The word Cummins has a definite influence on the Northwest snowboard scene.

Matt started One Ball Jay wax , has a signature model board on Lib Tech and with the help of his dad Joe started Northwest Snowboards. Temple, who's seven years shy of Matt, is a ripping, up and coming rider and also rides for Lib Tech in Seattle while their parents run Northwest Snowboards.

Heckler: How long have you been riding for Lib Tech and when did you get your own model?
Matt: I've been riding for them pretty much since they started. I was on Gnu. I was a little kid, then they asked me if I wanted a model. That was like five years ago.

NOTE: We were all eating lunch in Matt's rust bus at the time.

Preparing to do construction clean-up at his new pad on the waterfront of the Olympic Peninsula. It was a rainy day in the Cummin's home town of Gig Harbor, over the bridge from Tacoma.

H: Why doesn't anybody shoot photos up here?
Matt: I don't know, they're all too lazy is the problem. You can get so much good stuff I mean it hasn't even been good (see "Something up North") and we'll still get good stuff. I think we got some decent photos, a lot of different stuff.

H: Huh?...Tell me about Breckenridge when you got 5th place or 6th place?
Matt: Uhh.....it was 6th place.

H: And that was last season, the World Finals or World Cup or something?
Matt: That was the last one of the World Cup.

H: Rad! What happened, you put together a really good run and stuff, it worked out for you?
Matt: Oh yeah, my trainer really worked my legs good and my diet was insanely on and my Bio-rhythms were feeling quite well when I woke up that morning. I just had a great rub-down and a great sauna. I really just felt good you know. I had my Power Bar and my water [getting totally into it], and I just really felt good about myself!
Temple: Excellent, excellent! I can't believe you're telling him all your secrets!

Temple Treeriding

H: [Laughing] What's One Ball Jay gonna make next year, underwear and boots or something?
Matt: Mostly just concentrate on wax. And gloves. Gloves and wax.

H: Uhhhh..........
Matt: We could talk about wax formulas and stuff.

H: Okay, what's up with the graphite wax. Is it for slush, a warm temp wax?
Matt: We have three different temp waxes with graphite, the other parts of the batch are changed instead. Now we're workin' on this colored and clear wax that has fluorocarbons and other stuff in there which is really fast, that will be out for next year. It will be a little bit more expensive, but worth it. And we will still have the original black One Ball wax.

H: Do you have a partner in One Ball Jay.
Matt: Yes. A friend of mine named Brian Rushcore, we call him "Salty Dog".

H: When did you start One Ball?
Matt: Uhhh....We actually started out as SAP surf wax in 1986. We used to cut the tree bark off these big huge evergreens to get the sap to come out of them and we put that in with bees wax.

H: No way! Did it work?
Matt: Yeah, it was for surfing. We'd put it in a pot and melt it down......but the thing is..... we would trim all the bark off these huge trees and that's where the nutrients are, the veins. We almost killed a bunch of them! Jay Roda's dad was pissed! We were dumb and didn't know what we were doing.

H: Was that One Ball Jay?
Matt: Yeah, my friend Jay Roda.

H: What happened to him? Did he lose a ball?
Matt: Around 1986 we were starting to make snowboard wax but we didn't have a name. Jay hung up on his skate while on a ramp and the tail of his board just nailed him in the nuts. And they swelled up just like two huge bananas. He couldn't walk and he almost had to get one cut off so Mike and Pete at Lib Tech thought we should call our wax One Ball Jay.

H: How did Northwest Snowboards start?
Matt: Around 1986 I was telling my parents that snowboarding was going big and me and my brother wanted to open up a SK8/snowboard shop. My parents helped me get a $10,000 loan to do it after they finally figured I snowboarded too much and wasn't going to go to College. It was a $200.00 a month rent place in the Gang central of Tacoma, Washington. It was gnarly. Like one family filled up the whole shop. So small.The shop opened in 1988.

H: What else do you do ?
Matt: I skateboard, surf and ........

H: How long have you been surfing up here?
Matt: 5 or 6 years.

H: Anything else?
Matt: I ride for Swag, Smith, Lib Tech, N.W. Snowboards and One Ball Jay.

Matt @ Mt. Hood

H: Here's a different angle- how long you been snowboarding? Matt: 7 years. H: 14 Seasons?
Matt: 14 Seasons......... uhhh, No........ After a long day of working at Matt's place hauling scraps to the dumps, (This builds character, champs) it was time for bed. Temple was almost asleep when I started the interview routine. Blaise was hangin' out reading Big Bro mag........

H: Temple, how old are you right now?
Temple: Right now, Gosh that's a tough question. Nineteen. How old are you?

H: Uhhh I'm old. So how long have you been riding your snowboard around?
Temple: Uhh Ohhh. You're putting me on the spot. I don't know about 5 yrs. or six years. I stopped keeping track.

H: How about skateboarding?
Temple: About the same I think. How about you?

H: Well, since about 1977. Temple, by this time, had sidetracked me on continuing an interview. so all I can say is he rides for ; Ezekiel/ Spare, One Ball, Lib Tech and Northwest Snowboards. His riding, solid as shit tp say the least, speaks for it self . It's a hard time keeping up with the way these Northwest guys attack the steeps of their Local mountains like: Crystal, Snoqualmie, Baker, Pac West and White Pass to name a few. And, after a hard day riding, there's nothing like a homecooked meal . Mrs. Cummins can cook up quite a tasty meal, even after a full day shift of managing a snowboard shop, and I'm sure others will attest to this fact who have had the privilege.

Story & Photos by Chris Carnel