and Boards N Motion has helped me more than anyone else has to get me this far. Without her, I wouldn’t even be close. Brett and Holly at Santa Cruz, Jon and Mike at 686, George at Northwave/Drake, Todd Mayte, Curt Fry, Sky and Von Zipper, everyone at Boards ‘N Motion, all my close friends, and everyone else that’s ever helped me or influenced me in a positive way, thanks.

Bob: Which one of you guys are fartin’ over there?
Duke: I know, I smell that, that’s pretty bad.

Sonny: I guess that leaves me. That’s good, huh?
Duke: That’s pretty bad.

Sonny: I guess that means it’s our time to leave.
“On a day-to-day basis, I still ride with the same friends I’ve ridden with for years. It’s still the same, but now they’ll be a camera around.”